Iran: British-Iranian detained without charge
13 May 2016
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a charity worker, was visiting her family in Iran. Her husband Richard has said: ‘She was at the airport returning to the UK on 3 April when the Iranian Revolutionary Guard arrested her, transferred her to an unknown location in Kerman Province and now holds her in solitary confinement. Gabriella, our 22-month-old daughter who has British citizenship only, has had her passport confiscated and is stranded in Iran with her grandparents. Nazanin has not been allowed access to a lawyer or her daughter; has not been able to call out of the country to speak to me; the Red Cross have not been able to make contact; she has been made to sign a confession under duress, its content unknown. Her family have been informed that the investigation relates to an issue of “national security”. There have been no charges.’ See:
Iraq: over 100 killed in bomb attacks
13 May 2016
On Wednesday 93 people died in three car bomb attacks in Baghdad. The deadliest killed 64 and wounded 87. Later two suicide bombers targeted police checkpoints, leaving 29 dead. IS claimed responsibility for the attacks - the worst day of violence in Baghdad so far this year. ‘It was a thunderous explosion, jolting the ground,’ said a witness. Many victims were women inside a beauty salon, including several brides who appeared to be getting ready for their weddings. The bodies of two men believed to be grooms were found in an adjacent barber’s shop. There is an acute political crisis in Baghdad : the parliament is unable to meet, and the government is paralysed by factional disputes. Survivors blame politicians for failing to protect them. A Chaldean priest who oversees hundreds of Iraqi Christian refugees displaced by IS blames the USA for not protecting them and their ancient communities from attacks by terrorists. See:
Algeria: vulnerable Christians
13 May 2016
Algerian Christians face increasing restrictions as the government is pressured by Islamist groups to implement more Islamic legislation. Only Muslims are allowed to hold public assemblies, and individual churches are often denied registration. Though some historical churches are allowed church buildings, Muslim-background believers (ie almost all Algerian Christians) have to worship in secret. Converting someone from Islam is illegal. Islamist terrorist movements are increasing as militants, particularly in the south, use organised crime to finance their operations. Please pray for Christians from more conservative Muslim communities who have to hide their faith or risk being rejected from schools and universities, and remember those who are being monitored by authorities or who have been thrown into jail for owning Christian literature.
DR Congo: more Christians killed
13 May 2016
A night-time assault on 3 May at a village in majority-Christian eastern DR Congo left seventeen dead. By 6 May the death toll had risen to 34, as those seriously wounded succumbed to their injuries. It is suspected that the attack was carried out by the Ugandan Islamist group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). They managed to get past army positions and slash the throats of peaceful residents in their homes. ADF rebels have carried out numerous bloody attacks on the mostly Christian population in this area for years. After the event thousands fled the area. A local Christian worker said, ‘It was eerie. Hundreds of houses abandoned and thousands of people displaced. I saw people carrying their mattresses and belongings in cars, on motorcycles, on foot. Hundreds of homes along the road are abandoned. Where there was a thriving community, there is now a ghost town.’ ADF settled in eastern DR Congo after being expelled from Uganda.
Conversations at the Crossroads
11 May 2016
Each year, the Canterbury Diocese produces a little prayer/reflection booklet for the Novena – 9 days of prayer between Ascension and Pentecost.
They choose a series of paintings, either by a single artist or on a single theme, then photograph them for the booklet, and marry each one with Scripture, a bit of text and some prayers. Access each day's material here: https://www.canterburydiocese.org/novena/
Order from CPO £1.00 each https://www.cpo.org.uk/product.aspx?prod=C4978BT&cat=3745
Prayer on the Move
11 May 2016Prayers on the Move, is an initiative from SPCK, and launched in London and Newcastle in February, and in Birmingham later in 2016. SPCK is placing 700 ads on the Newcastle Metro and 3,000 on the London Underground encouraging people to give prayer a go. The prayers are aimed at stressed young commuters and are designed to appeal to people who think of themselves as spiritual but not religious. Alongside the prayer posters are a website, app, booklet and merchandise.
The booklet, app and website contain 31 prayers, mostly written specially for the project by leading Christian writers. The app also contains 31 one-minute audio files so individuals who are unused to praying can challenge themselves to pray for a minute a day for a month. There is also advice on how to pray and where to go to find out more, written from a Christian perspective. These materials may also help Christians who are feeling jaded in their prayer life and want to try something new. Churches in Newcastle have been collaborating in organising local events – prayer vigils, prayer walks and getting volunteers together to hand out travel card wallets with prayers printed on them.
You can download the apps from the website. www.prayersonthemove.com.
Refugee camp miracle healing
06 May 2016
“The news arrived that Europe had closed its borders. Discouraged and disappointed, hundreds took their place in a camp which had only been intended as a rest stop but was now their closest thing to ‘home’. Within a few weeks, people from our church were going every day to visit and talk to those in the camp: a little human attention and simple conversation are more uplifting than a meal for many suffering people. Though it is forbidden in the camp, Zeda had seen Sandra praying with other refugees. ‘Can you pray for me?’ she asked. Zeda had cancer. They prayed to Isa (Jesus). Two weeks later Sandra was back in the camp. Suddenly Zeda was running towards her waving white papers and shouting out in broken English, ‘It happened! It happened!’ Sandra read the papers. It said there is no more cancer in Zeda’s body. Zeda’s face was shining like the sun. ‘I want to believe like you do’ – she took Sandra’s hands and pointed to the cross around her neck – ‘I want to pray like you do’.”
Refugee children from Europe
06 May 2016
Last week's Prayer Alert reported that the Government had defeated an amendment to the immigration bill proposing that the UK accept 3,000 child refugees from Europe in addition to those it has promised to take from Syria. There are many unaccompanied children who escaped to Europe and are in need of loving homes. This week David Cameron changed his mind and said that the UK will take in more unaccompanied Syrian refugee children from Europe, although he did not commit to a specific figure. Ministers will talk to councils before deciding how many can be resettled. Labour said that the announcement, made at Prime Minister's Question Time, did not go far enough and more action was needed.