Yemen: vision of ceasefire
01 Nov 2018
Pentagon chief James Mattis said the US had been watching the conflict ‘for long enough’, and believes Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are ready for talks. The comments came as the military coalition deployed over 10,000 new troops towards a vital rebel-held port city in the run-up to a new assault. Mattis said, ‘We have got to move toward a peace effort here, and we can't say we are going to do it sometime in the future. We need to be doing this in the next thirty days.’ His comments came at the US Institute of Peace, whose president, Kevin Martin, said that the Yemen needs peace right now, and even thirty days to halt fighting is too long. He added, ‘I think the Trump administration is trying to get out ahead of a stampede. Congress, public opinion and the media have all turned very much against this war.’ See also the UK article ‘Boris Johnson and the Saudis’.
Global: anti-corruption conference
01 Nov 2018
The 18th International Anti-Corruption Conference brought together 1,800+ delegates from civil society, governments, multilateral agencies, and the private sector. They came from 144 countries to exchange ideas and experiences. Although there has been progress around the world, they are concerned that the foundations of democracy and the rule of law are under threat in many countries. Today, the world is witnessing erosion of good governance, sharp increases in human rights violations and violence. The role of civil society is also being impeded by repressive governments. The rise of authoritarianism, in the guise of populist regimes, threatens all who defend social justice regardless of the regions or continents. Stealing from their own people, colluding with criminals, and distorting laws and truth to serve their own interests result in extremist movements and harsh divisions.
Indonesia: cause of plane crash not yet known
01 Nov 2018
Indonesia has ordered inspections on all its commercial Boeing 737-Max 8 planes, after one crashed into the sea minutes after taking off from Jakarta, with 189 people on board, on 29 October. There are no known survivors. Searchers have recovered debris, bodies and personal items. The flight recorder (‘black box’) has now been located, which may shed light on the mystery of why it crashed, considering that it was almost brand-new. It seems that the pilot asked to return to Jakarta airport before losing contact with air traffic control. A log obtained by the BBC showed the plane had experienced technical problems on the previous day. Indonesia, a vast archipelago, is heavily reliant on air travel but many of its airlines have a poor safety record.
Egypt: detention and torture
01 Nov 2018
Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently published evidence suggesting that Egyptian security forces forcibly detained American taxi driver Khaled Hassan, an American-Egyptian dual citizen, and tortured him. Yet instead of supporting their call for the government to investigate, or even expressing concern, the state information service denied any wrongdoing and continues to undermine the work of HRW and similar groups. The National Security Agency seized Hassan in January and presented him to prosecutors in May. In the intervening months he was beaten, subjected to prolonged stress positions, tortured with electric shocks, and raped twice. Forensic experts reviewing photos of his wounds said they were consistent with torture. During his disappearance, Hassan’s family filed many complaints with the authorities but received no information on his whereabouts. Torture and enforced disappearance are crimes under international and Egyptian law.
North Korea: worship planting in a prison toilet
01 Nov 2018
It is estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 Christians are imprisoned in horrific labour camps in North Korea. Hea Woo was held in one such camp. When she arrived, she saw a sign there saying, ‘Do not try to escape, you will be killed’. She said they mercilessly kicked her and beat her. ‘Death was a part of our daily life. The bodies were usually burned and the guards scattered the ashes on the path we walked down every day. I always thought, one day the other prisoners will be walking over me. God helped me to survive. He gave me a desire to evangelise among the other prisoners! He showed me whom I should approach. God used me to lead five people to faith. We met secretly, often in the toilet, because it was so disgusting that the guards never went there. I taught them Bible verses and songs. We sang noiselessly.’
Jordan: decline in fertility desire
01 Nov 2018
49% of Jordanian mothers do not want to give birth again, according to a survey of 19,000+ households. The study results were shared on Facebook, generating mixed reactions. While some raised concern on feminist issues, most comments took a financial turn. More than often, men and women agreed that ‘the challenging financial situation’ is enough of a reason to stop them from having more than two children. Pray for these mothers to find the means to provide for their children (Mark 7:27). We can praise God for parents who have the heart to protect and keep them safe. Pray also that all children will receive help and assistance for their education.
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the farthest parts of the earth. Psalm 72:8
Dearest Pastors and Signatories,
The Accord Movement is growing daily! In the last 3 weeks we have had over 10,000 people visit our website with an average of 103 people signing daily. There are now more than 418 Pastors who have signed on worldwide. The Accord is becoming more and more International. In my first update, people from 20 Nations had signed on as of today that number has more than doubled going over 50. The top 5 nations and provinces are:
TOP 5 NATIONS
- Nigeria - 85
- United States - 76
- United Kingdom - 72
- Australia - 11
- Ghana – 10
TOP CANADIAN PROVINCES
- BC - 1980
- AB - 295
- ON - 249
- MB - 164
- SK - 87
We have sensed that in order for this to become the global movement that we are sensing God wants it to be that we are needing to change the umbrella name to OneAccord.
BC will continue to operate under the name West Coast Christian Accord. But the movement will be called OneAccord from now on and the website will soon be converted over to www.oneaccord.one
We would hope to establish chapters across Canada and the world. I will be traveling to present OneAccord in Calgary and Edmonton early next month. Pastor Giulio will be presenting in Saskatchewan. I just now got off the phone with a key Pastor who was inquiring for Quebec. Bless the Lord. Ontario is right now in the planning stages for launching D21.
As we all know we are only days away from the municipal election. What I am finding is that there are so many people running in every municipality that people are genuinely confused about who is who, and their positions. NEWS1130 just sent out a voter position guide. I posted this on my own personal FB page - maybe you could too: https://www.citynews1130.com/2018/10/15/anti-sogi-endorsements/
You can also refer to letsvote.ca and elections.bc.ca
Over 3,199 committed Christians have signed the West Coast Christian Accord (WCCA), a declaration of covenant upholding Biblically-based truth on human identity, sexuality, marriage and the responsibility to protect all children.
For more information please contact:
Pastor Kevin Cavanaugh
Lead Pastor, Cedar Grove Baptist Church
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Pastor Giulio Gabeli
Lead Pastor, Westwood Community Church
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Pastor Paul Dirks
Lead Pastor, New West Community Church
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Asia Bibi, a young mother of five who has spent 8 years behind bars unjustly accused of blasphemy against Muhammad by Muslim neighbors, has now been finally acquitted by Pakistan's Supreme Court of the charges against her. Friends who monitor the situation there now write:
"This is indeed good news, but now Asia Bibi, her whole family and the whole Christian community need much prayer cover, indeed anyone involved in this case, the judges, the lawyers, also the government. Several groups have already sworn to take revenge on the Christian community. One of our team members in Lahore was visiting family across the city because of a death in her family. She is caught there and cannot return as there are threats of riots and people have been told to stay inside their houses."
Another ministry leader who has spent his life working in that region wrote: "This is an important time to pray for Pakistan for different reasons. Now the Christian community is in danger of getting attacked and the extremists want to see revenge, but we should also pray that the government would back up the decision of the Supreme Court. This was a very encouraging and courageous ruling. There are many others still in prison for the same wrong charges."
- Please pray that the police and authorities will be able to keep control of this situation and stop any rioting by the Islamic extremists of which there are many who will be very angry about this ruling.
- Pray that this court decision will not result in bloodshed which is always possible in this spiritual dark, majority Muslim country.
- Pray that the blasphemy law which enables such false accusations, often attended by terrible violence against the Christians, will be rescinded and others who have been imprisoned unjustly will be acquitted and released.
- Pray for His peace to settle over this land, for the protection and empowering of the Christian community, and that the oppressive spiritual bondage will be broken over Pakistan so that many of the majority will come to Christ.
More info: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46040515