In January Archbishop Justin Welby tweeted his sadness about the killings and displacements in Nigeria. Writing to the country’s primate, Nicholas Okoh, he offered to contribute towards negotiating peace. He has now repeated that offer, saying, ‘My condolences go to those who have lost loved ones and property. I urge the authorities to seek for ways to ameliorate their sufferings and losses. I call on all people of goodwill to continue to pray for the peace of Nigeria. I mourn with this great country and stand with them in prayer. I once again exhort President Buhari and other authorities, civil and religious, national and international, to build a coalition to end this violence immediately.’ Since January 175,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Benue State and are now living in refugee camps.
North Korea / USA: a call to prayer
06 Apr 2018
Proposals for dialogue between North Korean and American national leaders in the midst of increasing tensions, conflicts, and fear of war have inspired International Prayer Connections (IPC) to call on Christians to pray for a just and peaceful resolution. Pray for wisdom for political, diplomatic and military leaders as they work through differences toward a goal of peace, security and freedom. Ask God to bless the efforts of citizens who seek to bridge the vast differences between these countries. Pray that, however profound the differences between their governments, Americans and North Koreans will not view each other as enemies, but on the contrary desire only the best for each other. May the decades of business, humanitarian and education contact between the two countries now bear fruit by putting a human face on those who are characterised as enemies.
Papua New Guinea: ‘witchcraft’
06 Apr 2018
Archbishop Allan Migi, the Anglican primate in PNG, has condemned the increasing number of alleged witches and sorcerers being killed. He said killing a child suspected of witchcraft is strongly opposed to the way of Christ; it is child abuse in its worst form. The practice of sorcery and witchcraft is ‘an evil thing’, as is ‘the killing of a suspect or taking somebody’s life’. Recently the UN high commissioner for human rights, visiting the country, called for ‘decisive government action’ to tackle the endemic gender-based violence and horrific attacks against those accused of sorcery. The new police minister said, ‘It is not in our history to burn or stone people for sorcery. In the last year or so it has accelerated.’ There is now a police task force to tackle attacks on suspected witches.
Saudi Arabia and Israel
06 Apr 2018
Historically, Saudi Arabia has a hatred for Israel and Jews. No Jew may live in the kingdom, which has never opened diplomatic relations with Israel. For 70 years no Israeli passenger planes have been allowed over Saudi airspace. But there are now signs that this hostile stance may be cautiously changing. The Saudis have a ‘peace plan’ related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and recently there have been rumours of secret communications between the two countries. When President Trump made his maiden trip abroad last May, his first stop was in Saudi Arabia. From there his plane made one of the few flights ever allowed from Arabia to Israel. Netanyahu recently spoke of Israeli relations with the Arab world (including Saudi Arabia) as ‘best ever.’ As of April 2018, flights from India over the Arabian Peninsula will take place three times a week.
Global witness of the Church
06 Apr 2018
Christians are to stop putting politics ahead of the Gospel as they advance racial reconciliation, according to comments at an event held in memory of Martin Luther King Jr. While focusing on racial tension in the USA, the dean for intercultural student development at Calvin College Michigan said there had been ‘significant consequences’ of Donald Trump’s win. ‘For those of us who wept as a result of it, we didn't weep because we're big fans of the Democrats. We wept because we knew not just the national but the global witness of the Church was at stake’, she said. A senior pastor from Austin, Texas called on churches to focus on ‘the politics of heaven’ over ‘the politics of this earth.’
Easter outreach
30 Mar 2018
Across the nations churches proclaim the Easter message this weekend. One example is the ‘Cross His Path’ initiative which distributed 200 crosses for people to find in Sudbury and Great Cornard from 26 to 31 March. Each cross had a Bible verse on one side and on the flipside link details to the ‘Cross His Path’ Facebook page where people could log their finds, receive an Easter message, and leave their own reflections. It also gave details of local Easter services and activities, one of which is a ‘Stations of Sudbury’ walk on Easter Saturday, retelling the story of Jesus’ death through readings and prayers at a variety of locations. It will also give an opportunity to pray for the community. Praise God that the heart of the Christian message is being proclaimed across the UK in a variety of ways. Death is not the end for today’s disciples; there is more to come because of what Christ did for us.
Rescued from slavery in India
30 Mar 2018
Impoverished families trafficked from central Indian states are forced to make thousands of clay bricks daily in appalling conditions. Victims don’t speak out due to intimidation. Officials can’t ascertain the truth. Fortunately, one 13-year-old boy told officials how he worked nine hours a day. His courage emboldened others. Teenage girls described carrying heavy stacks of bricks on their heads. A single mother shared the agony of not getting medical care for her sick child. Soon the local authorities had enough information to complete a rescue operation and bring the victims to safety. On 23 March, IJM reported, ‘nearly 150 children, women and men were rescued from bonded labour slavery in a single Indian brick kiln. Years ago, local leaders would not admit slavery still existed, let alone help families in need. Today the families are receiving medical care, food, ID cards, police protection and release certificates that break any bonds to former owners.’
A three-year-old examines Easter
30 Mar 2018
Supermarket shelves have for weeks been full of Easter Eggs, Easter bunnies and hot cross buns, to remind us that ‘Easter is coming’. A three-year-old’s comments on Facebook remind us of how far the commercial marketing of Easter has removed us from our Christian tradition. You can watch her conversation with her daddy by clicking the ‘More’ button. A few of her comments were, ‘I don’t understand what Easter’s all about. Why do you give me chocolate at Easter, when you say it is bad for me? We learn about Easter at nursery school. Are Easter bunny and Jesus best pals? Is the Easter bunny in the Bible? Does Jesus carry a basket of eggs all the time? Does Jesus like chocolate?’