Displaying items by tag: Religion

Nichol Collins was a transgender drug dealer for twenty years, then became a Christian after a brutal attack. As a minister for the last few years, she has prayed with people on social media to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When the pandemic spread across the USA she started getting calls from people seeking spiritual help. ‘People were terrified and started saying, “Hey I heard that you pray with people to receive the Holy Spirit”, Collins explained. ‘I always clarify that I'm not giving it out. God is pouring out His Spirit in the last days on all flesh. I'm just a conduit to pray with people, kind of coach them through it. Explain it, make them more comfortable. This is a gift to anyone who asks according to Luke chapter 11:13.’ Recently, more than 120 people have been baptised.

‘And then, as I sat there, I knew that I was being called to come back for longer. A simple thought at one level, but more profoundly an invitation to an adventure that would, in so many ways, turn life as I knew it upside down.’ Interserve partner Chris B shares his story of how a simple call from God led him on a journey of faith to be used by God in ways he would never have expected. ‘In the following months, I explored and tested that invitation with others, and God was gracious enough to confirm his call in several ways. Like Peter, it has been far from plain sailing! But I have never looked back, and 16 years and three countries later I still feel incredibly privileged to be on this journey.’

The nations have been devastated to see the destruction in Beirut, but also inspired by the response of the help and support from church, communities, charities and media broadcasts from SAT-7. Presenter Marianne Awaraji Daou said, ‘Thank you for your prayers and support. We feel the unity of the body of Christ during these hard times, and this lifts us and blesses our hearts.’ One survivor speaking on a SAT-7 programme said, ‘The Lord is merciful and compassionate. Jesus protected me, my family, and the people I love. I thank Him every moment. I want to say that evil is increasing, but I believe that the Lord will use everyone who went through this disaster to be His witness. I believe that God works through our prayers and through those who help. My hope is in You, Lord.’

Jim answered the phone, ‘Hello’. The caller responded, ‘Are you a pastor?’ ‘Yes, can I help you?’ ‘My name is Jacob, we delivered an appliance to your home and you shared about missions. I was interested in going on a short-term mission.’ Jim said, ‘Yes, I remember you.’ ‘We wanted to go to the Philippines but the virus shut down the mission trip. My wife flew to Ohio to visit family and was killed in an accident. I had her phone that day and I placed your number in it, my pastor told me to call everyone that she had talked to.’ ‘I was overwhelmed, I said to Jacob, ‘Let’s pray’.People are hurting everywhere and we have the answer, Jesus Christ. So the question is, will we share our faith more aggressively? This is what we need to do during this virus fear. Be bold, pray and speak up to everyone, now is the time.’

On 17 August the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organisation (ACERO) applied to Westminster magistrates court to have its funds released, so that it can send money to victims of the Beirut explosion and a Covid-19 relief project in Armenia. ACERO’s accounts were frozen in 2019 after a judge ruled that the police should be allowed to look into allegations that it funded Islamic terrorism by paying ransom money for the release of 223 Christian hostages held by IS. The charity claims money was sent to help rehabilitate Christian Assyrian hostages following their release. Lawyers argued that there is no longer reason to suspect funds were or will be used for terrorist financing, and it is unconscionable to prevent them any longer from being put to humanitarian use.’

The Bishop of Dover has expressed her deep sadness over the death of a 16-year-old migrant who drowned after attempting to reach the UK in a small boat (see Europe article below). Rt Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin said, ‘People who try to cross the Channel seeking safety and security are not criminals, they are like you and I. Human beings who should be afforded the dignity and respect and rights that so many of us take for granted. It is a travesty that this young man will never see his hoped-for future, that his family has been deprived of seeing him grow up.’ She said she ‘would like our government to take the initiative’ in solving the root causes of the migrant crisis. ‘I'd like them to sit down with other governments, not just when someone dies but in the long term.’ She also urged the Church to continue to help with the resettling of refugee families and stop joining in with negative rhetoric.

The concert version of the 2016 production made a virtue of distancing on stage. ‘Could we start again please?’ asks Mary Magdalene in the lustrous 1970 rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Theatres have waited months for the same question to be answered since they closed in March amid the coronavirus outbreak. So it’s tempting to sing out your own ‘hosanna’ when a company of performers assemble on stage, two metres apart, and triumphantly rip off their masks at the top of this rainswept open-air revival to be performed until 27 September. Seating capacity was reduced by 2/3rds for a 90-minute concert-style version of the musical, leaving audiences to luxuriate in extra space, while requiring the strictly socially distanced actors to still convey intimacy on stage.

Currently, under the rules in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, face coverings are not mandatory at worship services. The heads of the Church of Ireland, Methodist Church, Catholic and Presbyterian Churches said it was their responsibility ‘to ensure that our services of worship are safe places’, so they have asked parishioners to wear face coverings during services. The move comes following consultations with health authorities. The face coverings should be used alongside two-metre social distancing. Earlier in lockdown drive-in services were used to facilitate parishioners. Although shops, restaurants and businesses are restricted to six people, religious services are allowed to have up to fifty attendees.

Individuals of almost every religious affiliation continue to face prosecution under Russia’s ‘anti-missionary legislation’ for exercising their right to freedom of religion and belief. Despite a 2018 constitutional court decision which offered some clarification of what ‘missionary activity’ means, police and prosecutors continue to initiate cases to punish a wide range of activities, from advertising events online to holding ordinary worship services for fellow believers. 142 prosecutions reached courts in the last six months.

Bible translator and literacy teacher Pastor Christopher Tanjoh was killed on 7 August following an attack in his village. Last year two other Bible translators in Cameroon died in similar incidents. He bled to death after being shot in the leg, leaving behind a wife and seven children. Wycliffe’s executive director said, ‘This tragic news reminds us how much the gospel message is urgently needed in Cameroon. Until people are transformed by Jesus, there will be no lasting peace. We continue to work with local partners to translate the Bible so that every Cameroonian can read the Bible in the language that speaks to them best.’