USA: a lost Jewish community in Champlain Tower
Brad Cohen and his brother-in-law died in the collapsed apartment building. Soraya Cohen said, ‘The hardest thing has been seeing my 12-year-old daughter’s devastation, she was very close to her father.’ Harry Rosenberg, 52, also missing, relocated to Miami following the loss of his wife, Anna, to cancer and both of his parents to Covid in the past year. He recently told a fellow congregant at the local synagogue he was entering the next chapter of his life. Harry had spent three years caring for his sick wife and had recently bought a unit big enough to welcome friends and family. Mr Rosenberg’s daughter, Malky Weiss, 27, and son-in-law, Benny Weiss, 32 are also missing. At 92, Hilda Noriega lived for her faith first, her family second, and her friends third. The Chabad community has businesses, schools and restaurants catering for the Jewish community growing around the apartments. See also
China: continue praying for the Early Rain Church
Members of the Early Rain Church in Chengdu continue to face harassment as authorities attempt to shut down their unregistered congregation. While Wang Yi, the head pastor, is serving a nine-year prison sentence, other members of the church have also encountered persecution. Since early June, church minister Wu Wuqing, his wife Xiong Meifang, and their children have been locked in their home by governing officials. The fire door, which gives access to the stairs and lift, has been chained, and guards remain posted outside the door. At first the guards would unlock the door if visitors came to see the family but on 8 June they turned a woman and her children away, stating that since visitors were prohibited from entering the residence, they would only be allowed to pass food through the fire door.
North America: dozens die in heatwave
250 deaths have been reported across the Pacific northwest. Unprecedented numbers have died in Canada from unbearable heat that has smashed temperature records. Vancouver police responded to over 130 sudden deaths. Casualties were mostly elderly or those with health conditions a contributing factor. British Columbia broke temperature records 3 days in a row (49.6C or 121.3F). A spontaneous wildfire forced the village of Lytton to evacuate on 1 July, a day after it recorded the country's highest-ever temperature. The fire spread through the village of 250 people in just 15 minutes. The USA also has record highs; fatalities will rise as some areas have yet to collate the numbers. Pray for those without air conditioning and the families of heatstroke victims. Pray for fire brigades working to prevent wildfires and for communities to help each other to stay cool. May relatives and neighbours recognise danger signs and ensure the vulnerable stay in the shade, wear a hat, and other things they may need reminding of.
Central Africa Republic: prayer
While the 2019 peace agreement signed in the CAR was a step forward, it has not yet been fully implemented, as militia attacks continued to occur. Pray for meaningful dialogue between state and non-state armed participants that would enable the agreement to succeed. The Chinese, the Russians, the UN peacekeeping forces (MINUSCA), the rebels, and the political authorities are all out to plunder what they can of the mineral riches of the country. The people have eyes only to weep. When will this nightmare ever come to an end? Pray that peace, stability and justice will come soon, for the sake of the civilians who continue to suffer immensely. Although a special criminal court was set up in 2015 to investigate and prosecute grave human rights violations, it lacks funding : so countless victims of violence are waiting for justice. Pray that the court will be fully financed, so that all perpetrators are held to account.
India: persecution rising
Although Christian persecution continues to rise in India, the only recent survey of this fact was in 2020 when a report from the Evangelical Fellowship of India listed 366 incidents where Christians were targeted, 40+ in the first two months. Most incidents feature physical violence, threats, harassment, and the disruption of church services by religious radicals or the police. Disruption of prayer meetings and Sunday worship is now a trend across many states. Many Christians are falsely accused and detained on charges of forced conversion. The US commission on international religious freedom has said, ‘Religious hate crimes in India are rising. Mob violence is carried out against Christians accused of forced or induced religious conversion.’ Christians make up a little over 2% of India’s population. Though they are often accused of following a ‘foreign’ religion, the gospel was introduced there in the first century through Jesus’ disciple Thomas.
Biden pledges US support to embattled Afghanistan leaders
As US troops withdraw and Taliban fighters gain ground, President Biden said, ‘The partnership between Afghanistan and the USA will be sustained. Our troops are leaving, but our support for Afghanistan is not ending.’ The bulk of the 4,000 US soldiers now in Afghanistan will be moved out in the next two weeks, and the US expects to remove American and coalition commanders by 4 July. Biden praised Afghans for their ‘difficult jobs’ and efforts to bring unity among the leaders, saying, ‘The Afghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want. And it won’t be for a lack of us providing help.’ The Taliban said they have the right to react if US troops stay in Afghanistan. Meanwhile the government is arming local volunteers and suggests that the war-torn country now stands on the precipice of civil war.
Czech Republic, USA, UK: uncommon tornadoes
On 25 June five people were killed and hundreds injured as a tornado wreaked havoc in the Czech Republic, with tennis-ball-sized hailstones hitting several villages in South Moravia. In the village of Luzice 120 houses were destroyed or damaged, roofs ripped off, windows blown out, cars overturned and debris scattered through the streets. Eight people were hospitalised after a tornado hit Chicago suburbs and damaged over 130 homes. In England a tornado that hit Barking left the area looking as if a bomb had gone off. Houses were seriously damaged, walls knocked down, and cars destroyed. Flash flooding caused trees and debris to be blown around the streets. There were also flash floods in Somerset.
Nigeria: professor acquitted
On 24 June a court in Kano State acquitted Professor Solomon Tarfa on charges of ‘running an illegal orphanage’ and ‘criminal conspiracy and abduction of minors’. He has faced a series of false charges, including child abduction and forgery, and appears to have been targeted simply for running a Christian orphanage. On Christmas Day 2019, over 60 plain-clothes policemen raided his orphanage and arrested him. Later, 27 children were removed from the orphanage and placed in a government-run home, where they have been harassed, prevented from attending church, and reportedly assaulted. Five of the youngest children were forcibly relocated to an orphanage in a remote area. A source said that three of these children looked ‘ill and emaciated’ and had had their names changed to Muslim ones. The ordeal is not over. Sixteen children are still waiting to be returned home, and Professor Tarfa will appear in court again on 27 July to defend the forgery charge.
Support to persecution victims as Covid hits hard
The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is thanking supporters after they increased their giving enabling it to step up its response to the pandemic. Benefactors donated £14 million more last year than in 2019 as the charity rushed out emergency Covid projects amid growing persecution globally. The pandemic dramatically worsened the plight of Christians who found themselves literally, almost overnight, without work, pay or food. ACN's benefactors remain true to the charity with great generosity, for which the charity and those in need are profoundly grateful.
Updated funding reforms needed for social care
Social care organisations want Boris Johnson to fix the broken care system.They want long overdue changes to funding social care and ‘immediate’ cash injections to cover costs incurred during the pandemic. Councils need money for new technology and fairer deals for care staff. In 2019 Boris Johnson vowed to fix the funding crisis ‘with a clear plan we have prepared’, but discussions around changing costs are still ongoing. Social care is not free to vulnerable people with assets over £23,500. Below that they receive council help. Consequently, thousands of people annually must sell their homes to pay for their care. Charities warned that ‘every week of dithering means an extra 13,000 pensioners being denied vital help’. It is believed the PM supports a £50,000 lifetime cap on care costs to shield pensioners from catastrophic bills. However Rishi Sunak is concerned over finding £10billion a year to pay for this.