Zprávy HCJB 25.6.2008

 Srí Lanka: 3 příslušníci pomocné policie zaútočili na pastora
   Ve východní provincii Ampara na Srí Lance se křesťanský kazatel rev. Fernando stal terčem útoku tří mužů. Rev. Fernando nyní zraněn leží v místní nemocnici. K incidentu došlo v pondělí 23. června během pastorova návratu ze sborového sejití v Uhana. Útočníci jej oslovili, zda by je nemohl navštívit doma, kde prý jsou další lidé, kteří by se chtěli stát křesťany. Podle zprávy Národní křesťanské evangelijní aliance Srí Lanky Fernado vycítil, že se muži snaží vlákat jej do pasti a tak je požádal, aby ho raději navštívili v kostele, když chtějí hovořit o křesťanství. Ti muži pak na něj zaútočili a také ho varovali, aby se do vesnice nevracel. Jiný útočník dříve postřelil pastorovu manželku, která je v kritickém stavu. Ten je ve vazbě a 24. června proběhl soud. Panuje přesvědčení, že útočníci jsou členy skupiny Gramarakshaka Niladhari - domácí gardy - pomocných sil ustavených vládou na pomoc policii a armádě k udržování pořádku. K útoku došlo čtyři měsíce poté, co uniformovaní členové této skupiny zastřelili pastora Neil Edirisinghe (15. února). Zdroj: Christian Solidarity Worldwide, BosNewsLife
 
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   3 MEMBERS OF AUXILIARY POLICE FORCE ATTACK SRI LANKAN PASTOR

Sources: Christian Solidarity Worldwide, BosNewsLife
A Christian pastor in Sri Lanka’s eastern province of Ampara was attacked Monday, June 23, by three men while returning home from a church group meeting in Uhana. Rev. Fernando is receiving treatment for his injuries at a local hospital. The men asked the pastor to accompany them to a house, claiming there were people there who wanted to become Christians. According to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka, Fernando sensed that the men were trying to lure him into a trap and asked them to come to the church instead if they wished to discuss Christianity. The men then attacked him and warned him not to return to the village. The gunman also shot the pastor’s wife, leaving her critically injured. The accused is in custody and was to appear in court on Tuesday, June 24. The attackers are believed to be members of the Gramarakshaka Niladhari (home guards), an auxiliary force established by the government to assist the police and military in security duties. The attack comes four months after a member of the group in uniform shot Pastor Neil Edirisinghe to death on Feb. 15.

BARNA SURVEY: U.S. RESIDENTS SAY TRADITIONAL VALUES STILL IDEAL

Source: Religion Today
A new Barna Group study finds that faith, integrity, purpose and family still top the list when Americans rank what’s important in life, reports The Christian Post. More than 75 percent of all American adults said their ideal life includes having good physical health (listed by 85 percent), living with a high degree of integrity (85 percent), having one marriage partner for life (80 percent), having a clear purpose for living (77 percent), having a close relationship with God (75 percent), and having close, personal friendships (74 percent), according to the survey released Monday, June 23. “Stability rules,” note George Barna, who has overseen this research since 1991. “Out of 19 factors, only two have seen even a 10-point shift in nearly two decades. That’s rather remarkable consistency.”

ISLAMISTS TRY TO DESTROY CHURCH BUILDINGS IN INDONESIA

Source: Compass Direct News
Local authorities accompanied by an Islamist mob attempted to demolish two buildings in a church compound used by three congregations in Jatimulya, a village in Indonesia’s West Java province on Saturday, June 14. The initial dismantling of a roof, doors and fence came to a halt after one of several Public Order officers from Bekasi Regency fell from the roof of one of the buildings. Authorities had sealed the buildings in 2005. Since then, church members have been meeting in homes. On Tuesday, June 10, officials had informed church leaders and their lawyers that the buildings would be destroyed four days later. When the pastors pointed out that demolition would be in violation of a 2005 agreement, authorities told them the agreement was no longer in force. The day of the planned demolition, Rev. Pestaria Hutajulu, a pastor of one of the churches, released a statement saying, “Jesus taught us to obey the government. However, ‘Whoever destroys the temple of God will be destroyed by the Lord.’”

UPDATE: HOUSE CHURCH CHRISTIANS IN SICHUAN, CHINA, LODGE APPEAL

Source: Assist News Service
Nearly two months after their arrests, a number of house church Christians in China’s Sichuan province are appealing their sentences after being convicted of “engaging in cult activities through an illegal gathering.” The members were handed a variety of sentences ranging from five days’ administrative detention to one year of education through labor. The China Aid Association (CAA) reported that their initial appeal to the Qu County Court House and Dazhou Municipal Intermediate People’s Court was rejected. On Friday, May 27, they submitted their applications for administrative reconsideration to the legal section of the Dazhou Municipal Public Security Bureau (PSB). Several of the Christians were arrested at a private residence in the Qujiang township where 50 house church members were gathered. According to the China Aid Association (CAA), more than 20 local authorities, including those from the PSB and the Office for Religious Affairs, raided the meeting at about 3 p.m. Saturday, March 29, arresting seven women and confiscating Bibles, books and other items. The following day, 10 members of the same house church met at 9 a.m. to discuss the detentions and sentencing. Again, they were raided by government officials, and nine more women were arrested. It is unclear how many of the church members remain imprisoned.

* UNIDENTIFIED ASSAILANTS KILL FORMER HCJB GLOBAL BROADCASTER

Sources: HCJB Global, El Comercio, La Calle de Guayaquil, Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas

An Ecuadorian radio broadcaster who was one of the original staff members at HCJB Global Voice’s FM station in the coastal city of Guayaquil was shot to death by unknown assailants near his home the morning of Monday, June 23.

Raúl Rodríguez Coronel, 63, was vice president of news and host of the daily news and opinion program, “Buenos Días Ecuador” (good morning Ecuador), at the Guayaquil-based station, Radio Sucre. He was also an announcer and produced a news and Ecuadorian music program on Saturdays. He joined Radio Sucre in 1984 after 20 years with HCJB Global.

Rodríguez presented his live program Monday morning and then drove to Guayacanes, a neighborhood north of Guayaquil, to pick up family members. When he arrived at his cousin’s house at about 7:20 a.m., press reports indicate that two unidentified men approached him, firing weapons.

Witnesses said Rodríguez hid behind a car, defending himself with a pistol, but at least one gunman followed him and fired more shots before the attackers fled in a taxi and another vehicle. He was taken to the local Kennedy Clinic where he died an hour later from four gunshot wounds to his leg, pelvis and chest, severing an artery.

Organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders are urging Ecuadorian authorities to hunt down the perpetrators and investigate all possible links between Rodríguez’s death and his work as a journalist.

The Asociación Ecuatoriana de Radiodifusión (Ecuadorian broadcasting association) called the incident another attack on free speech in Ecuador and suspected that Rodriguez’s death was tied to the fact he was a “professing evangelical Christian who made commentaries on such things as the fight against corruption in various public institutions and the high price of basic necessities.” He also took a firm stand against such things as drug trafficking, homosexuality and abortion.

Rodríguez’s family said he occasionally received telephone threats, and shots were fired at the facade of his house in 2005. The following year, six men tried to kill him as he was parking his car, reported the newspaper El Telégrafo.

José “Chema” Reinoso, an HCJB Global missionary on loan to Charles Stanley’s In Touch Ministries, called Rodríguez a “great friend and colleague, always ready to serve others. He was rather quiet but direct in expressing his opinions. He respected HCJB Global and the evangelical church of Ecuador.”

Rodríguez, who once served as president of the Evangelical Confraternity of Ecuador, was a devout Christian who openly shared his views. “He knew a lot of people, and he wasn’t afraid to report the news as he saw it,” said former HCJB Global missionary Tom Narwold who worked alongside Rodríguez at HCJB-2, the mission’s FM station in Guayaquil that was founded in 1972.

HCJB Global retiree Dave Manney, who also worked with Rodríguez, said he played a key role at HCJB-2, working as a control operator and on-air radio personality. “He was a hard worker, and you could count on him,” Manney said. Two of the programs that Rodríguez produced were “Amanecer con Dios con la Biblia en la Mano” (daybreak with God and the Bible) and “Impacto Deportivo” (sports impact).

Rodríguez joined HCJB Global in 1964, initially working with the mission’s Eslabón del Guayas (All-Ecuador Gospel Network) which distributed cultural and Christian programs to more than 40 radio stations across Ecuador.

HCJB Global retiree Tom Fulghum described Rodríguez as a “man who really loved the Lord. He was very enthusiastic and compassionate about whatever he did, and I really enjoyed working with him. When I asked him to do something, it got done. He was a great friend of HCJB Global.”

Rodríguez is survived by his wife, Silvia Orellana, of 39 years and four children, César, Solange, Alba and Samuel.

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