The mother of a thirteen-year-old Israeli Arab girl who stabbed a security guard issued an impassioned apology, praising the guard for not opening fire on her and said she hoped all Israel would soon find peace. She had no idea her daughter was planning a terror attack, or where she got the knife from. The student and a friend in the mixed Jewish-Arab town of Ramle pulled kitchen knives out of their clothing and stabbed the guard in the leg and hand, saying the attack was ‘revenge for the situation in the Al-Aqsa Mosque,’ and in protest against Israel ‘killing Palestinians.’ The stabbing was the latest in a series of attacks (killing 31 Israelis) carried out mainly by Palestinians, and a handful of Israeli Arabs, over several months. Some of the attackers have been young teens. On Wednesday, Palestinians opened fire on a group of policemen, killing one and seriously wounding another.
Turkey: Christians’ challenges last year
12 Feb 2016
The Association of Turkish Protestant Churches released its annual report summarising human rights violations and the challenges faced by Christians in 2015. The numerous cases of threats made to pastors and churches by radical Islamists make for disturbing reading. Misleading newspaper reports warning Muslims of Christian missionary activities also surfaced again, and school religious education textbooks continue to portray Christian missionaries as a national threat. Escalated violence between Turkish forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is affecting the small number of Christians who live in the Kurdish South, home to Syrian Christians with roots in the first centuries of Christianity. A 1,700-year-old Syrian Orthodox church in Diyarbakir was damaged in crossfire, and the priest and his family were forced to leave. Media outlets falsely claimed police found PKK weapons in the church. Pastors from across the country travelled to Diyarbakir to meet local government officers, and called on all participants to seek peace.
Trypraying Birmingham 2016
09 Feb 2016
Trypraying is a simple evangelistic booklet (or App http://www.trypraying.org/app/) that has grown to a multi-church and multi-region activity! The last five years have been remarkable with over 200,000 copies of the booklet in use and over 120 towns, cities and networks of churches making use of it.
And the stories keep coming back - so many heart-warming and thrilling 'God stories'.
This is the first time I've walked through the trypraying booklet with someone. I loved it. It was the two babies in the womb illustration on Day One that grabbed him. Genius illustration - never heard it before. He has since become a Christian.
Birmingham 2016.
Together, we have a call to reach our City, and we are proposing to put the 'trypraying' logo into the public space in March 2016 (bus advertising) and to make the booklet as widely available as possible across South and Central Birmingham. Trypraying is a booklet, it is also a project for a church and a multi-church project. For many who read this, it may be the first time you have considered it, but the initiative can gather momentum, year after year. In its simplest form trypraying is easy to repeat, although it's use is not confined to an annual event. It boils down to one person giving a friend or family member a booklet and inviting them to try praying. You can check out the short video at www.thereishope.co.uk to get the idea.
In step
Nevertheless the trypraying 'season' enables churches to do things in step with each other – crossing denominational boundaries. For example in York, 62 congregations were involved in a simultaneous trypraying initiative there, with a launch service in York Minster.
While we have prayed and facilitated many things in York, this was something that we have ALL been able to do together. Steve Redman, The Ark Church.
In March 2016 we have the possibility of not only churches in an area doing the same thing, but towns and cities also in step with each other across many regions. This little idea can bring about big changes. Can we suggest you consider two things:
- Register your interest with us for a Birmingham campaign.
- Consider a donation to get bus advertising in Birmingham this March so that the campaign is in the public space.
(We have £5k committed and a further 20 donations of £500 would give us £15k to move ahead in mid-January – our deadline!).
Note: Donation is not required to be part of this, but any donation or promised donation would help us decide the scope of the campaign. We are stepping out on this one!
Join in.
Want to join in? Then register your interest. We suspect there will be over 1000 churches in the UK using this. If you are planning to get involved we would like to know your email address and location, so we can keep you informed of any news. You can register here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In the 30 years since I became a Christian my mother had always rejected Christianity. Even on her deathbed she was saying 'that's nice for you to believe but no one really knows what's on the other side.' On visits to the hospital she started to express her guilt at the things she had not done in her life and things she had done. But she did not want to pray. I thought the opportunity had gone as her condition deteriorated. On the next visit she suddenly began to talk about her guilt again. Just that morning I had read Day 5 of the trypraying booklet about forgiveness and shared it with her. This time mum wanted to pray and asked for forgiveness. After that conversation she had complete peace and we regularly prayed together. She died shortly afterwards but I now believe she is more alive than ever. Thank you for providing such a wonderful tool.
And finally.
Sudan: pastor detained in December is released
05 Feb 2016
Rev Kwa Shamaal, head of missions for the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC), was arrested on 18 December. From 21 December he was allowed home daily from midnight to 8 am, then required to report to the office of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), where he was held from 8 am until midnight daily. But now he has been released from this obligation and can go free. His colleague, Rev Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor, SCOC vice-moderator, is still in detention 24/7 without charges. NISS officials were said to have been upset with the pastors for telling others that Christians faced persecution in Sudan, and the two pastors were arrested from their respective homes at the same hour. No charges were brought against them, although officials objected to their Christian activities.
Trafficked woman finds new hope
05 Feb 2016
Unable to cope after her husband was imprisoned in North Korea, Min-Hee escaped to China. There, abandoned, alone and frightened for her life, she fell prey to human traffickers and was forced into marriage to avoid starvation. Tragically, her story is not unusual. Many desperate, starving North Korean women are sold into marriage or prostitution. But Jesus is still able to heal and to save. Min-hee says, ‘After three years, I finally joined some other ladies at a Bible study group meeting. Previously I had a negative idea about Christianity. But the other North Korean women in my village told me their lives had changed a lot since attending those meetings. There I heard the good news of Jesus Christ for the first time, and I totally opened my mind to accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I regretted that I had not visited these Bible studies earlier.’ Now Min-hee is learning what it is to follow Jesus, even in her circumstances.
Europol - public information on IS
05 Feb 2016
A Europol document released last week stated that investigations indicate IS is going global with the possibility of attacks against member states of the EU in the near future. IS has developed an external action command trained for special-forces-style attacks in the international environment. IS terrorist cells currently operating in the EU are largely domestic and/or locally based. Recruitment and radicalisation is being done through social elements of peer pressure and role modelling. Suicide bombers see themselves more as heroes than as religious martyrs. A significant portion of foreign fighters have been diagnosed with mental problems prior to joining IS, and a large proportion have criminal records. An increasing phenomenon is Islamist ‘brotherhood gatherings’, similar to ‘Bible camps’ - a relatively new concept for Muslims.
Italy: protests and debates on same-sex unions
05 Feb 2016
Thousands of people rallied in Rome on Saturday against a proposed bill giving gay couples legal recognition and adoption rights. Organisers estimated that two million had attended from across Italy for the ‘Family Day’ rally, which featured conga-dancing Catholic priests. Last Thursday parliament began considering proposals to give heterosexual and homosexual partnerships rights, including being allowed to adopt each other’s children and to inherit their partner's pensions. Last week, Pope Francis entered the debate, defending traditional marriage as ‘the family God wants’. Hence this rally was named ‘Family Day’ as opposed to rallies across Italy last week demanding legal recognition for same-sex couples. Italy is the last major Western nation not to give legal recognition to same-sex couples. Many of those attending the rally held up banners saying ‘It is wrong even if it becomes law’. See also:
Official prayers for Queen's 90th birthday
05 Feb 2016
The Queen has a strong Christian faith and in recent years has displayed it more openly. In June she will become Britain's longest-reigning monarch, and her 90th birthday is on 21 April. The country is expecting to celebrate these events with special church services and street parties. Two prayers approved by the Queen herself have been published by the Church of England, to be used in services marking these national celebrations. The modern version of one says, ‘Heavenly Father, as we celebrate the 90th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen, receive our heartfelt thanks for all that You have given her in these 90 years and for all that she has given to her people. Continue, we pray, Your loving purposes in her, and as You gather us together in celebration, unite us also in love and service to one another; through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ Two graces have also been published for use at the start of more local celebrations such as street parties.