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Between December 28 and January 2, more than 2,700 young people from across Europe met in Offenburg, Germany, for the bi-annual Mission-Net conference. Primarily aimed at people ages between 16 and 30, the conference and its network encourage a Christian missional lifestyle that links spiritual expressions of faith with practical outworkings. Mission-Net is commissioned and supported by the European Evangelical Mission Association and the European Evangelical Alliance. The theme of the five-day conference was 'Work in Progress'. Around 75 theologians and speakers shared their thoughts on the topic through large-scale meetings as well as interactive seminars. Main speaker Karin Ramachandra spoke from the book of Nehemiah on the opening night, in which she stressed that all things are possible with God, regardless of how large our own shortcomings are.
Night after night they huddle together in groups, desperately trying to stay warm. The lucky ones scavenge blankets and plastic sheeting. Others sleep on the hillsides, waiting for help to arrive. While the world focuses its attention on events in the Middle East and North Africa, a humanitarian crisis is under way in Europe. This is Lampedusa, a tiny piece of normally unspoilt Italian paradise in the southern Mediterranean that has become a fetid refugee camp for thousands of desperate people fleeing turmoil and poverty. Located closer to Tunisia than to Italy, Lampedusa has long been accustomed to a trickle of refugees landing on its shores. But nothing could have prepared it for the onslaught that has overrun the population. Over the past two months, an estimated 20,000 migrants have flocked to the island in an exodus that has, until recently, been ignored by the Italian government and the rest of Europe. Pray: for the people of Lampedusa, Italy and the EU as they handle the many refugees that have invaded the island.
More: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/europes-twilight-zone-2260110.html
All EU countries – except Britain – have agreed on a new treaty for tighter fiscal discipline and deeper economic integration to save the euro currency. As attention turns to the legal details and ratification process, questions are raised, ‘what will happen to countries that fail to ratify?', with some fearing exclusion from 'the club'. Circumventing the British veto EU leaders led by France and Germany are pressing ahead with a new treaty of their own - an intergovernmental agreement outside the EU legal framework. The treaty text will be drafted by March 2012 and opened to ratification by countries outside the 17-member eurozone. Some commentators are saying, 'it's time for a two-speed even a three-speed Europe for anything constructive to get done.' Also Denmark took over EU rotating presidency last Sunday and will chair all decisions for the next 6 months.
Pray: for God in His mercy to influence all decision making processes in the first quarter of 2012 and for David Cameron to grow in wisdom and strength in the European arena. (Ps.2:10-12)
The Council of Europe's anti-trafficking watchdog has urged countries across the continent to step up the fight against human trafficking. The report by GRETA (Group of experts on action against trafficking in human beings) says that human trafficking is a ‘European tragedy’. The annual report claims that women, men and children are falling victim to sexual abuse, labour exploitation or being forced into criminality in countries across the continent. Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland said, ‘Many victims are still not being properly recognised or given the support that they need. Furthermore, problems with investigations and prosecutions mean that traffickers are not being sufficiently punished for their crimes. International organisations, national authorities and non-governmental bodies must work together to help put an end to these shocking human rights abuses, which have no place in 21st century Europe,’ he said.
Pray: that the tragedy of trafficking would be recognised and governments would take up the challenge to prosecute perpetrators. (Is.61:8)
A network of national funds should be introduced so the cost of bank failures are not met by the taxpayer, the EU internal market commissioner has said. Michel Barnier said such funds would provide part of a broader system aimed at preventing future financial crises. Banks would be required to pay a levy into the funds which would not be used to bail out failing banks, but manage failures in ‘an orderly way’. Mr Barnier said: ‘I believe in the 'polluter pays' principle. It is not acceptable that taxpayers should continue to bear the heavy cost of rescuing the banking sector. They should not be in the front line,’ he said. And the EU report said that any levies that banks were made to pay should not be passed on to their customers in the form of higher charges.
Pray: that this proposed levy would be found acceptable. (Lev.19:15) More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/10159631.stm
Europe is currently experiencing ‘an atmosphere of intolerance in relation to Christians, as well as to representatives of other traditional religions’ according to one of the most influential figures in the Russian Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate's department for external Church relations also said that Europe needs to ‘discuss openly the violation of the rights of Christians’. He was speaking in Rome to a meeting organised by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to address the issue of discrimination against Christians. The meeting, entitled ‘Preventing and Responding to Hate Incidents and Crimes against Christians’, was organised by Lithuania,
which currently chairs the OSCE. Metropolitan Hilarion said that, while European civilization ‘is a culture that has developed on a Christian foundation’ it had ‘acquired a clearly expressed multicultural nature, having become a place of contact between peoples and religions from all over the world’.
Pray: that the people of Europe would remember their Christian foundations and revert to the truth. (Is.48:13-14a)
Disagreement between European countries over Libya has moved from the merely embarrassing to the wholly humiliating, after Germany again blocked Anglo-French no-fly zone proposals at a G8 meeting in Paris. The EU's Libya debacle is now the foreign policy equivalent of last year's eurozone meltdown, and similarly damaging to its global credibility and influence. Once again, Europe is being forced to confront an unpalatable truth: unless the US takes the lead, nothing gets done. Alain Juppé, France's foreign minister, suggested Europe had left it too late to stop Gaddafi winning. ‘If we had used military force last week to neutralise some airstrips and the several dozen planes that they have, perhaps the reversal taking place to the detriment of the opposition wouldn't have happened,’ Juppé told Europe-1 radio. ‘But that's the past. What is happening today shows us that we may have let slip by a chance.’ Pray: that God will have mercy on those who are afflicted and pray for wisdom for the EU over its decisions. (Ps.9:18) More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/15/europe-libya-intervention-eu-us
A religious liberty campaigner has been heckled at an EU meeting for saying Christians should not be sent to prison for peacefully expressing their opinions. A room full of feminist and homosexual activists jeered at Dr Gudrun Kugler when she spoke about the intolerance faced by Christians in Europe. Some of the crowd said that Christians ought to be thrown in jail if they make a ‘negative comment’ against a ‘minority group’. When Dr Kugler spoke about a pharmacy in Germany that had its windows smashed because of its opposition to the morning-after pill, someone shouted out ‘rightly so!’ and others nodded in agreement. She was delivering a five-year Report on Intolerance against Christians in Europe, including several religious liberty cases from the UK. Dr Kugler is a lawyer and founder of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe. Pray: for all Christians on the front line that God would equip them for the task and help them to stand firm. (Ac.4:29) More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/religious-liberty-advocate-faces-jeers-at-eu-meeting/
The European Union presidency has said that Iran's suspension of a stoning sentence against a woman convicted of adultery is not enough and demands it be completely overturned. Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere of Belgium, who holds the EU's rotating presidency, said that Iran's concession that the punishment against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani could be eased did not meet the human rights conditions the EU is insisting on. He said the Belgian presidency would work hard ‘to achieve that the punishment will be unequivocally repealed’. This week, several European Union nations and the continent's biggest human rights organization have criticised Iran for its plan to stone the 43-year-old mother of two even if Teheran has put the plan on hold for now. Pray: that the inhumanity of Iran’s sentencing policies be overturned by prayer and politics. (Ps.2:1-3) More: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/09/09/world/AP-Iran-Stoning.html?_r=1&ref=europe
EU foreign ministers have issued a statement condemning violence against Christians and calling upon states to protect freedom of worship. The statement was issued after the Foreign Affairs Council Meeting in Brussels on Monday. The foreign ministers said: ‘The Council expresses its profound concern about the increasing number of acts of religious intolerance and discrimination, as epitomised by recent violence and acts of terrorism in various countries against Christians and their places of worship, Muslim pilgrims and other ‘religious communities’ which it firmly condemns. The ministers expressed their condolences and ‘solidarity’ with the countries where religious violence was being experienced, as well as with the victims’. They went on to affirm the EU’s ‘strong commitment’ to the promotion and protection of religious freedom and called upon states to protect their citizens, including members of religious minorities. Pray: that this statement will be taken seriously by all the states within the EU. (Pr.10:6) More:http://www.christiantoday.com/article/eu.expresses.profound.concern.over.violence.towards.christians/27565.htm