What began five years ago as a peaceful uprising by Syrians complaining about high unemployment, corruption, lack of political freedom and a state repression under President Bashar al-Assad has now left 250,000+ dead. A key factor in the escalation of violence has been intervention by regional and world powers. The military, financial and political support for government and opposition by Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, USA and the UK has contributed directly to the intensification and continuation of the fighting, which has turned Syria into a battleground. The UK has sent £100m through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund for non-humanitarian purposes, and heavily-armed members of the SAS have been photographed on patrol inside Syria. British special forces, operating from Jordan, have been working since the spring with the Syrian rebels to open a new southern front against IS. See:

As the attacks on Mosul intensify, concerns mount over the scale of potential civilian injuries or deaths. The Red Cross said that they are prepared for chemical weapons being used. 200,000 civilians are expected to be displaced in the early weeks of the campaign, possibly the largest humanitarian operation this year. A total of eleven camps, to provide shelter for 120,000, will be ready soon. On Wednesday, Iraqi forces advanced further and retook Qaraqosh, a majority-Christian town captured by IS in 2014: at that time the expulsion of its residents sparked concern over the future of Christianity in the region. The UN reported that thousands of Mosul residents were trafficked to Syria’s Al Hol refugee camp. Refugees will use Al Hol as a staging-post before moving back across the border to a safe Iraq location. Al Hol will eventually take up to 50,000 people. The camp currently has just 16 latrines and no clean water. See:

The high-end estimate for the number of Christians killed for their faith in the world every year, which comes from the Centre for the Study of Global Christianity, is around 100,000. The Global Council for Indian Christians, a largely Protestant body in India, estimates for the last decade that there has been an average of one violent assault on a Christian in their country every other day. It also condemned a recent attempt by radical Hindus to storm the United Theological College in Bangalore, and all other acts of violence against Christian institutions. In Indonesia on 18 October it was reported that a Muslim woman was flogged 23 times in the province of Aceh for standing too close to her boyfriend. She was one of 13 people flogged recently for breaking Sharia law in Aceh. Floggings have spiked in the province.

Scripture and the Church’s history give us many examples of the great impact when a whole community undertakes prayer and fasting together. All Christians everywhere are invited to unite for a month of prayer and fasting in parishes, schools and homes across Australia during the month of October 2016. It is hoped that this time of national conversation on the subject of marriage will be used to encourage everyone to pray for the well-being of marriages and families, and in a particular way for people who are ‘same-sex attracted’ or ‘gender-questioning’ to think deeply. Resources for the month include a parish and school resource kit, bulletin clips and prayers for each Sunday, a poster, prayer cards, and a downloadable resource kit.

UNESCO, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, at its executive board meeting in Paris passed a Palestinian-backed measure with 24 votes in favour, 6 against and 26 abstentions, referring to the Temple Mount as Al Haram Al Sharif (the Islamic name) without mentioning that it is the holiest site in Judaism. It also used the term Buraq Plaza for the Western Wall Plaza, denying the Jewish connection to the site. Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs is called al-Haram al-Ibrahimi, and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem called the Bilal ibn Rabah Mosque. Israel’s delegate to UNESCO said, ‘Israel and the Jewish people don’t require UNESCO’s or any other country’s confirmation of the special connection between the Jewish people and the State of Israel. There is no connection of another people to another place in the world that comes close to the strength and depth of our connection to Jerusalem from a religious, historical and national perspective.’

Since 1987 more than 1,300 people in Pakistan have been charged with blasphemy, with the number of accusations in a single year rising to over a hundred in 2014. A disproportionate number of those accused are Christians. A lawyer, a judge and two leading politicians have been assassinated for taking a stand against the blasphemy laws. Aasia Bibi's appeal against her death sentence for apostasy has been adjourned again, following the decision of a leading judge to withdraw from the trial on the grounds of conflict of interest. The blasphemy laws are being used to fuel the flames of intolerance and must be repealed but it will take immense courage to withstand intimidation and release Aasia Bibi - a fact underlined by the large number of riot police at the court. 150 Muslim clerics have issued a fatwa warning the government not to release Bibi, and threatening to kill anyone who helped any person accused of blasphemy.

Low numbers of young people voting in the recent general election (7 October) reflect their lack of interest in the country’s politics. Unusually for the Arab world, Moroccan elections have the merit of not being entirely predictable because the 'dirty tricks' department of the Ministry of Interior has reined in its activities in recent years. King Mohammed VI is understood to want a genuine political arena to develop, in order to balance, if not counterbalance, the ultimate political authority which he still enjoys. The 2011 general election victory of the Islamist-led government of the Party for Justice and Development (PJD) was seen as an experiment in affording greater executive leeway to a popularly elected party. 43% of eligible voters participated in last week’s election but many young voters did not participate, seeing little merit in the elite club of political interest groups and lobbies constituting most of the thirty political parties that contested the ballot.

This story was recently told by David Platt in Tennessee. A southeast Asian believer trained by Southern Baptist missionaries began sharing the Gospel in a village that previously was totally unreached. The villagers responded attentively, but then the village leader died, and they superstitiously believed his death was caused by evil spirits upset by Christian activities. Discouraged by the turnaround, the Christians went to express their condolences at the leader’s house. Standing over the fallen leader, they prayed that God would show His mercy to the people in the village, and show His glory and His love to them. As they were praying the man coughed! Then he started breathing once more. They shared the Gospel, people started coming to faith in Christ, and the villagers starting burning their idols. Platt acknowledged that there is no medical evidence to verify the resurrection, but said, ‘I do know at villages like this, they know how to recognise death.’

More than 40,000 people from all over the world tuned in to watch Anglican church services in the last year as part of an initiative to open up worship via social media. Many types of liturgy, from traditional carols to a service in a tent at Glastonbury Festival, were watched on mobile phones, laptops and tablets as part of a ChurchLive scheme. A total of 53 churches representing diverse styles streamed services via Twitter app Periscope in a move to provide a first taste of worship, prayer and preaching for people unfamiliar with the Church of England. More traditional worship broadcasts included a carol service at St Martin-in-the-Fields church, London, while at St George's, Leeds, a group were baptised in the middle of a modern style of liturgy featuring drums and an electric guitar.

What is God’s plan in uncertainty? He wants His people to stand together and pray. As we pray and praise, situations change. This is a crucial time for the UK: a time of tension, pressure and spiritual opportunity. God wants to bless our nation and, through us, the world, so we need to get ready. There is an opportunity on Saturday to stand with others to worship the King of kings and intercede for our schools, towns and cities to be flooded with God’s purposes and plans: plans beyond our imagination, purposes that He intends for our lives. Come tomorrow to the International Convention Centre in Birmingham on Saturday, from 2:00pm to 6:30pm, to pray for God’s deep blessings of unity, mercy, and reconciliation. You will be standing with key organisations and thousands of Christians asking for an extraordinary move of the Gospel to set people free and change lives.  If you can’t come, why not join us in prayer where you are?