Syria: peace talks or military solution?
29 Jan 2016
The UN special envoy on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, hopes to start peace talks in Geneva today between the government and opposition groups. The sides will not talk directly to each other to begin with, but negotiators will move between them. Priorities are to agree a general cease-fire, stop the IS threat, and clear the way for humanitarian aid. On Monday, the day the talks were originally scheduled to start, Mr de Mistura said, ‘We want to ensure that when and if we start, it will be on the right foot. It will be uphill.’ Turkey's foreign minister said that any participation of Kurdish forces in these peace talks would be dangerous and spell the end of the UN-led initiative. Meanwhile US vice-president Joe Biden said that the United States and Turkey are prepared for a military solution against IS in Syria if the Syrian government and rebels fail to reach a political settlement. See
North Korea
29 Jan 2016
For fourteen years North Korea has been the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian. Believers face arrest, torture, imprisonment and death for daring to think there is a higher authority than Kim Jong-un. Many follow Jesus in secret. Parents don't even tell their children about their faith, for fear they will be revealed. Thousands of Christians are trapped in horrific labour camps, prison camps, and isolated closed villages. Most will stay there until they die. Despite the risks North Koreans are still choosing to follow Christ. A social stratification system called 'Songbun', similar to the Indian caste system, divides people into three classes: the loyal, the wavering and the hostile. These are further divided into 51 subclasses. Christians are part of the 'hostile' class, with Protestant Christians being number 37 and Catholic Christians number 39. Food and basics are often scarce, so pray for protection for those who smuggle food, medicine and Christian material into the country.
Iran's president asks the Pope to pray for him
29 Jan 2016
Pope Francis met the Iranian president on Tuesday, joining in discussions touching on the nuclear accord and Iran's role in the region. Before these discussions, the two men met privately for forty minutes. The Vatican described the talks as ‘cordial’, with good Iranian-Vatican relations. After the meeting President Rouhani asked the Pope to pray for him. The Vatican meeting was a key part of an Iranian effort to take a more prominent place on the world stage after a nuclear deal with Western powers. The Vatican said that Iran was also urged to help fight arms trafficking. Rouhani's visit to the Holy See saw the first meeting between a pope and an Iranian president since 1999. He is on a four-day European visit to boost Iran's image abroad as well as to rehabilitate economic ties with a continent that had been a big trade partner before sanctions.
South Sudan: urgent support needed
29 Jan 2016
An alert from the Integrated Food Classification (IPC) states that in some areas of South Sudan the situation has reached ‘catastrophic’ and ‘emergency’ levels. Over a third of the population are experiencing severe levels of hunger, and many are eating wild foods and drinking unsafe water to survive. In Unity State, one of the three areas worst affected, Christian Aid is supplying fast-maturing vegetable seeds, fishing nets and water purification tablets. To prevent the spread of disease, they are also distributing hygiene kits which include soap, sanitary products, jerry cans for transporting and storing water, and mosquito nets. Unless the response can be scaled up, livelihoods and lives will be lost. Further catastrophe can be averted. Christian Aid and other NGOs urgently need more funding to respond to this humanitarian crisis.
Canon John Simons and Andy Page were privileged to attend the World Prayer Assembly in May, where John helped staff a Prayer Alert stand and Andy did some presentations on Using Technology for Prayer.
More than 9,000 people attended the event in Jakarta, Indonesia, at the Sentul Conference Centre - with another 2,000 on the waiting list. Delegates were able to visit a 24-7 prayer room at the top of a Prayer Tower, which overlooks the region.
John Robb, the event organiser said after the event, 'God by His Spirit was working so many agendas in the lives of those who took part that it is impossible to recount all that happened or was reported. So many said their lives and ministries would never be the same. We have received encouraging reports from a number of nations as participants have begun to implement strategies of prayer mobilization and other actions that they were inspired to undertake during the WPA. Praise God for all He did and continues to do through this gathering! Following the conference, Crosswinds team member, Andy Page was asked by Pastor Austen Ukachi to assist him with mobilising prayer for Nigeria after a spirit filled plenary session meeting of the 30 Nigerian delegates.
The Prayer Alert Team were delighted with the interest in the project, with many people signing up to receive the weekly prayer bulletin.
Beyond the Letterbox
26 Jan 2016
Lent is very early this year starting on the 11th of February. We have written a Lent resource, designed for Individuals, home groups or whole Church engagement. Each week has a scripture and one neighbour challenge for the week. For those of us who would like to do one small thing each day (Sunday's excluded as a day of rest), there are an additional 33 suggestions for you. There are also 7 prayer themes each week.
For those wanting to dig deeper into scripture, there is a reflection about the scripture and some questions to make you think about how the scripture relates to your neighbourhood.
The whole resource is 20 pages long and costs just £1 per booklet. We are going to print next week. In order for us to know how many to print, please pre-order now. We have asked a church leader for an opinion and he is keen to use it as a basis for a sermon series either this year or next year. We also have already had another ministry order 200 booklets for their ministry contacts to help them engage in Lent. Delivery first week of February. Click here to order.
Although the Episcopal Church in the USA allows its clergy to perform same-sex marriages, Chief Justice Roy Moore has ordered the reaffirming of the marriage law in Alabama with an administrative order saying, ‘Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment. Confusion and uncertainty exist among the probate judges of this State. Many judges are issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples; others are issuing marriage licenses only to couples of the opposite gender or have ceased issuing all marriage licenses.’ Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel said, ‘In Alabama and across America, state judiciaries and legislatures are standing up against the federal judiciary or anyone else who wants to come up with the view that somehow the Constitution now births some newfound notion of same-sex marriage. The opinion of five lawyers on the US Supreme Court regarding same-sex marriage is lawless and without legal or historical support.’
Iran releases Pastor Saeed Abedini
22 Jan 2016
We rejoice that Pastor Saeed Abedini, an Iranian believer from a Muslim background, has been released from prison. He has US citizenship and had been imprisoned since September 2012, accused of undermining national security, due to his involvement with house fellowships. During his imprisonment he had serious health issues, suffered physical and verbal abuse, and received death threats on account of his faith in Christ. Saeed was released as part of a prisoner exchange between the US and Iran that also saw the release of three other Iranian-Americans: Jason Rezaian, Amir Hekmati and Nosratollah Khosravi. Saeed’s wife, Naghmeh, expressed her joy and surprise at the news of his release and thanked everyone around the world who had been interceding for Saeed and his family (1.1 million people joined the ‘Save Saeed’ campaign). Iranian Christians request our continuing prayer that Saeed and his family will know God's strength in the necessary adjustments, and that other Christians detained in Iranian prisons will be encouraged and released soon.