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Wycliffe Associates USA is seeking to acquire a specially designed aircraft to support Bible translation efforts in Papua New Guinea. The organisation is raising funds to purchase a fourth Kodiak aircraft for service in Papua New Guinea, home to 830 different languages. Air travel is a vital part of Bible translation work in there because of the country's difficult terrain of mountains and jungles. Most Bible translators rely on air travel to get around and reach remote translation locations. “Without an aircraft, reaching some language groups can take up to five days. It is a critical tool to reach language groups who are crying out for God’s Word,” says President and CEO Bruce Smith, who is a former missionary pilot. “Insurmountable mountain peaks, dense rainforests, and hard-to-reach islands in Papua New Guinea make sharing the truth and hope of God’s Word time-consuming and extremely difficult.” The Kodiak has been developed with missionary work in mind.
Pray: for Wycliffe, their work and the current need for a new aircraft. (Matt.28:19)
More: http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/wycliffe.fundraising.for.new.aircraft.to.support.bible.translation/31389.htm
On 1 September 1960 Wycliffe Bible Translators was officially born in the UK. The training of translators had been taking place in the UK since the early 50s, but 1960 was the year in which Wycliffe UK was formally recognised as part of this growing, world-wide family of translation organisations. The ministry was named after John Wycliffe, an early Bible translator who wanted people to be able to learn about God in their own language. In 1960 the world population was estimated to be around 3 billion with about 1,000 languages that required a translation. Today the world population numbers close to 6.7 billion people with around 6,900 different languages. Wycliffe is involved in 1,300 Bible translation programmes while another 2,200 are waiting to start. Eddie Arthur, Executive Director of Wycliffe Bible Translators in the UK says, ‘It is amazing to think that so many leaders in the world Bible translation movement have been trained and equipped for their roles in this quiet little corner of Buckinghamshire’. Pray: that God’s word will be read, heard and understood more widely through Wycliffe UK’s efforts. (Mk.16:17)
World Mission Sunday will be celebrated on 24 October 2010. It is the special day each year when, through Mission, Catholics across the world reach out in global solidarity to its younger and struggling members. It is the day when Catholics across England and Wales help the Churches of Africa and Asia in their responsibility of building faith communities, as well as supporting their 16,152 health care facilities, 4,346 orphanages, 2,848 homes for the elderly and disabled, 19,020,871 Primary Schools plus 9,875,709 Secondary and High School pupils. Pope Benedict XVI, in his message for World Mission Sunday 2010, wrote: ‘The month of October, with the celebration of World Mission Sunday, offers to the entire People of God an opportunity to renew the commitment to proclaim the Gospel and to give pastoral activities greater missionary perspective.’ Pray: for all those who give and work to support mission around the world. (Jos.22:3)
David Cameron confirmed a hunger summit will be held in London on August 12th, the last day of the Olympics. It was debated by the G8 in May and aims to speed up efforts to combat hunger and malnutrition globally. Heads of states, NGOs and private-sector leaders are expected to attend. No specific targets have been set so far, although NGOs are likely to push for a commitment to significantly reduce malnutrition by the next Olympics. David Cameron said it’s important we remember people in other parts of the world who, far from being excited about the Olympics, are actually worried about their next meal and whether they are getting enough to eat. Save the Children reported, ‘Malnutrition is the underlying cause of death for 2.6 million children each year.’ Beijing, Athens and Sydney claimed regeneration from their Games London's legacy could be enormous if the world follows Britain's lead and helps millions of the world's neediest children.
Pray: that the hunger summit will kick-start genuine efforts to address world hunger. (Ps.82:1-4)
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/jul/27/david-cameron-hunger-summit-olympics
A report produced by Platform 51 (see previous item), entitled ‘Women like me: supporting wellbeing in girls and women’, warned there is evidence that women’s mental health is getting worse. ‘Policy makers need to act now to address this crisis in women’s mental health. In summary it states that ’Generations of women are in crisis due to relationship breakdown, bereavement or debt, and one in three has taken anti-depressants. More than 15 million women have suffered mental health problems of some kind, and are twice as likely as men to be depressed’. The group called on ministers to review the ‘over-reliance’ on anti-depressant drugs to treat mild and moderate mental health problems and to make counselling and psychotherapy more easily available to women.
Pray: for the recognition of problems in the care given to women’s mental health. (Ps.69:19)
Milk & Honey, a non-for profit organisation and online hub for young women launched their inaugural event 'The Precious Conference' over the weekend. St Mary's Church in Marylebone opened their doors to young women aged 16 to 25 for a day of sisterhood, worship and empowerment. The conference supports the 'I Am Precious Campaign', a movement by Milk and Honey that strives to tackle the common societal pressures that 21st century women face. Guest speakers delivered hard hitting testimonies of how God has used them to win souls, and the spiritual nourishment they have received as a result of their choice to surrender. Hannah Thompson, shared her story of how God turned her life around and helped her realise the importance of acknowledging self-worth. She explained the importance of surrendering to God and discarding the past. "No matter what your past may look like, no matter what hurt, what thing you're ashamed of, God is alive in you.”
Pray: for God to to touch the lives of women around the world to affirm them in their daily lives. (Jn.1:12)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/women.celebrate.purity.and.preciousness/32946.htm
The Archbishop of Canterbury has spoken of his desire to see women ordained as bishops in the Church of England in a way that does not ‘violently disrupt’ the common life of the Church. At their Conference in Portsmouth, Dr Rowan Williams asked Methodists to pray for the Church of England ahead of key debates on women bishops in its General Synod in York next week. ‘My hope and prayer is that we shall see women ordained as bishops in the Church of England. My hope and prayer is also that we shall do that in a way that does not violently disrupt some of the features of our common life, causing us actually to lose one another in a sense.’ Further ‘I am quite prepared to be 'Petrine' for quite a long time on that one’ [a reference to the leadership style of Peter who compromised on certain principles in order to preserve order and hierarchy within the church]. Pray: that a wise resolution to this debate will result equitable/agreeable/fair to all parties. (Jn. 8:16)
Tony Blair's spokesman Alastair Campbell famously once said the prime minister didn't ‘do God’ when talking to the media illustrating how Christianity is generally treated at Westminster. Explicit mention of religion is seen as ‘un-British’, a bit ‘American’ and a ‘turn-off’ to the electorate. But, with a closely fought election in the offing and a desperate fight taking place for marginal seats, might candidates become more open about their beliefs if it means a few more votes? The preacher Canon J Johns thinks they should. He urges his fellow believers to ‘do our best to find out about our local candidates’. He adds: ‘We might want to ask whether they are genuinely committed to moral values or do they simply adopt whatever is the current fashionable view? Does the candidate place their party's ideology above everything else? Would they be prepared to vote against the party line on moral grounds?’
Pray: for wisdom and discernment when ‘weighing’ political rhetoric to recognise honesty in moral issues. (1Ch.29:17)
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8607964.stm
The Wilberforce Academy 2012, organised by Christian Concern, took place last week at Exeter College, Oxford. 72 delegates, mainly consisting of students and young graduates, attended the Academy and were equipped to take the truth of Jesus Christ into the public square. The speakers, each of them experts in their respective fields, were able to demonstrate how the drift from the Christian faith has had such a destructive impact on communities and individuals in Britain. Delegates were equipped to bring Biblical teaching to bear on the pressing issues facing society and speakers such as Baroness Cox, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali and Andrea Minichiello Williams were able to speak out of experience about the cost and joys of standing for Christ’s truth in the public square. Whilst Christian viewpoints are mistakenly labelled in the media as ‘homophobic’, ‘hate speech’ or ‘intolerant’, the speakers demonstrated that Christians ought to love those who oppose them.
Pray: that the teaching the delegates received will have equipped them to take the truth into the public square. (Pr.23:15-16)
More: http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/social/wilberforce-academy-2012
There is widespread support in England for teaching Christianity in schools, according to a YouGov poll released by Oxford University. Almost two-thirds (64%) of the more than 1,800 people questioned said that children need to learn about Christianity to understand English history, while more than half (57%) said it was important if pupils are to understand the
English culture and way of life. The poll also revealed that more than two-fifths (43%) of the adults surveyed said that more attention should be given to teaching about Christianity in RE lessons. More than half (51%) also said they felt Christianity distinguishes right from wrong. But just over a third (37%) said they believe that many RE teachers do not know enough about Christianity to be able to teach it effectively. We are often given the impression that teaching about Jesus and His message is old-fashioned and irrelevant. This survey shows that many people value the Christian framework and see the need for Christianity to be taught properly.
Pray: that the results of this poll will lead to the educational authorities taking notice and raising the standards of Christian education in our schools. (Ez.11:12)