Asia Bibi to be freed after conviction is set aside
“The Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted Asia Bibi, a Christian woman condemned to death on blasphemy charges after accepting her 2015 appeal against her sentence. …”
– News from DAWN News, Pakistan.
Protests have begun across Pakistan.
See also: Pakistan’s Supreme Court overturns Aasia Bibi’s conviction – Barnabas Fund.
No Christians at all among 1,112 Syrian refugees resettled in the UK this year
“In response to a Freedom of Information request from Barnabas Fund, the UK Home Office have just released figures on Syrian refugees resettled in the UK for the first quarter of this year (1 January–31 March 2018). Appalling as previous figures were, these are much worse. …”
– From Barnabas Fund.
Church flees into exile
“An entire Diocese of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan is operating from Northern Uganda after being forced to flee from civil unrest, leaving the main centre, Kajo-Keji, a ghost town.
The diocese was home to hundreds of thousands of Sudanese, including 280,000 Anglicans. As long-standing partners of the Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid, operations and project manager Eddie Ozols flew to Uganda last month to investigate further ways of helping a church plunged into exile in makeshift refugee camps. …”
– A heartbreaking story from SydneyAnglicans.net.
Related: Anglican Aid.
Compassion: Why we’re leaving India, but still have hope
“In two weeks, Compassion International will be out of India.
The child development ministry confirmed … that after 48 years, its final day of operation will be March 15.
That means shutting the doors of 589 Indian-staffed development centers caring for more than 145,000 children, more than any other of the 25 countries where it works. …”
– Christianity Today has this background.
Image: Compassion Australia CEO Tim Hanna explains the situation.
‘Worship in the woods’
“Churches destroyed a year ago by Islamic extremists and police in Aceh Singkil – a rural ‘regency’ in Indonesia’s only Sharia-ruled province – have still not been rebuilt because of discrimination against Christians by local authorities, say church leaders. However, despite the troubles, church membership is climbing. …”
– This report from World Watch Monitor.
(By complete contrast: Nature’s dome is Church of the Wood’s only chapel, Episcopal News Service.)
Asia Bibi’s appeal delayed
“After more than seven years in prison, the first Pakistani Christian woman to be sentenced to death for blasphemy has had her Supreme Court appeal delayed, amidst renewed Islamist calls for her to die. …”
– News from World Watch Monitor.
Photo: Barnabas Fund.
Former GAFCON Chairman urges South Sudanese leaders to preserve life
“The retired Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya and former GAFCON Chairman, together with leaders of All Africa Conference of Churches to South Sudan has urged the political leaders of South Sudan to preserve lives of citizens instead of struggling for power and wealth in the country. ”
Rome Scholars Network meets to discuss Evangelical — Catholic Relations
“The morning of Friday 1 July brought to a close the inaugural edition of the Rome Scholars Network (RSN) held in Rome. Under the leadership of the Italian lecturer and pastor, Dr. Leonardo De Chirico, the Network brought together Protestant scholars and ministers from across Europe, the United States and Australia who discussed Evangelicalism’s increasingly incoherent relationship with Roman Catholicism in today’s ecumenical climate. …
‘Given that the fifth centenary of the Reformation is just around the corner, the message coming from many Catholic quarters and some Evangelical leaders is that the Reformation is over. We at RSN do not agree. The Reformation is as relevant as ever since the Gospel and the five solas are as relevant as ever. Roman Catholicism is employing a strategy of absorption in order to swallow up Evangelicals. In spite of its friendly tone from Vatican II onwards, Rome has not changed a bit in its fundamental structure‘…”
– Report from Evangelical Focus. (Sydney’s Mark Gilbert was a part of the meeting.)
‘Russian government introduces draconian Soviet era restrictions on religious freedom’
“Last Friday two members of the Russian Duma (parliament) introduced a series of amendments to anti-terrorist legislation that would require individuals to gain prior state authorisation before even discussing their faith with someone else. …
It now goes to Russian President Vladimir Putin who has until July 20th to decide whether the bill will become law. The new law will require any sharing of the Christian faith – even a casual conversation – to have prior authorisation from the state. This includes something as basic as an emailed invitation for a friend to attend church…”
– Concerning news via Barnabas Fund.
‘In Pakistan, Taliban’s Easter bombing targets, kills scores of Christians’
“On Easter Sunday, a crisp spring day, some of the city’s Christian population mingled with their Muslim neighbors, celebrating in a neighborhood park — taking their kids on rides or pushing them on swings. Then, the sound of tragedy.
Without warning, a blast tore through the park, killing indiscriminately.
Because of the innocent setting, an unusually high number of those injured were women and children. But the attack, claimed by a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, intentionally targeted Christians, the perpetrators say…”
– This report from CNN.
See also:
Suicide blast kills at least 72 in Lahore park – The Express Tribune, Karachi.
Lahore blast leaves behind playground buried with hopes and dreams – Geo TV Pakistan.
‘Freed Australian hostage Jocelyn Elliott vows to continue work’
“An Australian woman who was kidnapped by Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists in Burkina Faso has returned to the nation’s capital after being freed, and says she hopes to be reunited with her husband so they can continue their medical work in the African nation…”
– ABC News has this report. (Please continue to pray for the release of Jocelyn’s husband, Ken, and for their captors.)
Jocelyn Elliot released by kidnappers – husband still held
From ABC News, Sunday 7th February:
“An Australian woman has been freed after she and her husband were kidnapped by an Al Qaeda-affiliated group in Burkina Faso, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirms.
President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou presented Jocelyn Elliott to journalists at a news conference in Dosso, south-western Niger, and said authorities were intensifying efforts to secure the release of her husband.…”
– Please give thanks for Jocelyn’s release, and continue in prayer for her husband Ken, and for their captors.
Earlier:
Family of kidnapped missionaries in Burkina Faso plead for Ken and Jocelyn Elliot’s release – Bible Society.
AP scores a hit with scoop on ISIS’ destruction of Iraqi monastery
“Certainly, journalists can’t do enough to explain what’s up with this orgy of monument desecration that ISIS and Al Qaeda enjoy doing. But there’s a deeper issue here…”
– Julia Duin at Get Religion looks at coverage of the destruction of the 1400 year old St. Elijah’s Monastery of Mosul monastery. (Image: CCTV.)
‘ISIS destroys Iraq’s oldest Christian monastery’
“Satellite photos obtained by The Associated Press confirm what church leaders and Middle East preservationists had feared: The oldest Christian monastery in Iraq has been reduced to a field of rubble … St. Elijah’s Monastery stood as a place of worship for 1,400 years…”
– Report from Fox News.
An Aussie’s take on the abduction of two fellow countrymen in Burkina Faso
Dominic Steele writes –
“If you have been praying for the two Australian medical missionaries abducted in Burkina Faso I’d encourage you to listen to this interview with a fellow Aussie over there.”
– Listen here.
More background at Bible Society Australia.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…