Spreading God’s goodwill in the darker places
We praise God for the many churches and charities who will be reaching out to the vulnerable, homeless and lost over this Christmas season. They will do so with love, hope and God’s message of salvation as they visit the housebound and lonely, or hold Christmas lunches for people who would otherwise be spending a miserable Christmas alone. They will be delivering hot food, sleeping bags and small Christmas gifts to homeless people, Christmas parcels of food and presents to older people, and toys to children from disadvantaged families. Some will be visiting prisons to deliver Christmas boxes to prisoners and their families as a message of hope and goodwill, others will stand out on cold street corners singing carols and delivering God’s message to shoppers and housing estates.
Trump and Le Pen on immigration
In the USA last week nine candidates appeared for the final Republican presidential primary debate of 2015 and Donald Trump was received positively. In France last week six million disaffected French voters gave their support to Marie Le Pen’s Front National candidates, and said they will do so again when they get the chance. Donald Trump is calling for a ban on Muslims entering the United States: Le Pen has called for an immediate end to receiving migrants into the municipalities of France. Trump said, ‘When Mexico sends people, they bring lots of problems to us.’ Le Pen asked, ‘Would you accept twelve immigrants moving into your flat? Some would steal your wallet and brutalise your wife.’ Trump would build a great wall and make Mexico pay for it. Le Pen declared, ‘We must regain control of our national borders once and for all, despite the EU.’ Trump said he would be the greatest representative of Christians that they've had in a long time, and Le Pen said France can be secular because it is Christian at its origin.
South Africa: three finance ministers in six days
South Africa has its third finance minister in less than a week. Pravin Gordhan was rushed into the position on Sunday night after days of confusion. Finance minister Nhanhla Nene was attempting to rein in state spending, including a controversial nuclear deal, but was fired last week and replaced with David van Rooyen, a little-known backbencher with no experience of working in the national government. The rand fell to a record low. Angry South Africans began planning marches on the presidential offices. On Sunday Mr Zuma removed Mr van Rooyen (after only four days in office) and announced that Mr Gordhan, an experienced ex-finance minister, had replaced him. It will be difficult to repair the reputational damage done by this reshuffle of one of the government’s most important positions.
North Korea: life sentence for Canadian megachurch pastor
Earlier this year, Prayer Alert readers were asked to pray for Hyeon-Soo Lim, the leader of the 3,000-member Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto. After hundreds of humanitarian trips, he was detained last January for ‘intending to overthrow the North Korean government and set up a new religious state’. Detaining Christian foreigners is somewhat of a North Korean tradition, but accusing them of planning to set up a theocracy is new. We are sad to announce that North Korea has sentenced him to life in prison. According to the official Korean Central News Agency, state prosecutors argued for the death penalty against Lim in Wednesday’s 90-minute trial. The defence begged for mercy, pointing to Lim as a fellow-Korean and that he readily confessed to his crimes. The Canadian government has severed consular ties with North Korea, but Sweden has an embassy in Pyongyang and does some diplomatic work for Canada.
USA: churches welcome refugees against governors’ wishes
Over half of US state governors closed their state’s borders to Syrian refugees after the Paris terrorist attacks, but Christians are defying orders. Their faith tells them to open their doors to the stranger. In Georgia, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church has resettled a Syrian family, despite Gov Nathan Deal. The Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis defied Gov Mike Pence by welcoming a Syrian family last Monday. In Ohio, Westminster Presbyterian Church will accept up to three refugee families from Syria or elsewhere. The Refugee Services of Texas, an affiliate of several Christian refugee organisations, settled six Syrian refugees in Houston and expects to settle nine more soon, despite Gov Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz, who proposed legislation that would allow governors to reject refugees deemed to be a security risk. The CEO of Refugee Services of Texas said, ‘We reassure all Texans that refugees are receiving a warm and compassionate welcome from staff and volunteers.’
Global: climate change summit reaches a deal
After days of nonstop negotiations in Paris, nations united around a final document that is effectively a blueprint for how the world will tackle global warming. Everything from greenhouse gas targets to finance has been discussed. The document contains a number of unresolved items, which will need to be addressed in the future. Scientists have cautiously welcomed the text. An atmospheric consultant said at the time of the document’s preparation, ‘Perhaps some of the more ambitious options have not reached the final document, but the fact that these targets are being seriously discussed is hugely positive.’ See also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35084374
Burundi: violence ignited and exploding
87 people were killed when violence broke out at three military sites in Burundi last Friday. Eight of the dead were security officers, and 49 people were captured. Residents who found a further 34 bodies in the street accused police of taking revenge. Unrest has hit Burundi since April with continued protests after President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his decision to seek a third term in office following a disputed July election result. On Sunday the US government urged its citizens to leave Burundi immediately. African Union military observers are already on the ground assessing the situation. Hundreds have been killed since April, mostly in Bujumbura. ‘We can observe today in Burundi a clear manipulation of ethnicity by both the government and the opposition,’ the UN's special adviser on genocide told the BBC last week. Activists have gone into hiding, fearing attack. See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35083823
Israel: a typical day of violence
One day’s edition of the Times of Israel reported that a 39-year-old West Bank resident with ‘nationalistic’ motives attacked an Israeli Jew and a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem with a hammer in two separate attacks. Also, border police officers arrested a Palestinian woman who had planned to carry out a stabbing attack in Jerusalem with a screwdriver. The police, alerted by her suspicious behaviour, they stopped her for questioning. When they found the screwdriver, she admitted that she intended to carry out a stabbing attack. Palestinians have used screwdrivers in stabbing attacks several times in recent months. Abed el-Muhsen Hassuna, a car-ramming terrorist who injured fourteen people the previous day, lived in Hebron and possessed an Israeli ID card but was also a member of Hamas. Doctors are fighting to save the foot of a baby who was one of those hurt.