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P.M. Thomas, founder and director of the Himalaya Evangelical Mission, reported that a native missionary was murdered in eastern India's Orissa state on Tuesday, Feb. 15. He said that Gilbert Raj went to Orissa five years ago and began working as a missionary in the village of Raja Kariar, doing evangelistic outreach, church planting and social ministry. On the day of his death, Raj was taking two children home from an exam on his motorcycle when P. Prakasan, the owner of a motorcycle repair shop who presumably had taken an interest in Raj's ministry, stopped him and invited him into his house for a cup of coffee. Raj declined, but Prakasan insisted and told the children to wait by the roadside. Once inside, Prakasan allegedly killed the missionary, left the house, locked the doors and told the students to make their own way to the hostel as he and the missionary were going to visit a village and would not be back until evening. When Raj failed to return home, his wife went to the police, and his body was found in Prakasan's house the next day. Prakasan has not been located since the murder, but subsequent reports from Orissa imply that he had been hired by some fanatical anti-Christians to kill the missionary. (Assist News Service)

* "The Voice of the Great Southland," the shortwave station operated by HCJB World Radio-Australia since January 2003, airs more than 108 hours of weekly Christian programming in 11 languages, including nine spoken in India (English, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Nepali, Malayalam, Chattisgarhi, Hmar and Meeitei). Programs in these languages are produced at HCJB World Radio's studio in New Delhi. Programs also air via FEBA Radio's transmitters in three languages (Bhojpuri, Chattisgarhi and Mundari).

KAZAKHSTAN'S NEW 'EXTREMISM LAW' CONCERNS CHRISTIANS

An "extremism law" actively promoted by Kazakhstan's secret police was signed into law in the country on Monday, Feb. 21, raising concerns among local and international organizations, some religious believers and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. However, the official chief specialist on religious affairs in Almaty said the law is not aimed at Christians. "I do not understand this concern. The law on extremism and also the amendments to other laws have no relation to religion and consequently do not represent a threat to believers." Ninel Fokina of the Almaty Helsinki Committee disagreed. "In the law on countering extremist activity the term 'religious' occurs 10 times," he said. "Although it would seem that religion and extremism are two totally different concepts, the new law can be used by the state to combat religious organizations it does not like." The law on countering "extremist activity" fails to give a clear definition of extremism. Religious law specialist Roman Podoprigora pointed out that Kazakhstan can decide to close religious communities on the basis of information from regimes such as North Korea. (Forum 18 News Service)

SENIOR PASTOR OF MEGA-CHURCH IN U.S. ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

Adrian Rogers, senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., announced last weekend that he is retiring after 32 years of service. When Rogers became the pastor of the church it had 8,739 members. Today it has more than 29,000 members. Rogers is heard in more than 150 countries on more than 12,000 television stations and 2,000 radio stations on his weekly program, "Love Worth Finding." He is a widely published author and has been a key leader in the Southern Baptist Convention's conservative resurgence. Rogers served as SBC president for three terms at a time when conservative Southern Baptists needed their most capable leader. But Rogers also is a spiritual leader outside Southern Baptist circles. He has visited with U.S. presidents and other leaders. Thousands celebrated Rogers' pastorate at Bellevue the evening of Friday, March 4. Thousands more heard Rogers preach his last sermon as pastor of the Memphis-area congregation on Sunday morning. That evening the throngs gathered to bid a final farewell to their leader. (Religion Today/Baptist Press)

FORMER ANGLICAN BISHOP, CRICKET CAPTAIN DAVID SHEPPARD DIES AT 75

David Sheppard, an Anglican bishop and former England cricket captain who was an outspoken voice for England's poor, has died of cancer at the age of 75, a spokesman for his diocese said Sunday. Sheppard, who served as Liverpool's bishop from 1975 to 1997, died at his home in the Wirral district near the city on Saturday, March 5, a day before his 76th birthday. Sheppard was born March 6, 1929, and attended Sherborne School, one of Britain's best-known boarding schools, before going to Cambridge University. He was ordained in 1955 and initially served as a curate of St. Mary's church in Islington, then a deprived area of north London. In 1969 he was appointed as the bishop of Woolwich, another disadvantaged district in southeastern London, where he served for six years before moving to Liverpool. Sheppard worked closely with his Roman Catholic counterpart, Derek Worlock, focusing on poverty-related issues in the city. Sheppard also had a noteworthy career as a cricketer. He played for Sussex County before graduating to the England team where he played 22 tests between 1950 and 1963. He captained the England side twice in 1954. Sheppard is survived by his wife of 47 years, Grace, and their daughter, Jenny. (Associated Press/ENI)

BREAD FOR THE WORLD LAUNCHES 'MAKE HUNGER HISTORY' CAMPAIGN

Bread for the World, a Christian anti-hunger organization supported by many American Baptist churches and individuals, has launched its 2005 campaign, "Make Hunger History." The current focus, like Bread for the World's campaigns in the past 30 years, again asks individuals and their churches to participate in an "Offering of Letters," sending correspondence to congressional representatives, urging them to take action in the fight against hunger. The 2005 campaign is being coordinated with organizations such as America's Second Harvest, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger and the End Hunger Network. Bread for the World is one of 11 inaugural members of the ONE Campaign, a coalition committed to addressing AIDS, extreme poverty and hunger. (American Baptist News Service)

INNOVATIVE VET CLINICS OPEN MINISTRY DOORS AMONG NOMADIC PEOPLE

For three years a native missionary went from tent to tent, visiting nomadic Bedouin families and starting conversations about Christ and salvation. Yet the reactions he encountered were discouragingly the same: "Jesus?" the desert dwellers would respond. "Yes, we know about Jesus. We also know about Mohammed." With a shrug of the shoulders, they dismissed both as irrelevant to their lives. In an effort to overcome such apathy, native missionaries began turning their attention to the Bedouins' key source of livelihood -- animals. Nomadic groups rely on camels, sheep, goats or cattle to survive. Animals are the basis for their nomadic lifestyles as they herd them from grazing land to grazing land. Missionaries developed a plan to establish veterinary clinics in desert areas throughout the Middle East and North Africa where nomadic Arab tribes are most numerous. Christian veterinarians and other staff working at the clinics hoped to develop trusting relationships with nomadic herders who in turn would be more willing to hear about the one true God. Already the outreach has produced fruit in at least one area. A Christian leader wrote, "We have begun the project by providing a vet for sheep. The Bedouin men have been very happy for the help, and many are more open to hearing about the Good Shepherd now." (Christian Aid Mission)

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