Ukraine: Arms withdrawal on both sides nearly complete, Kiev says
Both Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels have pulled back most of their heavy artillery from the front line in accordance with a February ceasefire deal, Ukraine’s president said late Monday, amid reports of fresh clashes in the east. However Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko told a state broadcaster that some heavy weaponry remains in place at the airport in the rebel-held city of Donetsk. World leaders hope the withdrawal of heavy weapons as agreed at high-level peace talks last month will help bring a definitive end to the conflict, which the UN estimates has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced almost 1.8 million. The pullback is being overseen by hundreds of monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which has in the past cited a lack of cooperation on both sides. Poroshenko said in his interview that exchanges of artillery and rocket fire have largely stopped along the 485-kilometre (300-mile) front.
Alpha in Kenya sees huge growth thanks to Compassion partnership
More than 15,000 Kenyan young people have undertaken the Alpha course, thanks to a unique partnership between Alpha and Compassion International. Compassion, which engages in anti-poverty and educational programmes through child sponsorship, partners with local evangelical churches in 26 countries around the world. It aims to offer children and young people a ‘holistic’ curriculum which includes their physical, spiritual, socio-emotional and intellectual development. Alpha's evangelistic programme, founded at Holy Trinity Brompton and based on talks on Christian basics and small group discussions over a meal, has been widely used in the UK and elsewhere. A Compassion report on its partnership with Alpha in Kenya says the Alpha Youth course helps young people address doubts about their faith in a supportive setting. Compassion Kenya Director, Joel Macharia, says: ‘It attempts to answer the questions and to resolve the conflicts between individual beliefs and sound biblical teachings that the individual takes personal responsibility for his or her beliefs and feelings.’
Is China ready to send out missionaries?
The past decade has seen a groundswell of passion among Christians in China to pursue cross-cultural ministry. A corresponding wave of activity among outside organizations and churches has aimed at equipping China's church for this task. Much of this activity has focused on training individual workers and establishing the ‘highway’ by which they might make their way to countries neighbouring China and beyond. A closer look at the current movement suggests that, while these efforts are an important part of the overall equation, there are other, perhaps more fundamental, pieces that need to be put in place in order for a sustained sending effort to emerge. The growth of mature sending movement will take time. Some have suggested that internships with international agencies may be a wise intermediate step for equipping the future leaders of this movement.
Alpha in Kenya sees huge growth thanks to Compassion partnership
More than 15,000 Kenyan young people have undertaken the Alpha course, thanks to a unique partnership between Alpha and Compassion International. Compassion, which engages in anti-poverty and educational programmes through child sponsorship, partners with local evangelical churches in 26 countries around the world. It aims to offer children and young people a ‘holistic’ curriculum which includes their physical, spiritual, socio-emotional and intellectual development. Alpha's evangelistic programme, founded at Holy Trinity Brompton and based on talks on Christian basics and small group discussions over a meal, has been widely used in the UK and elsewhere. A Compassion report on its partnership with Alpha in Kenya says the Alpha Youth course helps young people address doubts about their faith in a supportive setting. Compassion Kenya Director, Joel Macharia, says: ‘It attempts to answer the questions and to resolve the conflicts between individual beliefs and sound biblical teachings that the individual takes personal responsibility for his or her beliefs and feelings.’
Is China ready to send out missionaries?
The past decade has seen a groundswell of passion among Christians in China to pursue cross-cultural ministry. A corresponding wave of activity among outside organizations and churches has aimed at equipping China's church for this task. Much of this activity has focused on training individual workers and establishing the ‘highway’ by which they might make their way to countries neighbouring China and beyond. A closer look at the current movement suggests that, while these efforts are an important part of the overall equation, there are other, perhaps more fundamental, pieces that need to be put in place in order for a sustained sending effort to emerge. The growth of mature sending movement will take time. Some have suggested that internships with international agencies may be a wise intermediate step for equipping the future leaders of this movement.
Bishop of London proposes new 'Bishop for Church Plants' role
The Bishop of London is planning to revive a century-old episcopal see to create a new 'Bishop for Church Plants'. The Right Rev Richard Chartres plans to bring back the See of Islington, which existed briefly from 1898 to 1923. There was only ever one Bishop of Islington, the Right Rev Charles Henry Turner, who was at the same time Rector of St Andrew Undershaft. The Church Times reports that the proposal is to be considered by the Dioceses Commission. The aim is to provide additional support for the burgeoning church planting movement. The London diocese is one of the most successful in the western world in terms of growth and diversity. Besides the leadership of Bishop Chartres, this can also be attributed to the phenomenally successful Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) group of churches and the Alpha evangelisation course that originated at HTB.
Salvation Army uses viral dress to promote domestic violence campaign
A dress which went viral after viewers were split on its colours has become the focal point of the Salvation Army's campaign against domestic violence in South Africa. A photo was in the media last month in which some saw the colours white and gold and others saw blue and black. The Salvation Army's new poster features a similar dress worn by a bruised woman with the strapline 'Why is it so hard to see black and blue?'. Speaking about the advert, a spokesperson for the Salvation Army said: ‘The Salvation Army sees the devastating effects of domestic violence on women, men and children every day. We know that one in four women are victims of domestic violence in the UK: this innovative and powerful campaign by the Salvation Army highlights that domestic violence is often overlooked by society. We hope this image helps people to see the true impact of this crime.’
Children in care failed by government, say MPs
Children in care ‘get a raw deal’ and the government is not doing enough to help them, MPs have said in a report. In particular the Department for Education shows ‘alarming reluctance to play an active role’ in improving the lot of these children, say the MPs. Poor local services are too often left to ‘fester’, says the report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee. A DfE spokesman said the report ‘purposefully’ ignored ‘very real progress’ made by government. The life chances of children in care were being transformed, said the spokesman. ‘It is a fact that vulnerable children are doing better than ever’. The Department for Education is best placed to lead improvements in the quality of care but is reluctant to take on this role, only intervening after Ofsted has failed a local authority service, say the MPs. ‘The department focussed on limiting its responsibility rather than maximising opportunities for children in care,’ said the committee's chairman, Margaret Hodge.
Christian printing company takes a stand for traditional marriage
A Christian printing company in the Republic of Ireland has become the latest business to take a stand for traditional marriage, based on firmly-held religious convictions. Beulah Print & Design declined to print invitations for a gay couple’s civil partnership ceremony. The incident comes after calls by the Council of Europe for member states to support the principle of reasonable accommodation. The owners of Beulah Print said that because of their Christian faith they could not print material for John Keirans and Jonathon Brennan’s civil partnership ceremony. A statement released by the company stressed that their decision was not a personal attack on the customers, whom they had happily served for four years, but was due to their opposition to same-sex marriage. It reads: ‘We, at Beulah Print, are Bible-believing Christians who are committed to standing by our conscience and God’s Word.’
Getting married before having children boosts chances of staying together
Couples who get married before having children are over 70 per cent more likely to stay together than those who do so after marriage new research claims. Meanwhile those who start a family but never marry are almost three times as likely to split up before their children are in their mid-teens, the study by the Marriage Foundation think-tank concludes. It claims that other factors often linked to family stability, such as parents’ ages when they have children or their level of education, have only a ‘marginal’, if any, effect on their chances of staying together. Sir Paul Coleridge, the former High Court family judge who set up the foundation in 2012, said the study showed that it is a ‘myth’ that cohabitation is as stable as marriage. The group is pressing for political parties to adopt policies specifically promoting marriage in their manifestos ahead of the General Election in May.