Articles
European Christmas traditions
21 Dec 2017
There is a story of Martin Luther walking in the woods in Latvia and creating the first Christmas tree in 1510. Whether or not it is true, the first Christmas tree recorded was in the town…
Pope Francis: Lord's Prayer debate
21 Dec 2017
Pope Francis has sparked a debate after saying he wants to make a change to the Lord's Prayer, arguing that the current form wrongly implies that God can lead humans into temptation. The Pontiff said the…
Israel: awaiting Advent
21 Dec 2017
During Advent we sing ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’ and prepare our hearts to celebrate the long-awaited arrival of our Saviour Jesus. We honour the most famous Jewish man who ever walked the earth: Yeshua, the…
Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has generated aggressive reactions. The PLO are seeking full UN membership again (they failed in 2011), and will no longer accept the USA participating in peace negotiations. Turkey called…
War-torn areas: shelter and relief
21 Dec 2017
The word ‘shelter’ literally means a house, a tent, or a refuge. It arises from the command of Jesus that we are to ‘love our neighbour.’ This additionally implies providing food, clothing and drinking water to…
Pakistan: persecution in churches and prisons
21 Dec 2017
On 17 December, two suicide bombers targeted a Methodist church in Quetta, leaving nine dead and over fifty injured. Only one managed to detonate his vest: the second was killed by security forces. Over 400 worshippers…