Displaying items by tag: Religion

Mobs are targeting Christian households, led by aggressive Hindu vigilantes known for their hardline approach. Churches are vandalised, pastors are beaten or abused. Congregations are broken up by mobs and believers hospitalised with injuries. The police raid church services to threaten and arrest congregations. This persecution coincides with renewed attention on a longstanding claim that a string of forced conversions are taking place in Chhattisgarh. Speeches, rallies and press statements have openly attacked Christian pastors and believers for allegedly converting tens of thousands of people from tribal communities and poor, lower-caste Hindu families. They are alleged (without evidence) to have been lured into churches by proselytising pastors offering cash payments, free medical assistance, and foreign trips, funded by foreign donors. Dozens of ‘anti-conversion’ rallies have been held in the past month.

Oxford Diocese has launched a contemplative toolkit in response to the growing mental health crisis among young people. It is a time of daily reflection founded on ancient pathways and practices of meditation and prayer that have resourced, benefited, and healed Christians for generations. The increase in the use of digital technology and social media is placing young people in danger of becoming less connected with their families and communities and leads to increased mental health issues as self-worth is measured against online profile popularity. A quarter of a million children struggle with their mental health as a result of the pandemic. When the whole of education seems to be about targets, results and pressure, this toolkit gives students the chance just to be, rather than do. It complements the Prayer Spaces in Schools programme, enabling prayer and reflection into school life for the year. It also enables pupils to run the sessions themselves and share reflections with their peers.

Rev Yvonne Clarke was ordained as a deacon in 1987 and has served All Saints Shirley, in Southwark Diocese, for over 20 years. On 29 September the diocese decided to divide the parish between St George’s and St John’s, resulting in Rev Clarke losing her home and her job. She is considering appealing against the decision, saying the move felt ‘personal’ and was motivated by racism. The diocese said its proposal was due to ongoing concerns over the church's finances and governance. Rev Clarke said she is now in discussions with her legal team and supporters to consider an appeal to the Privy Council.’ The diocese said it welcomed the decision of the pastoral committee of the Church Commissioners for the better provision of ministry and mission, as All Saints Spring Park is not viable in its current form.

Pastor Peter Simpson, a Methodist minister, was preaching outside Uxbridge Station in August when 14 officers approached him. The Met Police confirmed that officers had received complaints that a man was using homophobic language and had given words of advice to him. Pastor Simpson denies using homophobic language and said that with two other church helpers he was preaching a straightforward Gospel message: 'All who have sinned and come short of the glory of God, need salvation'. He had spoken about how much the nation has turned against God, and how immoral abortion is. He also had said, 'We have also redefined marriage, contrary to God's law, it can only be between one man and one woman.' Within 15 minutes of preaching the police came and said they had received multiple complaints, even though no one had complained directly to Pastor Simpson. The police asked him to leave the area, and no arrests were made.

Rt Rev Hugh Nelson is the new Bishop to the Armed Forces: he was formally licensed by Justin Welby on 20 September. This role will be in addition to his work as Bishop of St Germans in the Diocese of Truro. Speaking to Premier Christian Radio, Bishop Hugh said, ‘One of the commitments that I make as Bishop to the Forces is that I will pray for two things, every single day while I'm in this post. One is that the day will come and come as soon as possible when there's no need for any armed forces, when peace breaks out and the kingdom of God fully arrives. And in the meantime, I will continue to pray every single day for our men and women who are out there on the frontline trying to keep peace and justice in the name of this country.’

Brazil has one of the largest Christian populations in the world; 91% say they are a ‘Christian’ of some form. The Kingdom of God has exploded in Brazil since 1960 as the nation has been saturated with truth in and through Jesus Christ. Jesus said (Luke 12:48), ‘To whom much is given, from them much is required’, and Brazil has certainly been given much from God. The Church has become a strong mission-sending organisation in one generation. Today, God desires it to go to a new level of seeing mission mobilisation emphasised in every local ministry so that every believer contributes to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. The Brazilian Church is known as a praying Church; pray for a massive prayer movement across the churches and denominations emphasising intercession for an explosion of church-planting, leading towards communal movements to Christ among all unreached people groups.

Flights carrying Haitian migrants from the US back to their homeland continue daily. The ongoing mass expulsion comes in response to a growing humanitarian crisis at the US/Mexico border. Over 12,000 migrants, mainly from Haiti, camped under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas, after wading across the Rio Grande from Mexico. Activity at the border has increased significantly in recent years. Border agents stopped nearly 200,000 people last month, a significant increase from the 50,684 arrests in 2019. UN officials say almost a million people from El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras have fled to Mexico. Mexico may top 100,000 new asylum claims this year, breaking a new record. Recently a federal judge decided officials could not use Title 42 law to deport migrant families from the US to Mexico. Lawyers serving the Biden administration immediately appealed the ruling. Mission Cry is sending 25,000 Spanish Bibles to migrants all over Mexico and hope to reach 2 million people.

For many years we have interceded for the persecuted Christians in China. A significant trend in the past year has been for even more church raids: according to an International Christian Concern report, ‘not only were churches shut down or demolished, but pastors and Christians are regularly arrested.’ Open Doors estimates that there are 97 million Christians in China, many of them in unregistered underground house churches and therefore considered to be ‘illegal’. Christians are not the only religious minority facing persecution; between 1 and 3 million Uyghur and other ethnic Muslims have been put in internment camps where they are taught to fall in line with the CCP. In January, the US state department described China's treatment of Uyghurs as a ‘genocide.’ China has also reportedly violated the rights of Falun Gong practitioners and Tibetan Buddhists.

The National Day of Prayer for Schools is on 28 September. A few years ago, Scripture Union research found over 95% of UK youth were not connected to a local church. 99% of young people engage in mainstream education. Many believe that if we want to reach the unchurched 95%, we need to learn how to serve our schools and meet these youth where they are. Due to the challenging situation the pandemic created for children, young people, schools, staff and families, church groups across the UK are prayer-walking their communities, praying God’s blessing over their local schools, and seeking God for breakthrough in schools. On 28 September Christians will join an online prayer gathering in the morning, with prayer videos released every hour, before they gather to prayer walk in locations across the UK later. For more information see

Catholic hospitals will defy Queensland’s euthanasia laws that force them to allow doctors to administer end-of-life drugs in their facilities. Health provider Mater said, ‘We will not tolerate non credentialed doctors coming on-site, nor will we assist in the provision of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) in any of our facilities.’ The VAD laws were signed off by parliament and are due to go to a vote later this month. Catholic facilities provide one in five hospital and aged-care beds in Queensland and want the same right to oppose VAD at their facilities, as is the case with South Australian laws. The legislation is all but certain to pass but many oppose allowing unaccredited doctors to enter hospital rooms without notice or permission and then to assist in a medical procedure that is dangerous and undermines patient safety. The Queensland government is forcing Catholic hospitals, against their values and beliefs, to open their facilities to assisted dying.