How can we worship and share our lives, when the two ways of being together - in person and online - are often really difficult for families? Making online church work for children means including them. Six-year-old J says, ‘I like talking to everyone on Zoom after the service.’ A mother said, ‘It’s good when someone asks them questions, and listens. They don’t like listening to adult conversations.’ A three-year-old now celebrates the eucharist with the Vicar with his own cup, plate, and bread. Rev’d Mo Baldwin makes Zoom interactive. Children have treasure hunts, breakout-room challenges like artwork, or designing something. The families also record elements of the service. Beth’s 12-year-old daughter coordinates Kids Church Online, including creating worship herself and encouraging other families to make things and send them in. Rev’d Stephen Gardner reads a bedtime story online every night. A mum said, ‘We all cuddle up together to watch.’
Aegean Sea earthquake
06 Nov 2020
An earthquake in the Aegean Sea on 30 October has so far killed 107 people in Turkey and Samos. It is not yet clear on how many people are still under the rubble of 20 Turkish buildings; 144 survivors are still in hospital and over 1,000 people were injured in Turkey. A ‘mini tsunami’ flooded streets in Turkey and Samos. Four days after being buried alive a young girl called Ayda was pulled from the rubble. As she was being taken to an ambulance, wrapped in a thermal blanket, everyone clapped and chanted ‘God is great’. Her rescue came a day after a three-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl were also pulled out alive from collapsed buildings. Pray for those still waiting for news of lost relatives - and for any more still alive to be found.
Austria: terror attack in Vienna
06 Nov 2020
A 20-year-old gunman, Kujtim Fejzulai, previously convicted of trying to travel to Syria to join IS, was killed by police after he had gone on a shooting spree, killing four different people at different locations in Vienna. 23 people including a policeman were wounded; three of them are still in a critical condition. The victims were in an area near the central synagogue, full of people in bars and restaurants. Several arrests were made during searches. The IS group claimed responsibility, but there is no evidence of any accomplice. Fejzulai had been freed from prison in December 2019 after completing a de-radicalisation programme.
France: secularism causing divisions
05 Nov 2020
The text of the 1905 French law that lays down the separation of church and state in the country doesn't specifically mention secularism. Nevertheless, the principle is a key part of the country's political fabric. But tensions between some sections of Islam and an interpretation of secular values have now become more pronounced, particularly in recent weeks. Protests have erupted in recent days in many Muslim countries against France, its president, Emmanuel Macron, and its perceived animosity towards their faith. France claims it is officially neutral, supporting neither religion nor the absence of it.
USA: election disorder
05 Nov 2020
Donald Trump had previously said if the presidential election were close, he would accuse his opponents of voter fraud and trying to steal victory. Before all votes are counted he has done just that, claiming to have won, and launched a supreme court challenge, baselessly alleging fraud. At the time of writing, Biden is in the lead, but by the slenderest of margins. On 5 November, Trump tweeted, ‘I hereby claim victory’ - despite trailing at the time by 214 votes to 253. Pray for acceptance to replace the anger in people wanting to win more than they want to be right. With the nation on edge, the final result may not be known for days. Pray for peace on the streets.
Armenia: genocide
05 Nov 2020
The Azeri-Turkey offensive is worsening, with cluster bombs falling on innocent civilians even as they sheltered in churches. There is justifiable concern among Armenian Christians of a rising threat of ethnic cleansing from their historic Christian land. On 1 November the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that the indiscriminate attacks on densely populated areas with associated loss of civilian life and destruction of infrastructure ‘contravenes international humanitarian law’ and ‘could be a war crime’. Recent reports indicate that large supplies of Israeli-built weapons, including devastating ‘kamikaze drones’ and unmanned aerial vehicles have been supplied to Azerbaijan and deployed against Christian civilians. Since September 90,000 Armenians, over half the region’s population of 144,000, have fled the conflict to take refuge in Armenia. Pray that the supply of military weapons to Azerbaijan will cease immediately and for guarantees that Israeli technology, including lethal drone strikes, will not be used in the conflict.
Philippines: Typhoon Goni
05 Nov 2020
The Philippines is used to powerful storms, but this year preparations are being complicated by Covid-19 which has killed 7,221 people so far. On 1 November, in preparation for Typhoon Goni, 361,000 people were evacuated to tents inside school gymnasiums and government-run evacuation centres. Coronavirus patients are treated in isolation tents. Goni damaged 90% of the buildings in Virac, the first town it struck. Pray for the 70,000 residents who have lost so much, including lives. Pray for those in several other towns still inaccessible on 5 November. Pray for successful relief efforts being complicated by the pandemic. Pray for the 370,000 displaced people not knowing what they will find when they return home. Tens of thousands of homes are completely destroyed. Goni is the worst typhoon to hit the Philippines in seven years. With communication not yet completely restored it is difficult to obtain information. Pray for speedy repairs to electricity, water, and cellular networks.
Climate change data highlight priorities
05 Nov 2020
About nine million species of animals and plants are exposed to changes in the global climate. Monitoring how climate change affects wildlife and ecosystems has become critical for directing conservation measures where life is most at risk. Today the world's biggest iceberg is bearing down on South Georgia. The Antarctic ice giant, similar in size to the island or to the county of Somerset, is expected to anchor itself offshore of the wildlife haven; posing a grave threat to local penguins and seals. Their normal foraging routes could be blocked, preventing them from feeding their young properly. All creatures living on the seafloor would be crushed where it touches ground. David Attenborough said the world is a unique and spectacular landscape, if we act now we can put it right and save and protect the animals and plants we have endangered throughout centuries of changing the natural world.