Ukraine: Call to prayer
03 Jul 2015
A reliable source in Ukraine says that a lot of media reporting is affected by Russian propaganda as Putin attempts to take control. He portrays Ukraine as divided, with a popular and generally peaceful revolution despite the threat of a military coup, etc. ‘I spent many hours reading news and reports from the internet and am outraged and saddened at Russian propaganda that so many Russians and others believe. I can only compare Putin with Hitlerpropaganda was a major instrument he also used. Anyway, Ukraine is united now more than ever before, and the patriotic, not nationalistic, spirit is high and growing.The vast majority of Ukrainian citizens, not just Ukrainians and even most people in Crimea, are against Russian invasion and see it as occupation. All churches in unity have acknowledged the new government, opposed Russia’s actions and made a stand for sovereignty and unity of Ukraine. Today all churches and religious organisations of Ukraine issued a statement confirming the above. Even the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine condemned Russia's actions and called on Putin and Kirril, the Patriarch, to remove Russian forces from Ukrainian soil, which is very remarkable’. For the full content of this letter go to the link below.
Switzerland: Heatwave predicted for July
03 Jul 2015
Switzerland is preparing for the most intense heatwave in 12 years with weather experts predicting high temperatures above 35C for the first eight to ten days of July. The torrid conditions across the country are expected to be the warmest since 2003 when temperatures exceeded 35C and thousands of people - mostly elderly - succumbed to the heat across Europe. Forecasts are saying similar conditions will develop and continue until at least 8 July as a stable high pressure system extends from the Atlantic Ocean to Central Europe. The European Environment Agency reported this week, ‘Climate change is happening now: temperatures are rising, rainfall patterns are shifting, glaciers and snow are melting and the global mean sea level is rising. We expect that these changes will continue and that extreme weather events resulting in hazards such as floods and droughts will become more frequent and intense. Impacts and vulnerabilities for nature, the economy and our health differ across regions, territories and economic sectors in Europe.’ See also: http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/climate
Sweden: Missing Swedish teen in Syria
03 Jul 2015
A 15-year-old girl from southern Sweden, who has been missing since last month, has phoned her family to say she’s in Homs in Syria, Swedish media are reporting. The teenager, who has been put on an international watch-list, is said to have called home a few days ago, telling her mother that she had made it to Syria after travelling through Turkey with her boyfriend. The teenager suggested that she was planning to join al-Nusra, an extremist Islamist group with links to al-Qaeda. She told her family that she was currently in Homs but that the couple were planning to travel to another city shortly, adding that she would live with a group of women while her partner began military training. ‘I am waiting to hear back from them,’ the teenager’s mother is quoted as saying. ‘I cannot describe how terrible this is and I just wish I could go there myself and fetch her.’
Late afternoon beachgoers watched twelve drug traffickers beach their motorboat on the sand and casually unload their cargo. They were oblivious to the onlookers as they offloaded their illicit cargo and were filmed by a member of the public. The video, posted online, shows a large black dinghy arriving on a stretch of coast near Gibraltar and the men moving the cargo to shore. Police sources reportedly confirmed that the packages probably contained cannabis. The traffickers were not detained by the authorities during or after the incident. Spanish police said the scene reflected the growing impunity of criminal traffickers. A statement from the organisation guarding Spain’s borders and coastline said the situation around Gibraltar was ‘out of control’ due to a lack of staff and resources to tackle the traffickers and criminal organisations which have ever-greater resources, personnel, structure, support, sympathy and capital at their disposal to commit crimes. There’s a high level of unemployment on the Spanish side of the border as well as the problem of terrorism being funding through drug trafficking.
Slovenia: Evangelical witness needed
03 Jul 2015
This small European nation controls some of the continent’s major transit routes due to its central location between Central and Eastern Europe. After World War II, Slovenia became part of Yugoslavia and it finally gained independence in 1991 after a 10-day war. The independence was almost bloodless and Slovenia now has a solid infrastructure. The Catholic Church is predominant in Slovenia, but high rates of secularism and spiritual apathy are growing within it. Despite having an evangelical witness since the Reformation, today’s evangelical presence is known for nominalism and a failure to serve and witness outside of the Church. Very few Christian books have been translated into Slovene, the nation’s official language. Pray that those in Slovenia would break free from their nominal ways towards Jesus.
He expressed deep concern at the recent violent anti-immigration protests in Bratislava on 20 June, a date also celebrated as World Refugee Day. These are complex issues and even in the United States there are multiple views of how best to address them. But we can all agree that at the core of the issue, we are discussing the lives of fellow human beings – women, children and men – in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, and we have a moral obligation to help. The debate about how best to assist them should remain a reasoned, peaceful exchange of ideas.
Serbia: An empty Christian tradition
03 Jul 2015
Captured sixty times and destroyed thirty-eight times, Serbia’s beautiful capital city Belgrade exemplifies the war and civil unrest that the Balkan Peninsula has undergone over the past two millennia. Ethnicity and religion go hand-in-hand. Over half see their faith as cultural and as their ethnic identity, leading to rampant nominalism. The Serbian Orthodox Church has suppressed other churches, often in totalitarian fashion. Non-Serbian Orthodox churches are increasingly attacked, Muslim/Christian relations remain tense. Protestantism has had a history of influence on Hungarian and Slovak minorities, but its impact on Serbs is minimal. But despite deep divisions within the faith community and difficult cultural hurdles, a tiny but growing body of evangelical believers is attempting to overcome ethnic division and are worshipping together in unity.
San Marino: Evangelists needed
03 Jul 2015
San Marino is a small country located inside the borders of Italy. It is the world’s oldest republic and was founded in AD301. Most of the country is Catholic, and there is freedom of religion but currently, sharing one’s faith in this ’ancient land of liberty’ is rarely done due to historic opposition. Pray that believers will proclaim the truth of the gospel that gives people true abundant life boldly. Pray for revival in the nation’s churches and that they will have a renewed focus on the person of Jesus Christ. Pray that the youth will embrace Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Please pray for the political leaders of San Marino.