Global: Migrant crisis
17 Mar 2023
Britain. Europe, the US, and other wealthy countries have a refugee problem. In the past week Mexican officials found over 340 migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Ecuador in an abandoned truck trailer in the state of Veracruz. This included 103 unaccompanied minors. It is one of the biggest recent discoveries of migrant children travelling through Mexico. All appeared unharmed and the trailer had fans and ventilation ports. The driver's whereabouts are unknown. Fleeing Central America’s poverty and violence many migrants end up paying huge sums of cash to people-smugglers to get them across the US border. See A large operation off Italy's coast rescued 1,300 migrants in overcrowded boats near the southern region of Calabria, and two weeks ago73 migrants died in the same region. See UN figures state 103 million people were forcibly displaced around the world in mid-2022. Thirty-seven million were refugees or asylum seekers.
Kenya: I went into debt, trying to get a miracle
17 Mar 2023
Evarline is hundreds of pounds in debt, after paying a pastor to pray for her. She lives in a Nairobi slum and can no longer provide for her four children. Evarline lost her job so when she heard about a pastor whose prayers could make life better, she went to see him. He asked her for 15,000 Kenyan shillings (£96). This is called a ‘seed offering’: a financial contribution to a religious leader, with a specific outcome in mind. She borrowed the money from a friend, who took out a loan on her behalf. She had been told this pastor's prayers were so powerful that she would see a return on her money within a week. The miracle never came. The loan her friend took out ballooned due to unpaid interest. She has no idea how she'll pay it back. Her friend has stopped talking to her. She still has no job.
UAE: Detaining 2,400 Afghan asylum seekers
17 Mar 2023
Human Rights Watch reported the United Arab Emirates is detaining 2,400+ Afghan asylum seekers at makeshift facilities after being evacuated from Kabul following the 2021 Taliban takeover. They are living in cramped, miserable conditions and stranded in limbo, with no hope of being resettled. The UAE denied conditions were poor and said they were working with the US to finish resettlement processes. Over 10,000 other Afghans who were flown to the UAE have been resettled in America, Canada and elsewhere. A further 70,000 were evacuated directly to the US before American troops left Kabul. The Afghans are housed in two converted apartment complexes known as Emirates Humanitarian City and Tasameem Workers City. Some Afghans had previously worked for US government-affiliated entities or programmes in Afghanistan. They reported constraints on their freedom of movement, limited access to fair refugee status, lack of adequate access to legal counsel or children’s education plus no psychosocial support.
Global: AUKUS Building nuclear submarines
17 Mar 2023
The US, UK and Australia have unveiled details of their plan to create a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, aimed at countering China's influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Under the AUKUS pact Australia is to get its first three nuclear-powered submarines from the US. The allies will also work to create a new fleet using cutting-edge tech, including UK-made Rolls-Royce reactors. The deal will create thousands of jobs in the UK's Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, Derby and elsewhere. Beijing has strongly criticised the significant naval deal. Its foreign ministry accused the three nations of ‘walking further ‘down the path of error and danger.’ China's UN mission had earlier accused the Western allies of setting back nuclear non-proliferation efforts. Mr Biden said the deal would not jeopardise Australia's commitment to being a nuclear-free country.
The new faith-based film Jesus Revolution opened last weekend and brought in $15.5 million - more than double the original estimate. The film tells the true story behind the Jesus Movement of the 1970s, including how Pastor Chuck Smith welcomed hippies looking for truth at his church. It gave birth to one of the greatest spiritual awakenings in American history and birthed the Harvest Christian Fellowship, in Riverside, California, which is now one of the largest churches in America. The church has sponsored its local SoCal Harvest event for three decades, making it one of the longest-running evangelistic events in the nation, attended by millions of people. Despite mixed critical reviews, the film has a remarkable 99% audience rating on the review aggregator and has earned a rare A+ CinemaScore from opening day audiences.
Iran: Christian converts released
10 Mar 2023
Mehdi Rokhparvar, who was serving a five-year sentence for ‘acting against national security’ by ‘forming an illegal evangelical Christian group’, was released from Tehran’s Evin Prison in the same week as fellow convert Saheb Fadaie as part of a wider amnesty of prisoners on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Republic. However, such pardons, while welcome, do not address the original injustice of their sentencing and imprisonment as the government continues to regard rights and freedoms guaranteed in international law as crimes; including the right to freely adopt a religion of one’s choice, and manifest one’s faith in community with others.
Holy Oil is ready for King’s coronation
10 Mar 2023
Preparations for King Charles III’s coronation are underway. A particularly symbolic ritual took place recently in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre when the Holy Oil that will be used to anoint the new monarch was consecrated by Jerusalem’s Patriarch and the Anglican Archbishop. It was created using olives from the Mount of Olives and the Monastery of Mary Magdalene and perfumed with essential oils including sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, and orange blossom. The Holy Oil anointing is at the centre of the most sacred part of the Coronation ceremony when the Archbishop of Canterbury pours the oil into the Coronation Spoon and anoints the sovereign on the hands, breast and head. The tradition goes back to the Old Testament (the anointing of Solomon by Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet). Anointing was one of mediaeval holy sacraments emphasising the spiritual status of the sovereign. The anointing ceremony is not expected to be shown on television, but under a canopy instead.
Hope for the countryside
10 Mar 2023
The Psalms and prophetic texts proclaim that fruitfulness from the land is a clear sign of God's blessing on the people and something for which to be grateful. His withholding of crops is a sign of our sin and His displeasure. Yet, notwithstanding the rhetoric and celebration of country life, the UK still seems to fail to appreciate or grasp the value of the land entrusted to us and the harvest it yields. We remain heavily reliant on imported food, whilst some of our own farmers are ceasing to produce food as costs escalate. Growers cannot make a living, consumers cannot afford the food in the shops and, despite clear evidence from our supermarket shelves, there are still no assurances that the government is taking domestic food security seriously. Pray for an awakening to the reality of the situation, humility, and God’s wisdom and understanding, amongst policy makers, business, church leaders and retailers.