A church in the Ukraine that Soviet authorities once seized for use as a ‘monument of communism’ will once again be a place for Christian worship after renovations removed a neo-classical façade erected to disguise its nature, reports Catholic News Agency. ‘The church does not look like a place of worship. It wears a mask, as it were. It is in disguise. We want to take away this mask,’ Fr Grzegorz Romanowicz, the Franciscan Capuchin provincial in the Ukraine, told the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. ‘Until now, many people do not even recognize the building as a church from the outside.’ Since 1949 the church was used as a library, a boxing hall and offices. Soviet authorities erected the façade in 1949 to hide the building’s origin as a church. That façade is set to be removed later in February.

Praise: God for this transformation from secular to Christian use. God is restoring His Church. (2Cor.3:11)

More: http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue15465.html

A new online library has been launched for people interested in evangelism and new forms of church, which will provide them with free access to research papers and theses. The website, SCOLER (The Sheffield Centre Online Library of Evangelism Research) is a joint initiative between the Church Army’s team of researchers at The Sheffield Centre and the Churches Group for Evangelisation. The purpose of the library is to make deeper thinking around evangelism and new forms of church available to people who want to study further, and to demonstrate this level of learning to the wider church. Each thesis, at either MA or PhD level, has its own webpage giving details of who wrote it, which college validated it, the full abstract and a free PDF to download.

Praise: God for this initiative and pray that this tool will increase and equip the saints for evangelism. (Eph.4:12)

More: http://www.churcharmy.org.uk/pub/nc/News/News2012/20120607scoler.aspx

Those posting prayers at www.sayoneforme.org the Church of England's web-based prayer service for Lent, are valuing happiness for the world and others more than money - analysis of the first 300 prayers reveals. Just two per cent of prayers have brought money-worries before God, whereas 19 per cent have prayed for the world (over a third of them for Japan), 14 per cent for healing for others, 10 per cent for family, and nine per cent for spiritual development. The Bishop of Dudley, the Rt Revd David Walker, said: ‘It is beautiful to see people pray for the people and the world around them - and they quite naturally see beyond the realms of their own needs. ’People across the country are having the opportunity to share with God their hopes and concerns, anonymously, in the form of a prayer posted at www.sayoneforme.org until Good Friday.

Praise:God for this prayer opportunity and for all those that use it. (1Ki.8:45)

More: http://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2011/03/praying-nation-touched-by-world-events-and-needs-of-others.aspx

According to the Metro newspaper, English premier league player Anton Ferdinand, who is known for his spirituality, explained that at his former club a group of players would get together to pray, and said he hoped he could bring this experience over to Queens Park Rangers. Ferdinand said: 'At Sunderland we had a group who prayed. There was me, Kieran Richardson, Stephane Sessegnon, Asamoah Gyan, John Mensah, Nedum Onuoha. Hopefully I will start building that here.' The Metro reported that the sportsman also revealed his religious background, but said that he didn't appreciate the Church as much as he should have in his younger days. He credited his faith with making him 'more of a man' than he was six years ago. The 26-year-old said that he believes his career is still to peak - great news for Queens Park Rangers.

Praise: God for Ferdinand and his faith: ulfil his wish to draw others close to God. (Ps.6:1-2)

More: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2011/s11100143.htm

Rates of murder and violent crime have fallen more rapidly in the UK in the past decade than anywhere else in Western Europe, researchers say. The UK Peace Index, from the Institute for Economics and Peace, found UK homicides per 100,000 people had fallen from 1.99 in 2003, to one in 2012. The UK was more peaceful overall, it said, with the reasons for it varied. The research by the international non-profit research organisation comes as a separate study by Cardiff University suggests the number of people treated in hospital in England and Wales after violent incidents fell by 14% in 2012. Violent crime rate in the UK was down by about one quarter - from 1,255 per 100,000 people in 2003, to 933 in 2012. These reductions came despite a 6% drop in the number of police officers per 100,000 people, it said.

Praise: God for the reduction in violent crime across the UK. (Pr.10:11)

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22275280

Two former sponsored children of charity organization Compassion have been elected into the Parliaments of Uganda and Haiti. Beguens Theus from Haiti and Margaret Makhoha from Uganda both grew up in sheer poverty, but Christian sponsors gave them a chance to rise out of that desperate situation, get an education and (through a Leadership Development Programme) go to university. By God’s grace and their own will and motivation they now reached this position of responsibility to serve their nations. ‘Giving children a chance can make a huge difference,’ says Martijn Moens, a spokesman of the charity organization in the Netherlands. ‘More than others, these new members of Parliament understand the needs of the poor and are motivated to work towards structural change in their nation.’ Compassion works in 26 developing nations and provides one-on-one sponsoring for 1.2 million children. The charity provides programmes in partnership with local churches.

Praise: God for the way He has blessed these young people. (Ps.37:5-6)

More: http://www.joelnews.org/frontpage.htm

Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) is pleased to announce a new expansion of a long time partnership with United Bible Societies (UBS). The two Christian organizations, each committed to providing God's Word to all the peoples of the world, have agreed to a collaboration that will lay the groundwork for unprecedented access to digital Bible text and audio. This is accomplished by an agreement that brings together UBS's Digital Bible Library and FCBH's Digital Bible Project in a way that will leverage technology for greater access, while also improving efficiency and reducing duplication of work and services. Since UBS and its members have worked closely with FCBH for many years, this new agreement can realistically be viewed as a 21st century extension of decades of mutually committed efforts in the field of Bible engagement and Scripture literacy.

Praise: God for this collaboration in spreading His Word. (Ps.133:1)

More: http://www.mnnonline.org/article/16737

The Turkish government made a historic U-turn in state policy this past weekend, issuing an official decree inviting Turkey’s Christian and Jewish communities to reclaim their long-confiscated religious properties. Last Saturday’s decree comes 75 years after the Turkish government seized hundreds of lands and buildings owned by its Greek, Armenian, Syriac and Jewish communities. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the surprise decision last Sunday in Istanbul, addressing a large gathering of Istanbul’s non-Muslim religious leaders. Invited as the honoured guests for an iftar (breaking the fast) meal near the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan, Erdogan declared, ‘The times when citizens in our country were oppressed for their beliefs, their ethnic heritage or the way they dressed is over.’ Acknowledging past injustices inflicted on those of different faith groups, he vowed, ‘Those days are over, no citizen is superior to another.’

Praise: God for this bold decision by the Turkish government. (Pr.16:33)

More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/turkey/article_116880.html/

Hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the violence in Syria live in camps just inside Turkey, but nowhere in the Islamic world has a refugee camp for the Christians of one country been built across the border in a neighbouring country. Now Turkey is building a small city in Midyat that will hold between 3 and 30 times the number of Syrian Christians currently taking refuge in Turkey. Syri of refugees. Eliye Kirilmaz, chairman of a local church board said the monastery cannot cont inue to bear the strain of displaced Syrians. ‘We have 30 employ ees, teachers, caretakers, gardeners and kitchen staff, among others. Moreover, we owe a large sum to the local electricity company; have not been able to pay for electricity over the winter. We are not throwing out any refugees but we simply can’t afford it anymore.

Praise: God for the witness of the Church to those in the region of Midyat. (Ps.22:24-26)

More: http://blog.godreports.com/2013/05/why-is-turkey-building-a-tent-city-for-thousands-of-syrian-christians/

The prayer strategy that has been evolving over recent years is now beginning to come into focus as different ministries, organisations and networks run according to how the Lord has been leading them. Follow the link for some of the main things already in place.

More: http://www.prayerforum.org/towards-2012/