India: worst anti-Christian violence ever seen
09 Jun 2023
The ongoing attacks on Manipur’s Christians are labelled 'religious cleansing'. Over 317 churches, 70 church schools, 6,137 Christian homes and Christian administrative buildings had been destroyed by 3 May, according to an assessment by the Federation of Indian American Christian Organisations (FIACONA). Other groups estimated 45,000 people have been displaced in what FIACONA is calling ‘the worst anti-Christian violence India has ever seen’. The BJP government used a decades-old underlying ethnic tension between two ethnic groups to create the deadliest violence against Christians, instigated by Hindutva nationalists. It is ‘target killings by government forces’. Events in Manipur follow worsening conditions for Christians across India. Kerala’s Catholic bishops’ council conducted prayers and a candle-lit procession on 6 June, demanding peace should be established in Manipur immediately. Bishops, priests, and laity participated in the meeting and procession.
Global: climate change
09 Jun 2023
Every year countries pledge to cut their greenhouse gas emissions to curb the impacts of climate change. But still temperatures keep rising. Last month scientists announced that the average rise in global temperatures would likely pass the 1.5C threshold in the next five years. With temperatures rising we will see more heatwaves, wildfires and floods. From 5 to 15 June countries’ leaders are meeting at the Bonn climate conference to discuss, among other things, local communities and indigenous peoples, pre-2020 ambition and implementation, science, and oceans. They will review their pledges as they look ahead to November’s COP28. Even a small increase in average temperatures makes a big difference as the whole distribution of daily temperatures shifts to warmer levels, making hotter days more likely and more extreme. See
USA polluted from Canada wildfire smoke
09 Jun 2023
New York air pollution is ‘hazardous’, in the Very Unhealthy category, with no end in sight for the thick smoke pouring south from more than 400 Canadian wildfires. At least 13 US states have air quality alerts issued, impacting approximately 115 million people. Experts said the pollution could persist into the weekend. There have been mass evacuations in Quebec province. Canadian officials warned that this could be the country’s worst wildfire season on record, with over 6.7 million acres already scorched. By 8 June hundreds of uncontrolled forest fires were threatening Canada’s critical infrastructure and forcing evacuations. Wildfires are common in Canada’s western provinces, but this year they rapidly spread east. About 9.4m acres have already burned. Canada’s wildfires are part of our new climate reality.
USA: gun violence reshaping lives
09 Jun 2023
As gun violence increases and shootings make headlines every few days, the fear of getting caught in one is changing the lives of millions of Americans. The shops, the schoolroom, the teenager's house party have all suffered mass shootings in recent weeks. It feels as if it could happen anywhere. 60% of adults have talked to their children or other relatives about gun safety, according to a survey by an organisation focused on health policy. Gun violence has caused some to uproot their lives and move to a different neighbourhood or city. As it has worsened, there has been a surge in demand for bulletproof backpacks for children, says the owner of a self-defence item manufacturing company. Pray for more psychiatric help to be available for children growing up in areas where gunshots are frequently heard. Pray for all schools to have a wise safety plan and provide medical training for staff.
India: Over 300 killed in triple train crash
09 Jun 2023
Faulty electronic signalling caused India’s worst train crash in two decades, killing over 300 people and injuring 1,100, many seriously. It happened when a passenger train hit a stationary freight train and another passenger train. The trains were carrying 2,296 people. A hundred unidentified bodies, still in mortuaries without refrigeration, are being embalmed. See The railway ministry wants India’s top detective agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to investigate the crash: it usually investigates high profile criminal causes such as serious financial fraud and murder. The railway minister said the root cause of the accident and people responsible for a ‘criminal act’ were identified. Pray for those still searching for their loved ones and those mourning the dead. Pray for healing of emotional and physical wounds. The government wants the British colonial-era railroad network modernised, but despite efforts to improve safety, several hundred accidents occur every year.
USA: LGBTQ+ clothing for children
09 Jun 2023
Mainstream Americans, including many Christians, are speaking out against retail giant Target’s Pride Collection for 2023. Its LGBTQ+ clothing, celebrating Pride Month, includes onesies for infants featuring pro-LGBTQ content. One onesie includes the text ‘Being Proud’, while another features what appear to be LGBT rainbows and hearts with the transgender flag colours. Target is also selling children’s books with the LGBTQ theme, including ‘Bye-Bye Binary’ and ‘What Are Your Words’, which tells kids how to use transgender pronouns. Some products for kids also appear to feature drag queens, according to products sold on the company’s website. Target sells adult ‘tuck-friendly’ swimwear, for transgenders who are biological males, and have upped the ante by targeting children with this obscene line, according to Christian apologist Michael Brown. Target also features the products of an overtly satanic, radical LGBTQ+ supplier. The company has lost $11 billion since a boycott over its pride merchandise.
Two more ‘Chibok girls’ rescued
02 Jun 2023
Hauwa Maltha and Esther Marcus were abducted by Boko Haram in April 2014 and rescued on 21 April 2023. They were forced to marry Boko Haram fighters three times as one soldier after another was killed in the fighting. Hauwa had 4 children and has since given birth to a 5th. Esther had a one-year-old baby when she was found. Give thanks for the rescue of Hauwa and Esther. Pray that both young women will recover from their lengthy, traumatic ordeal, also asking for the Lord’s blessing upon their young children and that He will remove the scars from their harrowing start to life. Ask the Lord to administer His healing touch on these families as they seek to rebuild their lives by trusting in Him.
‘Historic’ global effort to share the gospel
02 Jun 2023
On Pentecost Sunday, hundreds gathered on Jerusalem’s Southern Steps, just below the Temple Mount, and millions more joined online, to pray for Israel, and begin a historic evangelistic outreach to the world. During the prayers for Jerusalem and the nations, an unusual unseasonal rain covered everyone. Jono Hall oversaw the broadcast and said, ‘I’ve been broadcasting 25 years and never seen anything like this before. It’s a God moment. Denominations from the East and West who wouldn’t normally speak or work together now in unity, praying for Jerusalem and for the Kingdom Gospel to reach all of the earth’. Tom Victor of the International Prayer Council said that over a hundred million were praying for Israel and for the world with the launch of this ten-year collaboration to fulfil the Great Commission.