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A brother and sister decided to sacrifice their birthday presents this year in aid of children in care. Instead of their usual birthday parties this year, Elsie Parlor, 7, and her younger brother, Alfred, 5, held a joint fundraising disco in Newport Pagnell. In place of gifts, guests were asked to put a donation for St Francis’ Children’s Society in a bucket. Donations from the night raised £260 to help find adoptive parents for children in care. Dominik Byrne, fundraising officer at St Francis’ Children’s Society said: ‘The whole team was moved when we heard about this party. Although parents often generously make donations, many of us are guilty of forgetting that children are often eager to help too. Elsie and Alfred are the first to have such a party – what a brilliant idea. They’ve inspired us to create party packs containing goodies, literature and a collection box for any other children who’d like to help.’
Praise: God for these caring young people and their idea; may many others be inspired to give. (Ps.100:1)
Hoda is a gypsy girl living in the South of Lebanon participating in a literacy programme at a centre being managed by believers. Talking about their families Hoda explained that her eldest sister living with them is pregnant, but does not want the baby and continually says that she wants to kill the baby. Her teacher explained to the class that God is the Creator, that He made this little baby and He loves children. She also explained that if the mother continues to reject and hate the baby that the baby will be born with a sense of abandonment and rejection. Hoda went home that afternoon and explained to her sister that they should talk to the baby, love the baby and accept this baby as a gift from God. The next day Hoda returned to class, excited to tell everyone that her sister had changed her mind! She decided to keep and love the baby and no longer reject this gift.
Praise: God and pray that He will continue to reveal Himself to children and to the next generation that will shape the future of Lebanon. (Mat 11:25)
By last week many charities had already raised more compared with 2010, and some are even expecting a windfall, a new Chronicle of Philanthropy poll finds. Fifty-four percent told The Chronicle that they raised more money in November and the first part of December than they had at this point last year. One out of five of the 152 organizations in the survey said contributions are outpacing last year’s donations by 20 percent or more. That is one reason many groups expect 2011 to end well. Six out of 10 charities predicted they would close out the year with an overall gain in donations. ‘Things are looking very strong,’ says Traci Coker, director of the World Vision Gift Catalogue. ‘We’re slightly ahead of last year right now.’ Some social-service charities that have worked to do a better job telling their stories are also seeing success.
Praise: God for the generosity of spirit demonstrated across the world at this time. (Ps.150:6)
The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland has welcomed a court ruling upholding the right to conscientious objection of two midwives who refused to have any role in abortion procedures. Mary Doogan, 58, and Concepta Wood, 52, both practising Catholics, challenged NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde on having to delegate, supervise or support staff involved in terminations. They lost a previous case against the health board when a judge ruled that their human rights had not been violated because they were not directly involved in carrying out terminations. But a court of appeal in Edinburgh ruled on Wednesday that conscientious objection could apply to supporting staff involved in abortions. The right to conscientious objection is protected by the 1967 Abortion Act. Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow, said the decision by the appeal judges was a ‘victory for freedom of conscience and for common sense’.
Praise: God for the court ruling. (Dt.25:1)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/catholic.midwives.abortion.victory.welcomed/32233.htm
A Muslim group holding extremist views have had their plan to build a huge £3 million mosque in Camberley, England, finally dismissed by local authorities. If the plans had been approved, the mosque would have had two 30-metre minarets overlooking the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and towering above the parade ground and the adjacent St Michael's Church. The proposal raised serious security concerns, especially in view of the frequent royal visits to Sandhurst. The Bengali Welfare Association had appealed against the rejection of the plan by Surrey Heath Borough Council in March 2010. The controversial plans to knock down the listed Victorian school currently used as a mosque and build the mega-mosque were initially approved by the council's planning committee. The Planning Inspectorate last week described the proposed mosque as ‘little more than a fairly traditional design transposed into Surrey from somewhere in the Near East or the Indian subcontinent.’
Praise: God for this change of plans and for listening to the people's concerns. (Pr.1:5)
Global Day of Prayer London is calling for 1,000 leaders to pray together to set Britain ablaze at the Carry the Torch national leaders' summit. The event is taking place in the Great Hall at Wembley Stadium on September 17. The key focus of the day will be to jointly see how God's Kingdom can increase in the UK, releasing the Gospel to millions of people and seeing tangible transformations within every sector of society. ‘We are looking to God for mercy and blessings upon our nation as we gather together,’ said Jonathan Oloyede, convener of GDOP London. ‘Every leader of small and large groups within the market place, church and ministry are invited. We would like to see lots of young leaders from different cultures and streams joining us on the day.’ Evangelist Will Graham, grandson of Billy Graham, will be one of the guest ministers on the day.
Praise: God and pray that intercessors would cover the land with the torch of life bringing glory to the King. (Lk.8:1)
The Holy Spirit swept across Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, last week. Evangelists Reinhard Bonnke and Daniel Kolenda wrapped up the fourth night of Christ for All Nations' Gospel Campaign there and are reporting an outpouring. ‘The Holy Spirit was poured out on the multitude in a mass baptism of fire! Dramatic signs and wonders accompanied the preaching of the gospel,’ Kolenda wrote in an update to partners. ‘An old mama who was totally blind for two years received her sight. A woman with a lump in each of her breasts, said that during the prayer both lumps vanished. A totally deaf woman was also completely healed along with another blind girl.’ Saturday morning marked the grand finale of the Fire Conference. Peter van den Berg preached with Kolenda following. Before he could take the microphone, Kolenda says the Holy Spirit was already falling.
Praise: God for this evidence that we can see the work of the Holy Spirit in action in this day. (Lk.7:21-22))
More: http://www.charismanews.com/world/32738-blind-see-deaf-hear-at-bonnke-meeting-in-africa
A self-effacing multi-millionaire, Jonathan Ruffer, has become a cultural icon here after buying a series of 17th century religious paintings from the Anglican Church for 15 million pounds and then giving them back so they can remain on public display. Painted by Francisco de Zurbaran, a contemporary of Velazquez and El Greco, the representations of the Biblical patriarch Jacob and his sons have been kept at Auckland Castle at Durham since 1756 when they were bought by Bishop Richard Trevor for just under 150 pounds. Earlier this year, the Church Commissioners proposed to sell the Zurbarans at public auction in the hope of using the money to fund Church ministry in poorer parts of England. Thousands of people in the north east of England signed a petition asking that the paintings remain at the castle and supported a campaign organized by Helen Goodman, Labour MP for Bishop Auckland, to keep them in Britain. Praise: God for the generosity of Mr Ruffer. (2Cor.9:11)
For years now, the words ‘church attendance’ have rarely been read apart from the rather gloomy utterance of ‘in decline’. But it seems there may be more to smile about than any of us realised as the latest figures out from Christian Research show that attendance in the Catholic Church and Church of England have stabilised, while the Baptist Union has seen sizable growth. The statistical evidence coming from Christian Research in recent years has all pointed to long-term decline. The last five years have seen a halt in the decline, however, with average weekly attendance in Catholic churches remaining steady at around 900,000 since 2004, welcome news just days before the Pope's visit to Britain. The same trend can be seen in the Church of England, where average weekly attendance has hovered at around 1.2 million year on year since 2001, whereas the Baptists have also seen an increase. Praise: the Lord for this trend and growth in His Church in our nation. (Ps.135:1-2) More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/british.church.attendance.turns.a.corner/26699.htm
More than one hundred Brazilian mayors have presented the keys of their city to Jesus, reports Dutch prayer leader and author Pieter Bos. ‘In Brazil local deities are so incorporated in the city life and festivals, that at the annual carnival in an official ceremony, most of the mayors hand over the key of their city to Prince Carnival, or Rei Momo. Carnival in Brazil is known for its rampant drunkenness, licentiousness, immorality and violence, but this is a structural problem. Many city mayors are now so desperate to break out of this pattern that they are giving the key of their city to Jesus,’ says Bos.
Praise: God for this initiative and pray that He will bless their choice to follow Jesus. (Mt.4:19)
More: http://ausprayernet.org.au/newsletter/DisplayNewsletter.php?e_id=00000002278#st2