Displaying items by tag: USA

On 20 January, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th US president. He wasted little time before undoing policies that were anathema to Democrats; he signed 15 executive orders and two other directives, including an order requiring face masks and social distancing on federal property. This was followed by an order recommitting the United States to the Paris Agreement on climate change. With plain language and open emotion, Biden urged a shaken nation to regain its footing. He has directed the government to rejoin the World Health Organisation and intends to join the COVAX Facility, a project to deploy Covid-19 vaccines to people in need around the world (whether in rich or poor countries); it is an umbrella effort that focuses on distributing diagnostic tools and therapeutics for coronavirus to countries around the world. The justice department pledged to keep the Capitol safe through the next few days.

The National Association of Evangelicals denounced the ‘Christianity’ displayed at the Capitol Hill riots recently. When images emerged of people holding crosses or signs displaying faith-based messages and engaging in violence they said, ‘They are not representing Christ's teachings. Followers of Jesus are peacemakers. Some protest images demonstrate a disturbing conflation of Christianity and a nationalist ideology that is far from the way of Jesus. Christians are commanded to seek the peace of the cities where they live, to love their enemies, to seek unity and to proclaim a message of peace.’

After the storming of the Capitol building when President Trump incited aggressive moves to overturn the 2020 election result, the House voted for an article of impeachment against him. Nations are commenting on US events. The Archbishop of Wales said that Trump is a person of questionable morals, judgment, and wisdom who believes he can ignore democratic processes and the will of the people. ‘No politician has a right to be unaccountable for their behaviour.’ See Meanwhile the FBI have called for assistance in securing Washington as the inauguration nears. They believe the attack on the Capitol will potentially motivate additional follow-on attacks by extremists throughout 2021 and will very likely serve as a significant driver of violence for domestic extremists.’The range of potential future targets of attack was varied, extremists could zero in on government officials and institutions, as well as racial and religious minorities, journalists and more.

Just days before he leaves office, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo asserted, ‘Al-Qaeda has a new home base in Iran.’ He said ties between Tehran and al-Qaeda vastly improved in 2015, when the Obama administration finalised the deal that saw Iran limit its nuclear enrichment in exchange for lifting international sanctions. In his speech Pompeo urged more international pressure on Tehran, but stopped short of calling for military action, saying, ‘If we chose to do that, there’s a much greater risk in executing it’. The speech could represent an escalation in the US’s ability to use force against Iran; the Trump administration could say it already had congressional approval for an attack on Iran, if al-Qaeda were proved to be on Iranian territory. Several incidents have brought Iran and the USA to the brink of conflict during Trump’s term. The Iranian foreign minister accused Pompeo of ‘warmongering lies’.

On 5 January a throng of Trump supporters swathed in red, white and blue had a ‘Jericho march’ around Washington in imitation of the Israelites besieging the city of Jericho. Some wore ‘Make America Great Again’ hats, waved flags featuring Trump, and held signs saying ‘Donald v Goliath’. Some were singing ‘How great Is our God’. The Georgia runoff on 6 January gave legislative advantages to the Democrats, while a rally gathered at the nation’s capital. Then Trump’s supporters stormed and ransacked the Capitol building, abruptly forcing Congress members and vice-president Mike Pence to flee the premises. Dozens were arrested, and at least four people were killed during the chaos. The next morning Trump agreed to leave office in an orderly transition of power, but he did not admit defeat or say he was conceding. He also failed to acknowledge publicly the deadly riot by his supporters inside the Capitol.

The Washington riots and deaths have demonstrated how deeply damaged US politics has become. Pray for God to turn this build-up of animosity and eventual breakdown of law and order into a wakeup call for Americans. May they make the humble effort to work together and repair the damage done. Pray for a shift in political fault-finding and for wise reasoning to enable them to resolve their problems. May they recognise that the division must be healed rather than worsened. Donald Trump is giving no indications of disappearing from the spotlight any time soon. Pray for Republican politicians to have the wisdom and moral strength to begin repairing the damaged democratic reputation. Trump’s reputation is badly tarnished, but he still has strong sway over a sizeable segment of the party's base. Pray for Republicans to resist the temptation to lay claim to his populist mantle, and decide to build the country not their status.

Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors is encouraging people to share photos, artwork, a prayer, or a meditation for loved ones lost to Covid-19, as part of a project to honour people dying of the disease and their families. A dairy market has been transformed into a gallery and event space. Participants use the #PrayforLA hashtag. Patrisse announced the initiative through an Instagram video on 2 January. He said that as Latino and Black residents are disproportionately impacted by Covid, the government should do more to help people financially.

Stripping away the spin in both the UK and EU, the prospects of a deal feel very slim at present. In the next few weeks everything rests on intense negotiations behind the scenes. The process is unlikely to be straightforward as this is all uncharted territory. Please continue to pray for God to direct every conversation around this challenging situation. Pray for everyone to be creative and able to keep the basis of negotiations on level ground. Political observers say that if they wanted to, the EU and the UK could, in theory, come up with an agreement outside EU law. Meanwhile the UK and USA are in talks over a mini trade deal to reduce tariffs. Pray for the success of post-Brexit deals with Washington. Pray for God to pave the way for excellent future communications between US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and the UK international trade secretary Liz Truss. See

Before the election, political tensions were boiling over in a particularly divisive campaign season. Brawling between people with American flags, people dressed in black and others sporting red gear saying ‘Make America Great Again’ launched eggs at each other, yelled expletives, and became violent. These political tensions worsened in November as many refused to accept Joe Biden’s election victory. Violent demonstrators on the streets of Washington and other cities resulted in stabbings and arrests. In recent battles between BLM, Trump supporters, and the extremist right Proud Boys, five police officers were stabbed, two more were hospitalised, many were arrested, and several were shot, including a Washington police officer. The media is calling this season ‘Make America break again’ not ‘Make America great again’. Meanwhile the most recognisable female Christian speaker, Pastor Beth Moore, warned believers of the dangers of Christian nationalism and called on Christians to ‘move back’ from supporting dangerous and seductive Trumpism. See

Bob Fu, who lives in Texas, is a former Tiananmen Square protester who now runs ChinaAid and campaigns for religious freedom in China. He has been targeted with death threats and his family were traumatised by bomb threats and protests outside their home as Fu delivered an address in Washington on Christian persecution in China. The threats necessitated the family being evacuated from their home and taken into protective custody. His 15-year-old daughter had to be taken out of school by armed police. Although they have now returned home, they remain under police protection. Fu said, ‘I have no doubt this is directly from Beijing. The goal is clear. It's to silence my voice for freedom in China and to destroy the ministry of ChinaAid. We cannot let them stop us: it's business as usual.’