Men 'plied girls with drink and drugs for sex'
A group of 11 men plied girls as young as 13 with drink and drugs so they could use them for sex, a court has heard. The offences are said to have happened in and around Rochdale, Greater Manchester, in 2008 and 2009. Liverpool Crown Court heard how the men, aged between 22 and 59 and from Oldham and Rochdale, ‘acted together to sexually exploit the girls’. All deny conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child under 16. Rachel Smith, opening the case for the prosecution, said: ‘No child should be exploited as these girls say they were.’ The Court heard that some of the girls were raped and physically assaulted and some were forced to have sex with ‘several men in a day, several times a week’. Miss Smith said the girls were given alcohol, food and money in return for sex and there were times when violence was used. The Court was told that some of the defendants also took payments from other men to whom they supplied the girls for sex.
Pray: that the authorities and the justice system would come down hard on the perpetrators of this crime. (Ps.96:13)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-17117530
Lent challenge to demonstrate generosity
Stewardship is inviting Christians to do their bit in changing the world this Lent. The charity is asking Christians to take up the 40acts challenge and create a movement of generosity. The challenge is to ‘do Lent generously’ this year by taking part in 40 acts of generosity over 40 days, some of which might focus on community engagement, the environment, or stepping out from personal comfort zones. Ideas can be big and small, from inviting a neighbour to church or sending a thank you note, or picking up litter around the neighbourhood. Debbie Wright, Stewardship’s Head of Content explains: ‘Lent marks a pivotal point in the history of the Church, when Jesus prepared to give himself up as a sacrifice for all mankind. Traditionally we mark Lent by giving something up, but what if it could be more than that? What if Lent was a preparation for a lifetime of big-heartedness?’
Pray: that Church would not just ‘do Lent generously’ but make it a lifestyle change. (Dt.15:10)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/lent.challenge.to.demonstrate.generosity/29334.htm
Protests made against Mental Health cuts
Thousands of residents in Kingston upon Thames will be affected by cuts in provision for mental health patients by Kingston Council and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, according to local campaigners in the Christian Peoples Alliance party (CPA). The CPA is warning that pressure on individuals from the economic recession and stagnant jobs' market could lead to additional demands on existing services, not fewer. It has written to South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust - which delivers care at Tolworth Hospital - demanding guarantees that inpatient care will continue to be provided in the borough, following news that it is to end at Tolworth. Last year, Kingston Hospital said it was cutting £600,000 from its mental health budget. Next week, Kingston's Budget Council will consider making their own cuts this year and next of over £240,000, amounting to nearly 8 per cent of its present budget for mental health social care services.
Pray: for the situation within the NHS with all the proposed cuts. Pray that wisdom would be the guide over all the decisions. (Jas.1:5)
'Peace legacy' for Olympics sought by faith groups
Faith leaders and community groups in London are promoting 'One Hundred Days of Peace', an initiative to develop a ‘peace legacy’ for the London Olympic Games in 2012. Churches, schools and colleges, together with a coalition called London Citizens that includes more than 300 faith and community groups, are organising ecumenical programmes of prayer and a range of activities linked to the Olympics to promote peace. These include a campaign called City Safe, which aims to build a network between shops and businesses across London to fight crime. The tradition of an Olympics truce was established in 9th century BC to enable competitors and spectators to travel safely to and from the games through ancient Greece's warring city-states. The International Olympic Committee decided to revive the ancient concept of the Olympic truce with the view to protecting the interests of the athletes and sport in general, and to encourage the search for peaceful and diplomatic solutions to conflicts around the world.
Pray: for One Hundred days of peace and that the initiative will have an enduring legacy. (Ps.34:14)
More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16299
Seek God for the City is designed to empower entire churches and even citywide movements to unite their prayers for a special 40-day season. Now the children’s companion guide is available—providing a way to equip children to pray along with each other and their families. The kids’ version of Seek God for the City 2012 is available as a free downloadable PDF file. You have permission to photocopy all that you need. Find it online at www.waymakers.org/childrens-guide.html.
Check out the new pages on our website. www.waymakers.org/childrens-guide.html. You’ll see a short helpful video by Trudy Landis, the author of the kids’ prayers. There are other practical ideas for Sunday School teachers and parents to help young minds learn to express prayers of hope for their community.
Steve Hawthorne, Director
WayMakers
P.S. Be sure you have plenty of booklets for the adults. Our supply of Seek God for the City 2012 is moving rapidly. It’s not too late to get copies of the English and/or Spanish booklets. Call us today 800-264-5214, or find us online at www.waymakers.org/seek-god-for-the-city.html.
Please keep praying for the WPA! Your prayer support will be all-important to the planning of this event which is intended to be a “new paradigm” for an international congress—carried out Acts 13-style—incorporating listening to God, united prayer, and strategic implementation of world-impacting action that proceeds out of that encounter with the Lord and one another.
Please pray that those from every nation God is calling to take part in Jakarta will be able to be with us and for that the resources for them and the Assembly itself will flow in abundance.
SUMMARY: A group of about 200 al-Qaeda terrorists has taken control of Rada, a city just 130 kilometers south of Yemen's capital. Opposition leaders have accused President Saleh of allowing al-Qaeda to advance in order to convince the public that he should remain in office. Saleh is supposed to step down in February.
“Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (a terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaeda) seized the Yemeni city of Rada on January 16, 2012. Though the militants have controlled a number of towns in the south, this is the closest they have come to the capital of Sana'a. According to "The Australian," "Many sleeper cells of the terror network are thought to be located" in this area.
According to ABC News, "Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula now controls seven population centers in Southern Yemen."
PRAY FOR:
• Ask the Lord to raise up leaders who will govern with integrity and in the fear of the Lord. (The Bible, Daniel 2:21)
• Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to be defeated. Pray for the salvation of leaders and members. (The Bible, 1 Timothy 2:1-4)
• The people of Yemen to be set free from the bondage of Islam. Pray for the Lord to open their hearts and minds so they will know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. (The Bible, II Corinthians 4:3,4)
• This time of unrest to become an open door for the Gospel. Pray for Yemenis to be receptive to the Good News of Jesus Christ. (The Bible, Roman 1:16)
The Kingdom of God to come to Yemen with miracles, signs, wonders, dreams, and visions. (The Bible, Acts 2:17)”
Ukraine: Church restoration reverses communist changes
A church in the Ukraine that Soviet authorities once seized for use as a ‘monument of communism’ will once again be a place for Christian worship after renovations removed a neo-classical façade erected to disguise its nature, reports Catholic News Agency. ‘The church does not look like a place of worship. It wears a mask, as it were. It is in disguise. We want to take away this mask,’ Fr Grzegorz Romanowicz, the Franciscan Capuchin provincial in the Ukraine, told the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. ‘Until now, many people do not even recognize the building as a church from the outside.’ Since 1949 the church was used as a library, a boxing hall and offices. Soviet authorities erected the façade in 1949 to hide the building’s origin as a church. That façade is set to be removed later in February.
Praise: God for this transformation from secular to Christian use. God is restoring His Church. (2Cor.3:11)
More: http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue15465.html
Ukraine: Church restoration reverses communist changes
A church in the Ukraine that Soviet authorities once seized for use as a ‘monument of communism’ will once again be a place for Christian worship after renovations removed a neo-classical façade erected to disguise its nature, reports Catholic News Agency. ‘The church does not look like a place of worship. It wears a mask, as it were. It is in disguise. We want to take away this mask,’ Fr Grzegorz Romanowicz, the Franciscan Capuchin provincial in the Ukraine, told the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. ‘Until now, many people do not even recognize the building as a church from the outside.’ Since 1949 the church was used as a library, a boxing hall and offices. Soviet authorities erected the façade in 1949 to hide the building’s origin as a church. That façade is set to be removed later in February.
Praise: God for this transformation from secular to Christian use. God is restoring His Church. (2Cor.3:11)
More: http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue15465.html
Egypt: Christian woman nominated for Peace Prize
Coptic Christian woman and ministry leader, affectionately known as ‘Mama Maggie Gobran’ was nominated recently for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Mama Maggie, according to the Christian Post report, Gorban was nominated by several US Congressmen for her benevolent work with Cairo’s poorest-of-the-poor who live in garbage slums. If that sounds a bit reminiscent of Mother Teresa in the slums of Calcutta, Gorban has actually been called the ‘Mother Teresa of Cairo’ but the locals who love her know her as ‘Mama Maggie.’ Gobran founded Stephen’s Children, a ministry that helps those families, regardless of whether they are Christian or Muslim. A letter to the Norwegian Peace Committee read in part, ‘It is through her deep religious and moral commitment that Mama Maggie has succeeded in creating an organization that serves the most poor, desperate, and vulnerable population of Egypt’.
Praise: God for Mama Maggie and the powerful testimony of her service to the vulnerable. (1Jn.5:11)
More: http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art.html?ID=9817