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Bishop Munib A. Younan, President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), has called Norway a beacon of hope and inspiration for the way it has dealt with the horror and pain of last year's massacre. Younan was speaking on 30 July at the week-long St Olav Festival in Trondheim, which runs from 28 July to 5 August, according to a report from Lutheran World Information, the LWF's news service. He spoke following the one-year anniversary of Norway's deadliest attack since the Second World War, where an anti-Muslim extremist on 22 July 2011, killed 77 people in two separate attacks in Oslo and on the island of Utoya where a youth camp was gathered. ‘You have shown, in the way you have processed the horror and pain of 22 July 2011 that you do not accept violence as a means of obtaining social and political change. You represent today - in our tested, pluralistic world - values of social justice, multiculturalism and unity in diversity,’ he noted.
Pray: that Norway will continue to shine as a beacon of hope. (Job.27:8)
On 10.10.10 the new leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irenjy, was enthroned at the Patriarchate in Pec. The two-and-a-half-hour service was a unique blend of a highly formal and informal Orthodox liturgy. Three hundred people gathered in the church, which holds only 100 comfortably. Patriarchates from all over the Orthodox world were represented, from Moscow, Athens, Jerusalem, and elsewhere, alongside invited Roman Catholic and Protestant leaders, three Serbian Islamic muftis, and two Anglicans: Canon Jonathan Goodall, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Ecumenical Secretary, and Canon Donald Reeves. The Pec Patriarchate, seat of the Patriarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church since 1217, is regarded as its spiritual centre. However Pec is in the independent Republic of Kosovo, not Serbia. No Kosovo Albanians had been invited to the service. To have done so would have been to acknowledge Kosovo as an independent state, no longer part of Serbia. Pray: for reconciliation between the Serbs and Kosovans through the Church in the Balkans. (Ac.7:26)
The newly appointed General Secretary of the European Evangelical Alliance says revival is essential for Europe's traditional churches. Rev Niek M Tramper was appointed to his new post at the EEA's annual conference in Turkey on April 22. Rev Tramper, of the Netherlands, said there were many challenges facing the Church in Europe, including the need for greater cooperation between new and traditional forms of Church, a growing Muslim population, and tensions between the rich and poor. ‘The Church and Christian movements need each other in advancing the Kingdom of God,’ said Rev Tramper. ‘Traditional churches cannot continue without revival. Profound theology and missionary zeal are complementary. In places with few historic churches, the EEA is of great value for facilitating the replanting of churches in countries like Kosovo, Albania and Turkey, as well as in Central Asia.’
Pray: that the Lord directs Rev Tramper’s energy and vision in ways that promote Christ’s kingdom. (2Ti.3:9-11)
The European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) has welcomed the European Union's adoption of guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion. The guidelines were adopted by the foreign ministers of all 27 EU member states at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. They were developed in consultation with the European Platform on Religious Intolerance and Discrimination (EPRID), founded in 2006 by the EEA, Open Doors International and Christian Solidarity Worldwide. The focus of the guidelines is on the external policy of the European Union related to understanding, monitoring and promoting freedom of religion or belief and raising awareness of this right in non-EU countries. The EEA said the guidelines would strengthen the EU's capacity to defend religious freedom by addressing the causes of violations and formulating responses. Victims of religious freedom violations will also be in a stronger position to ask EU delegations and member state embassies to intervene on their behalf.
Pray: that the adoption of these new guidelines will strengthen the EU’s capacity to defend religious freedom. (Jam.2:12)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/new.eu.guidelines.on.religious.freedom.welcomed/32964.htm
A consortium of homosexual, secular humanist and abortion groups are campaigning against the appointment of the Maltese Dr. Tonio Borg as the new EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner. The objection, they say, is nothing more than that Dr. Borg is a Catholic, with ‘staunchly conservative and outdated’ views on homosexuality, divorce and abortion. A document released by the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights admits that a Commissioner’s personal religious beliefs are not ‘topics of EU competence.’ However, they maintain that Borg’s ‘issues of conscience’ would ‘prevent him from being an impartial commissioner.’ The group say they fear that since ‘all 27 Commissioners are always consulted before Commission proposals are made public; this would give him considerable influence across EU competences’.
Pray: that the rights of all Commissioners be accepted and listened to and not blocked by pressures from those who oppose their views. (Jas.3:17)
Plans to introduce mobile medical teams that can euthanasia people in their own homes are being considered by the Dutch government. The teams of doctors and nurses would be sent out from a clinic following a referral from the patient's doctor. The proposals were disclosed by Edith Schippers, the health minister. In a written answer to questions from Christian Union MPs she said that mobile units ‘for patients who meet the criteria for euthanasia but whose doctors are unwilling to carry it out’ was worthy of consideration. ‘If the patient thinks it desirable, the doctor can refer him or her to a mobile team or clinic,’ the minister wrote. In her written answer Ms Schippers suggested that ‘extra expertise’ could be summoned in complicated cases involving mental health problems or an inability to consent to euthanasia because of dementia.
Pray: against this move by the Dutch government increasing the availability of euthanasia. (Lev.24:17)
A Dutch town known for its traditional churches and fishing community has forbidden an evangelism tent campaign, a move Christian Democrats say further threatens freedom of religion in the Netherlands. The local government of Urk said on Wednesday, April 13, it refused permission ‘because these activities must be organized by local churches.’ Additionally, licenses for evangelism can only be given in ‘summer holidays,’ it added. The decision comes as a major setback for the organizers of the evangelical 'Netherlands Bible Study Centre' (NBC), a foundation focusing on spreading Bible knowledge. NBC has been holding annual evangelism meetings in a circus tent in Urk, 85 kilometres north east of Amsterdam, as part of a tour through the Netherlands. A member of Urk's Municipality Council, Mr Foppen, said he would protest the evangelism ban at an upcoming council meeting on April 28. Willem Foppen, who represents the Dutch Christian Democratic Appeal party (CDA), said it was also strange that evangelism in Urk is apparently only allowed during summer holidays. Pray: that the meeting of the Council next week will lead to a licence being granted. (Lk.4:43) More: http://www.worthynews.com/10173-netherlands-town-urk-forbids-evangelism-campaign
Coffee-shop owners in the city of Haarlem have reached an agreement with the mayor, which they believe will make the introduction of the weedpass unnecessary in their city. Under the covenant, the owners have pledged to monitor who enters their coffee-shop, bar minors from entering, provide reliable information about soft drugs and ensure that there aren't any disturbances or troubles in the immediate area around the coffee-shops. The mayor of Haarlem is pleased with the measures. But he says, if the weedpass is introduced throughout the Netherlands on January 1, 2013, it will also go into effect in his city. The weedpass was introduced in the south of the Netherlands in May. Only Dutch residents can now legally purchase soft drugs in coffee-shops. Foreigners are barred. The measure has led to a surge in the illegal trade in soft drugs in the southern part of the country.
Pray: for the government to be sensible in its decisions and not make judgements that increase the use of drugs.
More: http://www.rnw.nl/english/video/haarlem-coffeeshops-offer-alternative-weedpass
A Christian civil servant has been fired by the Dutch city of The Hague for refusing to oversee same-sex marriages on Biblical grounds. Wim Pijl said on Tuesday that he would take legal action against the dismissal despite parliamentary support for gay weddings. ‘For me this is a personal case,’ explained Pijl. He also told reporters that God opposes same-sex marriages. ‘As a Christian I learned from the Bible that there is only one marriage, between a man and a woman.’ The Hague city government said through a spokesman that it had no other choice than to dismiss Pijl as he had ‘refused to take back his remarks.’ The Netherlands has 104 civil servants refusing to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies, according to Dutch gay rights group COC.
Pray: for Pijl and others who are standing up for their Christian beliefs. May the Lord empower them to stand firm. (Ps.37:23)
We're used, by now, to the idea of Mohammedan influence gradually infiltrating its way into the media, government, the police, the military, academe. But here's a new one: football fields. Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise after the Muslim takeover of the French national football team (followed by the French people's almost total loss of interest in it) or the beating to death of a Dutch referee by Mohammedan players. But in the Hague, in the Netherlands, as recent incidents attest, football fields seem to have been appropriated as instruments for the jihad. ADO Den Haag [a Dutch football team] announced on Monday that it had nothing to do with the flag of the Islamic terror group ISIS, which was shown on a football field with the ADO logo. The club says it is 'very shocked' to be on the picture.
Pray: against the Islamist influence in French and Dutch sport. (Ps.34:16)
More: http://europenews.dk/en/node/71789