China: Labour camps
China's system of labour camps, established in the 1950's, have been used for decades to imprison 'dissidents' for up to three years without trial. Christian pastors and members of un-registered house churches have been sentenced to these camps in the past with little or no trial. One such pastor was the deputy director of the Chinese House Church Alliance who spent six months there in 2011. On January 8th 2013 government critics said they remain sceptical that the government will improve standards within the justice system, following an official announcement on the 7th that labour camps would be overhauled. An underground Catholic Bishop who wishes to be quoted anonymously said, 'The end of re-education through labour would make little difference to religious freedom in China.
Pray: that this step towards religious freedom in China would turn out to be the first of many in the same direction. (Jer.34:17a)
Syria: A recent communication
We have been in a village, surrounded by the enemy army (The Free Syrian Army) for many days. We have been without food for these days, and our women have been raped by enemy soldiers. We have had one bright spot - for some reason, the enemy cannot hit us with bullets. When we have fled, being shot at, we are always amazed at the way the bullets have flown past us without hitting any of us. We credit this to the protection from above!' They were looking at fleeing again, possibly returning to a refugee camp, when the leader had a dream. In the dream the Lord told him, 'All the fighting is for you, not against you. This is to your advantage, don't flee.' He believes that the Lord is directing them to stay to gather in a very large harvest. They already have a very large harvest, so what they could gather would be even more amazing!
Pray: for courage, faith, protection and resilience in the face of increasingly dire conditions of a war within a war. (Ps.5:11)
More: http://cryoutnow.org/
Sudan: Christians evacuated
Barnabas Fund has transported over 2,300 Christians from Sudan since the start of its rescue mission four months ago. The Christians are being evacuated because of increasing hostility in the majority-Muslim country. After South Sudan gained independence in 2011, the largely Christian Southerners living in Sudan lost their citizenship rights and were ordered to leave. There is little sign of conditions improving as Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has vowed to bring in a fully Islamic constitution and strengthen Sharia law. The Christians in the Barnabas evacuation programme are being taken to South Sudan, which is largely Christian. The evacuees, who include women and children, are being transported by bus in partnership with Africa Inland Church Sudan. There are plans to rescue another 1,500 from Sudan. Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund, said: ‘It has been wonderful to see the Lord’s hand at work in the Exodus mission.’
Pray: that God will continue to bless this work so that many more Christian women and children trapped in Sudan can be helped to safety. (Ps.34:22)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christians.evacuated.from.sudan/31398.htm
Cuba: Sharp increase in religious freedom violations
2012 saw a dramatic increase in violations of religious freedoms in Cuba, says Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). The Cuban government has reportedly cracked down on religious organisations and believers in the last year. CSW documented 120 reported cases of religious freedom in 2012, up from a total of 30 in 2011. The number does not include those arrested and detained during Pope Benedict XVI's visit last March - estimated at 200. Church leaders across Cuba reported ongoing violations in the final weeks of December. An unregistered Protestant church affiliated with the Apostolic Movement in Camaguey was threatened with demolition on 29 December. The following day, nine women affiliated with the Ladies in White movement in Holguin were arrested in the early hours of the morning and held in prison until Sunday morning Mass had ended. The crackdown has affected mainly Roman Catholic churches, but other denominations have also been hit.
Pray: that the Lord will protect and bless His church and people. (Gal.5:1)
The Middle East has a long history with Christianity as its birthplace. Now, many Christians are leaving the region due to the growing instability there. The five families of churches represent about 13 to 15 million Christians (approximately 9 million residing in the Middle East)*
1. The Oriental Orthodox churches, which includes the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt, the Armenian Apostolic Church living in various Arab countries, and the Syrian Orthodox Church. Each is fully self-governing, though they are in communion with one another.
2. They Byzantine Orthodox churches, often referred to as the Byzantine Orthodox Churches or Eastern or Greek Orthodox. These churches are linked in doctrine, liturgy and canon law with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul (formerly Byzantium or Constantinople) and belong, therefore, to the wider family of Orthodox churches in Russia, eastern Europe and elsewhere.
3. The Catholic churches of the Middle East. These churches all accept the supreme ecclesiastical authority of the Pope and the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Only a small percentage of them are Roman or Latin Catholics. Most can be grouped together as Eastern-rite Catholic churches. The largest of these is the Maronite Church in Lebanon.
4. Assyrian Church of the East is one of the most self-contained of the Middle East churches. It is sometimes called the Church of the “East Syrians” or the Church of Persia. It exists in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.
5. The Anglican, Lutheran, and Protestant churches. Like the Eastern-rite Catholic churches, these churches came into being as a result of Western missionary activitiy in the Middle east in modern history. Many new independent and denominational groups have joined this grouping of churches in the Middle East as recently as the 19th century.
*Information provided by Dr. Miltiades B. Efthimiou, Protopresbyter, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople care of Leonard Rodgers of Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding.
Please pray our brothers and sisters in Christ to be strengthened and encouraged in their lives and in the fulfillment of the mission the Lord has given them to bear witness to the majority of their region who are from Islamic background and belief. It will take great courage, love and perseverance to do this.
Today, a Christian leader from Jordan called to ask us to pray for his nation, which is being overwhelmed by 300,000 refugees from Syria. Iraqi and Palestinian refugees were already camped there for years. The new refugees need more food, clothing and heaters in the winter cold. Nearly 200,000 Syrian refugees are registered in Lebanon, more than 153,000 in Turkey, 69,300 in Iraq, 13,000 in Egypt, and upwards of 5,000 in North Africa, according to the United Nations, which expects their number to rise to 1.1 million by June if the war continues.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jan-17/202575-jordan-seeking-aid-boost-for-syrian-refugees.ashx#ixzz2IMAulMyb
(The Daily Star: Lebanon News: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
Please pray for them and for the provision of these needs by the international community through the government, the U.N., humanitarian agencies. Pray also that many of them will come to the knowledge of the Lord during this difficult ordeal for them and their nation. May a just peace and order be restored to Syria soon!
“To pray unceasingly is to think, live and speak in the presence of God…Prayer is an outward, careful attentiveness to the One who invites us to unceasing conversation.” -Henri Nouwen
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, our partners in prayer throughout the world,
Hope you are experiencing a joyful and blessed New Year. It is time to update you on some key things that are happening in the international prayer movement and to ask if you could please intercede with us concerning these initiatives.
Here are a few prayer concerns for 2013 we would appreciate your keeping in mind. Will you join us in seeking the Lord for these things?:
1) God’s peace, reconciliation and healing for the Middle East region - Please continue to pray for His peace and healing of those Middle East nations that are now in conflict and turmoil. Over the last 100 years, there have been scores of conflicts in this region, a land of ancient cultures, beautiful peoples and their cultures, but tragically, so often torn by terrible divisions, hatreds and wars.
During the next three weeks, accompanied by a colleague or two here and there, I will be meeting with senior church leaders in four countries of that region about developing a regional strategic prayer focus that will connect people of prayer across the region and Christian traditions, with the support of those who can share this burden of concern from around the world. We will also confer with Middle Eastern leaders about the World Prayer Coalition described below. Please pray for hearts and doors to open and for His wisdom and guidance to know how best to carry out such a united prayer focus during 2013.
2) World Prayer Coalition - The Global Christian Forum as well as some Catholic and Orthodox leaders have been considering our proposal to unite praying believers of all traditions in prayer for our world and in answer to Jesus’ prayer of John 17 for the unity of His Body that will result in the world believing that the Father sent Him. This initiative was inspired by the World Prayer Assembly which saw Christians from Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox backgrounds praying together for His Church and its mission and our world. It is such a daunting effort to bring together such diverse traditions and denominations to pray in one accord! How we need your prayer support! Pray that the Spirit of the Lord will touch these leaders and give them a heart to engage with us in the IPC and WPA. Such joint prayer, with increasingly united hearts among God’s people, could change the atmosphere of our world for great good, enabling many other Kingdom initiatives to go forward.
3) Afghanistan-Pakistan Prayer Focus for 2013 - in 2014, the Coalition forces will pull out of Afghanistan. It is likely the violent Taliban rebel movement will be able to gain control of that nation and with other Islamic radicals also subvert Pakistan which has nuclear weapons that could threaten India, the West and other parts of our world. The IPC is launching a year-long prayer focus, asking many around the world to pray for the dissolving of the Taliban and the restoration of protection and peace for these two broken yet strategic nations. Please see the fuller article below and pray with us for a massive response by the Body of Christ and for His deliverance of both countries from the threat of the Taliban and radical Islam.
4) United Nations Prayer Initiative - Several organizations have been in talks about cooperating to put on another international prayer initiative for the UN, which dearly needs our prayers. We have decided to do this November 18-20 of this year and to focus on “Children and Youth: Investing in the Future” in connection with the UN Universal Children’s Day (Nov. 20). Venue will be the United Nations in New York City. Connected with the UN initiative, there will also be a third global Children in Prayer consultation in New York, November 16-18. The two will fit well together.
Please pray for His favor with UN officials and ambassadors as planning team colleagues begin to approach them now; for strong and wide international participation by Christian NGOs working with children and youth; as well as by prayer leaders and child and youth leaders worldwide; and for our planning team to work in a united and effective way together.
Thanks so much for your partnership in this way. Your support in prayer is a great blessing and help!
All His best for 2013
Study shows 1.4 million falling behind with rent or mortgage payments
A new YouGov survey for the housing and homelessness charity Shelter reveals that 1.4 million people in Britain are falling behind with their rent or mortgage payments. The number of people struggling to pay their rent or mortgage each month has increased by 44 per cent over the past year, to 7.8 million people. The research also reveals that over the past year almost a million people used a payday loan to help pay their rent or mortgage and 2.8 million people used an unauthorised overdraft. Of those, 10 per cent did so every month. With austerity measures set to affect even more families this year, Shelter is urging anyone struggling with their housing costs to visit their free, online advice pages, to avoid putting their home at risk. The charity is also warning of the dangers of turning to short-term, high interest credit as a way to help meet housing costs.
Pray: for all those who find themselves under severe financial pressure and that they will receive good advice and support. (Ps.121:1-2)
More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17736
NHS reforms to be recommended by report into Stafford Hospital
Wide-ranging reforms of the National Health Service will be recommended by a public inquiry into serious failings of care at Stafford Hospital. The £11 million review of what went wrong at Stafford Hospital between January 2005 and March 2009 will suggest hospitals that cover up mistakes by doctors and poor treatment of patients should face fines and possible closure, the Sunday Times said. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, said that the NHS needed a "change of culture. Patients must never be treated as numbers but as human beings, indeed human beings at their frailest and most vulnerable," he wrote. "A culture of targets and performance management defined the NHS under Labour - with the unintended and tragic consequence that organisations cared more about meeting top down targets than focusing on the needs of patients."
Pray: for all NHS staff most of whom work hard and professionally. Where deficiencies arise pray that they can be addressed quickly. (Rev.21:4)
More: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/wideranging-nhs-reforms-to-be-recommended-by-report-into-scandalhit-stafford-hospital-8439947.html
UK among worst nations for family breakdown
The UK has one of the highest levels of family breakdown in the developed world, a new league table shows. Family campaigners called it an “epidemic” and said it is high time “timid politicians” took action to back marriage and stop playing politics. Only Belgium, Estonia and Latvia have a higher level of broken families than the UK, according to a survey of 30 developed nations. The survey was carried out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Just 68.9 per cent of children live with both parents in the UK, compared to an average of 84 per cent in the 30 nations surveyed by OECD. Christian Guy, of the Centre for Social Justice, said: “Timid politicians are becoming numb to Britain’s sky-high family breakdown rates. “Yet, as these OECD figures show, broken families are not some inevitable feature of modern society or social progress.
Pray: for greater support to encourage stability in family life in the UK. (1Tim.5:8)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/uk-among-worst-nations-for-family-breakdown/