World: Christians agree code of conduct
01 Jul 2011On 28th June three organizations, representing 90% of world Christianity launched a global code of conduct for proselytizing in a bid to reduce tensions between different religious convictions. ‘Today represents an historic moment in our shared Christian witness. This is the first time that a document has been issued by the World Council of Churches together with the World Evangelical Alliance and the Pontifical Council for the Interreligious Dialogue of the Holy See,’ said Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran. The three groups represent nearly two billion Christians. The document will cause all Christians to work in unity as they ‘re-examine’ practices in light of their life and teachings of Jesus.
Pray: that Christians will not only work together but receive God's blessing and become an even stronger voice on behalf of those suffering oppression and persecution. (Ps.133)
More: http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=4991
Rights activists and religious groups in Armenia say new legislation will increase intolerance towards the country's evangelical Christians and other minorities, some of whom already face prosecution for their church activities. In statements obtained by BosNewsLife they criticized a proposed new 'Religion Law' as well as changes to the 'Law on Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Apostolic Church' and to the Criminal and Administrative Codes. ‘In practice they would be used to repress religious organizations,’ warned Stepan Danielyan, who represents the Yerevan-based Collaboration for Democracy Center. ‘This is a kind of theatrical farce,’ added Evangelical Pastor René Leonian in a statement distributed by rights group Forum 18. He spoke as his colleague, Pentecostal Pastor Vladimir Bagdasaryan, was preparing to hear a possible guilty verdict in a controversial trial.
Pray: that these proposed changes would not lead to the church facing intolerance or persecution. (Ps.102:26)
More: http://www.bosnewslife.com/17629-armenia-evangelicals-under-pressure-amid-new-legislation
West Bank: Muslims oppose Christian youth centre
21 Jul 2011
A Christian mission in Bethlehem faces opposition from neighbours and city leaders over a youth centre it established in a Muslim neighbourhood. Pastor Steven Khoury of Holy Land Missions said his father, Naim Khoury, was summoned to the courthouse recently and warned that carrying out Christian work in the town of Shepherd’s Field would lead to trouble. But the trouble had already begun. Muslim extremist neighbours of an HLM youth centre have verbally attacked two youth leaders and vandalized the building’s locks. They also threatened to attack Pastor Naim and said they would ‘break the legs’ of anyone who enters the youth centre. Outreach and prayer meetings are scheduled to begin at the youth centre next week. Also Israel’s UN ambassador, Ron Prosor, told the Security Council during a debate entitled ‘Children in armed conflict’ that Hamas is using Palestinian children to carry out acts of terror against Israeli children. See
Pray: for evangelical Christians working in the West Bank to know God's peace and protection. (Ps.5:11)
More: http://www.persecutionblog.com/2011/07/vom-usa-prayer-update-for-july-8-2011.html
West Africa: Slow motion famine
28 Jun 2010
‘Warnings of an impending food crisis in Niger sounded by the UN and other aid agencies late last year met with little response from the international donor community. Contributions are starting to trickle in at the UN, but by the time enough aid gets through it will have come too late for many - most of them babies and young children.’ said UN Humanitarian Affairs chief, Jan Egeland. See: http://us.oneworld.net/article/never-again-niger-famine-latest-crisis-that-could-have-been-prevented Pray: for an incredibly effective response to the cry for relief and aid that is needed right now. (Job 5:10-11) More: http://english.aljazeera.net/video/2010621204319754684.html
West Africa: Food shortage
16 Aug 2012A deepening food crisis in West Africa’s Sahel region sparks fears of famine. Events might easily mirror the devastation seen recently in the Horn of Africa unless urgent action is taken. According to a new report commissioned by World Vision and Save the Children a lack of ability to access, grow, and store food year after year means millions of children in West Africa now live in a state of permanent food shortage. The report calls for a radical rethinking of policies to address hunger in West Africa. Contributing factors to this situation are low rainfall and rising food prices leading to poor harvests and declining food supplies. Crop yields have been nonexistent in some areas and severely reduced in others. In addition recent conflicts, the return of hundreds of migrant workers, and a flow of refugees from Mali into one of the most affected areas of Niger has further strained an already stressed food supply.
Pray: for the 18 million affected across Niger, Mauritania, Mali, Chad and Senegal who are facing desperate food shortages are in imminent danger of doing so. (Is.58:7)
More: http://www.worldvision.org/news/west-africa-food-crisis-qa
West Africa: Food crisis
20 Oct 2012Over 19 million are hungry. The greatest needs are in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Senegal. Several seasons of crops have failed leaving nothing to harvest. In many instances this has been followedy by floods which wiped out crops and food stores. Families across West Africa have faced successive emergencies, have nothing stored to see them through another poor harvest and food prices have risen by 40%. Christian Aid has released the following prayer, ‘We pray for our sisters and brothers caught up in a cycle of drought and hunger, for parents struggling to find food and seeing their children go hungry, for farmers seeing their crops fail and livestock die. May the leaders of the nations act with insight and urgency, bringing relief to those who suffer now. We join our voices with those who call for an end to poverty. Amen.’
Pray: for God in His mercy to release the provisions needed for those caught in the poverty/hunger trap. (Ps.57:1)
More: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/current/west-africa-food-crisis/index.aspx
A new Sars-like virus discovered in humans could pose “a threat to the entire world”, the World Health Organisation warned this week. The organisation believes the virus is “emerging faster than our understanding” after cases were reported in eight countries - including two in Britain. During an address to delegates gathered at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, director general Dr Margaret Chan said that this virus was now “her greatest concern”. Dr Chan advised the world to pull together all of its resources to tackle the virus, warning that “alarm bells” must be responded to. The coronavirus has infected 44 people worldwide and experts are unsure as to what causes the virus or how it spreads. It has a similar molecular structure to the Sars virus that killed 774 people in 2003. Like Sars, it causes respiratory problems in the patient, but unlike Sars, it can also induce life threatening kidney failure.
Pray: for scientists around the world to work together to understand and manage this new virus. (Ex.15:26)
More: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/world-health-organisation-warns-against-threat-to-the-entire-world-from-new-sarslike-virus-8638434.html
Vietnam: Tragic details emerge in persecution
11 Sep 2010
International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned new details about recent religious persecution in Vietnam and the following brutal cover-up. Vietnamese authorities ordered the Christian Con Dau village, near the city of Da Nang, to be abandoned to build a resort on the site. When the people resisted water irrigation was shut off to the rice fields, cutting off the main source of income and food. On May 4, 2010, Vietnamese police surrounded and attacked a funeral as it approached the cemetery. Police arrested and beat 62 persons. After the initial incident, special police units have since returned to Con Dau multiple times, demanding information and forcing villagers to sign self-incriminating statements and to spy on each other. ICC's Regional Manager, Logan Maurer, stated, ‘The Vietnamese government has exposed its brutality and greed, torturing and killing Christians to make room for their ambition. The tourist resort they plan to build in Con Dau will have its foundation in blood’. Pray: that the Vietnamese government would recant and reverse its decisions. (Ps.5:11)