America: Planned 'mega mosque' at Ground Zero
A protest drew thousands to Ground Zero last Sunday opposing the construction of a 15-story Islamic facility described as ‘A centre of learning, art and culture guided by Islamic values in their truest form.’ Opponents of the project say building an Islamic centres so close to Ground Zero would be offensive to victims of the 9/11 attack. A New York community board voted 29-1 in favour of plans to build the centre. The only way to stop the project would be giving the 152 year old building on the site Landmark Preservation Status, which the protestors are attempting to do. The Centre is a collaboration between the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative – both founded by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who preaches in a mosque twelve blocks from Ground Zero. He was born in Kuwait and educated in England. Pray: for the Holy Spirit to guide the hearts and minds of those considering the Landmark Preservation Status for the building and to bathe the area in the truth of Jesus Christ. (Col.1:9b & 13)
South Africa: Risk for Children
South African children’s school holiday will coincide with FIFA World Cup. Parents and caregivers are concerned how to keep them safe during the five weeks of festivities when children left to their own devices are at greater risk of abuse. President Jacob Zuma warned parents saying, ‘Children wandering alone in shopping malls and football stadiums will be vulnerable to people with evil intentions.’ There will be anti-human-trafficking task teams in the host cities but Prest Talbot described the risk of trafficking as ‘the tip of the iceberg’. ‘The biggest risk of child abuse is often on your doorstep – from neighbours or family members.’ Many South African children whose parents are unemployed or who are orphaned rely on school feeding programmes for their main meal of the day, but the schemes will be suspended during the holiday. Pray: that children looking for food will find safe places and for more holiday camps for children in low-income areas. (Ja.1:27)
INSIGHT: Afghanistan: Parliamentarian wants Christians executed
Abdul Sattar Khawasi Deputy Secretary of the Afghan Lower House in parliament called for the public execution of Christian converts from the parliament floor. Speaking with regard to a video broadcast by the Afghan television network (See this weeks Insight article) showing footage of Christian men being baptised and praying in Farsi. Khawasi said, ’Those Afghans that appeared in this video film should be executed in public. The house should order the attorney general and the intelligence agency to arrest these Afghans and execute them.’ The broadcast triggered a protest by hundreds of Kabul University students, who shouted death threats and demanded the expulsion of Christian foreigners accused of proselytising. As a result the operations of Norwegian Church Aid and US-based Church World Service have been suspended over allegations of proselytising. The Afghan government is currently undertaking an intensive investigation into the matter. Click the info button for a truthful report from an Afghanistan believer.
Pray: for Christians to stand firm in the face of persecution and for God to miraculously reveal himself to Muslims seeking the truth. (Mt 10:22) info http://www.prayer-alert.net/info/2410AfghanistanInsight1.pdf
London cracking under prayer
The M25 Nutcracker was part of Global Day of Prayer London and took place in various guises all around the capital. The M25 region hosted prayer activities in twelve locations (prayer altars) and seventeen junctions on the M25 were covered in prayer. Each junction was seen as a gateway in and out of the capital, vitally important in the nation’s communications and commercial life. The link below will take you to a video of a few who prayed in a light aircraft right around the M25 on Monday (24 May) It shows them praying the Lord's Prayer over the QE2 Bridge and the Thames. You can find a full written report on www.transformationthurrock.com.
Praise: God for drawing His nations to Him in the unity of prayer and worship around the globe. (Jn.17:21)
More: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQNKHc3PpMQ&feature=youtube_gdata
London cracking under prayer
The M25 Nutcracker was part of Global Day of Prayer London and took place in various guises all around the capital. The M25 region hosted prayer activities in twelve locations (prayer altars) and seventeen junctions on the M25 were covered in prayer. Each junction was seen as a gateway in and out of the capital, vitally important in the nation’s communications and commercial life. The link below will take you to a video of a few who prayed in a light aircraft right around the M25 on Monday (24 May) It shows them praying the Lord's Prayer over the QE2 Bridge and the Thames. You can find a full written report on www.transformationthurrock.com.
Praise: God for drawing His nations to Him in the unity of prayer and worship around the globe. (Jn.17:21)
More: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQNKHc3PpMQ&feature=youtube_gdata
Hong Kong's Protestant churches blooming
Protestant churches in Hong Kong are blooming with an annual growth rate of 6.2% over the last five years and the number of Protestants in the former British colony is drawing close to 300,000. The number of practising Protestants surpassed 290,000 in 2009, rising from just over 216,000 in 2004, according to the results of a new survey released by the Hong Kong Church Renewal Movement. The figure surpasses the growth experienced by Protestant churches in Hong Kong from 1999 to 2004, when the number of practising Protestant rose from just under 176,000 in 1999 to nearly 217,000 in 2004, an annual growth rate of 4.3%. Rev Luk Fai, President of the Bethel Bible Seminary, revealed the new statistics in the latest edition of Christian Weekly magazine.
Praise: God for the growth of His Church and pray for its continued development and protection. (Ac.49:50)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/hong.kongs.protestant.churches.blooming/26009.htm
Hong Kong's Protestant churches blooming
Protestant churches in Hong Kong are blooming with an annual growth rate of 6.2% over the last five years and the number of Protestants in the former British colony is drawing close to 300,000. The number of practising Protestants surpassed 290,000 in 2009, rising from just over 216,000 in 2004, according to the results of a new survey released by the Hong Kong Church Renewal Movement. The figure surpasses the growth experienced by Protestant churches in Hong Kong from 1999 to 2004, when the number of practising Protestant rose from just under 176,000 in 1999 to nearly 217,000 in 2004, an annual growth rate of 4.3%. Rev Luk Fai, President of the Bethel Bible Seminary, revealed the new statistics in the latest edition of Christian Weekly magazine.
Praise: God for the growth of His Church and pray for its continued development and protection. (Ac.49:50)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/hong.kongs.protestant.churches.blooming/26009.htm
Australia: Students challenge refugee stereotypes
Next week Australian schools, parishes and youth groups will engage young people in the contentious debate currently taking place in Australia around refugee and asylum seekers. A coalition of Australian Christian development agencies is inviting schools to tackle the issue as part of Simply Sharing Week 2010 which encourages Australians to learn about and become involved in issues of social justice. The educational resource, 'See the Real Me, not Just the Refugee', includes real-life stories of refugees and provides age-relevant classroom activities and Bible studies.
Pray: that the youth of Australia will pass on perceptive Christian values to the wider community on the refugee issues that Australia faces. (Ex.22:21)
More: http://au.christiantoday.com/article/australian-students-challenge-refugee-stereotypes/8345.htm
Japan: Prime Minister resigned
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced his resignation after eight months in office, citing a broken campaign promise regarding the removal of a western military base from Okinawa to be the reason for his resignation. With parliamentary elections scheduled for July, Hatoyama ‘faced growing pressure from his own party to step down.’ The escalation of tensions between North and South Korea were among the reasons Hatoyama listed for keeping the base. He said shutting it down would only further destabilize the region. Hatoyama is the fourth Japanese prime minister to resign from office in just four years.
Pray: that hearts will turn from national instability to matters of eternity, and for God to establish leaders to guide Japan with integrity and humility. (Ecc.3:11 & Dan.2:21)
Uzbekistan: Evangelical group condemns crackdown on churches
The Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance - representing over 400 million Christians worldwide - expressed concerns about police raids on Protestant congregations in Uzbekistan and the detention of several Christians. A particular concern was a recent police raid on The Church of Christ in Tashkent, one of the largest Protestant churches in the capital. Police without a warrant detained eight church members, seized properties and imprisoned three church members for 15 days on charges including the violation of strict religious regulations of the former Soviet nation. Five other church members received heavy fines with three of them forced to pay about eighty times the average monthly minimum wage. The troubles began during a May 16 Sunday worship service attended by 500 people, which was interrupted by police, the secret police, tax inspectorate, fire Inspectors and the sanitary-epidemiological service.
Pray: for Christians in Uzbekistan, and for justice and equality for the church in Central Asia. (Ro.8:34-35)
More: http://www.worthynews.com/8236-evangelical-group-condemns-uzbekistan-crackdown-on-churches