Oh, God
You can do anything, anywhere, any time
All knowing, all seeing God,
There is nothing hidden from you.
You see the women of Africa:
Who are refugees,
fleeing their war-torn countries
with babies on their backs and luggage on their heads.
Some who are victims of human rights violations,
abuse, infected with AIDS
We put our hope in you, oh God,
For you hear even our unmentioned prayers
You watch not only the sparrow, but you see us too
And your hands guide us all the way.
Above all, you offer us the gift of eternal life.
We praise your holy name.
(Taken from the BWA's publication Hallowed be Your Name)
(http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=957)
December 13, 2008
December 12, 2008
BWA Observes Human Rights Day
Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
December 12, 2008
Washington, D.C. (BWA)--The Baptist World Alliance observes Human Rights Day on December 13 or 14.
The BWA observance coincides with the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted on December 10, 1948. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the document that outlines in 30 articles the basic rights of all people.
Since the inception of the Baptist World Alliance in 1905, issues of human rights and justice have been a priority of the BWA.
The BWA Division of Freedom and Justice, which was established on September 1, focuses on marginalized Baptists and other Christians who experience various forms of persecution and injustice, such as the current anti-Christian violence in India .
Human Rights Day worship resources are available on the BWA website at www.bwanet.org.
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
December 12, 2008
Washington, D.C. (BWA)--The Baptist World Alliance observes Human Rights Day on December 13 or 14.
The BWA observance coincides with the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted on December 10, 1948. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the document that outlines in 30 articles the basic rights of all people.
Since the inception of the Baptist World Alliance in 1905, issues of human rights and justice have been a priority of the BWA.
The BWA Division of Freedom and Justice, which was established on September 1, focuses on marginalized Baptists and other Christians who experience various forms of persecution and injustice, such as the current anti-Christian violence in India .
Human Rights Day worship resources are available on the BWA website at www.bwanet.org.
December 10, 2008
Floods in Brazil
By Mayrinkellison Wanderley
I am asking you to pray for south Brazil because since November it has rained almost every day and is consequently causing severe damage within the south. According to one report, “Water levels have risen to nine meters above normal and the rain-soaked soil caused heavy landslides throughout the region. As a result, at least 118 people are reported dead and more than 78,700 people have evacuated their homes. Another 150,000 people have been left without electricity.”
(http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/222031/122883571838.htm)
This is a sad situation for us and the Red Cross and other organizations are inviting people to help them as volunteers. This is one of the worst disasters in that region and many are separated from their homes and families. Please forward this information to your churches and join us in prayer for south Brazil and those affected by these devastating rains.
**Many thanks to Mayrinkellison Wanderley, an Emerging Leader from Brazil who is on staff with the World Missions Board of the Brazilian Baptist Convention.
I am asking you to pray for south Brazil because since November it has rained almost every day and is consequently causing severe damage within the south. According to one report, “Water levels have risen to nine meters above normal and the rain-soaked soil caused heavy landslides throughout the region. As a result, at least 118 people are reported dead and more than 78,700 people have evacuated their homes. Another 150,000 people have been left without electricity.”
(http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/222031/122883571838.htm)
This is a sad situation for us and the Red Cross and other organizations are inviting people to help them as volunteers. This is one of the worst disasters in that region and many are separated from their homes and families. Please forward this information to your churches and join us in prayer for south Brazil and those affected by these devastating rains.
**Many thanks to Mayrinkellison Wanderley, an Emerging Leader from Brazil who is on staff with the World Missions Board of the Brazilian Baptist Convention.
December 8, 2008
The Christmas Nativity
I recently received my first official Christmas card and it got me thinking about the Christmas season and the cards that we regularly share with family and friends. One of the most popular pictures used on Christmas cards is of the nativity.
Though the above is a nice picture, it does seem to imply a message of safety and security. It’s as if the primary Christmas message that we want to portray is one that has been sanitized so that it is clean, perfectly in place and almost middle class…
Nothing could be further from the reality of that moment. The political context was one of occupation by a foreign power. The despotic leader was known for his violence and cunning cruelty as well as vast building projects that altered the religious and moral landscape through the construction of Roman temples and Roman cultural vignettes. Mary had experienced an out of wedlock teenage pregnancy and Joseph understood the pain of broken trust and an imperfect strained relationship. Both had travelled 90 miles by foot or donkey in the ninth month of a pregnancy and were now separated from family, friends and familiarity. Though they did not know it, they were on the verge of becoming refugees. Surely an out of the way cave surrounded by animals and manure was far from their childhood dreams.
And yet it is in this context that Good News was declared. In the midst of muck, mire and even personal manure, Christ was born. In the midst of broken dreams, strained relationships and a journey of great uncertainty, Christ was born. In the midst of violence and politics by war, domination and division, Christ was born. Embodying a love that has changed the world, a peace that challenges politics, and a ministry that focuses on Good News among “the least of these," Christ was born.
In the words of Shane Claiborne:
“I love the story of one pastor who got fed up with all the decorations and clutter. He began to see that we are in danger of losing the very “reason for the season,” Jesus – the Jesus that was born in the middle of Herod’s bloody genocide, the Jesus who was born a refugee with no room in the inn, the Jesus who knew suffering from the cradle to the cross. This pastor went through the sanctuary the night before the big Christmas service and spread out manure all over the floor – nasty, stinky piles of turd. As folks came in the next day in their best attire, he preached … and did he ever. He preached about how the original story of Christmas was not about malls and decorations. He preached about a story that was not pretty. He preached about a God who enters the [crud] of this world and redeems all that is ugly and broken. It is a story they will never forget. It is the story of our faith.
That is the imagination that we need as we seek not to conform to the patterns of this world. It takes that kind of courage to exorcize the demons of greed that smell more each day like the seven deadly sins. But unto us a child is born … a child who has overcome the world.” (http://www.sojo.net/blog/godspolitics/?p=4220)
December 5, 2008
Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Alexy II Dies
By Jim Heintz
Associated Press
December 5, 2008
MOSCOW – Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II, who presided over a vast post-Soviet revival of faith but struggled against the influence of other churches, died Friday at age 79.
The Moscow Patriarchate said he died at his residence outside Moscow, but did not give a cause of death. Alexy had long suffered from a heart ailment.
Alexy became leader of the church in 1990, as the officially atheist Soviet Union was loosening its restrictions on religion. After the Soviet Union collapsed the following year, the church's popularity surged. Church domes that had been stripped of their gold under the Soviets were regilded, churches that had been converted into warehouses or left to rot in neglect were painstakingly restored and hours-long services on major religious holidays were broadcast live on national television.
By the time of Alexy's death, the church's flock was estimated to include about two-thirds of Russia's 142 million people, making it the world's largest Orthodox church.
But Alexy often complained that Russia's new religious freedom put the church under severe pressure and he bitterly resented what he said were attempts by other Christian churches to poach adherents among people who he said should have belonged to the Orthodox church.......
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_obit_alexy_ii
Associated Press
December 5, 2008
MOSCOW – Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II, who presided over a vast post-Soviet revival of faith but struggled against the influence of other churches, died Friday at age 79.
The Moscow Patriarchate said he died at his residence outside Moscow, but did not give a cause of death. Alexy had long suffered from a heart ailment.
Alexy became leader of the church in 1990, as the officially atheist Soviet Union was loosening its restrictions on religion. After the Soviet Union collapsed the following year, the church's popularity surged. Church domes that had been stripped of their gold under the Soviets were regilded, churches that had been converted into warehouses or left to rot in neglect were painstakingly restored and hours-long services on major religious holidays were broadcast live on national television.
By the time of Alexy's death, the church's flock was estimated to include about two-thirds of Russia's 142 million people, making it the world's largest Orthodox church.
But Alexy often complained that Russia's new religious freedom put the church under severe pressure and he bitterly resented what he said were attempts by other Christian churches to poach adherents among people who he said should have belonged to the Orthodox church.......
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_obit_alexy_ii
A Short, Recent History of Congo
See the following for a short introductory history to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo:
http://audiovideo.economist.com/
http://audiovideo.economist.com/
December 4, 2008
Call for Prayer for the Democratic Republic of Congo - This Saturday
Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
December 4, 2008
Washington, D.C. (BWA)--Baptist women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have invited Baptists everywhere to join them in prayer for their country on Saturday, December 6.
The special prayer emphasis is in response to the recent upsurge in fighting in the DRC between government forces, Mai-Mai pro-government militias, and a rebel group, the National Congress for the Defense of the People.
“The war is true and sad. People die day and night,” wrote Anne Ponzi, vice president of the Baptist Women’s Union of Africa, who lives in the DRC. “Those in refugee camps are in very bad conditions. Those left in towns, villages and hiding in forests are raped and maltreated. Young people are forced into the army. All these lead to diseases and epidemics,” she said.
“We the Congolese Baptist Women are planning a day of special intercession for war victims. The day is December 6, 2008,” said Ponzi.
At least 100 civilians have been killed, and an estimated 250,000 persons displaced by the latest round of fighting. Millions were already displaced in the DRC and bordering countries such as Uganda , Burundi and Rwanda as a result of the Second Congo War waged between 1998 and 2003, as well as other flare-ups since the official end of that war. The Second Congo War resulted in the deaths of an estimated four million people.
Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance, gave a grant of US$30,000 in November to provide food, water, and shelter for displaced persons in the DRC. (http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=965)
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
December 4, 2008
Washington, D.C. (BWA)--Baptist women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have invited Baptists everywhere to join them in prayer for their country on Saturday, December 6.
The special prayer emphasis is in response to the recent upsurge in fighting in the DRC between government forces, Mai-Mai pro-government militias, and a rebel group, the National Congress for the Defense of the People.
“The war is true and sad. People die day and night,” wrote Anne Ponzi, vice president of the Baptist Women’s Union of Africa, who lives in the DRC. “Those in refugee camps are in very bad conditions. Those left in towns, villages and hiding in forests are raped and maltreated. Young people are forced into the army. All these lead to diseases and epidemics,” she said.
“We the Congolese Baptist Women are planning a day of special intercession for war victims. The day is December 6, 2008,” said Ponzi.
At least 100 civilians have been killed, and an estimated 250,000 persons displaced by the latest round of fighting. Millions were already displaced in the DRC and bordering countries such as Uganda , Burundi and Rwanda as a result of the Second Congo War waged between 1998 and 2003, as well as other flare-ups since the official end of that war. The Second Congo War resulted in the deaths of an estimated four million people.
Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance, gave a grant of US$30,000 in November to provide food, water, and shelter for displaced persons in the DRC. (http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=965)
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