Canada: Action on climate change
09 Jul 2015
Gregor Robertson, the mayor of Vancouver, says he plans to encourage the Pope to ramp up pressure on national governments across the globe to take action on climate change when he meets with the Catholic leader later this month. Mr Robertson will be the only Canadian to join 30 representatives of cities in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas for a two-day visit with Pope Francis in Vatican City on 21 July. Meanwhile on Wednesday and Thursday this week hundreds of delegates have attended a two-day Climate Summit of the Americas in Toronto. Former Mexican president Felipe Calderon, former US vice-president Al Gore and California Governor Jerry Brown were among the delegates. The summit emphasised the role that provinces, states and other sub-national governments can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. World leaders will also meet later this year in Paris for the UN Climate Change Conference. See http://www.640toronto.com/2015/07/08/66933/
China: Confusion in finances
09 Jul 2015
The turmoil in China’s stock market is so bad that 700 companies have halted trading to ‘self-preserve’, thus preventing investors from selling their shares. That means about a quarter of the companies listed on China’s two big exchanges are no longer trading. The government has taken extraordinary steps to try to prevent further damage and over 20 of China’s top brokerage firms publicly pledged to buy back stocks and funds in an effort to slow the downfall. It did not work and investors aren’t convinced. By Wednesday 8 July China’s stock markets had lost $3.25 trillion (that’s more than the size of France’s stock market and twice the size of India’s). Those in the know are saying China’s $28 trillion debt is a threat to the global economy. See also http://www.bloombergview.com/quicktake/chinas-debt-bomb
Pakistan: Front-line workers
09 Jul 2015
The group of Pakistani Christian men knew the risks when they entered an Islamic festival where fanatical Muslim leaders preached jihad and attendees renewed their religious zeal. Quietly, they initiated conversations about Jesus, who is considered a holy prophet in Islam. By the end of the evening, they had distributed several hundred flyers telling about Jesus Christ and had exchanged phone numbers with people who wanted to learn more. These men are a few of the more than 30,000 front-line workers supported by Voice Of the Martyrs. They are sharing the gospel in hostile and restricted nations at great risk. As they minister in these difficult places, they need our prayers. Will you commit to stand with them in prayer as they share Christ? See https://secure.persecution.com/giftslip/frontlineworker.aspx
A Sudanese and a South Sudanese pastor face impossible deadlines in their trial on 14 July for espionage. On 2 July, the Sudanese judge ordered the trial of the Presbyterian pastors, giving their defence attorney only 12 days to prepare and only 15 minutes to confer with his clients before their hearing. Pastor Yat Michael was arrested after delivering a sermon at the Evangelical Church in Khartoum. Pastor Yen was arrested when he delivered a letter to the Religious Affairs office asking about Michael's arrest. Both men are facing trumped-up charges by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). Amnesty International say the NISS is an agency ‘above the law.’ Sudan's constitution guarantees freedom of expression and religion, but in reality these rights do not exist. Pastor Michael and his wife were in Sudan seeking medical attention for their child when he was asked to speak at the church. If found guilty, Pastors Michael and Yen will be executed.
Israel: IS threatens Christians in Jerusalem
09 Jul 2015
Arabic leaflets have appeared in Jerusalem, issued by an IS-aligned group, telling Christians they must flee Jerusalem by the end of Ramadan (18 July) - or they will be slaughtered. The threat comes as IS and Hamas engage in a struggle for the allegiance of Palestinian Muslims. Religious tensions are rising across Israel, and Christians are being attacked by Jewish ultra-nationalists and radicalised Muslims. Some are wondering if Christians have a future in Israel. The Israeli government has condemned the violence against Christians as 'an attack on us all' and affirmed Israel's commitment to religious liberty and the rule of law. Please pray for Israel and its Christians. Please pray that God will guide and assist the Israeli government and security forces, that they will protect Christians from Jewish ultra-nationalists and the far more dangerous IS-incited and organised militant Muslims. For the full story click the ‘more’ button below.
Church planting throughout Europe
09 Jul 2015
European Christian Mission (ECM) has a mission to plant and develop churches throughout Europe because only through loving communities can Europe really experience transformational change.For centuries the centre of Christendom has been in Europe but now Europe is the only continent where Christianity is in decline. Many years of secularisation, immigration and rising standards of living have replaced faith in God with a multiplicity of different beliefs and lifestyles. Europe has become a complex, multicultural and multireligious continent, a continent full of challenges. However, God continues to work through these challenges, and His light still shines in Europe. ECM believes that church planting is the strategy to transform Europe. God has chosen the Church as His instrument to reach the whole world with His Gospel of salvation.
Greeks voted to decide whether they should stay in the eurozone, risking severe austerity in return for an international bailout. Leaders of the influential Orthodox Church urged a ‘yes’ vote, going against the nation's first openly atheist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Greece has closed its banks and failed to repay the IMF after the end of its bailout programme. Analysts say, ‘If Greece quits the eurozone they could face a major financial crisis’. The head of the Orthodox Church said, ‘The times we are living in are the most crucial ones since World War Two.’ The Church, which has helped Greek society at the time of suffering due to the austerity measures in the recent years, also fears that an exit will worsen the humanitarian crisis.
National newspaper columnist Tim Montgomerie has criticised Britain’s increasingly secular society. Writing in The Times he said, ‘I want less vacuous talk of fairness, tolerance and generosity from our politicians. Let’s start getting specific about what we mean by ‘British values’. Freedom of religion should be a cornerstone of western belief and it must stand as a contrast to the many Islamic states where apostasy is punishable by death. Also do we really want to be a society that seems indifferent to 200,000 abortions every year but can’t find room for faith schools? Or a popular culture that celebrates getting blind drunk on the weekend but wants to compel a church charity to employ non-believers?’ Montgomerie pointed to John Newton: ‘Few people in history can have had a greater appreciation of the power of God’s forgiveness than John Newton, who wrote ‘Amazing Grace’ and encouraged Wilberforce to end the slave trade, not to leave politics after becoming a Christian. See also THE MILL GATHERING STATEMENT at http://wpc.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/The-Mill-Statement-Apr-2015.pdf