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The following is translated from the German publication -‘Call of the Watchman’. ‘For almost 20 years around the 5th of May organisations helping handicapped people stage various public activities across Germany highlighting their work. In law and the Bible all men are considered equal. In real life there are many hurdles to overcome. But everyone is made in God’s image – including the handicapped! In my work in the social sector and in my private life I hear statements like, ‘it would have been better had they not survived’ The ‘problem’ is not the handicap but rather how others deal with it. Handicapped people have rights; however they have had to fight for many years for an equal place in society. Today in Germany we use the word ‘inclusion’. Much has been achieved - but we still have a long way to go to overcome all the hurdles. Let us repent of negative thoughts and talk about handicapped people and those decisions in politics and medicine that deny them quality of life.’
Pray: for Germany's legal framework to support handicapped people effectively and promote their ‘inclusion’ (Gen.1:27)
More: http://www.waechterruf.de/
Chancellor Angela Merkel praised what she described as 'the bravery' of a Danish cartoonist who caricatured the prophet Mohammed at an award ceremony honouring his achievements for freedom of speech. Praising illustrator Kurt Westergaard, she said '(he) has had to fear for his life since the publication of the cartoons in 2005.' Merkel emphasized that media freedom is an important element of rights in Europe. 'It does not matter if we think his cartoons are tasteful or not, if we think they are necessary and helping or not'. The question, she said, was, 'Is he allowed to do this? Yes, he is.' There have been at least three attempted attacks on the 75-year-old Westergaard or his Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, since he and 11 other artists angered Muslims around the world by creating the cartoons four years ago. Muslim protesters have burned Danish and other Western embassies. Pray: that Muslim sensitivities in non-Muslim countries be more attuned and less radical to local customs and conventions. (Ps.35:4-6)
The International Gideons are known for distributing free pocket Bibles - mostly at schools, hospitals, hotels and medical practices. They were forbidden to distribute any more Bibles at public schools in Berlin by the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs. A letter from the Berlin Senate Department of Education, Youth and Science, clearly requires the distribution of Christian Bibles to stop reasoning from an administrative regulation of 2011 which implies that on state property ‘Advertising of ideological religious or political nature’ is prohibited. Responding to the Senate’s letter Wendel, the chairman of Gideons in Germany, points out that the pocket Bibles don’t contain any ‘advertising for churches, clubs, or the International Gideon Federation’. Furthermore, the ministerial conference earlier recognized these Bibles as school materials. Wendel asked the Education Senator to reconsider and to withdraw his decision.
Pray: that the Education Senator will reconsider in light of earlier decisions and give approval. (Ro.12:2)
German officials launched searches on extreme Islamist groups last Thursday, raiding homes and mosques across the country. The raids resulted in a ban on one Islamist organization, and prompted authorities to open investigations on two others. Authorities say these groups threaten Germany’s security with their adherence to Islamic sharia law and advocation of violence. ‘Such an understanding of Islam has no place in Germany,’ said German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich. The Salafist organization Millatu Ibrahim was outlawed because it calls on Muslims to rise up against Germany’s ‘constitutional order,’ Friedrich said. The Dawaffm and dwr are being investigated to determine whether evidence exists to outlaw them as well. Friedrich said a ‘comprehensive collection of evidence’ had been seized, including laptops, videos, cellphones and other items. This evidence is to be evaluated over the coming days to determine if the two organizations in question should be banned.
Pray: that the authorities will be given wisdom and discernment to handle extremists of all persuasion. (Dt.4:6)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have hammered out a common position on the euro debt crisis. A statement by the French president's office said agreement had been reached after seven hours of talks in Berlin. It comes ahead of a crunch meeting of eurozone leaders to resolve the Greek debt crisis and prevent further contagion to other eurozone economies. Details of the deal have not yet been released. Policymakers are set to discuss a range of measures at the meeting later today, including a new loan package to Greece and the role of private investors in
any debt restructuring. Reports suggest a new tax on banks will also be debated. But German Chancellor Angela Merkel has cautioned against over optimism.
Pray: for the discussions taking place that God would overrule and grant His wisdom. (Is.64:4)
The Wunderlich children have been taken from their parents because of the decision to homeschool. German social services officials have raided the home of a family and abducted their children on the sole grounds that the parents were exercising their right to home-school. The armed raid occurred on the morning of 29 August. The team of 20 SS personnel, police officers and special agents approached the home with a battering ram after Judge Koenig, a Darmstadt family court judge, authorized force ‘against the children” since the children had “adopted the parents’ opinions.’ The four children, ages 7-14, were all forcibly removed and taken to unknown locations, leaving the parents devastated. Home School Legal Defence Association obtained the court documents authorizing the seizure. The documents reveal that the only legal grounds for action against the family was their decision to home-school. There were no allegations of abuse or neglect, nor any concern that the children were receiving inadequate education.
Pray: for homeschool families that the Universal Declaration on Human Rights will be upheld. (Pr.31:9)
Germany's Roman Catholics are to be denied the right to Holy Communion or religious burial if they stop paying a special church tax. A German bishops' decree which has just come into force says anyone failing to pay 8% of their annual income tax will no longer be considered a Catholic. The bishops have been alarmed by the increasing number of German Catholics leaving the Church in recent years. They say such a step should be seen as a serious act against the community. All Germans who are officially registered as Catholics, Protestants or Jews pay a religious tax of 8-9% of their annual income tax. The levy was introduced in the 19th Century in compensation for the nationalisation of religious property. Catholics make up around 30% of Germany's population but the number of congregants leaving the church swelled to 181,000 in 2010, with the increase blamed on revelations of sexual abuse by German priests.
Pray: for the Catholic Church that it will not deny rights to those who cannot afford these taxes.
George Verwer’s heartfelt appeal to young Christians from the four corners of Europe was ‘go’. The founder of Operation Mobilisation was addressing thousands of European Christians on the final night of the Mission-Net Congress in Erfurt, Germany. ‘If people like you don’t go, who will?’ he said, dressed in his trademark ‘world map’ jacket. In an impassioned plea with the participants, Verwer said he was praying to God every day for workers to go out to the world’s ‘forgotten places’. ‘The word of God is clear,’ he said. ‘Don’t be hearers of the word, be doers.’ Verwer spoke openly about his own personal struggles with lust and sexual sin, as he reassured the audience that God loved them and wanted to use them in spite of any moral failings or mistakes. ‘We need Christians in every area of society but if we are serious about global missions, we need to include mission work as a legitimate career for this generation,’ he said.
Pray: for all those who listened to the message that they would not only be hearers of the word but doers. (Ro.10:14-15)
Leaders of the world's most powerful economies have agreed to increase the resources of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to help alleviate the debt crisis that threatens to spread across Europe. Despite the consensus, leaders struggled to reach concrete plans on how to do so, as the G20 summit, which has largely been overshadowed by euro-zone efforts to tackle the Greek debt crisis, concluded in the French resort of Cannes last Friday. ‘It's important that the IMF sees its resources reinforced,’ European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told reporters. Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland, reporting from Cannes, said the summit's final communiqué stressed ‘desirable trends and tendencies rather than measurable objective’. She continued: ‘There was a lot of talk about slogans such as strong, sustainable growth, but it was rather thin on actual detail about how this would be achieved.’
Pray: for the world as it tackles the economic problems and that the rich will learn generosity and not be governed by greed. (Pro.28:25)
More: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/11/201111464940325870.html
Even as the nation’s Social Security budget is being ground down, the French National Assembly has voted to offer full taxpayer-funding for abortion and contraception, reports LifeSiteNews.com. As of 2013, public coverage of abortion expenses will be pushed up from 70 per-cent for chemical abortions or 80 per-cent for surgical abortions to a full 100 percent, within the limit fixed annually by the public health insurance system. In the same session, the Assembly voted to make contraception 100 per-cent free to all girls aged between 15 and 18. This includes all forms of contraception that are eligible for Social Security coverage: most hormonal pills, patches, implants, intra-uterine devices, and vaginal rings.
Pray: for the National Assembly to look very carefully at its decisions over abortion and consider how it can lead to promiscuity. (Ps.130:1-4)