Amid the scare over the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been declared an international public health emergency by WHO, scientists in Hyderabad say they have developed not one but two vaccines, using a live Zika virus imported officially. This is claimed to be the world's first vaccine for the virus, which is spreading rapidly in Latin America. WHO officials have expressed concern that Zika could hit Africa and Asia as well. Dr Krishna Ella, chairman and MD of Bharat Biotech Ltd, said, ‘On Zika, we were probably the first vaccine company in the world to file a vaccine candidate patent (about nine months ago).’ Dr Soumya Swaminathan, director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, said that they would investigate the feasibility of taking it forward and that the vaccine could be a good example of a 'Made in India' product.
China: conflicting signals
05 Feb 2016
Legally registered churches are under attack while illegal house churches are being invited into official dialogue. Is China heading for another Mao-era persecution or opening up to religious freedom? With conflicting signals across a range of social, economic and political issues, nothing is certain. There is, however, reason for optimism: the gospel is alive and something must happen. Gu Yuese has served as the senior pastor at China’s largest government-approved Protestant church, a megachurch with ten thousand members. He has also held a leadership role in China’s state-approved denomination, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). In January the TSPM and China Christian Council forcibly removed Gu from his Church in a move to ‘move one step closer towards the proper self-construction and management of church locations’ and sort out the relationship between the province and the two municipal Christian organisations. Gu was arrested and sent to a ‘black’ jail (a facility falling outside the established penal system) where he is undergoing a criminal investigation.
World horrified as scores of children massacred
05 Feb 2016
Last weekend, Boko Haram burned children alive in Nigeria, and IS bombed schoolchildren in Syria. Homes were reduced to piles of ashes and left smouldering in the Nigerian village of Dalori following a Boko Haram rampage. For four hours heavily armed gunmen and at least three suicide bombers attacked, setting much of the village aflame. Children were burned alive in their huts. Two nearby refugee camps were also attacked. Nigerian army troops arrived, but were outmanned and outgunned by terrorists. 3,000 miles away, IS detonated two suicide car bombs in a neighbourhood south of Damascus protected by Hezbollah. As people gathered to help dead and injured children, an IS terrorist wearing a suicide vest set off another blast. 45 were killed and 110 wounded.
Three Christian students went on trial yesterday in Egypt for allegedly insulting Islam. A thirty-second video, filmed by their teacher, showed one student kneeling to pray while reciting verses from the Qu’ran and two others standing behind him laughing. One student ran his hand under the praying student’s chin, as if beheading him. At the time of writing this article, the outcome of the trial is not yet known; however, the teacher has already been sentenced to three years in prison. Coptic Christians have long complained of the injustices they have suffered in this predominantly Muslim country. Christians make up 10% of Egypt’s population. Egypt’s president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has vowed to crack down on extremism and to get rid of harsh blasphemy laws, but such blasphemy charges have increased in recent months.
Syria: churches responding to atrocities
05 Feb 2016
Christians are facing atrocities not only from the so-called Islamic State but also 45 other different terrorist groups in Syria ;some are linked with Al-Qaeda. Since 2011 it has been clear that terrorist groups have wanted to take over and create an ‘Islamic state’. Their actions affect Muslims and the infrastructure of society as well as Christians, but Christians are worst affected. Churches were not prepared to deal with persecution or oppression and did not know how to respond, but they are catching up rapidly. At least five church networks in Syria are very involved with humanitarian aid to both Christians and non-Christians in their areas. Caring for people of other faiths was not a priority before, but now social action and evangelism are going hand in hand. Most churches are now reaching out with aid and education services for the displaced, the poor and those impacted by war. Social action is becoming a priority.
Praying through Lent 2016
03 Feb 2016
At the World Prayer Centre we believe that prayer is foundational to everything we do as Christians. The 40 day season before Easter is traditionally marked in many churches as a time to discover more about God through prayer and fasting. Here are some resources to encourage and equip us from ministries we commend to you.
BEYOND THE LETTER BOX
The Neighbourhood Prayer Network's Lent Resource is designed for individuals, home groups or whole Church engagement. Each week has a scripture and one neighbour challenge for the week. For those of us who would like to do one small thing each day (Sunday's excluded as a day of rest), there are an additional 33 suggestions for you. There are also 7 prayer themes each week. The whole resource is 20 pages long and costs just £1 per booklet. www.neighbourhoodprayer.net
The Fast UK
KEEP BLESSING YOUR COMMUNITY
Network Norwich Call to Prayer's latest blessing booklet can offer an inspirational 40-day prayer guide that would lend itself well to daily prayer throughout Lent. Each day has a short declaration, scripture, blessing and prayer linked with one of the many names of God, to be spoken over the city, town or village where we live. £3.00 + postage and packing orders to E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
CATCHING THE WAVE
This is a 40-day prayer guide encouraging us to pray for our communities and to pray for revival ideal for us during Lent produced by the organisers of TryPraying www.thereishope.co.uk/resources/
Try praying is for people who don't do church. The Try Praying booklet & app includes a simple challenge to try praying for seven days and see what happens. www.trypraying.org
PASSIONART: BE STILL celebrates Lent with a creative twist.
Onsite in six of Manchester's most iconic city centre venues, comprising of contemporary installations, paintings, sculpture and live performances by internationally renowned and local artists, uncovers moments where the sacred inhabits the ordinary. This year's vision is to call our busy city to "be still.... and know that I am God" www.passionart.guide/about/
Online access to 40 days reflections.
FAST AS YOU CAN
The Filling Station Network's plan is to pray and fast for Lent, which starts on the 10th of Feb, and pray for the Lord to work powerfully across the nation, Europe and the USA. Using the fasting model practiced by Daniel in the Old Testament, fast from 'rich foods, wine & delicacies' not total abstinence, as part of this prayer life. Find out more.
24-7 PRAYER – Lent podcasts www.24-7prayer.co.uk
Prayer Breakfast
03 Feb 2016
We would like to extend a very warm invitation to you to have breakfast with us and take a unique opportunity to hear from one of the pastors who works in Damascus.
Pastor Edward is coming to Birmingham on SATURDAY 27 FEBRUARY and the two ministries of Open Doors and World Prayer Centre are partnering together to host a morning of hearing Edward speak, having chance to ask some questions and pray together. This is a significant visit for Pastor Edward to this nation and we would urge you in the strongest way possible to come to this event as we feel he has important things to share with us all.
Pastor Edward said, "I want to express my deep appreciation for the people in the West who keep us Christians in Syria in their prayers. My wife and I are thankful that we are still in Damascus. It is not in our own power that we are there, but it is through God's intervention in our lives. Your prayers encourage us. Through them we can encourage others. We have a deep sense of peace and both believe that this peace is a gift from God, so we can stay in the country to encourage our people and to relieve some of the suffering."
We are meeting at the home of Birmingham Vineyard, Network House, in Barford Street, Digbeth. The morning will take the form of breakfast at 8:00am along with the chance to hear Pastor Edward speak. There will also be an opportunity to hear about partnering with Open Doors and their work with the persecuted church including plenty of complimentary resources available to equip your church in prayer. This will be followed by a more open time of sharing and a call to prayer for one of the great issues facing the global church, that of our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. The morning will finish prompt at 12noon.
Download the invitation and to book a place, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01993 460015 so that have an indication of numbers for catering. For more info see our websites :www.worldprayer.org.uk or www.opendoorsuk.org. We would appreciate you letting us know by Friday 29 January if you are going to be there.
Praying for communities
03 Feb 2016
At the World Prayer Centre we believe that prayer is foundational to all evangelism and social action. Here are some resources to encourage and equip us from ministries we commend to you.
PRAYING FOR OUR NEIGHBOURS
This is very much on the Father's heart at the moment and there are many different ways to do this. The Neighbourhood Prayer Network's vision is to see every street in the UK covered in Christian Prayer. Their resource book Neighbours, Transform your Street: Bringing prayer to our neighbours, Bringing Community back to our Streets (Sovereign World) brings together all the resources from partner agencies such as Ffald-y-Brenin Local Houses of Prayer, Adopt a Street, Love your Streets, Lighthouses of Prayer, etc. The invitation is for everyone to sign up on the website and receive a weekly email. More information: www.neighbourhoodprayer.net
HELPING THOSE WHO AREN'T 'RELIGIOUS' TO PRAY
Trypraying is for people who don't do church. The TryPraying booklet includes a simple challenge to try praying for seven days and see what happens. There is an adult, youth and children's versions. The invitation is to use it and then lose it (i.e. give it away) and can be used by individuals, small groups, churches and it has been very effective when a whole town or city uses it. "This is the only thing I have come across in the last 30 years that I have been willing to give away to friends and colleagues. It is nicely produced, starts with where people are at rather than expecting them to come to 'our position' and is completely non-cringe. In short, it's brilliant!" Church leader. For more information and to download a preview copy www.trypraying.org
PRAYING FOR OUR SCHOOLS: Every school in the UK a prayed-for school! That's the vision of Pray for Schools: to mobilise Christians to support their school communities through prayer. You can do this through starting a group to pray regularly for your local school; having schools prayer as a focus for your church or praying as an individual for a school near you. http://www.prayforschools.org
PRAYING FOR THOSE WHO ARE MUSLIM
The Mahabba Network exists to motivate and mobilise ordinary Christians to love their Muslim neighbours in word and deed, and to help churches to mentor and multiply dynamic communities of disciples. Mahabba means 'love' in Arabic. www.mahabba.co.uk
PICKING UP PRAYER
Picking up Prayer is praying through the streets of your village, town or city while picking up litter. This method of praying gets Christians out of their churches and homes and onto the very streets they want to see transformed. The primary aim is to bring blessing onto the streets, both physically and spiritually. http://churchplus.info/prayer/picking-up-prayer
WORLD PRAYER CENTRE BOOKLETS
Guides to: Prayer Walking; Praying Scripture; Praying for a Nation; The Persecuted Church; Children & Young People; Health Care Professionals; People at Work; Unsaved Family & Friends . £1.00 each or set of 8 for £5.00. New guide will be available March 2015: A Guide to Blessing; The Call of the Watchman £1.00 each or set of 10 for £8.00. www.worldprayer.org.uk