USA: praying for politicians
29 Sep 2017
America’s intercessors are praying for the presence of God to invade the government and lifting Christians in government to His throne room. Examples are Vice President Mike Pence (‘Giving my life to Christ changed everything’) and CIA director Mike Pompeo (‘Pray and stand and fight and make sure that we know that Jesus Christ, our Saviour, is the only solution for our world’). Others are Ben Carson, the secretary of housing and urban development; Kellyanne Conway (counsellor to the President), whose faith plays a minute by minute part of her life; Reince Priebus, White House chief of staff; and Ken Blackwell, the domestic policy chair, who says his faith influences his decisions. The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, says her faith has a profound impact on her daily life, and that she looks to God for guidance in every decision.
Indonesia and Vanuatu: volcano eruption fears
29 Sep 2017
Since 23 September, 122,500 people have been evacuated to locations outside a 7.5-mile exclusion area around Bali's Mount Agung volcano. The magma has been rising closer to its surface, as indicated by hundreds of daily tremors. The volcano, two miles above sea level, usually attracts hikers, tourists and pilgrims. Hundreds of volunteers have been deployed, according to the International Red Cross; they, and officials, are combing the area, urging villagers to evacuate, and raising warning banners around the exclusion zone. Additionally, on 27 September Mount Sinabung exploded, spewing ash 2.5km into the air over the island of Sumatra, and Vanuatu has ordered an island to be evacuated because of another volcano threat. See and
Brazil decades behind on inequality
29 Sep 2017
Oxfam research shows that Brazilians earning the minimum wage would have to work for nineteen years to make as much as a rich person in Brazil’s top 0.1% makes in one month. At the current pace it would take Brazil 75 years to reach the UK’s current level of income equality. Oxfam had already reported that just six Brazilians own as much money as the poorest half of the country. ‘This is an unjust, unacceptable, and unsustainable situation,’ said Oxfam Brazil’s executive director. ‘We cannot dance around this any more; tackling inequality head-on is everyone’s responsibility. This report is our way of kick-starting this conversation.’ Experts say Brazil’s current situation is due to a backsliding tax system; racial and gender discrimination that erodes the rights of women and black Brazilians; a political system that concentrates power; and politicians highly prone to corruption.
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26 Sep 2019
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From HOPE's executive director
22 Sep 2017
‘I’ve just returned from an amazing gathering of Christian leaders meeting for 24 hours to pray and consider how we make Jesus known in our country over the next thirty years. The Windermere Leaders' Summit was hosted by HOPE, the Church of England, and the Evangelical Alliance. It was humbling to be led in prayer by Namjin Kim from the Korean churches in the UK (did you know that hundreds of South Korean Christians visit our country, at their own cost and in their holiday time, to intercede for us)? Yemi Adedeji, HOPE’s associate director, and Pete Greig from the 24/7 prayer movement spoke prophetically in the opening Bible sessions. Yemi focused on Jesus’ encounter with the grieving widow from Nain (Luke 7): “Jesus is speaking to his Church: arise!” and Pete spoke from 1 Kings 18 on Elijah: “I hear the sound of a heavy rain!”’
From the Bishop of the Northeastern Caribbean
22 Sep 2017
‘Dear brothers and sisters, Hurricane Irma has dealt a hard blow to our diocese and beyond. We are grateful to Almighty God for sparing our lives, and mourn for those whose lives were ended. I urge you to remember the Apostle Peter when he got out of the boat to join Jesus walking on the water. He was fine until he let the winds and waves distract him from the Lord. When he began to sink, he cried out, “Jesus, save me”. And He did. As we go through these difficult days of cleaning up after Irma and struggling with the loss of life and property, let me urge you to keep your eyes on Jesus. Please pray for one another and do not let Satan cause you to stumble. Many places of worship have been damaged, but few of the flock were taken from us. By God’s grace, we will rebuild and prosper in our Lord Jesus.’
Friday Focus: harvest - food with friends
22 Sep 2017
Matthew 14:13-21 tells of Jesus feeding five thousand. It’s a stunning picture of God’s unrivalled generosity and provision for us. What does this tell us about His nature? Our God is a God of hospitality who welcomes each of us, an Incarnate God who sits at the table with us and fills us with good things. He makes his dwelling among us.
(Chine McDonald, World Vision UK/ Share a Meal)