Widespread flash floods
25 Aug 2017
West Yorkshire fire service received 23 flood-related calls on Wednesday, the day after over a hundred people had been rescued in Northern Ireland (NI) after being trapped by overnight flooding. In Londonderry and Tyrone 93 people were trapped in cars or homes by floods. At one point the NI fire service received emergency calls every 45 seconds. 63% of the average August rainfall fell in nine hours. The coastguard rescued over thirty people, with helicopters brought in from Scotland, Wales and Sligo. Three thousand homes were without power after lightning struck transformers, bridges collapsed, and Derry Airport was flooded. The NI department for infrastructure said the Red Cross and Western Trust had organised temporary accommodation centres. Emergency financial assistance, administered by councils, will help residents significantly affected by flooding within their homes.
Manchester Resilience Hub
25 Aug 2017
The Manchester Arena attack on 22 May was a traumatic event which has caused severe emotional shock to many of those directly affected by it. These could be survivors, family members of victims, professionals who dealt with the event at the time, or professionals seeking clinical advice about their service users needing help. In response to these needs, the NHS Manchester Resilience Hub has been established. It will coordinate care and support for children, young people, and adults whose mental health and/or emotional well-being has been affected by the incident. The Hub is based in Greater Manchester but is for everyone who was affected, wherever they may live. It offers phone-based advice, support, and information, and can make calls on survivors’ behalf if they are struggling to get the help they need. Pray for the trained mental health professionals and voluntary sector counselling agencies who will be delivering this service.
56,000 migration attempts in a year
25 Aug 2017
More than 56,000 attempts were made to get into Kent from France in 2016. That is an average of 153 attempts a day and is the second highest in seven years, despite dropping by 25,000 compared to 2015. The Home Office said the decrease was a ‘success’. Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke said it was shocking: ‘The figures underline the true scale of the challenge we face, and why we need more investment at our border.’ Pray for the Home Office, Border Force, and their French counterparts as they maintain border security and keep legitimate passengers and trade moving.
Education systems and human prejudice
25 Aug 2017
America’s founding statement that ‘all are created equal’ is forgotten as racism grows there. It grows wherever cultures clash. In the UK teachers spend considerable amounts of learning time dealing with bullying, hate crime, and non-attendance arising from prejudice. One teacher said, ‘I’ve spent countless hours dealing with verbal and physical conflict rooted in fear of difference. In some cases this was triggered by children repeating the views of parents harbouring prejudices of their own.’ She added that there had been an upswing in racism incidents since the 2015 election, when UKIP anti-foreigner rhetoric cascaded from parent to child to playground. Prejudiced views left unchallenged within the education system could ultimately lead to involvement in hate groups and hate crimes by young people who deserve better.
Friday Focus: pray for our family
25 Aug 2017
As an evangelist my greatest calling is to reach my family. ‘Your whole family is going to be in heaven with you, son’ was the whisper of the Spirit into my heart months ago as my youngest daughter met Jesus. Years of prayer answered. Pray daily for your wider family: I still pray with that promise in my heart.
(Carl Beech, the Message Trust)
Papua New Guinea: translation training courses
25 Aug 2017
People in PNG travel many miles to study Bible history, culture, and grammar. They learn how to translate scripture into their own language so that their people can see the full, precise beauty of God’s Word. Each translator has a unique story of how God led them into this important work. Kika shared a little of her testimony: ‘I had been teaching children’s ministry for 27 years, and didn’t expect God to call me to something new. Then I dreamt that the sky opened and two people came down from heaven. I could feel the presence of God upon me, it was a very holy moment.’ The next year she joined the Bible translation team. ‘The work is hard but I am thankful to God for the opportunity to serve my people through Bible translation. I know that the Lord is with me, and I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.’
Victory for a street preacher
25 Aug 2017
Ian Sleeper, a Christian street preacher, was arrested and held for thirteen hours in a police cell after displaying placards depicting love for Muslims and criticising the ideology of Islam. He was released on bail as the CPS could not decide whether to charge him. Strict conditions were imposed, preventing him from going into Southwark. He was on bail for six weeks before the police finally decided to take no further action. He said, ‘It is reassuring that I have not been charged for seeking to expose the truth about Islam. Truth cannot be taken for granted in our modern world, so I will be back out on the street soon.’
Armed disputes reveal Iraqi Christians' discord
18 Aug 2017
On 6 August Patriarch Louis Sako, head of the Chaldean Catholic church, called on Iraqi Christians to unite under one banner and work past their various political affiliations and differing doctrines. In his statement, issued after two armed Christian factions clashed in the Nineveh plains, he said that Christian political parties and armed factions are ‘responsible to a great extent for the suffering and disorder in which Christians live.’ He added, ‘We believe that a huge part of this ordeal is self-inflicted and caused by parties' divisions, their subordination (to Shi’ite and Kurdish groups), and their failure to unite efforts and ranks and make a unified decision.’ Internal Christian divisions have existed for a long time, but they deepened when a number of armed Christian factions formed after IS took over Christian territories in the Nineveh plains.