Displaying items by tag: North America

New York air pollution is ‘hazardous’, in the Very Unhealthy category, with no end in sight for the thick smoke pouring south from more than 400 Canadian wildfires. At least 13 US states have air quality alerts issued, impacting approximately 115 million people. Experts said the pollution could persist into the weekend. There have been mass evacuations in Quebec province. Canadian officials warned that this could be the country’s worst wildfire season on record, with over 6.7 million acres already scorched. By 8 June hundreds of uncontrolled forest fires were threatening Canada’s critical infrastructure and forcing evacuations. Wildfires are common in Canada’s western provinces, but this year they rapidly spread east. About 9.4m acres have already burned. Canada’s wildfires are part of our new climate reality.

As gun violence increases and shootings make headlines every few days, the fear of getting caught in one is changing the lives of millions of Americans. The shops, the schoolroom, the teenager's house party have all suffered mass shootings in recent weeks. It feels as if it could happen anywhere. 60% of adults have talked to their children or other relatives about gun safety, according to a survey by an organisation focused on health policy. Gun violence has caused some to uproot their lives and move to a different neighbourhood or city. As it has worsened, there has been a surge in demand for bulletproof backpacks for children, says the owner of a self-defence item manufacturing company. Pray for more psychiatric help to be available for children growing up in areas where gunshots are frequently heard. Pray for all schools to have a wise safety plan and provide medical training for staff.

Mainstream Americans, including many Christians, are speaking out against retail giant Target’s Pride Collection for 2023. Its LGBTQ+ clothing, celebrating Pride Month, includes onesies for infants featuring pro-LGBTQ content. One onesie includes the text ‘Being Proud’, while another features what appear to be LGBT rainbows and hearts with the transgender flag colours. Target is also selling children’s books with the LGBTQ theme, including ‘Bye-Bye Binary’ and ‘What Are Your Words’, which tells kids how to use transgender pronouns. Some products for kids also appear to feature drag queens, according to products sold on the company’s website. Target sells adult ‘tuck-friendly’ swimwear, for transgenders who are biological males, and have upped the ante by targeting children with this obscene line, according to Christian apologist Michael Brown. Target also features the products of an overtly satanic, radical LGBTQ+ supplier. The company has lost $11 billion since a boycott over its pride merchandise.

After days of wildfires, Halifax City declared a state of emergency and mandatory evacuations were ordered for 16,500 citizens. Prime Minister Trudeau tweeted ‘Nova Scotia’s wildfires are serious. We are ready to provide federal support and assistance.’ Halifax suburb citizens cannot return home until municipal authorities advise. Police are monitoring communities for thefts and suspicious activities. By May 30th, fires covered 43,095 acres, destroyed 200+ homes, and grew to the largest wildfires in Nova Scotia’s history. People who need to leave must bring pets, important documents, medication and food supplies. On June 1st, evacuations continued. People were told to have a bag packed and be ready to go at short notice. Forest technicians ask for patience from tens of thousands of residents awaiting news of their homes. 18,000+ people remain under the Halifax evacuation order. ‘We’ve got more fires than resources to support them. We are prioritising safety and human life ahead of infrastructure’. said the manager of forest protection.

Recently gunmen opened fire at a birthday party, killing at least four guests and injuring many. Two girl victims were severely hurt and on ventilators for weeks. Then during a live stream church broadcast Pastor Michael kept hearing the word ‘shooting’. He believed God wanted to heal someone injured in a shooting and began to pray, not knowing who he was praying for. Meanwhile an Alabama resident who had been interceding for the girls was watching the live stream. When Pastor Michael called out for the shooting victims God wanted to heal, she immediately shared the video. They agreed with his prayer and stood in the gap for the girls. The girls woke up the next day. One girl at once said, ‘Jesus’, and she started singing, ‘Jesus, do it for me.’ Then the second girl woke from her coma. Doctors were amazed, believing they would never recover. But with God, all things are possible.

Under a new Utah law that gives parents the right to challenge or report materials considered indecent, one parent wants the Bible removed from Davis School District, for its ‘pornographic’ content. If a book includes descriptions of sexual acts it must be immediately removed from school shelves. The parent sent an eight-page document to the school board stating, ‘Get this PORN out of our schools’, and quoted offensive Bible passages describing rape, incest, sex, and nudity. The district has removed 33 books from schools due to previous requests. Parents can also ask their child’s school to restrict a student from checking out certain titles. This parent wants the Bible completely removed because the Holy Book has ‘no serious value for minors’. The First Liberty Institute referred the review committee to surveys. One statistic established that 98% of English teachers said students who do not know the Bible are at a disadvantage when studying literature.

Mission Board’s Send, North America’s largest church planting network, has announced that Southern Baptist churches have planted over 10,000 new churches since 2010. In 2022 alone, over 47,000 churches worked together to plant 745 new churches. They focus on the quality of the churches planted and are grateful that the survivability rate remains strong.

Violent storms spawned 80 tornadoes across the Mississippi valley in April, resulting in over thirty deaths, levelling dozens of homes and flooding across south Florida. Throughout April and early May more than 70 chaplains from Billy Graham Rapid Response Team and Samaritan’s Purse have prayed with over 2,900 people as dozens professed their newfound faith in Christ.

Rev Franklin Graham told Liberty University graduates that America is dominated by a ‘culture of confusion and lies, coming from Hell’. He was the keynote speaker for their graduation ceremony. He said, ‘ I pray this class will stand for truth, as America changes so fast. I think the heart of God is grieved as He looks at our world today. I love our country, but it's in a downward spiral morally, spiritually, economically, and politically. The nation is in a freefall because we turned our back on God and His truth.’ He urged the graduates to be a beacon of light, standing on the Word of God while living in a culture of confusion and lies. Graham declared, ‘The Bible doesn’t contain truth, it is the truth, and every word of God is true. Truth is not what you say it is, but what God says it is.’

As of 17 May, 88 wildfires were still burning across Alberta, and dozens more across British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Weeks of uncontrolled blazes have made air quality dangerously poor, changing the bluebird sky to an eerie orange glow. Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a special air quality statement as ‘very high risk’. Air quality is so poor that even those without pre-existing health conditions could have difficulty breathing, especially if doing strenuous activity outside. An Environment Canada meteorologist said, ‘It is potentially a really dangerous situation that everyone must take seriously’. Pray for children, older adults, and those with lung or heart conditions to be sensible and cautious and stay inside if breathing becomes difficult. Pray for healthy people to be aware of tell-tale symptoms such as sore throat, coughing, or being very tired or lethargic. Not feeling very good can even be attributed to air quality.