Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 187 | Wed 28 Nov 2012
By Elizabeth Kendal
'For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.' (Romans 8:38,39 ESV)
NOVEMBER 2012 UPDATE -- During November we prayed concerning . . .
* EGYPT (RLPB 184), where Salafis (hard-line fundamentalist Muslims) are kidnapping Coptic girls for forced conversion and marriage to Muslims. Surely this is every Christian parent's and every Christian girl's worst nightmare. Please pray against this evil.
UPDATE: Morning Star News (MSN) reports on another trend of Islamic fundamentalist women wearing niqabs (a black face covering, with only a narrow slit for the eyes) attacking Coptic girls and women on trains. MSN knows of three incidents in the past month. In one attack, a 16-year-old Coptic girl was attacked on her way to school by two niqab-wearing women who cut off her hair. About a week later, a 13-year-old girl was attacked in the same way. Then on 10 November two of these women attacked Nareman Smoul (30) as she was travelling to collect her daughter from an evangelical school. After abusing her as an 'infidel', the Muslim women pushed Nareman to the floor, cut off her hair and then kicked her off the train causing her to break her arm. Of course the criminals cannot be identified because they were wearing niqabs.
* ERITREA (RLPB 185), after another Christian prisoner died in custody. We also prayed for Christians caught up in the refugee-trafficking crisis.
UPDATE: On 21 November Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported that Philemon Semere (22), an practising Christian Eritrean refugee, was abducted by traffickers in Sudan while en route to Israel. Philemon is being held by Bedouin traffickers in one of several purpose-built torture-extortion centres operating with impunity in the Sinai. He is being beaten and tortured by captors who are demanding US$25,000 ransom while threatening to take a kidney from him if the money is not forthcoming. According to CSW, 'When payments are not forthcoming, vital organs are illegally harvested in unhygienic conditions, generally resulting in the death of the person concerned.' Pray that Egypt will be forced to stamp out this obscene criminal activity. (Pray Isaiah 59:15b-19.)
* SUDAN (RLPB 186), where President Omar el-Bashir is waging a genocidal jihad against the predominantly Christian Africans (non-Arabs) of the 'new south' (Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile). This obscene genocide, which employs aerial bombardment, ethnic cleansing, government-engineered famine and denial of humanitarian aid, attracts virtually no international attention. It is quite unbelievable that the international community can stand idly by while this Islamist and racist regime bombs and starves its citizens, killing tens of thousands and displacing hundreds of thousands. Pray for God himself to intervene directly. (Pray Psalm 10.)
UPDATE: Between 20-22 November the Sudan Air Force bombed civilian targets in South Sudan's northern Bahr El Ghazal State, killing at least seven people. According to Persecution Project, 16 people were killed and many more were wounded. Sudan Tribune reports that thousands of terrified civilians have deserted their villages and are fleeing towards the state capital, Aweil. Whilst Khartoum denies bombing the South (witnessed by Reuters journalists) it has not responded to the South's accusation that Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) troops are massing along the border near Raja in Raja County in Western Bahr el Ghazal. The SAF may well be ethnically cleansing the area ahead of a military incursion aimed at capturing it. South Sudan's army is on high alert.
NOVEMBER 2012 ROUND-UP -- also this month . . .
* KENYA: TERROR ESCALATES
On Sunday 4 November Islamic militants launched a grenade at 10 am into the church in the Administrative Police compound in Garissa. The grenade hit Chaplain Julius Mukonzi in the head, exploding and killing him instantly. Eleven others were injured, three critically. Police suspect militants from Somalia's al-Shabaab are responsible. Morning Star News reports: 'The Garissa Pastors Fellowship released a statement saying that more than 20 Christians in the city have recently lost their lives to Islamic terrorist attacks.' On Sunday 18 November a bomb filled with ball-bearings exploded on a bus in Eastleigh, the commercial centre of Nairobi's ethnic Somali population, killing nine. Almost immediately ethnic Kenyans were rioting, attacking ethnic Somalis in the street, accusing them of being aligned with al-Shabaab. Security is deteriorating and tensions are soaring.
* NIGERIA
KADUNA: TWIN CHURCH BOMBING KILLS ELEVEN
On Sunday 25 November a bus and car drove into the Jaji military barracks in Kaduna, after convincing the guards they were conveying equipment to the church. The bus drove up to the wall of St Andrews Protestant Church and exploded just as the service was ending; there were no casualties. Ten minutes later, however, as worshippers gathered around the bombed-out bus, the car exploded nearby, killing at least 11 people (possibly as many as 20) with some 60 wounded. The church, which serves military personnel and their families as well as civilians in Jaji, is about 40km north of Kaduna City. Morning Star News adds that Rev. Titus Sambo and Israel Olaleye, both students at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Kaduna, were amongst those killed.
KANO: A MISPRONUNCIATION LEADS TO RIOTS
On 22 November an Igbo tailor working in the town of Bichi near Kano in the north, mispronounced the Hausa name for a popular garment. [Igbos are southerners and mostly Christian.] The Hausa [northern Muslims] who heard it were incensed and rioted claiming it was a blasphemy. The Igbo tailor was macheted to death and then seven churches, eight businesses and a house were torched.
* PAKISTAN: ACCUSED OF BLASPHEMY WHILE PREACHING
Morning Star News reported on 9 November that Karma Patras (55), an evangelist from Nankana District in Punjab Province, has been languishing in prison since his arrest on 13 October over a gospel message that offended Muslims. Patras was addressing a Christian funeral gathering when some Muslims in attendance objected to his reference to the sacrificial death of Christ. [Islam not only maintains that Jesus was not crucified, it states that Jesus, when he returns, will wage war against those who say he was. Quran, Sura 4:157-159] Patras narrowly escaped being beaten but was arrested at his home later that day. A Muslim mob subsequently besieged the Sangla Hill Police Station, demanding that Patras be turned over to them so they could lynch him. However, Patras had already been transferred out of the area. Due to death threats, Patras' extended family, which includes many children, has been forced to flee.
* SOMALIA: YET ANOTHER MARTYR
On Friday 16 November Al-Shabaab militants publicly beheaded Farhan Haji Mose (25) after accusing him of being a spy and leaving Islam to embrace the 'foreign religion of Christianity'. According to Morning Star News, Mose had converted to Christianity in 2010 during time spent in Kenya. Pray for the church in Somalia.
* ZIMBABWE: GOD BREAKS THROUGH
Harare's Anglicans returned to their churches on Sunday 25 November after the Supreme Court ruled that the excommunicated pro-Mugabe bishop Nolbert Kunonga, who had seized control of the properties by force some five years ago, must return the properties to the Anglican Church. Anglican spokesman Mr Precious Shumba said they had not met any resistance from most priests aligned to Kunonga. Some renegade priests even expressed repentance and have sought re-integration into the Anglican Church. This will require a process of truth, reconciliation, re-education and re-commitment. Kunonga had incurred bills amounting to some $300,000. The legitimate Bishop of Harare, Bishop Chad Gandiya, praised God for this breakthrough.
Let us also give thanks!
For background, details and updates see:
'Zimbabwe: let justice roll on'
Religious Liberty Monitoring, 20 Nov 2012.
Showing posts with label Zimbabwe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zimbabwe. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
123. August Update; Incl. Iraq, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Zimbabwe
AUGUST 2011 UPDATE
By Elizabeth Kendal
'Then I said, "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High." I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds . . . You are the God who works wonders.' (Psalm 77:10-12,14a ESV)
AUGUST 2011 UPDATE -- during August we prayed for . . .
INDONESIA (RLPB 119), where Christians are facing escalating violent persecution fuelled by impunity, primarily in Papua and West Java, especially the Bogor and Bekasi districts. It is reported there were 64 violent attacks on religious freedom in 2010, up from 18 in 2009 and 17 in 2008.
UPDATE: In December 2010, Indonesia's Supreme Court and Ombudsman Commission ruled in favour of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church in Bogor, West Java, confirming the legality of its building permit. Despite this, the church remains sealed and Bogor authorities continue to obstruct and threaten the members. Now the mayor of Bogor, Diani Budiarto, is pushing for a law to forbid churches opening on streets bearing Islamic names. The Yasmin church is on Jalan Abdullah bin Nuh, a street named after the noted Islamic cleric Abdullah bin Nuh (died 1987). President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is remaining silent on the issue. If mayor Budiarto can defy the courts with impunity, the law will be rendered meaningless. Pray for Indonesia.
SUDAN (RLPB 120), where the predominantly Christian Nuba peoples of South Kordofan are facing starvation at the hands of a genocidal regime.
UPDATE: On Tuesday 23 August, while visiting Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, Sudan's President Omar el-Bashir announced a two-week ceasefire. He also confirmed that no humanitarian aid groups would be permitted to enter the war-ravaged region where hundreds of thousands of predominantly Christian Nuba have been displaced. The Secretary-General of the SPLM-N, Yasir Arman, is accusing Bashir of 'using food as a weapon'. Arman regards Bashir's declaration of a ceasefire as nothing more than a 'public relations stunt'. He believes Bashir is actually preparing for a major military offensive in South Kordofan. Despite the ceasefire, bombing is reportedly continuing. Pray for God to intervene for his people.
VIETNAM (RLPB 121), where religious persecution is escalating against Christian activists in the cities and the ethnic minority Christians in the Central Highlands.
UPDATE: AsiaNews reports (29 August) that the disappeared Catholic activists are imprisoned in Hanoi and will go on trial shortly. They are charged with attempting to 'overthrow the people's administration', under Clause 2, Article 79 of the Vietnam Penal Code. Sources told AsiaNews the prisoners have been allowed to receive food and clothing but not prayer books. The fate of two Protestants arrested at the same time is unknown. In the coming weeks, Vietnamese Christians across the nation -- Catholics and Protestants -- will hold candlelight prayer vigils for religious freedom. Pray in solidarity with them.
PAKISTAN (RLPB 122), where Christian security is increasingly tenuous.
UPDATE: As noted in RLPB 122, anti-blasphemy law campaigner Salman Taseer was assassinated on 4 January. Now his son Shahbaz Taseer has been kidnapped, seized in an ambush on 26 August. Some experts believe Shahbaz might be used as a bargaining chip by militants seeking the acquittal of Salman Taseer's assassin, Mumtaz Qadri. Meanwhile, in increasingly Islamised and Talibanised Karachi, a virtual war between militias backed by political parties and sectarian groups has left some 400 dead. The violence is also hastening the ethnic-religious polarisation of the city. Christians are especially vulnerable amidst such lawlessness. Christian homes and churches have been threatened and pelted with rocks recently in Karachi, mostly by the ethnic Pashtuns. They are backed by the Taliban and live in Pashtun-dominated districts near the Christian colony. Pray for all Pakistan's Christians and religious liberty advocates.
AUGUST 2011 ROUND-UP -- also this month . . .
* IRAQ: MANY CHURCHES BOMBED IN KIRKUK
On Monday 15 August a bomb exploded outside Saint Ephrem's Syrian Orthodox Church in Al Ummal Square, central Kirkuk, causing major damage but no casualties. It was the third church bombing in Kirkuk in two weeks. The previous night, four bombs exploded simultaneously inside Kirkuk's Saint Afram Syriac Orthodox Church. Whilst there were no casualties, it was the first time insurgents had managed to detonate bombs planted inside a church. On 2 August, 15 people were wounded including church staff when a car bomb exploded about 5:30am outside the Holy Family Syrian Catholic church in Kirkuk. Bombs were subsequently found and defused outside the Saint Giwargis Church of the East and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in the Almass district. Kirkuk Archbishop Louis Sako told Aid to the Church in Need, 'This is only happening because we are Christians. Maybe the people responsible want to empty the city of Christians. Please pray for us. Pray for peace and stability. We are afraid.' Pray for Iraq's besieged Christians.
* IVORY COAST: ONGOING DIRE SITUATION FOR CHRISTIANS
The UN peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast is deeply concerned about continuing serious human rights abuses in Ivory Coast. From mid-July to mid-August the mission documented 26 extra-judicial killings, 85 illegal arrests and 11 rapes, all committed by the former rebels who now make up the official army of Ivory Coast. According to the acting human rights chief in the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), Guillaume Ngefa, predominantly Christian ethnic groups continue to suffer cruel and inhumane treatment and violation of property rights at the hands of pro-Ouattara Islamic forces. Pray for the Christians of Ivory Coast.
* NIGERIA: CHRISTIANS TARGETED IN PLATEAU STATE
Twenty-four Christians were killed in Plateau State during August in targeted attacks by Islamic militants in collusion with uniformed Muslims from the Nigerian Army. Ratsa Foron village was attacked on 11 and 15 August: 6 dead. Chwelnyap community in Jos was attacked on 14 August: 2 dead. Heipang village was attacked on 15 August leaving 10 dead, including 9 members of one family. Kwi, Loton and Jwol villages were attacked on 21 August: 6 dead. In each attack uniformed soldiers of the Nigerian military, including those from the Special Task Force (a unit tasked with stopping sectarian attacks), accompanied the militants and even participated in the killings. Plateau governor Jonah Jang has called for immediate withdrawal of the Nigerian Army because, he said, Muslims in the army are taking sides with the Islamist assailants. This situation is extremely serious.
Gada-biu is the Christian-dominated district of North Jos Local Government Area where multiple bombs exploded on 24 December 2010 resulting in around 90 deaths. (Boko Haram claimed responsibility -- see RLPB 088.) Consequently, local Christians did not want Muslims celebrating Eid-el-Fitri (end of Ramadan) in that area and so made a formal request that they celebrate elsewhere. On Monday 29 Aug 2011 strife erupted between the district's local ethnic Christians and Muslims going down Rukuba Road to celebrate Eid-el-Fitri in the sensitive area. The clash left 20 people dead and more than 100 wounded. Reportedly 'most' of the dead and wounded were shot by soldiers firing indiscriminately. At least 50 vehicles, 100 motorcycles and two shops were torched. Accounts vary widely about who provoked whom and what actually occurred. Tensions are high. Please pray for Nigeria.
* ZIMBABWE: ANGLICAN PASTORS EVICTED
On 4 August Zimbabwe's Chief Justice issued a temporary ruling placing all Anglican properties under the control of excommunicated, pro-Mugabe bishop Norbert Kunonga. (See 'Zimbabwe: Chief Justice grants excommunicated Kunonga control over Anglican properties', Religious Liberty Monitoring, 17 Aug). According to The Zimbabwean (27 August) Kunonga's thugs have evicted 27 Anglican pastors and their families violently from their church-owned homes since the ruling was issued. Reverend Jonah Mudowaya was severely beaten in Chinhoyi on Wednesday 24 August by a Kunonga gang. In a bid to stop the evictions, lawyers representing the Anglican Diocese of Harare have filed a Constitutional appeal against the Chief Justice's ruling on the grounds it was issued while the matter was the subject of a Supreme Court appeal. The Chief Justice has noted the Constitutional appeal but says it will not interfere with his order. While the Anglican Church awaits the Supreme Court ruling, the excommunicated Kunonga is exploiting the opportunity this gives him to seize the church's assets. Please pray for justice in Zimbabwe.
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To receive the RLPB by email, write to join-rlpb@hub.xc.org
By Elizabeth Kendal
'Then I said, "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High." I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds . . . You are the God who works wonders.' (Psalm 77:10-12,14a ESV)
AUGUST 2011 UPDATE -- during August we prayed for . . .
INDONESIA (RLPB 119), where Christians are facing escalating violent persecution fuelled by impunity, primarily in Papua and West Java, especially the Bogor and Bekasi districts. It is reported there were 64 violent attacks on religious freedom in 2010, up from 18 in 2009 and 17 in 2008.
UPDATE: In December 2010, Indonesia's Supreme Court and Ombudsman Commission ruled in favour of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church in Bogor, West Java, confirming the legality of its building permit. Despite this, the church remains sealed and Bogor authorities continue to obstruct and threaten the members. Now the mayor of Bogor, Diani Budiarto, is pushing for a law to forbid churches opening on streets bearing Islamic names. The Yasmin church is on Jalan Abdullah bin Nuh, a street named after the noted Islamic cleric Abdullah bin Nuh (died 1987). President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is remaining silent on the issue. If mayor Budiarto can defy the courts with impunity, the law will be rendered meaningless. Pray for Indonesia.
SUDAN (RLPB 120), where the predominantly Christian Nuba peoples of South Kordofan are facing starvation at the hands of a genocidal regime.
UPDATE: On Tuesday 23 August, while visiting Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, Sudan's President Omar el-Bashir announced a two-week ceasefire. He also confirmed that no humanitarian aid groups would be permitted to enter the war-ravaged region where hundreds of thousands of predominantly Christian Nuba have been displaced. The Secretary-General of the SPLM-N, Yasir Arman, is accusing Bashir of 'using food as a weapon'. Arman regards Bashir's declaration of a ceasefire as nothing more than a 'public relations stunt'. He believes Bashir is actually preparing for a major military offensive in South Kordofan. Despite the ceasefire, bombing is reportedly continuing. Pray for God to intervene for his people.
VIETNAM (RLPB 121), where religious persecution is escalating against Christian activists in the cities and the ethnic minority Christians in the Central Highlands.
UPDATE: AsiaNews reports (29 August) that the disappeared Catholic activists are imprisoned in Hanoi and will go on trial shortly. They are charged with attempting to 'overthrow the people's administration', under Clause 2, Article 79 of the Vietnam Penal Code. Sources told AsiaNews the prisoners have been allowed to receive food and clothing but not prayer books. The fate of two Protestants arrested at the same time is unknown. In the coming weeks, Vietnamese Christians across the nation -- Catholics and Protestants -- will hold candlelight prayer vigils for religious freedom. Pray in solidarity with them.
PAKISTAN (RLPB 122), where Christian security is increasingly tenuous.
UPDATE: As noted in RLPB 122, anti-blasphemy law campaigner Salman Taseer was assassinated on 4 January. Now his son Shahbaz Taseer has been kidnapped, seized in an ambush on 26 August. Some experts believe Shahbaz might be used as a bargaining chip by militants seeking the acquittal of Salman Taseer's assassin, Mumtaz Qadri. Meanwhile, in increasingly Islamised and Talibanised Karachi, a virtual war between militias backed by political parties and sectarian groups has left some 400 dead. The violence is also hastening the ethnic-religious polarisation of the city. Christians are especially vulnerable amidst such lawlessness. Christian homes and churches have been threatened and pelted with rocks recently in Karachi, mostly by the ethnic Pashtuns. They are backed by the Taliban and live in Pashtun-dominated districts near the Christian colony. Pray for all Pakistan's Christians and religious liberty advocates.
AUGUST 2011 ROUND-UP -- also this month . . .
* IRAQ: MANY CHURCHES BOMBED IN KIRKUK
On Monday 15 August a bomb exploded outside Saint Ephrem's Syrian Orthodox Church in Al Ummal Square, central Kirkuk, causing major damage but no casualties. It was the third church bombing in Kirkuk in two weeks. The previous night, four bombs exploded simultaneously inside Kirkuk's Saint Afram Syriac Orthodox Church. Whilst there were no casualties, it was the first time insurgents had managed to detonate bombs planted inside a church. On 2 August, 15 people were wounded including church staff when a car bomb exploded about 5:30am outside the Holy Family Syrian Catholic church in Kirkuk. Bombs were subsequently found and defused outside the Saint Giwargis Church of the East and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in the Almass district. Kirkuk Archbishop Louis Sako told Aid to the Church in Need, 'This is only happening because we are Christians. Maybe the people responsible want to empty the city of Christians. Please pray for us. Pray for peace and stability. We are afraid.' Pray for Iraq's besieged Christians.
* IVORY COAST: ONGOING DIRE SITUATION FOR CHRISTIANS
The UN peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast is deeply concerned about continuing serious human rights abuses in Ivory Coast. From mid-July to mid-August the mission documented 26 extra-judicial killings, 85 illegal arrests and 11 rapes, all committed by the former rebels who now make up the official army of Ivory Coast. According to the acting human rights chief in the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), Guillaume Ngefa, predominantly Christian ethnic groups continue to suffer cruel and inhumane treatment and violation of property rights at the hands of pro-Ouattara Islamic forces. Pray for the Christians of Ivory Coast.
* NIGERIA: CHRISTIANS TARGETED IN PLATEAU STATE
Twenty-four Christians were killed in Plateau State during August in targeted attacks by Islamic militants in collusion with uniformed Muslims from the Nigerian Army. Ratsa Foron village was attacked on 11 and 15 August: 6 dead. Chwelnyap community in Jos was attacked on 14 August: 2 dead. Heipang village was attacked on 15 August leaving 10 dead, including 9 members of one family. Kwi, Loton and Jwol villages were attacked on 21 August: 6 dead. In each attack uniformed soldiers of the Nigerian military, including those from the Special Task Force (a unit tasked with stopping sectarian attacks), accompanied the militants and even participated in the killings. Plateau governor Jonah Jang has called for immediate withdrawal of the Nigerian Army because, he said, Muslims in the army are taking sides with the Islamist assailants. This situation is extremely serious.
Gada-biu is the Christian-dominated district of North Jos Local Government Area where multiple bombs exploded on 24 December 2010 resulting in around 90 deaths. (Boko Haram claimed responsibility -- see RLPB 088.) Consequently, local Christians did not want Muslims celebrating Eid-el-Fitri (end of Ramadan) in that area and so made a formal request that they celebrate elsewhere. On Monday 29 Aug 2011 strife erupted between the district's local ethnic Christians and Muslims going down Rukuba Road to celebrate Eid-el-Fitri in the sensitive area. The clash left 20 people dead and more than 100 wounded. Reportedly 'most' of the dead and wounded were shot by soldiers firing indiscriminately. At least 50 vehicles, 100 motorcycles and two shops were torched. Accounts vary widely about who provoked whom and what actually occurred. Tensions are high. Please pray for Nigeria.
* ZIMBABWE: ANGLICAN PASTORS EVICTED
On 4 August Zimbabwe's Chief Justice issued a temporary ruling placing all Anglican properties under the control of excommunicated, pro-Mugabe bishop Norbert Kunonga. (See 'Zimbabwe: Chief Justice grants excommunicated Kunonga control over Anglican properties', Religious Liberty Monitoring, 17 Aug). According to The Zimbabwean (27 August) Kunonga's thugs have evicted 27 Anglican pastors and their families violently from their church-owned homes since the ruling was issued. Reverend Jonah Mudowaya was severely beaten in Chinhoyi on Wednesday 24 August by a Kunonga gang. In a bid to stop the evictions, lawyers representing the Anglican Diocese of Harare have filed a Constitutional appeal against the Chief Justice's ruling on the grounds it was issued while the matter was the subject of a Supreme Court appeal. The Chief Justice has noted the Constitutional appeal but says it will not interfere with his order. While the Anglican Church awaits the Supreme Court ruling, the excommunicated Kunonga is exploiting the opportunity this gives him to seize the church's assets. Please pray for justice in Zimbabwe.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
114. June 2011 Update; incl. Burma, Egypt, North Korea, Tajikistan.
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 114 | Wed 29 Jun 2011
As was noted in RLPB 080 (3 Nov 2010), the sole purpose of Burma's fraudulent November 2010 elections was to legitimise the regime and give it a mandate to impose its will. Because the ethnic-religious minorities do not have enough confidence in the junta to disarm, the regime has branded them 'separatist' and tensions have escalated. Conflict has erupted in devoutly Christian Kachin State which borders China to the north. The trigger has been China's building of two hydropower mega-dams in Kachin, against the will of the Kachin people who protest that social and environmental damage will be catastrophic. With China wanting to build at least seven more such mega-dams in Kachin State, the Burmese junta's interest in controlling Kachin lands will intensify. Thousands of Christian Kachin are on the run and at least 50 have been killed. Pray for the Christian Kachin.
By Elizabeth Kendal
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. [. . .] If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7,11 ESV)
JUNE 2011 UPDATE -- During June we prayed for . . .
* ZIMBABWE (RLPBs 110 & 111), where churches (particularly Anglican churches) are facing escalating political violence ahead of elections. See Religious Liberty Monitoring for more information.
UPDATE: according to The Tablet, a Catholic weekly newsletter, President Mugabe has branded the Catholic Church an enemy of the State. With secret police masquerading as Mass-goers, Catholic priests are increasingly at risk of arrest and torture. One priest laments: '[we] don't have any freedom to preach the Word as we would want to even within the Church because you never know what kind of visit you may get after Mass. You know that the secret police are attending and the moment you finish, things happen.' Even just acknowledging the existence of hunger in the country is enough to get a priest into trouble. Phones are tapped and Internet lines are monitored. Priests wearing clerical garb are routinely arrested, interrogated and humiliated. 'If you are lucky,' the priest said, 'you are interviewed and let go; if you are not so lucky you are tortured a little bit.' Pray for the Church in Zimbabwe.
see: Fear in the pulpit Oppression in Zimbabwe Sarah Mac Donald,
The Tablet - 25 June 2011
see: Fear in the pulpit Oppression in Zimbabwe Sarah Mac Donald,
The Tablet - 25 June 2011
* REFUGEES (RLPB 112), as increasing numbers of Christians are being forced to flee war, Islamic jihad and violent religious persecution.
* NUBA MOUNTAINS, SUDAN (RLPB 113): where as many as half-a-million mostly Christian Nuba -- some 50 African tribes indigenous to North Sudan's Nuba Mountains -- have been displaced by aerial bombardment and a violent ethnic cleansing campaign. Once again, as in the early 1990s, the Arab-Islamist regime in Khartoum has closed the Nuba Mountains off to all humanitarian aid as it seeks the genocide of the 'blacks' through the use of starvation as a weapon of mass destruction. See Religious Liberty Monitoring for more information. Please pray for God's intervention.
JUNE 2011 ROUND-UP -- also this month . . .
* BURMA (Myanmar): CONFLICT ERUPTS IN KACHIN STATE
As was noted in RLPB 080 (3 Nov 2010), the sole purpose of Burma's fraudulent November 2010 elections was to legitimise the regime and give it a mandate to impose its will. Because the ethnic-religious minorities do not have enough confidence in the junta to disarm, the regime has branded them 'separatist' and tensions have escalated. Conflict has erupted in devoutly Christian Kachin State which borders China to the north. The trigger has been China's building of two hydropower mega-dams in Kachin, against the will of the Kachin people who protest that social and environmental damage will be catastrophic. With China wanting to build at least seven more such mega-dams in Kachin State, the Burmese junta's interest in controlling Kachin lands will intensify. Thousands of Christian Kachin are on the run and at least 50 have been killed. Pray for the Christian Kachin.
* EGYPT: VIOLENCE CONTINUES AGAINST COPTIC CHURCH
On 23 June hundreds of fundamentalist Salafi Muslims attacked the Coptic Church of St George in the village of Bani Ahmed in Minya Province, Upper Egypt, during Mass. The Salafis demanded that the priest, Fr George Thabet, either leave the village or be handed over to be killed. For months now, the Salafis have been protesting development work done on the church. After a five-hour siege the Army intervened, quelling the rioting and escorting Fr Thabet out of the village.
On 25 June a rumour spread through the village of Awlad Khalaf in Suhaj Province, Upper Egypt, that the home being built by a Coptic Christian, Wahib Halim Attia, was actually a church. Consequently, a mob of some 200 Muslims responded by attacking Mr Attia. After looting and bulldozing his home, they moved on to loot and torch another six Coptic-owned homes. Attia was subsequently arrested. Reportedly, local Muslims intervened to return many of the looted possessions. Pray for the Church in Egypt and that Egyptian Muslims will awaken to the fact that Islam is not the solution.
* NORTH KOREA: MILITARY GOING HUNGRY
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has obtained some very revealing film smuggled out of North Korea. The footage confirms: there is mass poverty, starvation and fear; there are scores of scavenging, homeless orphans whose parents have died either of starvation or in concentration camps; and work is being done by malnourished slave labourers. But the report also reveals something quite new: many uniformed soldiers are weak from hunger and malnutrition. This is significant because if the regime cannot sustain its 'military first' policy -- feeding its military to secure its loyalty -- then the regime's grip on power could be tenuous. Under the Kim regime, hundreds of thousands of Korean Christians suffer some of the most severe expressions of religious persecution known. See Religious Liberty Monitoring for more on North Korea. And please pray.
* TAJIKISTAN: SEVERE RELIGIOUS RESTRICTIONS THREATENED
On 15 June Tajikistan's Lower House of Parliament approved a controversial Parental Responsibility Law. An initiative of President Emomali Rahmon, the law obliges parents 'not to let children-teenagers participate in the activity of religious organisations [other than funerals], with the exception of those officially enrolled in [State-sanctioned] religious education'. Penalties will apply.
Also on 15 June the Lower House approved amendments to the Criminal Code that will extend punishments for 'unapproved meetings' to unapproved religious meetings, and prescribe lengthy prison terms for those found participating in 'religious extremist' teaching. With the courts left to define 'extremist', observers fear that all unsanctioned religious education will be penalised. Before they can be enacted as law, the draft law and amendments need to be approved by the Upper House (Majlisi Milli) and signed by the President. Chair of the Lower House's Science, Education, Culture and Youth Policy Committee, Marhabo Jabborova, told Forum 18 she felt 'sure' the Parental Responsibility Law and the Criminal Code amendments would be adopted by the Upper House in July. Whilst Islamic sects considered to be dangerous are the target, Protestant Christians will be caught in the net, a detail the authorities will keenly exploit. Please pray for God's intervention.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
111. Zimbabwe: Anglicans evicted from churches and homes (plus Pakistan)
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 111 | Wed 08 Jun 2011
ZIMBABWE: ANGLICANS EVICTED FROM CHURCHES AND HOMES (plus Pakistan)
By Elizabeth Kendal
RLPB 110 on Zimbabwe was issued last Wednesday 1 June after news emerged that churches were facing escalating levels of political violence (see also Religious Liberty Monitoring). This political violence is doubtless intended to inject fear into the churches and to silence them ahead of what are likely to be rigged elections. The regime aims to force the churches to adopt a position of compliant subjugation if they want to survive. On 2 June the Bishop of Harare, the Rt Rev Chad Gandiya, issued an urgent appeal for prayer, detailing more persecution.
On Sunday 29 May a priest belonging to the pro-Mugabe faction (led by excommunicated bishop Nolbert Kunonga) broke into the home of the Rev Charles Muzanenhamo, an Anglican priest in the Mubayira area of Mhondoro. Muzanenhamo was away visiting rural parishes at the time. When Bishop Gandiya alerted Muzanenhamo he returned home immediately and expelled the intruder. However, when the police subsequently arrived they arrested the pastor, charging him with assault. Muzanenhamo had to spend the night in detention before the bishop could bail him out. That same evening, a newly ordained deacon, Noel Magaya, was also illegally and forcibly evicted from his home-church. Once again, when the police arrived they sided with Kunonga's criminals. On 30 May when Rev Julius Zimbudzana tried to notify the police about Magaya's eviction they refused to open a docket, so officially the incident never happened.
On the evening of Wednesday 1 June Bishop Gandiya's congregation was holding a church wardens meeting when they were told that thugs from Kunonga's faction were breaking into Zimbudzana's home. Some of the church wardens ran to stop the break-in but all the assailants managed to escape, except one who was caught by members of Zimbudzana's church. These members and the church wardens took the apprehended attacker to the police. When they returned from the police station they found Zimbudzana's home was surrounded by riot police who then arrested all 16 present, including priests and three women -- even Zimbudzana's elderly mother. All were released on Friday 3 June when all the false charges levelled by the police failed.
Bishop Gandiya's 2 June email reports that many believers are 'greatly traumatised by all this'. Some of his priests have shared with him that their children are affected, becoming exceedingly anxious about the safety of their fathers. 'Please continue to pray for us as a diocese,' he asks.
You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. (2 Corinthians 1:11 ESV)
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT:
* God our loving Father will instil peace into the hearts of all Zimbabwe's burdened yet faithful believers, particularly threatened church leaders and their vulnerable families; may they be assured of God's everlasting love ('hesed'), and may they find rest in God's everlasting arms (Matthew 11:28-30; Deuteronomy 33:27).
* the Holy Spirit will wield, as a sword, the gospel message preached and lived by his faithful ones, so that it might be powerful and effective in convicting of sin, righteousness and judgement (John 16:5-11), and powerful and effective in personal and national transformation (Isaiah 2:1-4).
* our LORD Jesus Christ will build his Church in Zimbabwe; for (as we prayed last week) 'Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning' (Psalm 30:5b ESV). May the LORD hasten Zimbabwe's 'morning'.
~~~~
SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANGLICANS ILLEGALLY EVICTED IN ZIMBABWE
The Bishop of Harare, Rt Rev Chad Gandiya, issued a prayer request on 2 June for the Anglican Church in Harare. After seizing control of 40 percent of all Anglican properties in Zimbabwe, the pro-Mugabe faction led by excommunicated bishop Nolbert Kunonga has begun forcibly evicting Anglican pastors from their home-churches. Kunonga is supported by a totally partisan police force. On 1 June police arrested 16 Anglicans, including priests and three women, who had helped Rev Julius Zimbudzana resist a totally illegal forcible eviction from his home. This was the third time within a week a pastor had been illegally evicted. All those arrested have been bailed. However, there is growing concern that the situation is deteriorating. Please pray for the Church in Zimbabwe.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE
* PAKISTAN: ISLAMISTS WANT 'BLASPHEMOUS' BIBLE BANNED
At a press conference in Lahore on 30 May 2011, the leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party, Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi, appealed to the Supreme Court to ban the Christian Bible on the grounds that many of its 'insertions' were pornographic and blasphemous and thus offensive to Muslims. Ominously, Farooqi suggested that the ban was necessary to prevent a clash between the two religions. This is highly provocative, creating a most dangerous, incendiary environment. Please pray for the Church in Pakistan.
ZIMBABWE: ANGLICANS EVICTED FROM CHURCHES AND HOMES (plus Pakistan)
By Elizabeth Kendal
RLPB 110 on Zimbabwe was issued last Wednesday 1 June after news emerged that churches were facing escalating levels of political violence (see also Religious Liberty Monitoring). This political violence is doubtless intended to inject fear into the churches and to silence them ahead of what are likely to be rigged elections. The regime aims to force the churches to adopt a position of compliant subjugation if they want to survive. On 2 June the Bishop of Harare, the Rt Rev Chad Gandiya, issued an urgent appeal for prayer, detailing more persecution.
On Sunday 29 May a priest belonging to the pro-Mugabe faction (led by excommunicated bishop Nolbert Kunonga) broke into the home of the Rev Charles Muzanenhamo, an Anglican priest in the Mubayira area of Mhondoro. Muzanenhamo was away visiting rural parishes at the time. When Bishop Gandiya alerted Muzanenhamo he returned home immediately and expelled the intruder. However, when the police subsequently arrived they arrested the pastor, charging him with assault. Muzanenhamo had to spend the night in detention before the bishop could bail him out. That same evening, a newly ordained deacon, Noel Magaya, was also illegally and forcibly evicted from his home-church. Once again, when the police arrived they sided with Kunonga's criminals. On 30 May when Rev Julius Zimbudzana tried to notify the police about Magaya's eviction they refused to open a docket, so officially the incident never happened.
On the evening of Wednesday 1 June Bishop Gandiya's congregation was holding a church wardens meeting when they were told that thugs from Kunonga's faction were breaking into Zimbudzana's home. Some of the church wardens ran to stop the break-in but all the assailants managed to escape, except one who was caught by members of Zimbudzana's church. These members and the church wardens took the apprehended attacker to the police. When they returned from the police station they found Zimbudzana's home was surrounded by riot police who then arrested all 16 present, including priests and three women -- even Zimbudzana's elderly mother. All were released on Friday 3 June when all the false charges levelled by the police failed.
Bishop Gandiya's 2 June email reports that many believers are 'greatly traumatised by all this'. Some of his priests have shared with him that their children are affected, becoming exceedingly anxious about the safety of their fathers. 'Please continue to pray for us as a diocese,' he asks.
You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. (2 Corinthians 1:11 ESV)
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT:
* God our loving Father will instil peace into the hearts of all Zimbabwe's burdened yet faithful believers, particularly threatened church leaders and their vulnerable families; may they be assured of God's everlasting love ('hesed'), and may they find rest in God's everlasting arms (Matthew 11:28-30; Deuteronomy 33:27).
* the Holy Spirit will wield, as a sword, the gospel message preached and lived by his faithful ones, so that it might be powerful and effective in convicting of sin, righteousness and judgement (John 16:5-11), and powerful and effective in personal and national transformation (Isaiah 2:1-4).
* our LORD Jesus Christ will build his Church in Zimbabwe; for (as we prayed last week) 'Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning' (Psalm 30:5b ESV). May the LORD hasten Zimbabwe's 'morning'.
~~~~
SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANGLICANS ILLEGALLY EVICTED IN ZIMBABWE
The Bishop of Harare, Rt Rev Chad Gandiya, issued a prayer request on 2 June for the Anglican Church in Harare. After seizing control of 40 percent of all Anglican properties in Zimbabwe, the pro-Mugabe faction led by excommunicated bishop Nolbert Kunonga has begun forcibly evicting Anglican pastors from their home-churches. Kunonga is supported by a totally partisan police force. On 1 June police arrested 16 Anglicans, including priests and three women, who had helped Rev Julius Zimbudzana resist a totally illegal forcible eviction from his home. This was the third time within a week a pastor had been illegally evicted. All those arrested have been bailed. However, there is growing concern that the situation is deteriorating. Please pray for the Church in Zimbabwe.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE
* PAKISTAN: ISLAMISTS WANT 'BLASPHEMOUS' BIBLE BANNED
At a press conference in Lahore on 30 May 2011, the leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party, Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi, appealed to the Supreme Court to ban the Christian Bible on the grounds that many of its 'insertions' were pornographic and blasphemous and thus offensive to Muslims. Ominously, Farooqi suggested that the ban was necessary to prevent a clash between the two religions. This is highly provocative, creating a most dangerous, incendiary environment. Please pray for the Church in Pakistan.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
110. Zimbabwe: churches targeted for political violence (plus Algeria & Ivory Coast)
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 110 | Wed 01 Jun 2011
ZIMBABWE: CHURCHES TARGETED FOR POLITICAL VIOLENCE
(plus Algeria & Ivory Coast)
By Elizabeth Kendal
On 9 April some 500 Christians from Harare, Mutare, Bulawayo and Gweru gathered in the Church of the Nazarene in Glen Norah for a special 'Praying for Peace to Save Zimbabwe' church service. The gathering in this densely populated suburb of Harare included four bishops and 46 pastors. Their prayer for peace was shattered when a truckload of some 20 armed riot police arrived, firing tear gas into the church and storming the sanctuary wielding batons and brandishing rifles. Ironically, the service was also planned to commemorate the 11 March 2007 'Save Zimbabwe Prayer Rally' in which one participant, Gift Tandare, was shot dead by police and over 100 were arrested and tortured. As with the March 2007 rally, a sharp escalation in political violence ahead of elections had prompted this April 2011 prayer service.
About a week later a Catholic priest, Father Mark Mkandla, was arrested in Lupane after delivering a powerful sermon against violence to a special church service organised to pray for national healing and reconciliation. Further to this, officials from President Mugabe's Zanu (PF) have been visiting churches with the aim of forcing members to sign an anti-sanctions petition. Pastors who resist find their congregations split, with pro-Mugabe members being offered Zanu (PF) support to start new churches. As an incentive, the regime is offering church leaders land for loyalty.
President Mugabe recently issued a call for early elections, despite the terms of the power-sharing Global Political Agreement (GPA) stitched together by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) after the 2008 elections. The GPA mandates that before the next elections, a new constitution must be approved by referendum and a new voter registry must be drawn up. It is unlikely these conditions will be met because the police, the judiciary and the Zimbabwe Election Commission are all partisan and the rule of law has collapsed. The next elections will be stolen by means of a grossly rigged electoral register and State violence.
Meanwhile, the same as Mugabe is violently confiscating white-owned farms in the name of 'indigenisation', his accomplice bishop, Nolbert Kunonga, is violently confiscating Anglican properties under the same pretext. Kunonga was unfrocked by the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa in November 2007 for heresy, schism and suspicion of complicity in the murder of ten clergy. However, he now controls 40 percent of all Zimbabwe's Anglican churches, including 30 in Harare alone. Their doors are opened on Sundays, but only to pro-Mugabe supporters. The vast majority of Zimbabwe's Anglicans now worship in any facility open to them. Anglicans suspect Kunonga of complicity in the February 2011 murder of Jessica Mandeya (89), a lay leader in the rural parish of Mashonaland East who was raped, mutilated and strangled after she refused to join Kunonga's pro-Mugabe faction. Kunonga denies any part in this, retorting that if he were going to kill anyone, it would be his nemesis, Bishop Chad Gandiya, who was elected by the Anglican Church to replace Kunonga as Bishop of Harare. According to Gandiya, Kunonga has five bishops on a hit list for 'elimination'. 'We're all being followed,' said Julius Makono, the bishop of Manicaland, one of the five. Godfrey Tawonezvi, bishop of Masvingo, another of the five, was recently visited by two of Kunonga's men. 'They had all our phone numbers, [and] our home addresses,' he said.
[See Religious Liberty Monitoring (Zimbabwe) for more details and links to sources.]
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR GOD TO --
* shield his courageous servants who faithfully shepherd his flock through trials and tribulations; may he execute justice for the oppressed and frustrate the schemes of the wicked. (Psalm 146.)
* bless the faithful in Zimbabwe who continue to worship and serve with integrity despite the risk of serious political violence, rejecting enticements; may the Lord meet all their needs and increase their faith.
* build his Church in Zimbabwe; for 'Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.' (Psalm 30:5b ESV.) May the LORD hasten Zimbabwe's 'morning'.
~~~~
SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
----------------------------------------------------------------------
POLITICAL VIOLENCE HITS CHURCHES IN ZIMBABWE
Churches in Zimbabwe are being targeted amidst a sharp escalation of nationwide political violence ahead of elections. On 9 April riot police broke up a 'Praying for Peace to Save Zimbabwe' service with tear gas, batons and rifles. A week later, a Catholic priest was arrested for preaching against violence at a service for national healing and reconciliation. Mugabe's accomplice bishop, Nolbert Kunonga (unfrocked by the provincial Anglican Church in 2007), continues his program of terror and forcefully confiscating Anglican properties to be controlled by the State. Anglicans suspect Kunonga may be complicit in the gruesome murder of rural lay leader Jessica Mandeya (89) after she refused to join Kunonga's pro-Mugabe Anglican faction. Kunonga reportedly has targeted five Zimbabwean bishops for 'elimination'. Please pray for Zimbabwe's oppressed yet faithful believers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CURRENT UPDATES
* ALGERIA: SEVERE PENALTY FOR WITNESSING CHRISTIAN
RLPB 105 (27 April) APRIL UPDATE reported the 14 April arrest of Krimo Siaghi who had been discussing Christianity with some neighbours when they turned against him and accused him of illegal proselytism and subsequently of insulting Muhammad. At the 25 May trial in Oran, 470km west of Algiers, the prosecutor requested the judge sentence Krimo to two years in prison with a fine of 50,000 Algerian dinars (US$690). Instead, the judge handed down a sentence of five years in prison with a fine of 200,000 Algerian dinars. The ruling will be appealed. Please pray.
* IVORY COAST: FARMER CRUCIFIED AS 'EXAMPLE OF CHRIST'
César Etou reports for Ivorian.net that on Saturday 28 May pro-Ouattara gunmen crucified a farmer in the central-western Ivory Coast village of Binkro, nailing the peasant's hands and feet to a plank in the form of a cross as 'the example of Christ'. According to sources, UN forces called to the rescue arrived too late to save the man. Please pray for the Church in Ivory Coast.
For more details on Religious Liberty Monitoring (Ivory Coast)
ZIMBABWE: CHURCHES TARGETED FOR POLITICAL VIOLENCE
(plus Algeria & Ivory Coast)
By Elizabeth Kendal
On 9 April some 500 Christians from Harare, Mutare, Bulawayo and Gweru gathered in the Church of the Nazarene in Glen Norah for a special 'Praying for Peace to Save Zimbabwe' church service. The gathering in this densely populated suburb of Harare included four bishops and 46 pastors. Their prayer for peace was shattered when a truckload of some 20 armed riot police arrived, firing tear gas into the church and storming the sanctuary wielding batons and brandishing rifles. Ironically, the service was also planned to commemorate the 11 March 2007 'Save Zimbabwe Prayer Rally' in which one participant, Gift Tandare, was shot dead by police and over 100 were arrested and tortured. As with the March 2007 rally, a sharp escalation in political violence ahead of elections had prompted this April 2011 prayer service.
About a week later a Catholic priest, Father Mark Mkandla, was arrested in Lupane after delivering a powerful sermon against violence to a special church service organised to pray for national healing and reconciliation. Further to this, officials from President Mugabe's Zanu (PF) have been visiting churches with the aim of forcing members to sign an anti-sanctions petition. Pastors who resist find their congregations split, with pro-Mugabe members being offered Zanu (PF) support to start new churches. As an incentive, the regime is offering church leaders land for loyalty.
President Mugabe recently issued a call for early elections, despite the terms of the power-sharing Global Political Agreement (GPA) stitched together by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) after the 2008 elections. The GPA mandates that before the next elections, a new constitution must be approved by referendum and a new voter registry must be drawn up. It is unlikely these conditions will be met because the police, the judiciary and the Zimbabwe Election Commission are all partisan and the rule of law has collapsed. The next elections will be stolen by means of a grossly rigged electoral register and State violence.
Meanwhile, the same as Mugabe is violently confiscating white-owned farms in the name of 'indigenisation', his accomplice bishop, Nolbert Kunonga, is violently confiscating Anglican properties under the same pretext. Kunonga was unfrocked by the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa in November 2007 for heresy, schism and suspicion of complicity in the murder of ten clergy. However, he now controls 40 percent of all Zimbabwe's Anglican churches, including 30 in Harare alone. Their doors are opened on Sundays, but only to pro-Mugabe supporters. The vast majority of Zimbabwe's Anglicans now worship in any facility open to them. Anglicans suspect Kunonga of complicity in the February 2011 murder of Jessica Mandeya (89), a lay leader in the rural parish of Mashonaland East who was raped, mutilated and strangled after she refused to join Kunonga's pro-Mugabe faction. Kunonga denies any part in this, retorting that if he were going to kill anyone, it would be his nemesis, Bishop Chad Gandiya, who was elected by the Anglican Church to replace Kunonga as Bishop of Harare. According to Gandiya, Kunonga has five bishops on a hit list for 'elimination'. 'We're all being followed,' said Julius Makono, the bishop of Manicaland, one of the five. Godfrey Tawonezvi, bishop of Masvingo, another of the five, was recently visited by two of Kunonga's men. 'They had all our phone numbers, [and] our home addresses,' he said.
[See Religious Liberty Monitoring (Zimbabwe) for more details and links to sources.]
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR GOD TO --
* shield his courageous servants who faithfully shepherd his flock through trials and tribulations; may he execute justice for the oppressed and frustrate the schemes of the wicked. (Psalm 146.)
* bless the faithful in Zimbabwe who continue to worship and serve with integrity despite the risk of serious political violence, rejecting enticements; may the Lord meet all their needs and increase their faith.
* build his Church in Zimbabwe; for 'Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.' (Psalm 30:5b ESV.) May the LORD hasten Zimbabwe's 'morning'.
~~~~
SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
----------------------------------------------------------------------
POLITICAL VIOLENCE HITS CHURCHES IN ZIMBABWE
Churches in Zimbabwe are being targeted amidst a sharp escalation of nationwide political violence ahead of elections. On 9 April riot police broke up a 'Praying for Peace to Save Zimbabwe' service with tear gas, batons and rifles. A week later, a Catholic priest was arrested for preaching against violence at a service for national healing and reconciliation. Mugabe's accomplice bishop, Nolbert Kunonga (unfrocked by the provincial Anglican Church in 2007), continues his program of terror and forcefully confiscating Anglican properties to be controlled by the State. Anglicans suspect Kunonga may be complicit in the gruesome murder of rural lay leader Jessica Mandeya (89) after she refused to join Kunonga's pro-Mugabe Anglican faction. Kunonga reportedly has targeted five Zimbabwean bishops for 'elimination'. Please pray for Zimbabwe's oppressed yet faithful believers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CURRENT UPDATES
* ALGERIA: SEVERE PENALTY FOR WITNESSING CHRISTIAN
RLPB 105 (27 April) APRIL UPDATE reported the 14 April arrest of Krimo Siaghi who had been discussing Christianity with some neighbours when they turned against him and accused him of illegal proselytism and subsequently of insulting Muhammad. At the 25 May trial in Oran, 470km west of Algiers, the prosecutor requested the judge sentence Krimo to two years in prison with a fine of 50,000 Algerian dinars (US$690). Instead, the judge handed down a sentence of five years in prison with a fine of 200,000 Algerian dinars. The ruling will be appealed. Please pray.
* IVORY COAST: FARMER CRUCIFIED AS 'EXAMPLE OF CHRIST'
César Etou reports for Ivorian.net that on Saturday 28 May pro-Ouattara gunmen crucified a farmer in the central-western Ivory Coast village of Binkro, nailing the peasant's hands and feet to a plank in the form of a cross as 'the example of Christ'. According to sources, UN forces called to the rescue arrived too late to save the man. Please pray for the Church in Ivory Coast.
For more details on Religious Liberty Monitoring (Ivory Coast)
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