India: Unique film released in Hindi
A six hour Hindi film, ‘Christayan’ (the journey of Christ) was released in Indore Madhya Pradesh in early December. It was directed by Father George, a Catholic priest, who worked seven years on it with a team of 200 amateur actors, scientists, technical staff, professors, doctors, teachers, social activists, farmers, atheists, students, media persons, priests and religious sisters. They visited 10 states including the north-eastern part of India. Ankit Sharma, a Hindu young man, acted as Jesus. Over 80% of the team were ‘friends of Jesus’. ‘Christayan’ has an eastern flavor with Indian socio-cultural backgrounds and aesthetics interwoven with various genres of Indian music by some of the best Asian singers and musicians of our time. Father George wrote the script, lyrics and also supervised makeup and costumes. He was a missionary in the interior villages of the state, and believes ‘Jesus, the living and loving God, is present with us and within us.’
Praise: God for this film; may it spread throughout India. May peoples' spiritual eyes be opened to see Jesus the Son of the Living God. (Ps.24:5)
More: http://persecutedchurch.info/2012/12/05/six-hour-long-hindi-film-on-jesus-released/
Survey of deaths in police custody
The total deaths of people in police custody or following contact with the police in England and Wales since 1990 is 955 and all deaths including pursuit and shooting is 1,447 according to research carried out by INQUEST(United Campaigns for Justice and Accountability) The Human Rights Act guarantees everyone the right to life. In practice this is interpreted as requiring the state to investigate deaths linked to the authorities and hold accountable those responsible for unlawful killings. In spite of this guarantee it has proved almost impossible to hold anyone accountable. No police officer has been convicted of manslaughter for a crime committed while on duty since 1986, though since then hundreds have died in police custody or after contact with the police. Time and again, the Crown Prosecution Service has been unwilling to prosecute police officers, and in only one case, in 1969, has a police officer been convicted. See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/19/simon-harwood-police-officer-not-guilty
Pray: that authorities would honour their ‘duty to protect’ people in their custody, pray also for a ‘much discussed’ national enquiry into these statistics to be a reality in 2013. May all that is hidden be revealed. (Ps.103:6)
More: http://inquest.gn.apc.org/website/statistics/deaths-in-police-custody
Liverpool Care Pathway – nine points to consider
The Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF) has nine key points it wants the Government to consider in its recently announced review of the controversial Liverpool Care Pathway. It suggests that only those who are in the last few days of life should be placed on the LCP and that placing someone on the LCP should be discussed with the relative or carer. Latest figures suggest that around 130,000 people a year are dying on the LCP, amounting to about a third of annual deaths in the UK. Writing in a review for CMF’s Journal, Dr Jeff Stephenson, a Devon-based consultant in palliative care says: ‘The LCP represents a pragmatic and effective response to some of the suffering experienced by many in the last days of life. There is always potential for misuse and abuse and there are undoubtedly instances where this occurs.’
Pray: that the CMF’s points will be considered seriously in the coming review. (Lev.19:32)
Young 'cannot cope with daily life'
One in 10 young people feel they cannot cope with day-to-day life - with those not in work, education or training more than twice as likely to feel this way - according to a Prince's Trust survey. The annual Youth Index report questioned 2,136 16 to 25-year-olds. A total of 27% of respondents in work feel down or depressed always or often, compared with 48% who were not in education, employment or training. It also found 22% did not have someone to talk to about their problems. The 2012 report discovered 52% of so-called NEETs said they often or always felt depressed. The index, now in its fifth year, gauges young people's happiness across a range of areas, from family life to physical and mental health. Despite the pressures many are facing, it only shows relatively slight changes in overall confidence and happiness amongst young people, says BBC social affairs correspondent Alison Holt.
Pray: that our young people will not succumb to the pressures of this current time.
France: Need for revival
Evangelical Christian believers account for only .8% of the population. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia (1.5% and .9%) have more Evangelicals per capita. Church attendance is one of the lowest in Europe (6-8%). 80% of French people have never owned or even seen a Bible. There are approximately 50,000 full-time practitioners of occult arts (tarot, fortune telling, psychic healing, etc) who easily outnumber the 35,000 full-time Christian workers in France. Muslims make up approx 10% of France’s population - the highest percentage in any European country. (Source: Operation World) Secularization has become a movement in France whose sole objective is to confine faith and its expression to the private sphere. But light that shines where it is the darkest shines the brightest.
Pray: for the Kingdom of God to mature and produce fruit in France in 2013. (Ps.85:6)
More: http://www.prayforfrance.org/whyfrance
France: Need for revival
Evangelical Christian believers account for only .8% of the population. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia (1.5% and .9%) have more Evangelicals per capita. Church attendance is one of the lowest in Europe (6-8%). 80% of French people have never owned or even seen a Bible. There are approximately 50,000 full-time practitioners of occult arts (tarot, fortune telling, psychic healing, etc) who easily outnumber the 35,000 full-time Christian workers in France. Muslims make up approx 10% of France’s population - the highest percentage in any European country. (Source: Operation World) Secularization has become a movement in France whose sole objective is to confine faith and its expression to the private sphere. But light that shines where it is the darkest shines the brightest.
Pray: for the Kingdom of God to mature and produce fruit in France in 2013. (Ps.85:6)
More: http://www.prayforfrance.org/whyfrance
Belgium: Considering extending euthanasia law to children
Belgium is considering allowing children and Alzheimer’s sufferers to ask to be euthanized. The proposed changes to the country’s decade-old law were submitted to Parliament on Tuesday by the Socialist Party. The draft legislation calls for ‘the law to be extended to minors if they are capable of discernment or affected by an incurable illness or suffering that we cannot alleviate’. Belgium was the second country in the world after the Netherlands to legalise euthanasia, but it applies to people over the age of 18. The European Institute of Bioethics has already criticised the current law in Belgium, in a report reviewing ten years of euthanasia in the country. Dr Peter Saunders, director of campaign group Care not Killing, warned in response to the report: ‘The lessons are clear. Once you relax the law on euthanasia or assisted suicide steady extension will follow as night follows day.’
Pray: that the Care not Killing response be listened to and these proposed changes would not be accepted. (Ps.119:126)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/belgium-considering-extending-euthanasia-law-to-children/
Belgium: Considering extending euthanasia law to children
Belgium is considering allowing children and Alzheimer’s sufferers to ask to be euthanized. The proposed changes to the country’s decade-old law were submitted to Parliament on Tuesday by the Socialist Party. The draft legislation calls for ‘the law to be extended to minors if they are capable of discernment or affected by an incurable illness or suffering that we cannot alleviate’. Belgium was the second country in the world after the Netherlands to legalise euthanasia, but it applies to people over the age of 18. The European Institute of Bioethics has already criticised the current law in Belgium, in a report reviewing ten years of euthanasia in the country. Dr Peter Saunders, director of campaign group Care not Killing, warned in response to the report: ‘The lessons are clear. Once you relax the law on euthanasia or assisted suicide steady extension will follow as night follows day.’
Pray: that the Care not Killing response be listened to and these proposed changes would not be accepted. (Ps.119:126)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/belgium-considering-extending-euthanasia-law-to-children/
NIGERIA: 36 killed over Christmas
Attackers stormed a church in Kyachi village, Chibok, and shot 15 people on Sunday in the latest violence against Christians. Nigeria’s military downplayed the incident, but the official who spoke of the attack is the regional coordinator for the country’s National Emergency Management Agency. The attack followed violence on Friday when attackers slit the throats of 15 Christians in a pre-dawn raid in Musari, also in the north-east. Musari and Chibok are located in Nigeria’s Borno state, where Boko Haram has been based. During a Christmas Eve service gunmen killed six people in north-eastern Yobe state, then they set the building ablaze. Violence linked to Boko Haram’s insurgency in northern and central Nigeria is believed to have left some 3,000 people dead since 2009. While the violence has been severe in certain areas this Christmas season, it has been less bloody than in 2011.
Pray: for President Goodluck Jonathan as he attempts to end Boko Haram tyranny, pray also for the Church to be strengthened and encouraged during 2013. (Ps.68:28)
More: http://dawn.com/2013/01/01/attackers-kill-15-at-nigerian-church-rescue-official/
Pakistan: Charity workers killed
Two health workers and five teachers were shot dead in north-west Pakistan on January 1st. They were all Pakistani citizens and were attacked near a school and clinic, specializing in maternal health. Militants targeting a vaccination programme are suspected. In December a series of attacks killed nine health workers employed in a national polio vaccination drive. Pakistani Taliban have long denounced the vaccination drive as Western plots to gather intelligence or to sterilize Muslim children. The killings have prompted the UN children's agency and the World Health Organization to suspend work on polio campaigns in Pakistan. Pakistan is the only country where there is public opposition to immunization programmes and health workers are paying a heavy price for their efforts. Thousands of them hit the streets every couple of months to immunize children across the country and they do it despite a growing risk to their lives.
Pray: the clerics using FM channels to decry health programmes would stop challenging and resisting those trying to help the poor and sick in deprived areas; may polio be eradicated from Pakistan.
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20880948