Rishi Sunak backs off endorsing marriage
19 May 2023
Marriages between men and women were ‘the only possible basis for a safe and successful society’, said Christian MP Danny Kruger at the National Conservatism Conference in Westminster. In his speech, he emphasised the Christian notion of marriage as ‘a public act that wider society should recognise and reward’. But Mr Sunak's spokesman said although some ministers chose to speak at the event, that did not mean the Government endorsed its agenda. The remarks causing concern to Downing Street saw Mr Kruger making a bold defence of a traditional theological understanding of matrimony: ‘The normative family - held together by marriage, by mother and father sticking together for the sake of the children and the sake of their own parents and for the sake of themselves - this is the only possible basis for a safe and successful society.’
Doncaster church foodbank broken into again
19 May 2023
Thieves have smashed ‘irreplaceable’ 150-year-old stained glass windows to break into St John the Evangelist Church to steal foodbank products once again. The foodbank has been targeted repeatedly in recent months and organisers have warned that the project could be forced to close, impacting on needy members of the community, if the break-ins continue. Revd Derek Pammett said he was praying for the perpetrators and offered to help them. He said, ‘They are stealing from and harming the community; this must stop or the church authorities will close it all down. If you don't want to involve the police then perhaps someone could ask the culprit nicely to stop. This will harm the needy in our community if it's all shut down.’ Another person said, ‘Someone knows who the perpetrators are. The rumour is that our food is being offered for sale. We give it away free to an ever-growing number of people.’
Liz Truss’s trip a ‘dangerous stunt’
19 May 2023
London’s Chinese embassy called Liz Truss’s trip to Taiwan a ‘dangerous political stunt’ which will bring nothing but harm to the UK. In a pre-briefed extract of her speech to the Prospect Foundation, Truss was expected to say, ‘Last summer Rishi Sunak described China as the biggest long-term threat to Britain, and he promised to close all thirty of UK’s Confucius Institutes, which promote Chinese culture on campus in higher education and in some British schools. Sunak was right; we need to see those policies enacted urgently. Confucius Institutes must close, and the service supplied by Hong Kong and Taiwanese nationals in the UK on a free basis.’ The embassy urged Truss to stop supporting ‘Taiwan independence’. Taiwan has been separate from the People’s Republic of China since 1949, but Beijing insists on reuniting Taiwan with the mainland, by force if necessary.
Bosnia: millions have never heard the gospel
19 May 2023
Zenica city in central Bosnia has a small growing community of believers among the 115,000 Bosniak Muslims. Zenica’s large iron factory provides work for thousands, and the university and other businesses attract people from the surrounding communities. Praise God for both foreign and national Christian workers, who are spreading the good news there. In a city known for iron works, we pray for God’s truth shared through believers to remain sharp as iron and penetrate the hearts of many. Some smaller villages are isolated with zero witness among them. Pray that as the community gathers in Zenica, those who are believers would be put into contact with those open and ready to hear the good news. Proverbs 27:17 says iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another. Father, we ask that believers sharpen one another in spirit and truth and are in such unity that Bosnians will know that it is by Your power they live, move, and find their being.
Turkey: presidential election run-off
19 May 2023
Opinion polls predicted a win for opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the election. However, President Erdogan received 49.5% of the votes, making it a serious test of his twenty-year iron rule. Turkey’s economy has soaring inflation, a plummeting lira, and a cost-of-living crisis partly caused by Erdogan’s wacky economic policies. Also the shambolic response to February’s earthquake which killed 50,000 and displaced 1.5 million added to Erdogan’s many corruption and mishandling scandals. Could mild-mannered technocrat Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who is capable of uniting opposition parties of left and right, be what Turkish voters want in the run-off on 28 May? He has pledged to rule Turkey ‘with consultations and compromise’. A million Turkish expats living in the USA, Germany and Canada voted in the first round of the election: Kilicdaroglu has vowed to win the second round.
Sudan: fraught situation for Christians
19 May 2023
It is a fraught situation for Christians trapped in Khartoum since Sudan’s civil war erupted on 15 April between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militias. Pastor Desta said living in his area was becoming almost impossible. Fire burned down his church and the local market. ‘Every two days we walk to a distant district to get water and provisions. Most of our neighbours have left. The other day two friends and I took the church car to get water and provisions, then RSF members searched and questioned us. It is getting awful. We are waiting for a couple of days. If it gets worse, we will leave. Many are saying that intense fighting means escape has become too dangerous now that RSF members surround those who remain. RSF uses nearby homes for shelter; they are targeted by the army. Indirectly, we are under siege. Nowhere is safe.’
Japan: G7 peace message and WPC call to prayer
19 May 2023
Japan’s Kishida Fumio will host the G7 summit between 19 and 21 May. He condemns Russian aggression and feels that what is happening in Europe could easily happen in the Indo-Pacific. G7 sees climate change as a concern, but Japan reminds us we need to confront proliferation of nuclear weapons. Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons should the Ukraine conflict not go his way. A global effort is needed to lessen the possibility of using them. This summit is in the Indo-Pacific region, ripe for future peacekeeping needs across the Taiwan Strait. China’s aggression towards Taiwan would threaten peace globally. On 20 May at 10 am BST (GMT+1) the World Prayer Centre in Birmingham is calling people to pray for the summit, the G7 leaders, Japan, and many of the above issues. For more information and to join us, click here:
India: bandaging the broken body
19 May 2023
There has been an epidemic of violence toward Christians in Uttar Pradesh. In one attack, radical Hindu nationalists destroyed the church, burned everything especially the Bibles and injured the congregation. They demanded the Christians leave the area, warning the police would not protect them. Sure enough, the police stood back at first, then arrested them, but released them to go to another village and attack Christians. Traumatised and hungry, the Christians returned to repair the damaged village. ICC heard about the attacks and came to aid the small Christian community of 30 with food packages, rent for their stay, medical attention where needed and building materials to repair the church. ‘When we saw things that were brought to us like groceries and the items for the church repair, I felt scriptures being fulfilled in our lives. When one part of the body suffers, the other part shares and helps’, said one member of the congregation.