Displaying items by tag: Witchcraft

This is now the third year of Stop Child Witch Accusation’s (SCWA’s) Standing in the Gap annual prayer campaign for children accused of being witches.

Multiple thousands of children worldwide experience unspeakable abuse because they are perceived to be witches. But we give thanks to God that we are beginning to see change as the understanding, attitudes and practices of those in churches and local communities are being wonderfully transformed through Bible-based teaching and training, and the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit.

God is also graciously responding to the prayers and intercessions of our praying friends, bringing longed-for breakthrough that goes above and beyond human effort.

Thank you so much for joining us in this year’s Standing in the Gap prayer campaign, as we pray over the next three months for God to bring even greater breakthrough into this issue and for his deep healing and restoration to impact communities affected by it. To help guide your prayers, here is the link to the second prayer bulletin: https://stop-cwa.org/posts/prayer-campaign-3b

Let’s continue to pray with expectancy at what God will do through our prayers, by his grace and to his glory!

Pray: For all children to be able to live, learn and grow freely, without dark influences on their lives.

Pray: That any powers of darkness and malevolant spiritual influences will flee from these precious Children of God, in Jesus' name.

Pray: Protection over the vulnerable and those who seek to advocate for them.

Parts of Romania are hotbeds of the occult and witchcraft, as well as home to large groups of unreached Roma gypsies and Romanians. Witchcraft is a respected (and feared) profession: even the president is known to wear purple on certain days to ward off evil. The witches are known as the vrăjitoare, and their practice is government-regulated. In 2011, a new law required them to pay a 16% income tax, the same as any other self-employed Romanian citizen. The response was twofold. Some supported the tax, arguing that it established witchcraft as a verifiable profession, while others threw poisonous mandrake plants into the Danube River. Meanwhile missionaries are being sent to Romania. Greater Europe Mission (GEM) reported recently that its disciple-makers invited 130 youth from areas rife with witchcraft to a week-long camp, and between 60 and 70 people gave their lives to Christ. See

It’s so uplifting to see more and more people engaging with the issue of children accused of witchcraft, and resolving to take action. We are not yet a ‘great multitude’. But our experience in the last few months has been that God is gathering people from all over the world, with many different backgrounds and areas of expertise; gathering them to fight for the cause of persecuted children.

It’s a glimpse of heaven and the unity and justice that awaits us there. That glimpse of heaven, illustrated by some of the stories below, inspires us to persevere in this work. We hope it inspires you too.                                                              

Joseph's story

Last year, Joseph took part in a training event in Goma, DRC, using ‘The Heart of the Matter’ to unpack how to respond to accusations of witchcraft against children. Joseph has benefited hugely from this training. For example, he has been able to help one particular family:

‘The head of the family died, and this was followed by four accidents to other members of the family. The death of the head of the family and the accidents led the family to believe that their misfortune was being caused by witchcraft.  The family looked for the source of the witchcraft, and they concluded that one of the children wanted to exterminate the whole family.

‘The whole family was ready to burn the child, because they had taken him to many prayer and deliverance rooms and he had refused to admit that he was a witch.

‘When I heard about this, I spoke to each member of the family in turn and I showed that the child was innocent. Finally, I spoke to the child, who told me after several conversations that all the adults in the family hated him and that he was whipped night and day, and that as a result, he was excluded from the family, and they began to accuse him of being a witch.

‘I involved a few others, who helped me to teach the family of this child until they were able to recognise that what they were doing was wrong.  We were able to create a new harmony with this family, and now peace reigns there. The boy is at school and the adults have changed the way they behave towards all the children in the (extended) family.'

Please pray:

Praise God for the impact ‘The Heart of the Matter’ is already having on how churches address accusations of witchcraft against children in their communities. And let’s pray for an even greater impact as more church leaders and members interact with the resource.

Welcome Ken

We are delighted that Ken Dachi of the Bible Society has joined the SCWA Steering Group. Ken has an extensive network of contacts and, among others, he has connected us with the Bible Society in Nigeria. We are hoping this may prove to be a way in to churches in that nation, which is an epicentre for accusations.

Thanks to Ken’s introduction, Carolyn Gent (of BCT) and Jean-Paul Aruna (of LVLE, BCT’s local partner) have also had a meeting with the Bishop of Goma, which looks set to lead to opportunities to train all 55 of the Anglican church leaders in the city, many of whom have not received extensive training before, in both child protection and ‘The Heart of the Matter’, with the potential for that to go on out to other dioceses.

Please pray:

Give thanks for Ken’s energy and enthusiasm for SCWA’s work, and for the fruit which is already coming from the Bible Society’s membership of the coalition. And let’s continue to pray for our network of influence to grow.

Witchcraft and Human Rights Conference

10-11 January 2019 will see a conference on Witchcraft and Human Rights at Lancaster University, focusing on how witchcraft accusations and beliefs related to them are generated, understood and addressed.

This event furthers the discussions begun at the UN workshop on the same subject, last year in Geneva. It is encouraging to see engagement with the issue progressing.

It is also encouraging that members of the SCWA Steering Group have been invited to address the conference: Carolyn Gent will outline how the Church is a vital part of the solution to accusations of witchcraft against children, illustrating that with reference to ‘The Heart of the Matter’; and Stephanie Mooney will profile the audio resources Feba is producing in Kinshasa, and how these resources will promote engagement with the issue.

Please pray:

Give thanks that child witch accusations are being taken seriously by influential organisations and that discussions are progressing. And please pray that Carolyn and Stephanie’s contributions to the conference will be received well, in an environment which can tend to be wary of faith groups.

More: https://www.stop-cwa.org/

Archbishop Allan Migi, the Anglican primate in PNG, has condemned the increasing number of alleged witches and sorcerers being killed. He said killing a child suspected of witchcraft is strongly opposed to the way of Christ; it is child abuse in its worst form. The practice of sorcery and witchcraft is ‘an evil thing’, as is ‘the killing of a suspect or taking somebody’s life’. Recently the UN high commissioner for human rights, visiting the country, called for ‘decisive government action’ to tackle the endemic gender-based violence and horrific attacks against those accused of sorcery. The new police minister said, ‘It is not in our history to burn or stone people for sorcery. In the last year or so it has accelerated.’ There is now a police task force to tackle attacks on suspected witches.

'"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind," and "your neighbour as yourself."' — Luke 10:27.

Context

The story of the Good Samaritan starts with Jesus’ commandments in this verse, as Jesus answers the questions of: 'What must we do to inherit eternal life?', and 'Who is my neighbour?' Loving God and loving our neighbour are commands to his followers, his people, his church.

After a horrendous series of beatings, being burnt and left naked to public humiliation a woman accused of witchcraft in Papua New Guinea said this: “Like a bent old cooking pot I laid there alone and nobody came to see me, because I was declared eating humans…” (from an interview led by Fr. Philip Gibbs, 2016). Her story recounts that neither the police, nor her family, nor even a doctor would come to help her.

Who is our neighbour and where are the ‘Good Samaritans’ addressing child witchcraft accusations?

Thank God

Even when situations look and are horrendous, there is light. Give thanks to God for the "countless acts of heroism, generosity and courage …often by strangers", reported by Dr Miranda Forsyth (who is working with Fr. Philip Gibbs to address witchcraft accusations in Papua New Guinea) as these ‘Good Samaritans’ intervene where others will not help.

Let us continue to give thanks for the groups of people SCWA and others are impacting across DRC, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa, who are seeking to address witchcraft accusations, not by condemnation, but by bringing God’s love and justice into play.

Please Pray

Pray: that children will increasingly have a voice in their communities, nationally and internationally.

Pray: that God will allow his church to move from a position of sometimes colluding and encouraging fear in communities and harm to children, to a position where Christ’s church is seen to take the lead in ending accusations of witchcraft to children.

Pray: that God would heal communities, so that it would not take a stranger to stand up for the abused and rejected in any society, that hate and fear would be replaced by love and acts of kindness.

Pray: Giving thanks that our greatest role model, Jesus, became a stranger, so he could do exactly that.

Thank you for standing with us in our Standing in the Gap prayer campaign. Please continue to press on in prayer with us for the sake of the children and the glory of the name of Jesus. It would be great if you could share this latest bulletin with others in your prayer networks.

With much appreciation,

Susie Howe – Director
The Bethany Children's Trust

http://www.bethanychildrenstrust.org.uk/

More:http://stop-cwa.org/posts/prayer-bulletin-no6-2017

Warm greetings to you in the name of Christ our Lord!

These are exciting times for the Stop Child Witch Accusation coalition. The movement is gathering momentum, and more and more people are becoming aware of witchcraft accusations against children and committing to take action on the issue. 'The Heart of the Matter', our new training resource to help church leaders address witchcraft accusations is nearly ready, following a set of pilot events which exceeded all our expectations. And later this month, Pastor Ngolo of EPED and BCT's Carolyn Gent will represent SCWA at a United Nations workshop on witchcraft accusations, in Geneva.

With so many exciting and significant events happening around SCWA, and so much potential to scale-up what the coalition is doing, we need the support of our prayer partners more than ever. So we are inviting you to join us in a short prayer campaign in which we will lift to God our praise and petition and ask him to make possible what others say is impossible – bringing an end to this form of abuse against children. The campaign, ‘Standing in the Gap’, will run from now until January 2018. In this period, we will send you two bulletins a month, highlighting new points for prayer.

You will find the first batch of prayer points at: http://stop-cwa.org/posts/prayer-bulletin-no1-2017

We have seen on many occasions that God does amazing things when we pray. Thank you for standing with us in this new prayer initiative. I would be so grateful John if you would circulate this to others in your prayer networks, so that they too can join with us in praying for God to stir and equip his people to bring an end to this form of child suffering and abuse.

Grace and peace.

Susie Howe - Director
The Bethany Children’s Trust
http://www.bethanychildrenstrust.org.uk

“May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendour to their children. May the favour of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us — yes, establish the work of our hands.” — Psalm 90:16–17.

Bethany Children's Trust's training resource, entitled “the Heart of the Matter”, for pastors and community leaders, has now been piloted in Lomé, Togo. In total 23 attended the workshop, none of whom had engaged openly with this issue before. All have been encouraged and challenged by the training.

Testimony

“It was a wonderful day. The participants are very proactive in the group work and sketches; they are asking questions and humble.” — local trainer.

“Alleluia, thank you for your quality training, your life and your fire that we have received.” — local community leader.

Thank God

Praise God for Gad and Liz Numadi of MECI, Togo, that champions the cause of these children who are accused and abused. Thank God for their vision, passion, and initiative to bring people together to tackle this issue.

Thank God for all who attended this workshop in Lomé, including some civic leaders as well as pastors from the churches.

Please Pray

Ask God to stir all these local pastors and leaders to be change–makers in their community, using their influence to persuade and empower others, and never to become weary or fearful of tackling the issue of witchcraft related child abuse.

Pray that the increased awareness of the harm that these accusations cause will change perceptions in Togolese society, and provoke an active response to protect the most vulnerable.

May the favour of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us. — Psalm 90:17

Susie Howe - Director

The Bethany Children's Trust
http://www.bethanychildrenstrust.org.uk

Conservative groups were stuck in bureaucratic red tape

Documents obtained by a government watchdog show that the originator of the “After School Satan Club” received speedy tax-exempt status while conservative groups were stuck in bureaucratic red tape under the Obama administration.

Treasury Department files obtained by Judicial Watch last week show Reason Alliance in Somerville, Mass., was given nonprofit status within 10 days of its application in October 2014. The group operates the Satanic Temple out of Washington state and planned an “After School Satan Club” initiative in 2016.

“While the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) makes conservative groups wait years for tax-exempt status an ‘After School Satan Club‘ launched to hinder Christian-based counterparts got its nonprofit ranking in just ten days,” Judicial Watch said in a statement released March 16. “The classification is offered to charitable, religious and educational organizations that operate as nonprofits. Under the Obama administration, IRS political appointees illegally targeted conservative groups, either making them wait up to seven years for tax-exempt status or denying their application altogether.”

The watchdog said that Reason Alliance’s application turned up after Freedom of Information Act Requests related to the IRS’s approval process.

“The fact that a satanic cult got [its application] granted in a week when it took conservative groups seven years to get approved should be pretty illustrative of a deeper problem here,” Brian Morgenstern, vice president of the Manhattan Republican Party, told Fox News on Monday.

Reason Alliance, which was started by directors Malcolm Jarry and Douglas Mesner, says that its mission is to “encourage reason and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, promote justice, and advocate pragmatic common sense.”

The group’s idea for “After School Satan Club” was billed as an alternative to an evangelical Christian group’s after-school program known as the Good News Club.

“If Good News Clubs would operate in churches rather than public schools, that need would disappear. But our point is that if you let one religion into the public schools, you have to let others, otherwise, it’s an establishment of religion,” the group told The Washington Post on July 30, 2016. “We’ve moved well beyond being a simple political ploy and into being a very sincere movement that seeks to separate religion from superstition.”

JudicialWatch.org

Witches seek to attack President Trump
WASHINGTON – Among the angry liberals who refuse to accept the 2016 presidential election results that put Donald Trump in the Oval Office are witches who will be gathering at midnight on Sunday to cast spells.

Again.

They already tried last month to conjure up magic to remove him from office.

Witches, exorcists and occultists say they again will cast a “binding spell” designed to “bind Donald Trump and all who abet him.”

Anti-Trump occultists performed the “mass spell” against the president last month under the hashtag #BindTrump. Witches nationwide shared photos and videos on Twitter of them placing their hex on Trump.

They say they will repeat the ritual on March 26 and on every crescent moon “until Donald Trump is removed from office,” according to the group’s Facebook page.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2017/03/witches-to-cast-spell-on-trump-again/#UHVJeIpdm4AccFkv.99

Pray with His authority for the overthrow and closing down of all such “After School Satan Clubs” and of every occult incantation and curse directed against President Trump and his administration. Let the evil one be bound in the USA in all he continues to do to destabilize the new government and let those involved in the satanic realm be set free to love and serve Jesus Christ!

Thanks to the prayers of many within the USA and many of you around the world, we have experienced a divine turnaround and made a U-turn at the cliff in our recent national election. America looked like it was in for even greater decline, but the Lord has had mercy and given us a reprieve. Many in the prayer movement here now feel that though Donald Trump certainly has some rough edges in his personality, he could well be a “Cyrus”, bringing our country back from the brink and opening the way to national restoration and hopefully as we pray the nation may experience a spiritual revival. Amazingly, he has appointed eleven evangelical Christians to serve on his cabinet. That, probably much of it due to Vice President Pence’s wise advice, demonstrates a real seriousness and resolve about restoring America to her original calling to be part of Christ’s light to the nations. Let’s pray that it may be so!

However, in the weeks since the inauguration of President Trump and Vice President Pence, a growing resistance movement is being orchestrated to hinder and if possible overthrow President Trump, Vice President Pence and the new administration. George Soros, the former Nazi collaborator and billionaire activist has set up many extreme liberal organizations that are Leftist-Marxist in ideology and seek to divide and destroy the nation. An allied movement is called Organizing for Action and is led by our former president Barack Obama. It aims to set up 250 offices across the country and utilize an estimated 30,000 agitators to discredit and resist our new leadership.

Now, today word has come that the resist Trump effort has gone supernatural in a global call to invoke the demonic realm against him. Witches worldwide have planned to cast spells on Donald Trump, starting February 24^th, at midnight, going around the globe hour by hour and continuing month by month according to the lunar cycle until Trump is taken out. Here's what is being sent out to rally occultists of all kinds:

https://extranewsfeed.com/a-spell-to-bind-donald-trump-and-all-those-who-abet-him-february-24th-mass-ritual-51f3d94f62f4#.835rjtqp6 

Would you please join us in prayer and mobilize others to pray with you for the following things:

1. That any moles/enemies burrowed in the vast federal bureaucracy in Washington DC will be exposed and punished. Their recent leaks have become a threat to national and international security and are against the law.
2. That George Soros, a deeply wicked man who has schemed to destroy other nations and thinks he is a god, will be dealt with by the Lord Himself, hopefully to repent and in any case to be stopped from being able to carry out further harm to the USA or any other country.
3. That Organizing for Action and other extreme liberal-Marxist attempts to subvert the current American leadership will be foiled and backfire.
4. Let us also agree in prayer and in the authority Jesus has given us that “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven” (Matthew 18:18-19). We now bind in the Name that is above all names every demonic entity and any curses that are or will be invoked against President Trump, his colleagues and administration. In Jesus’ authority and in unity with other intercessors, we render them null and void. By the grace and mercy of God, may many of those who are involved in this witchcraft initiative be set free from spiritual blindness and slavery to the occult realm through coming to faith in Jesus as Savior and Deliverer!

 Thanks so much for your strong and persistent prayers as the Spirit prompts you. Our God will use such united prayer to protect the USA and its new administration as well as hasten His good purposes for the rest of our.

Stop Child Witch Accusations (SCWA) is a coalition of Christian individuals and agencies responding to the reality of children experiencing serious harm or the threat of harm due to accusations of witchcraft or belief in malevolent spiritual influence. We are motivated to action through a shared concern to end the abuse and stigmatisation suffered by thousands of children who are accused of witchcraft. Our approach is to facilitate dialogue between local people and within local forums, supporting communities to come to their own understandings of this problem and how best to address it and to contribute to the development of effective, practical responses and advocacy resources, adaptable for use in different localities and contexts.

Over the last two years we have been working closely with church leaders based in DR Congo, and a group of African theologians concerned with this issue. The attached report describes our approach, activities and future direction. It is intended to demonstrate an effective and adaptable model for working with church leaders to address the issue of child witchcraft accusations.

Across the globe, children are accused of being witches. As a result, they are subjected to unimaginable abuse and torture: some are even killed. In some African nations, this phenomenon has become a societal norm. Communities in the grip of poverty, violence and conflict are prone to the belief that social ills are caused by dark forces which inhabit humans. In the search for someone to blame for their problems, people tend to scapegoat the most vulnerable in society: children are easy prey. Suspicion and fear spread like wildfire.

Small organisations in affected communities, such as those in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are struggling to meet the complex needs of the large numbers of children subjected to these accusations. Few governments or agencies have engaged with the issue with any great commitment or effectiveness.

At the very heart of the issue are strong cultural and faith–based beliefs. Some church leaders are complicit in the ‘deliverance’ rites which subject accused children to often brutal and sustained torture. Many other church leaders are working tirelessly to stop the abuse. Yet, all too often, efforts to tackle this abuse have been hugely critical of the church, rather than engaging with it. 

Stop Child Witch Accusations (SCWA) believes that the issue must be approached from a faith perspective, as well as from a human rights one. The church, often the first port of call for families who believe their child is a witch, must be engaged. There is an urgent need for a concerted, preventative approach, which identifies and addresses root causes. SCWA is a coalition of predominantly Christian, UK–based organisations involved in supporting frontline efforts to tackle this abuse in Africa. SCWA and its partners are addressing the issue in three African nations profoundly affected by this phenomenon.

Church leaders in affected communities need to be engaged and influenced to help bring about change in any harmful belief or practice they may adhere to. They need to be given an essential grounding in sound theology, children’s rights as enshrined in law, and in child development. A recent survey of 1,000 pastors in Kinshasa, DRC, found that 70 per cent of respondents knew at least one child aged five or under who had been abused as a result of witchcraft accusations. An equal number acknowledged that sermons in their churches preach that child witches do harm by their supernatural powers. These church leaders also need to be equipped with practical strategies and resources so they can become key influencers of values and attitudes, both in their congregations and communities.

SCWA’s work with African churches is underpinned by systematic research into the root causes of witchcraft accusations. It believes this is essential if responses are to be relevant, targeted and effective. The complexity of the phenomenon means that its drivers vary from country to country, even from town to town. SCWA has now developed a unique, dual–pronged approach — engaging and training pastors with specific reference to root causes identified through local research.

Please pray for the work of the SCWA and the eradication of witchcraft accusations against children as well as specifically for the following:

• Concerted and collaborative efforts by local and international communities to tackle this issue in practical ways, drawing on the learning shared in this report. Round table forums such as those piloted by SCWA need to be replicated in forums at the UN and at governmental level.
• Advocacy organisations (working at a local level) to engage positively with the church on the issue of child witch accusations.
• Funders to invest in research into roots, realities and responses. Plus more funding to develop trainers and training resources, tailored to local contexts and translated into local languages. Training needs to target more sectors of society, including police, teachers, parents and community leaders.
• Recognition and support for the many small organisations in affected communities, struggling to meet the needs of children accused of witchcraft.
• Increased advocacy at a national and regional level to promote robust judicial and legal systems in affected countries, to crack down on this abuse and end impunity for abusers.
• More strategic efforts by church authorities to ensure that all churches everywhere have child protection policies in place.
• Theological colleges to include teaching on the issue of child witch accusations and related topics in their curricula.
  

The issue of child witch accusations is huge and complex: the challenges it poses can appear insurmountable. But SCWA believes that, with concerted and collaborative action, change in harmful beliefs and practices will follow and the flood of accusations will recede. Its own experience has proved this is possible. It warmly invites others to join in its efforts to end this abuse that wrecks the lives of countless children.

For the rest of this report or more information, please contact:
Susie Howe <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Director
The Bethany Children's Trust
Office 211
22 Eden Street
Kingston Upon Thames
Surrey
KT1 1DN
United Kingdom