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Wycliffe Bible Translators are launching New Testaments in three different languages in Ghana over four days, and Christians across the nations can join the dedications live on Facebook. The Tafi, Logba and Nyagbo peoples receive their New Testaments on 25, 27 and 28 February respectively. The events, which start at 10 am each day, are hosted by a local organisation partnered with Wycliffe. You can watch the celebrations at facebook.com/gillbt.org. Also, on 25 February Ghana became the first country to receive a shipment of free Covid vaccine doses. This is a historic step towards an equitable distribution of vaccines to the areas where those most at risk live. It will be the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history, which will continue in the coming days and weeks.
Praise: God for the spiritual life He brings through translations of His word and the physical life provided through generous distribution of immunisation. (Psalm 119:1, 105)
More: www.who.int/news/item/24-02-2021-covid-19-vaccine-doses-shipped-by-the-covax-facility-head-to-ghana-marking-beginning-of-global-rollout |
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Pope Francis is making a monumental trip to Iraq in order to bring healing to the war-torn society. As the very first pope to set foot on Iraq’s soil, he plans to meet with key Christian and Muslim leaders to address issues faced by both groups. This event is being heralded by the Iraqi government as a ‘historic event, symbolising a message of peace to Iraq and the whole region.’ Peace indeed is needed for the small remnant of Christians left in Iraq. Christian communities were scattered by the Daesh onslaught in 2014, further shrinking the country’s already dwindling Christian population. Their struggle to endure will get a boost from the historic visit in March, his first foreign trip since the coronavirus pandemic and a sign that ‘You’re not alone, there’s someone who is thinking of you, who is with you’.
Praise: God for all who are working towards rebuilding fractured communities with the plan that God has for their future. (Psalm 103:2-4)
More: www.arabnews.com/node/1814846/middle-east |
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Acknowledging a need to restrain the abuse of ‘blasphemy’ laws and protect victims of false accusation, forced marriages to Muslims and forced conversions, the government has appointed a special assistant to the prime minister on religious harmony and Middle East. It is hoped this appointment will end the social structure where Christians are inferior to Muslims, confined to low-paid menial jobs such as street sweeping and latrine cleaning. A significant government statement affirmed that minorities living in Pakistan are ‘not second-class citizens’, and guarantees they will be protected under the rights and privileges enshrined in Pakistan’s constitution. Also, there is now a grievance helpline set up to report false accusations of ‘blasphemy’.
Praise: God for Pakistan’s renewed commitment to protect minorities and promote religious tolerance. (Galatians 5:25)
More: barnabasfund.org/en/news/new-interreligious-aide-to-imran-khan-says-minorities-in-pakistan-not-se/ |
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The Archbishop of Canterbury has launched a new commission to explore how the Church can help resolve Britain’s housing crisis. The housing shortage is one of the ‘major challenges’ facing Britain. He said the nation must think about building strong communities not just bricks and mortar. Academics and theologians will discuss Christian perspectives on providing affordable homes and flourishing neighborhoods. The commission follows the archbishop’s book published last year, Reimagining Britain, in which he connected good-quality housing with equality and justice. The report recommends that thousands of hectares of unused church land be used to build affordable homes in the next few years. The legalities for selling church assets could be amended so that land and buildings are used for social and environmental needs, not just economic benefits. See
Pray: for this initiative to shape new developments where community is the driving principle behind housing provision and profits come second. (James 1:27)
More: www.christiantoday.com/article/britains-housing-crisis-is-hitting-the-poorest-the-hardest-says-archbishop-of-canterbury/132178.htm |
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Boris Johnson has announced a ‘roadmap’ to loosen restrictions slowly in England. Pray for the schools which will be opening on 8 March. Cases of infection were highest among children when schools fully reopened in September 2020. Ask God to give teachers wisdom as they prepare return strategies; pray for pupils’ protection and parents’ peace of mind. Researchers agree that outdoor gatherings have a low impact on transmission, so by the end of March outdoor gatherings – including some sports – will be allowed. But despite being considered low-risk, the virus is still able to spread outdoors. Pray for people to remember the risks and keep to social distancing in outside gatherings. Finally, contacts between people are more dangerous indoors as particles in the air are replaced less slowly with clean air. Pray for the retail outlets due to open in April to devise wise ‘crowd control’ and hygiene measures that minimise transmission. Pray also for Church leaders as they make the many different church venues safe. See
Pray: for people to follow rules, and for God to help the Government as they assess the impact of opening or closing sectors of communities. (Proverbs 15:22)
More: www.bbc.co.uk/news/56102610 |
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The Prime Minister has announced an extra £400m to help children in England catch up on lost learning caused by the pandemic. Secondary schools will be asked to run classes in the summer holidays in an ‘extensive programme’ backed by a total of £700m in funding. Teachers will be given the ‘tools and resources they need to support their pupils’ and it will also provide children with the ‘opportunities they deserve to learn and fulfil their potential’. The package will include an expansion of one-to-one and small group tutoring programmes, support for the development of children in early years, and summer catch-up classes for those who need it the most. Education secretary Gavin Williamson said, ‘We’re looking at a whole range of different actions. We want to give schools external resources to take action immediately – this is an immediate response to give children that extra boost.’
Pray: for every child who has lost learning to recoup lost time swiftly and completely. (Joel 2:25a)
More: news.sky.com/story/covid-19-extra-cash-pledged-for-pupil-catch-up-programme-and-summer-schools-12227107 |
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The Commission for Countering Extremism has called on the Government to close a loophole that has allowed individuals to spread extremist ideologies and views online without any repercussions or fear of prosecution. The commission’s recommendation was made after a legal review into the adequacy of existing legislation to combat the issue of hateful extremism was conducted by Sir Mark Rowley, a retired senior police officer in charge of UK Counter Terrorism policing. ‘Extremist groups whether neo-fascist, neo-Nazi, Islamist or others are able to operate lawfully, freely and with impunity,’ lead commissioner Sara Khan warned. Without action from the Government, hateful extremists will continue to be able to create ‘a climate conducive to hate crime, terrorism or other violence and will be able to attempt to prod and even destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of our democratic society’. See
Pray: for the Government to make the changes needed to rectify the existing flaws. (Micah 6:8)
More: www.rt.com/uk/516457-commission-uk-government-extremism-loophole/ |
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Many are saying Holyrood faces a ‘crisis of credibility’ over its inquiry into the handling of harassment complaints against Alex Salmond, now that his written evidence submitted to the inquiry has been redacted at the request of the Crown Office. In another development, MSPs on the inquiry committee have asked the Crown Office to hand over all correspondence between Peter Murrell, chief executive officer of the SNP and Ms Sturgeon’s husband; Liz Lloyd, Nicola Sturgeon’s chief of staff; Sue Ruddick, chief operating officer for the SNP; and Ian McCann, SNP compliance officer. Mr Salmond claims the documents being requested will show he was the victim of a high-level plot. Ms Sturgeon, who has emphatically denied there was any such plotting against her former boss, is scheduled to appear before MSPs next week. She described suggestions that the Crown Office’s intervention was politically influenced as ‘downright wrong’.
Pray: for truth and justice to flow through parliamentary proceedings as individuals and the justice system face a crisis of credibility. (Proverbs 21:15)
More: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-56181114 |
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Since 1 January, the European Union has stopped British fishermen from selling oysters, scallops, clams, cockles and mussels, known as live bivalve molluscs (LBM), that are caught in so-called ‘Class B’ waters. The government says it is seeking an ‘urgent resolution’, while the European Commission said that the ban, on health grounds, applies to all third countries and ‘is not a surprise’ to the UK. Meanwhile Cornish shellfish workers are at risk of losing their homes because of the overnight ban on exporting their product to the EU. 65-year-old Tim Heard, who has been catching oysters for fifty years, is just one of the many who have seen their income completely stop.The environment department said, ‘It is unacceptable that the European Commission has changed its position regarding the export of live bivalve molluscs from Class B waters. There is no scientific or technical justification for this, and it is already impacting businesses on both sides of the Channel’.
Pray: for God to bless fishing families with peace and give them justice as He opens the way for urgent meetings to resolve this matter. (Isaiah 30:18)
More: news.sky.com/story/brexit-uk-fishermen-fear-losing-their-homes-as-export-ban-bites-12223329 |
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Princess Shamsa disappeared from a street in Cambridge in 2000 and has not been seen in public since. Now the police have received a letter relating to the disappearance of the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler, and calling for the police to reinvestigate the twenty-year-old case. Her sister, Princess Latifa, says Shamsa has been held captive in a ‘villa jail’ in Dubai since an attempt to flee in 2018. But a family statement released through the UAE embassy in London downplayed allegations of mistreatment, and said she was being cared for at home. The police said that ‘aspects’ of their 2001 investigation – which found insufficient evidence to take any action – will be revisited, but insisted the investigation was no longer active.
Pray: for the complex details to be unravelled, and for the police to have a free hand to investigate both sides of the accusations. (Ephesians 4:25a)
More: news.sky.com/story/dubai-princesses-cambridgeshire-police-receive-letter-calling-for-new-probe-into-shamsas-kidnap-12228428 |
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On 21 February WHO confirmed that Russian authorities had reported what is believed to be ‘human infection with avian influenza H5N8’. A WHO Europe spokesperson said. ‘If confirmed, this would be the first time H5N8 has infected people,’. The reported cases were seven workers exposed to bird flocks, according to preliminary information. The statement added, ‘No onward human to human transmission was reported.’
Pray: for national authorities as they gather information and assess the public health impact. (Proverbs 1:5)
More: edition.cnn.com/2021/02/21/europe/russia-h5n8-avian-flu-poultry-humans-intl/index.html |
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Customs authorities in Germany and Belgium have seized a record amount of cocaine – over 23 tonnes – destined for the Netherlands. German officials said the cocaine had a street value of billions of euros. In 2019 the chairman of the Netherlands police union said, ‘We definitely have the characteristics of a narco-state. We’re not Mexico. We don’t have 14,400 murders. But if you look at the infrastructure, the big money earned by organised crime, the parallel economy, yes, we have a narco-state’. A 28-year-old man suspected of involvement in the cocaine trafficking was arrested on 24 February in the Netherlands. In 2020, 102 tonnes of cocaine heading for Europe was intercepted. Pray for the capture of powerful drug-trafficking gangs from Brazil and Paraguay who are running many of the smuggling operations to ports in Europe.
Pray: for customs officers to continue to succeed in finding irregularities, and for the title of ‘European narco-state’ to become obsolete. (1 John 3:4)
More: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56177177 |
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Unity among believers is a key issue for the diverse churches in Aruba. Division can undermine any numerical growth of believers. The greatest threat to this unity is the importation of alien theology, church culture and preaching style common among the televangelists and prosperity preachers seen on foreign Christian TV. Praise God for increased fellowship and cooperation among pastors, enabling evangelicals to present a united front and impact society on issues such as homosexual marriage legislation, teen drug addiction, and the high rate of illegitimate births (about 50%). There are three Christian radio stations: Radio Victoria (originally TEAM) and two others broadcast to Aruba and the Venezuelan coast. TWR broadcasts to Bonaire on its FM station and internationally through shortwave and the Internet. The gospel is also proclaimed on programmes that appear on secular radio and TV.
Pray: for the fruitfulness of strategic media ministries and for God to reveal the lies of false gospels and open the heavens for truth and light to drench the area. (Romans 16:17)
More: www.operationworld.org/feb22#prayer |
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Pastor Michael travelled to Turkey in 1999 as a relief worker, following the devastating earthquake that killed 17,000 people. He and his family settled there, and he has been pastor of Yalova Lighthouse Church since 2003. Earlier in February he was detained by the authorities and held for 30 hours, then given ten days to leave the country, an order deferred while his case proceeds. An appeal against the deportation order is to be heard in Ankara. Since 2019, about 70 overseas Christian leaders have been similarly expelled from Turkey as ‘threats to national security’. Hostility towards Christians has worsened as secularism gives way to Islam with the rise of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Its founder, President Erdogan, is outspoken about his desire to recreate the Ottoman Empire.
Pray: for the tight new residency restrictions imposed on foreign pastors to be lifted. (Amos 5:24)
More: barnabasfund.org/news/pastor-in-turkey-defends-himself-against-deportation-as-threat-to-nation/ |
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Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan has warned of an attempted military coup, after the country’s armed forces said he and his cabinet must resign. The army ‘must obey the people and elected authorities’, he told thousands of supporters in the capital Yerevan. His opponents held a rival rally. The military’s top brass was angered by the PM’s sacking of a commander. Mr Pashinyan has faced protests after losing last year’s bloody conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh – an enclave internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic Armenians since a 1994 truce. During the six weeks of fighting late in 2020, Azerbaijan not only recaptured areas around the enclave but also took the key town of Shusha inside it. Under the Russian-brokered deal that emerged shortly afterwards, Azerbaijan keeps the areas it has captured.
Pray: for a just outcome to the dispute, which will not plunge the country into chaos. (2 Thess. 3:16)
More: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56194421 |
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Pfizer and Moderna have promised to boost vaccine production in the coming months, as the country’s death toll from Covid-19 went past 500,000. Pfizer said the company will have 120 million doses of the vaccine available for shipment by the end of March and an additional 80 million doses by the end of May. Pfizer expects that all 300 million contracted doses – enough for up to 150 million Americans – will be available by the end of July. Moderna President Stephen Hoge plans to double vaccine production to over 40 million doses per month: 300 million doses will be ready by the end of July. The main concern is that new variants could become dominant in the US by March. A leading forecasting institute says over 90,000 more Americans are likely to die from Covid, and Americans will still be wearing masks in 2022.
Pray: for the increases of vaccine production, and for deaths steadily to decrease. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
More: eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/21/covid-news-90-000-more-us-deaths-forecast-worlds-herd-immunity/4528683001/ |
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President Mahmoud Abbas has guaranteed that at least seven seats of a new legislative council will go to Christians in the elections in the occupied territories to be held on 22 May. Hanan Ashrawi, a Christian who recently resigned her position on the PLO’s executive committee, said she is uneasy about reserving seats for specific communities. However, the president of Bethlehem Bible College said, ‘This is an important and long-awaited opportunity for young Palestinian Christians to participate in this public process, whether as candidates or as voters’. Emigration due to violence has produced a huge drop in the Palestinian Christian population. Many believe the way to fight emigration is to give them reasons to stay. What is needed is a system that protects people and provides for their rights, not allow churches to become museums.
Pray: for the May elections to produce a vibrant, inclusive, multiethnic society. (Hebrews 12:14)
More: religionnews.com/2021/02/22/palestinian-president-abbas-gives-christians-voice-on-new-legislative-council/ |
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An army document has been discovered instructing soldiers to ‘punish and break down’ ethnic-minority Christians and anyone objecting to the military regime. The discovery came as the army ramped up armed patrols in Karen and Kachin States. Since December 2020, the military have increased ceasefire violations in Karen State, shelling villages in order to clear land for new roads and military installations. The official document states military personnel should fire 12mm weapons (equivalent to a machine gun) at individuals or use a 38mm weapon (a gun to launch grenades) on groups of civilians. The directives include special instructions to round up any dissenting civilian doctors and nurses and to report on any local leaders who are not fully cooperating with the military. There are many Christians amongst both the Karen and the Kachin ethnic groups, and thousands of Christian villagers fled to remote jungle areas when persecution began.
Pray: for the protection of all Christians and other civilians at risk in Myanmar and for the provision of practical needs of families hiding in the jungle. (John 10:10)
More: mailchi.mp/barnabasfund/prayer-focus-update-february-815634 |
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Home is a place where everyone can flourish: somewhere we can belong, feel safe, and grow. Millions of people, forced to flee their homes because of years of conflict, are having to raise their families in cramped conditions in refugee camps, lacking the basic essentials. Life is a struggle to survive. Pray for people like Tamam who used to live a quiet and comfortable life in Northern Syria, with her loving husband and children. Then IS occupied the area; no electricity or running water, crops and animals died. Her husband was killed, and they joined around 1 million Syrians living in makeshift settlements in the middle of a slum in Lebanon. Pray for the mission agencies bringing relief in dangerous situations, and for the network of churches attempting to support displaced people.
Pray: for God’s plan to be fulfilled so that people can be relieved from poverty and begin to build homes to settle in. (Romans 15:2)
More: www.tearfund.org/campaigns/home-is |
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