Displaying items by tag: World

China might not come to mind when considering Advent, but 5.1% of Chinese are Christians who light their homes with colourful paper lanterns and red paper pagodas placed in windows. 86% of Croatians are Roman Catholic, and some Christmas preparations begin on 25 November, St Catherine's Day. Families gather around an Advent wreath each Sunday to sing carols and light a candle. Hungarian tradition during Advent is a daily Mass, called Angelic Mass or Golden Mass, held every dawn from the first Sunday of Advent to the first day of Christmas. Mexico’s Advent brings Las Posadas, a nine-day celebration from 16 to 24 December, marking Mary and Joseph’s journey. Each evening a child dressed as an angel leads a procession of children visiting homes, where they are denied entry but given refreshments. Poland’s Advent brings prayer, fasting and spiritual preparation for Christmas. Poles attend early-morning Masses and light candles symbolising the coming light of salvation.

Luke-warm applause met a historic moment when a ‘loss and damage fund’ was agreed in the early hours of 20 November 20 after a confusing and often chaotic 48 hours left delegates exhausted. This fund will see developed nations paying poorer countries for damage and economic losses caused by climate change, ending almost thirty years of waiting by poorer nations experiencing huge climate impacts. But there was disappointment over the lack of progress on cutting fossil fuels. ‘A clear commitment to phase-out all fossil fuels? Not in this text,’ said the UK's president of the Glasgow COP26 summit. The final overarching deal did not include commitments to ‘phase down’ or reduce use of fossil fuels. It also included ambiguous new languages about ‘low emissions energy’ - which experts say could open the door to some fossil fuels being considered part of a green energy future.

At Easter Christians around the world remember the final week of Jesus Christ’s life on earth. The night before He died, after He washed their feet, he told them they must serve each other in humility, and He gave them a warning of what was to come. ``Remember what I told you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also’. (John 15:20). Today, across the nations Christians are still being hated and persecuted for their faith in and love of Christ. ‘If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first’ (John 15:18). We can pray for our Brothers and Sisters in Christ who in 2022 still live in fear of arrest, trial and torture.

A panel of hundreds of international scientists has released a report on climate change. The UN secretary general described the report as ‘code red for humanity’ the alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable.’ Words like ‘unprecedented’, ‘widespread’, ‘rapid’, and ‘irreversible’ abound in the report. We will reach a 1.5°C temperature rise in ten years, and however fast we act now, melting ice caps and rising sea levels will continue for thousands of years. Alongside this three senior Christian leaders have released a ‘Joint Message for the Protection of Creation’. The document quotes scripture frequently, emphasising our calling to ‘choose life, so that you and your children might live’ (Deut. 30:19), linking our care for the poor and the planet, and concluding with the challenge, ‘To whom much is given, much is required’ (Luke 12:48).

On 13 October, the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, the UN released a report saying the world needs rapidly to raise investment for early warning systems for extreme weather events. Over the past 50 years, recorded disasters have increased five-fold and could increase by 50% over the next decade; one in three people on Earth are not adequately covered by warning systems. The researchers are calling for a change in emphasis, from simply forecasting what the weather will be to showing the impact of that weather system. Pray for good-quality warning systems in the least developed countries and in small island states. The advent of coronavirus has made building early warning systems more difficult. Pray for governments to add climate change threat to pandemic threat as they strategise to save lives and livelihoods, and to focus investment on turning early warning information into early action. See

Jesus Christ, awesome King of the Universe, is connecting His Body as never before and you are invited to World Prayer Together - a global online prayer experience of repentance, reconciliation, revival and reaching all with His Gospel. Ministry leaders representing 10 world regions will ‘stand in the gap’, identifying and confessing major corporate sins that characterize their regions as those from other regions empathize and pray for revival and mission breakthroughs for each of those regions. Participants will be led in worship and celebrate His forgiveness by taking communion together globally, and then, since this is also the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), we will blow shofars or other indigenous instruments all around the world at the same time!  Details to connect to the call www.worldprayertogether.com. Please pass this invitation on to others in your networks, churches and prayer groups, so they can also join in this magnificent flowing together of His people.

A mass shooting is when two or more people are shot in one incident at one location at roughly the same time. Since 1 January 2019 Wikipedia reports 150 mass shootings, causing 161 deaths and 585+ people wounded in the US. The most recent saw 12 people killed and several injured at a government building in Virginia Beach Municipal Centre. This tragedy happened just before the National Gun Violence Awareness Day on 2 June. Many want to see an end to the easy access to guns which frequently brings schools and cities across America to prominence for all the wrong reasons. Pray into America’s gun law situation.

Most of us in the UK recognise that we live in a big, complex world with lots going on in the global church that we are not aware of or we do not quite understand. We also know that God desires His people to pray for His will to be done, and His kingdom to come, on earth as it is in heaven. Often we don’t quite know how to put these two together. That conundrum is why Lausanne and Operation World have put together a step in the right direction. Prayer Alert is delighted to announce that their project, long in the making,is now live. They have produced a free weekly church bulletin insert that is aimed at exposing church members to how God is at work around the world, and encouraging them to pray for the needs of the nations. A sample and more information about the resource here.

2018 has been a year of great triumphs and unimaginable tragedies. We have seen both incredible good and unfathomable evil. We have witnessed miracles and seen suffering. But as we look ahead, we remember and proclaim that God is sovereign over every corner of the globe. He alone is the hope of 2019 - the Hope of the Nations. Though some situations may seem hopeless, we recognise and rejoice that He reigns ‘far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title’, and that ‘all things are under His feet’ (Ephesians 1:21,22a). Nothing is impossible for Him. God reigns, and is moving today all over the world!

The G20 results will influence the world. It is the first time that leaders like Trump and Putin will unite and attempt to create a major shift to nationalism and individualism with regards to hunger, climate, war, terror, and refugees. All kings and powers are installed by God and we, the body of Christ, have the responsibility to intercede for our leaders. Will you join us to pray while our political leaders meet together? The presidents of China, Japan, Korea, India, Indonesia, Singapore, and Australia will be there. Danger is also coming from international protest movements. Anti-fascism, anti-capitalists, militant socialist, Marxists, communist, militant Kurds and people against President Trump are preparing to block the summit and bring violence and chaos to the streets and infrastructure. Nearly all of Hamburg's denominations and prayer movements will be praying in churches and on the streets. We also need your prayers for peace.