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Eight cargo ships with more than 10,000MT of building materials, medical equipment, medicines, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines, unavailable in Gaza, CT scanners, X-ray and kidney dialysis machines will set sail for the Gaza Strip on 27 May in a symbolic attempt by activists to break the three-year Israeli blockade. Scores of smaller vessels carrying passengers from 140 nations are part of the ‘flotilla’ which will attempt to dock in Gaza City on 28 May. Passengers include 50 parliamentary members from EU and Arab nations, and Israeli Knesset member Hanin Zoabi. Israeli foreign affairs ministry spokesperson described the fleet as a ‘publicity stunt’ adding ‘International aid organizations and the private sector of Gaza ensure that all the necessary food, medicine and clothing are provided to the Strip via Israel.’
Pray: for God to spread his protection over the needy and have mercy on those suffering injustice. (Ps.9:8-9)
More: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89255
Israel's foreign minister warned Palestinians against plans to declare independence next year saying the move could prompt Israel to annex parts of the West Bank and annul past peace agreements. His remarks took aim at a Palestinian policy coming out of the stalled U.S. peace talks. see Last Friday Israeli warplanes, responding to Palestinian border assaults, bombed the Gaza Strip resulting in two children being hospitalised. The children of Gaza have much misery to contend with as they try to put memories of the war behind them. Much of Gaza is still piles of sand and rubble. The winter rains have brought leaks and floods for family homes and the blockades cause many shortages of necessities. Currently there is a shortage of cooking gas. Power cuts are also commonplace making it very difficult for children to study at night. The children are stuck in Gaza with little hope of the freedom we take for granted.
Pray: for the children of Gaza to have a future and a hope; pray also for the Palestinian Christians to have all their prayers powerfully answered. (Ps.69:32-33,36)
More: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/children-of-gaza-filmmakers-feature
Israeli warplanes carried out three raids against the Gaza Strip Wednesday after militants pounded Israel with rockets. The raids targeted a training centre for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas at Rafah in the south of the Strip, a ‘workshop’ in Gaza City and Hamas naval police installations in the north. The Brigades fired 45 rockets in 24 hours at Israeli territory injuring four border guards, one seriously, after a direct hit on a border police outpost. The rocket attacks on Israel came after six Palestinians were killed and five others injured in a series of air strikes across the coastal strip. In a rare show of force, militants from the armed wing of the ruling Hamas movement said they would continue firing unless the air strikes ended. There has been a sharp increase in rocket fire recently. An anonymous Gaza Palestinian official said Egypt was making efforts to restore calm between the Palestinian movements and Israel.
Pray: God would protect the innocent, repair the broken hearts, renew the minds of those in pain, and infuse hope and life into minds set on retribution. (Job 8:6)
The economy is improving in the Gaza Strip, but many families are trapped in a cycle of poverty and hopelessness. Missile attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel also continue to plague this territory - with Israel retaliating and causing damage to buildings and lives. Persecution by radical Muslims is a great challenge for Christians who are a minority of the population, however, Christian humanitarian aid workers report, ‘the Lord is moving in the Gaza Strip. The tremendous need is bringing a great openness to the Gospel.’ More than 90% of the residents in the West Bank are Arab and mostly Muslim. The percentage of Christians is very small and they too face persecution for their faith. However, according to Operation World, ’the number of evangelicals has grown into the thousands. They are persevering and praying for a great harvest of souls despite Islamic intimidation.’
Pray: for peace and unity between Palestinian Christians and Messianic Jews, and for those who have been misled by Islam so they wont have the opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel. (Ps.133:1-2; 2Cor.4:4)
More: http://win1040.com/page.php?id=541
Leaders at the G20 summit in Toronto, Canada have agreed to cut national budget deficits in half by 2013. Heads of state also agreed to new rules that would force British banks to boost their funds by £130 billion to reduce the risk of another Lehman Brothers-style collapse. In a reversal from the unity of the past three crisis-era Group of 20 Summits, the leaders decided to adopt ‘differentiated and tailored’ economic policies for each country. ‘Our challenges are as diverse as our nations,’ US President Barack Obama said. ‘But together we represent some 85 per cent of the global economy, and we have forged a coordinated response to the worst global economic crisis of our time.’ George Osborne, Chancellor of the Excequer, hailed the G20 statement as a vindication of the coalition government's policy. A sign of how much work was involved to forge the G20 consensus, is that negotiators spent at least 45 hours drafting the summit's final communique. Pray: that the policies the world leaders have adopted will not only benefit the rich but also the poorer nations. (Ecc.5:11)
A survey by a Russian think tank shows that the Russian people are conflicted over freedom of expression and perceived attacks on Christianity. This past summer, sociologists at the Levada Centre found that 58 percent of Russians believe people should enjoy freedom of speech, which means they have the right to publicly criticize religion. At the same time, 21 percent believe that the authorities should have the right to fine or imprison people who publicly criticize religion because such criticism could ‘undermine the reputation of the church.’ The survey comes in the wake of a high-profile trial of two Russian intellectuals who organized a 2006 exhibition called ‘Forbidden Art', and were subsequently charged with degrading and insulting the Christian faith and believers. The art depicted an Orthodox icon of the Virgin Mary made out of caviar. Western-style freedom of speech is still scarce in the former Soviet Union.
Pray: that such controversies will open up opportunities for the Gospel and so transform the hearts and lives of many people. (Jn.15:18)
French Alps glaciers have lost 1/4 of their area in the past 40 years according to the largest annual gathering of Earth scientists, (American Geophysical Union). It mirrors findings of retreat occurring in other sectors of the Alps across the borders of several nations. The French Alps glaciers inventory was produced through the University of Savoie. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16025568. Meanwhile in a South African convention on climate change running from 28th November to 9th December Christian youth discuss the message that God's creation needs better care as young people from church and faith-based organisations on six continents take ‘Youth For Eco-Justice’ training. Roger Schmidt, Secretary for Youth said, ‘Creative young people are capable of breaking the deadlock in the world in terms of climate change with a new understanding of the connection of justice and ecology.’
Pray: for more to catch the vision of eco-justice and for governments to put global concerns ahead of national industrial development.(Ps.24:1-2)
More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/15872
In a personal prayer request Rev Suliasi Kurulo, Christian Mission Fellowship International (CMFI), urged Christians to pray for the Fiji Islands. He noted that four consecutive days of torrential rain in the Fiji Islands caused most towns, cities and villages to be flooded. Most villages and homes are 15 feet under water, as roads turn into seas of debris. Rev Suliasi Kurulo also wrote that people are warned to prepare for the worst if a cyclone was to hit the nation in the aftermath of the current rainfall and flooding. Local newspapers reported that the flood is worse than the one in 2009, because of the duration and disruption of services, homes, business and roads. According to National News, a leading relief organization said that they don’t have the capacity at this stage in distributing food, which is the immediate need at the moment.
Pray: with Rev Suliasi Kurulo and CMFI for God’s grace and strength that He would give them a heart of compassion in this time of national need. (Ps.37:19)
Last September we prayed for the Fiji Methodist Church to be granted permission to hold their annual conference this year after it was cancelled for the fourth year running. In 2012 the government granted permission to hold the conference if some guidelines were followed. It should not coincide with the national Hibiscus Festival in August and it must last no longer than three days it can take place from 8am to 8pm each day from Wednesday to Friday only and must be held at the Centenary Church premises. It may only discuss church matters and not political issues. Activities that traditionally accompanied the conference, including choir competition and information stands, have also been banned. The Church was warned by the police that ‘serious actions’ would be taken if the terms of the permit were breached.
Pray: that this step forward will open the way back to democracy, pray also for the protection of every speaker and delegate before, during and after the conference. (Ps.5:11)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/methodist.church.in.fiji.given.permission.to.meet/30039.htm
The annual conference of Fiji's Methodist Church, due to start 23 August, was cancelled by Fiji's military government for the third consecutive year after church leaders defied a government directive to step down from their positions. Fiji's Land Force Commander Colonel Mosese Tikoitoga, also directed that no Methodist Church minister be allowed to leave the country, and banned permits under the Public Emergency Regulation for all official Methodist Church meetings. There are concerns that the ban will lead to the collapse of the Methodist church administration and severely affect funding. Michael King, World Church Relationships Team Leader for the Methodist Church in Britain, said the ban was a ‘massive setback’ in church/state relations, given that it seemed that relationships had improved and the political situation had eased.
Pray: that the relations between church and state would be improved and that God would open the doors of reconciliation and understanding. (2Cor.5:11)