India: heatwave in the north
19 May 2022
Brutal heatwaves are causing millions of people to struggle. Temperatures hit a record 49.2C (120.5F) in Delhi in its fifth heatwave since March. Officials in many parts of India are asking people to take precautions, as temperatures are set to remain high and could cause health concerns for the elderly, infants and people with chronic diseases. Pray for farmers whose wheat harvests have been affected. Pray for the poor who have fewer ways of keeping cool and fewer options to stay inside, away from the heat. They have to work outside during the hottest hours. Pray for the children in rural areas where schools are in sheds with tin roofs - unbearable in the heat. There are places in India where the temperature itself may not be that high, but when combined with high humidity, life is very difficult. These record heatwaves are a dramatic example of climate change: see
North Korea: over a million Covid cases
19 May 2022
Last week we prayed for North Korea after Covid reached it. The World Council of Churches (WCC) has now warned of a major humanitarian crisis. There are rising Covid cases (currently 1.2 million) and 50+ deaths. 5% of the population is being monitored. The population is unvaccinated, and without adequate ventilators or other essential supplies the risk of an unprecedented death toll is very high. This outbreak greatly compounds the pre-existing humanitarian situation, particularly related to food insecurity. The WCC is calling for urgent humanitarian responses by the international community which are equal to the gravity of the crisis. In particular, newly developed antivirals such as Paxlovid must be provided as a matter of urgency, as well as diagnostics, ventilators, PPE, vaccines, and other medical needs, as well as essential food supplies. WCC wants centralised coordinated approaches through the UN, and for current sanctions to be lifted as a matter of fundamental ethical and humanitarian responsibility.
USA: airline fired Christians 'illegally'
19 May 2022
According to a lawsuit, Alaska Airlines violated federal and state anti-discrimination laws when it fired two Christian flight attendants who spoke out against the Biden administration-backed Equality Act bill which adds ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ to a protected classes list for public places, education and employment. Marli Brown and Lacey Smith, who have brought the lawsuit, were fired shortly after expressing concern about the bill after the airline asked for employees’ comments on it. They were compelled by their Christian faith to speak out against the bill's impact on religious freedom and women's sports, among other things. The airline immediately removed them from flight schedules, terminated their employment, and disparaged their religious expression and beliefs as 'hateful,' 'discriminatory,' and 'offensive’. Alaska Airlines' treatment of the two women and its various public statements show that it does not tolerate employees who hold biblically-based, traditional religious beliefs on issues of sexual morality, the lawsuit says.
REGISTER HERE | ONLINE | FREE
We are just a few days away from the World Prayer Assembly 2 and we really don’t want you and your organisation to miss the opportunity to be part of this free unique online global gathering!
Please would you help us in two ways…
- Join Us! - Prayerfully consider joining us for the daily Prayer Celebrations, each day at 7pm Jakarta time and for whichever of the Regional Assemblies and plenaries you are able. Watch the video! A summary follows, with more info on the website.
- Forward this Email! - Help us get the message out by sharing this email and the social media flyer above with your networks and contacts.
We look forward to welcoming you to the World Prayer Assembly 2.0 online: “Blessing all nations, peoples and cities with the transforming love and goodness of our God”!
Main Daily Plenary Prayer Celebrations
7pm Jakarta / WIB (12 noon UTC | 5.30pm IST | 5am PDT | 8am EDT)
We invite everyone to join us for these united prayer and worship sessions!
The daily themes are:
+ Indonesian Worship Teams + Upper Room Worship + Karen Davis Worship
Praise & Worship | Focused Prayers | Keynote Speakers | Inspiring Videos | Interviews
Regional Assemblies
These regional gatherings across the three days will bring together believers from the corresponding areas of the world along with those who have a calling to be informed and pray for them.
Times are Jakarta Local Time (Convert Time):
Briefings | Group Prayers | Network | Interviews | Discussion | Praise & Worship
Inspirational Speakers + Worship
WPA 2.0 welcomes dozens of international leaders / speakers including
Luis Bush - Transform World Connections, Dr Jason Hubbard -IPC,
Werner Nachtigal - GO Movement, Dr Niko Njotorahardjo - Gereja Bethel Indonesia,
Daniel Pandji - My Home Indonesia, Graham Powers - Unashamedly Ethical,
Rev. Rick Ridings - Succat Hallel 24/7 Jerusalem, John Robb - Transformation Prayer Fndn. / IPC,
Tom Victor - Great Commission Coalition, Dr Bambang Widjaja - Communion of Churches Indonesia
And many more!
Praise and Worship will be led by our host nation's Indonesian Worship Teams
along with Upper Room Worship and Karen Davis Worship.
Prayer + Mission Connect Center
Open to Registered Delegates!
The World Prayer Assembly's Prayer and Mission Connect Center provides an amazing opportunity to meet with representatives of key prayer and missions organizations in real time - as if you were wandering around an exhibition hall!
You can network with other delegates using a state of the art networking feature, once you are logged on.
Do take advantage of this virtual Kingdom marketplace and networking centre… and may you be inspired and encouraged as you seek the Lord to guide and connect you on your journey of 'Great Commission' service for Him!
Please register on this website to participate in WPA 2 and join brothers and sisters in Christ from throughout the world this next week: www.wpa2022.org.
If you could also, the planning team would deeply appreciate your getting this word out to any others in your network so that we may have participants from every tribe, tongue and nation just as will happen around His throne one day!
We look forward to meeting you online!
Blessings,
Dr Jason Hubbard / Pastor Daniel Pandji – Co-Chairpersons
World Prayer Assembly 2
www.wpa2022.org
Andy’s freedom
13 May 2022
Good News for Everyone (formerly the Gideons) distribute Bibles in hospitals, hotels, education, public services, clubs and prisons. A Bible in Andy’s cell at Aylesbury Young Offenders Prison turned his life around. ‘While in prison, I decided to take my own life. My situation had become so hopeless I had lost the will to live. I made a noose and decided to fix it to the window then let myself hang to death. At that moment a quiet voice spoke to me “Just read that Bible”. On the shelf sat a copy of the New Testament and Psalms. I started reading at the beginning of Matthew. At Luke, the story of the lost son, my tears began flowing, my hopelessness disappeared, and the wretchedness I suffered went. If no Bible had been in that cell, I would be in hell right now, instead of living my life in the joy of the Lord!’
Russian missionary pastor in Ukraine
13 May 2022
Pastor Denis, a Russian with an Odessa-based YouTube channel, says, ‘I believe the situation in Ukraine will shake the false foundations of many people’s lives and they will turn to God, who is the Rock of our salvation and who is a strong tower.’ Dodging rockets, Pastor Denis and his congregation are in the streets telling people about Jesus.He says, ‘When we can, we keep witnessing to people, we keep evangelising, unless incoming missiles ruin our plans. We continue to hold church services unless curfews make us stream them.’ Not every Russian supports Putin’s imperialistic designs against neighbouring Ukraine, especially those living outside Russia who have access to western media sources. Pastor Denis believes that the malevolent war against neighbouring Ukraine will lead to revival.
Final year medical students can't afford rent
13 May 2022
Some medical students need to work multiple part-time jobs to afford to complete their degrees. Final year students have stopped training because they don't have enough money to survive.
For that year, they get a bursary to live on (maximum £6,458). It is not enough - especially for those from low-income backgrounds. They are campaigning for better NHS bursaries. Penny Sucharitkul hopes to be a vascular surgeon, but the money does not even cover her rent. She is from a single-parent family, and relying on Universal Credit after her father lost his job during the pandemic. On top of studying full-time, she works as a martial arts instructor and a clinical research assistant. She says working-class students are treated unfairly. ‘We're getting up at 6 am, training all day, then going to work again. It’s incredibly taxing on our mental health. We're burning people out before they've even started in the NHS.’
After-school clubs safeguarding complaints
13 May 2022
Over eighty complaints of assaults, neglect, and sexual abuse have been made about after-school clubs in the past five years. In one incident, an eight-year-old boy had to clean his younger sister who had special educational needs, after she soiled herself: see The Department for Education says every child should feel safe in such clubs. Parents rely on them, and breakfast clubs, to provide childcare outside school hours. Many are not regulated, as providers do not need to register with Ofsted unless they offer childcare for more than two hours. They can register voluntarily with Ofsted in England, but only 10% are inspected a year, meaning they might not be inspected for nearly a decade. The mother of the two siblings said it was difficult for parents to know about the quality of safeguarding, saying, ‘After-school clubs are blind spots that need to be addressed.’