The legacy of the Paralympics for British Armed Forces
As we watched the closing ceremony of the Paralympics with LCpl Rory Mackenzie, an Army medic who lost his leg in a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq in 2007. While addressing the 80,000 crowd, he reminded us of the huge number of severely injured service personnel who have returned from conflict. The courage and inner strength of these individuals shown through sport is inspiring.
Pray: for the many traumatised and injured British service personnel as they come to terms with life changing injures, that they may find inner peace and strength from our Almighty Father and have a new and worthwhile future in Him.
Methodist Church looks to boost evangelism
The Methodist Church has launched a national consultation on evangelism. Methodists across Britain will be asked what evangelism means to them and what they find challenging about it. The online survey will ask them what they think it means to be called by God to share the Good News and what shape evangelism should take in 21st century Britain. A consultation day will take place on 27 November at Methodist Church House in London, bringing together up to 80 Methodists from different contexts. The day will be hosted by the Rev Dr Martyn Atkins, General Secretary of the Methodist Church. He said. ‘The reality is that many Methodists are doing wonderful and creative things to share God’s love with their communities. We want to affirm that, but also help others to engage more fully with the calling we all have to make disciples of Jesus Christ.’
Pray: for the Methodist Church as it focusses on creative ways to boost evangelism. (2Th.2:14)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/methodist.church.looks.to.boost.evangelism/30632.htm
Christians pray for ‘seismic shift’ in Britain
Christians gathered in central London on Tuesday to pray for God to unite the Church and change the spiritual climate of secular Britain. It was the last prayer meeting by the organisers of the National Day of Prayer before the big event at Wembley Stadium later this month. Tens of thousands of Christians will gather at Wembley on 29 September to pray for the nation and revival in the Church. Tim Hughes, Matt Redman, Hillsong London and Graham Kendrick are among the artists leading worship on the day. Global Day of Prayer London Convener, Jonathan Oloyede, is playing a key role in the organisation of the Wembley event. He told the crowd to pray that there would be ‘no empty seats’ at Wembley. He said: ‘A seismic shift is taking place across the British Isles and if the Church unites across culture, creed, colour and class then there will be a spiritual climate change all around our nation.’ Tickets are available at www.ndopwembley.com
Pray: that this day of prayer will draw many thousands together to pray and praise giving glory to God. (Mt.6:9-10)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christians.pray.for.seismic.shift.in.britain/30637.htm
EU faces 'lost generation' of almost 8 million young people
The European Commission has indicated it is going to delve further into the employment, social and education policies of member states as it seeks to tackle the job crisis in the EU. The continued eurozone crisis, now in its third year, has seen the Commission make recommendations in policy areas that, pre-crisis, were considered an absolute taboo. OECD secretary general Angel Gurria at the same conference pointed out that for the EU to reach its 2020 goal of having 75 percent employment in the Union, then 17 million jobs will have to be created. Gurria referred to a ‘potentially lost generation’ of 7.8 million young people who neither have a job nor are in education or training. He added that policy-makers are facing a new phenomenon of ‘structural long-term unemployment’ where people are unemployed for over two years, and the longer they are unemployed, the harder it is to get a job when one is available. Employment Commissioner Laszlo Andor called it a ‘jobs crisis.’
Pray: that ways would be found to meet the needs of the many unemployed, especially the young. (Tit.3:14)
More: http://euobserver.com/economic/117458
EU faces 'lost generation' of almost 8 million young people
The European Commission has indicated it is going to delve further into the employment, social and education policies of member states as it seeks to tackle the job crisis in the EU. The continued eurozone crisis, now in its third year, has seen the Commission make recommendations in policy areas that, pre-crisis, were considered an absolute taboo. OECD secretary general Angel Gurria at the same conference pointed out that for the EU to reach its 2020 goal of having 75 percent employment in the Union, then 17 million jobs will have to be created. Gurria referred to a ‘potentially lost generation’ of 7.8 million young people who neither have a job nor are in education or training. He added that policy-makers are facing a new phenomenon of ‘structural long-term unemployment’ where people are unemployed for over two years, and the longer they are unemployed, the harder it is to get a job when one is available. Employment Commissioner Laszlo Andor called it a ‘jobs crisis.’
Pray: that ways would be found to meet the needs of the many unemployed, especially the young. (Tit.3:14)
More: http://euobserver.com/economic/117458
Libya: US ambassador killed in attack on consulate
The US ambassador to Libya has died after an attack by militiamen on the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, reports say. Ambassador Christopher Stevens is said to be among four US officials killed in a protest over a US-produced film that is said to insult the Prophet Muhammad. Protesters have also attacked the US Embassy in Cairo over the film. In the attack in Benghazi, unidentified armed men stormed the grounds, shooting at buildings and throwing handmade bombs into the compound. Security forces returned fire but Libyan officials say they were overwhelmed. A Libyan official has said Ambassador Stevens died from smoke suffocation as a result of the attack.
Pray: that peace will descend on Benghazi and Cairo and this situation will not esculate into more conflict - see below. (Pr.10:12)
STOP PRESS: Yemen: US embassy stormed in capital Sanaa
Angry protesters stormed the US embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, on Thursday as regional discontent over an amateur US film mocking Islam spread throughout the region. Police used water cannons and fired warnings shots to drive the protesters out of the building, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene. There were unconfirmed reports of casualties on both sides. The protests in Sanaa come two days after a similar attack on the US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi resulted in the deaths of four US citizens, including the US ambassador in Libya, Christopher Stevens. There were also reports of fresh scuffles outside the US embassy in Cairo on Thursday, a day after protesters scaled the embassy walls, ripped down the US flag and replaced it with the black Islamic flag.
Pray: against further unrest in the region see above..
Bahrain: Catholic Church plans challenged by Muslim clerics
Plans in the kingdom of Bahrain to build the nation's largest Roman Catholic Church have been challenged by complaints from Sunni Muslim clerics who have signed a petition against any motions to build churches in the Arabian Peninsula, regarded as the birthplace of Islam. Bahrain, which is a constitutional monarchy ruled by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is heavily Muslim, with 99 percent of Bahranian people identifying as either Shia or Sunni. Although the nation also has a significant Christian population, among which are Catholics and Protestants, no official figures exist on their precise count. Religious freedom, while protected by the government, has been the subject of much contention. Sunni and Shia communities are engaged in sectarian battles, The Associated Press reported, and more than 70 Sunni clerics have warned against plans to expand the Roman Catholic Church in the Asian nation.
Pray: that these plans to build would succeed and a Church will bring glory to God. (Ps.24:9-10)
Jordan: Missionary stabbed to death
A missionary living in Jordan was stabbed to death by a teenager on Tuesday after she caught him stealing in her apartment, police said. The 17-year-old confessed to killing Cheryll Harvey, 55, in her apartment in Barha, the police told the Associated Press. As a minor, the assailant can't be named until he's sent to trial. Police said the suspect was paid by Harvey for grocery runs and other chores, but when she found him going through her purse and began to shout, he grabbed a knife from the kitchen, stabbing Harvey 10 times. A native of Sudan, Texas, Harvey earned an undergraduate and two master's degrees in Education before leaving for Jordan where she taught English for 24 years under the auspices of the Jordan Baptist Society. At press time, it was not determined as to whether Harvey would be buried in Jordan, or if her remains would be returned home.
Pray: for those God calls to the mission field that He will protect them from assault. (Jn.17:15)
More: http://www.worthynews.com/11720-missionary-killed-in-jordan
Russia: Shock at Moscow church demolition
Human rights defenders and church members have expressed shock and outrage at the sudden destruction of a Pentecostal Church in Moscow's eastern suburbs. Unknown workers - backed by police and civil volunteers - began tearing down Holy Trinity Pentecostal Church on the eastern edge of Moscow soon after midnight on September 6, the church's Pastor, Vasili Romanyuk, told Forum 18 News Service from the Russian capital. ‘By morning almost the entire three-storey building had been destroyed,’ said Forum 18’s Felix Corley and Geraldine Fagan. ‘This is the Soviet approach - to come in the middle of the night with mechanical diggers,’ said Mikhail Odintsov, an aide to Russia's Ombudsperson for Human Rights, The church has struggled to legalise the building it put up with its own money in 1995-6. Andrei Ivanov, spokesperson for the prefect of Moscow's Eastern Administrative District, defended the destruction. ‘Everything was done at the decision of the court,’ he told Forum 18.
Pray: for the Church in Russia that God would protect it from persecution leading to this form of destruction. (Est.8:6)
More: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2012/s12090040.htm