America: drug crisis
22 Sep 2022Cheaply-made fentanyl is made and distributed in rainbow colours by Mexican drug cartels to appeal to young children and teens. It is fuelling an addiction among American youth. The Drug Enforcement Administration says it is the deadliest drug America faces today. As Americans move further from biblical values, the effects are showing throughout the culture. Children are dying from fentanyl on school campuses while suicide, depression and anxiety rates are higher than ever before. 154 Americans die from fentanyl every day. Parents need to warn their children that fentanyl-laced pills are out there; more importantly, the youth of America need Jesus. They turn to drugs to fill voids and need to hear that God is the only one who can fill our voids and make us whole again. This is a growing national problem that will not be fixed until there are serious efforts to prevent drugs crossing the border.
Suffering Church Week - 22 October
22 Sep 2022Barnabas Aid invited people to join them for their Suffering Church Action and Awareness Week launch on 22 October at their new UK offices in Swindon. It also launched its new medical.gives project. The meeting provided an overview of the increasing suffering endured by Christians, and how we can understand the times we are living in. There were also updates on recent projects supported by Barnabas Aid, under God’s guidance. If people were unable to get to Swindon, Barnabas Aid were livestreaming the event.
Churches' messages to King Charles
15 Sep 2022Pope Francis, who has met King Charles on numerous occasions, has sent this message to him: ‘I assure Your Majesty of my prayers that Almighty God will sustain you with His unfailing grace as you now take up your high responsibilities as King. I invoke an abundance of divine blessings upon you as a pledge of comfort and strength in the Lord’. The Welsh Church’s bishops said, ‘We invite God’s blessing on our new monarch, asking God to uphold him in the spirit of wisdom, service and faith for the years to come. The King has always been a good friend to our nation; we will hold him and the whole royal family in our prayers’. The Archbishop of Canterbury said, ‘Both Her late Majesty and His Majesty treat others as special because, for both, their faith is built on the same rock - the rock of Christ.’
'It's like God is speaking our language’
15 Sep 2022Most of us cannot imagine not having a Bible in the language we speak. But that reality for millions is pushing Bible translators to find new and faster ways to get scripture to every corner of the world. Wycliffe Associates is partnering with churches in distant countries and seeing an explosion of life-changing activity as a result. There are over 5,000 people working in Zambia right now, translating the Bible into 20 native languages. Bishop Henry Mumba‘s first memory of the Bible was hearing the gospel verse John 3:16. When CBN News visited, churchgoers in Mansa, Zambia, were reading and hearing the New Testament in Aushi, their mother tongue, for the very first time. After the Bible reading, there was dancing. ‘It's like God is speaking our language.’ Mumba said.
Upheaval for royal children
15 Sep 2022The Prince and Princess of Wales will delay moving into Windsor Castle in order to avoid more upheaval for their children after moving house just a week ago. The couple had hoped to bring a dose of normality to their three children’s lives by living in the four-bedroomed Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate and doing daily school runs to Lambrook School. For George, Charlotte and Louis, their first day at a new school was exciting, meeting new teachers and new friends as they embarked on their school careers. It was a milestone moment - the first time they have all been at the same school together. But now Queen Elizabeth’s death means that they moved house, had their first day at a new school and lost their great-grandmother ,in the space of six days. The Prince and Princess of Wales will eventually move into Windsor Castle or one of the larger houses on the Windsor estate.
Preparing for the Queen’s funeral
15 Sep 2022Early on 15 September a major rehearsal took place for the 4,500-strong military parade ahead of the funeral of the Queen on the 19th. The funeral will be the biggest parade of its kind in living memory. Pray for God to bless all the many preparations now taking place. On the 15th the King had a private day of reflection, not attending any public events. This provided him with a break from public duties while preparing for his new role. Other members of the royal family will represent the monarchy by lighting candles, viewing floral tributes and books of condolences in various cities. Pray for the royal family in the days before the funeral; may they be blessed with peace and stamina.
Another family mourns
15 Sep 2022As groups of people streamed into London last week to offer tributes and tears to their Queen, another faction with heavy hearts filed through the capital’s congestion. The group of supporters marching with the family of Chris Kaba, who was shot dead by armed police in south London on 5 September, was so large that a Sky News reporter broadcasting live mistook them for royal mourners. An embarrassing - and perhaps telling - mistake from a media so often accused of ignoring or misinterpreting the stories that matter most to black and brown communities. Chris Kaba, 24, who was engaged and due to become a father, was killed by a single shot fired by a Met police officer after a car chase in Streatham. The vehicle he was driving was flagged by a number plate recognition camera linking it to an earlier firearms incident. It has since emerged that the car was not registered to Kaba, but to someone else. In other words, this was a young, unarmed black man killed by someone paid to protect the public. Kaba’s family understandably want answers. In a statement, they said: ‘if Chris had not been black, he would have been arrested and not had his life cut short’. The police officer who shot him has been suspended.
Council asks 'affluent' residents to help others
15 Sep 2022An appeal fund has been started by Buckinghamshire Council to help people facing a cost-of-living crisis. It is working with the charity Heart of Bucks; about £17,000 has been raised to date. Martin Tett, its Conservative leader, said the county had some ‘relatively affluent’ people; he was asking them to make a donation for those struggling to get through the winter. Through the Helping Hand programme, advice, financial help, and information is being offered to people ‘to cover the food and energy costs to households in crises. He said, ‘In the council area not everyone is literally down to their last farthing. If you can afford it, if you can help other people, to help them get through the winter, particularly struggling pensioners and people on very low incomes, we'd like you to consider making a donation towards our crisis fund.’ The council also has Welcoming Spaces programmes, opening libraries for people to spend the day somewhere warm.