Zprávy HCJB 4.1.2009 - 10.1.2009 |
| Zprávy HCJB 4.1.2009 - 10.1.2009 |
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Náboženští vůdci chválí Helen Suzman – bojovnici proti apartheidu v Jižní Africe |
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| Zdroj: Ecumenical News International, The New York Times. Náboženští vůdci chválí Helen Suzman, po mnoho let jedinou liberálně smýšlející bojovnici proti rasové diskriminaci v Jihoafrickém parlamentu, která zemřela na Nový Rok ve věku 91 let. „Byla skutečnou hrdinkou, která přispěla ke klidné přeměně naší země v době, kdy mnozí předpovídali rasově motivované krveprolití. Jižní Afrika je bez ní mnohem chudší," řekl nositel Nobelovy ceny Desmond Tutu, někdejší anglikánský arcibiskup v Kapském Městě. Suzman působila v jihoafrickém parlamentu v době, kdy byl složen výhradně z bílých, v době s význačnými rysy rasové diskriminace. Spoléhajíc na poslaneckou imunitu, promlouvala v časech, kdy jiné způsoby protestu byly krutě potlačovány. Zastávala umírněné postoje a polemizovala se svým radikálněji smýšlejícím okolím ohledně podpory ekonomických sankcí proti Jižní Africe, které měly donutit „bílé“ vedení zanechat rasové segregace. Suzman říkala, že takové ekonomické sankce by ublížily více chudým černochům než bělochům. Tím popuzení kritici ji obviňovali, že apartheid prodlužuje, místo aby jej pomáhala ukončit. | |
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Palestinští křesťané v Gaze se bojí vycházet z domů |
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| Představitel křesťanů v pásmu Gazy řekl, že při současných událostech „trpí každý,“ děti to však mají „zvlášť těžké.“ „Děti se budí několikrát za noc; pláčou nebo i křičí strachy a z toho, co viděly,“ řekl Suhad Massah, který v pásmu Gazy vede misii Palestinské biblické společnosti.
„Mnoho dětí je traumatizováno již z dřívějška, kdy v ulicích, na kterých si hrály, viděly ležet mrtvá těla. Teď je to tu zas.“ V Gaze zůstalo odhadem asi 2500 křesťanů. Minulý měsíc se mnoho z nich pokoušelo odjet z Gazy k příbuzným na Západním Břehu, aby společně oslavili Vánoce a našli zde útočiště, ale nemohli. „Povolení dostali jen starší. Mnoho 18-35letých Gazu opustit nesmělo,“ řekl Massih. „Láme nám srdce, když vidíme eskalaci nepřátelství v Gaze a v jižním Izraeli,“ dodal Victor Kalisher, ředitel Biblické Společnosti v Izraeli ve svém poselství Biblických Společností Izraele a okupovaných palestinských území. Jejich ředitel pro rozvoj Labib Madanat řekl, že „po 10 letech budování vztahů jak s Hamásem, tak s izraelskými politiky, má nyní Biblická Společnost přístup k lidem v nouzi.“ Zdroj: Open Doors USA, Bible Society |
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Nadace zahajuje další ročník soutěže Biblická Včela dotovaný cenami v hodnotě |
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| Nadace Shelby Kennedy oznámila konání výroční soutěže Biblická Včela, soutěže ve znalostech Bible pro děti mezi 7 a 18 lety. Oblastní kola Biblické Včely v USA proběhnou 12. září. 100 finalistů každé ze tří věkových kategorií pak postoupí do dvoudenního celosvětového finále ve Washingtonu D.C. 5.-6. listopadu. Pracovníci Nadace Shelby Kennedy pomáhají rodičům, učitelům, kazatelům a vedoucím pracovníkům církví po celé zemi, kteří plánují a koordinují oblastní kola Biblické Včely. Přihlásit se je možno do konce ledna. Celková výše odměn pro soutěžící je |
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Všechny zprávy v angličtině |
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| DISASTERS MADE 2008 BUSIEST YEAR FOR BILLY GRAHAM RAPID RESPONSE TEAM Source: Christian Newswire The year 2008 brought more tragedy and more deployments than any prior ministry year for the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. “The number of tornadoes in the first half of 2008 was nearly unprecedented,” said Jack Munday, who directs the team. He cited 10 locations where teams responded, plus eight different sites following the devastation of hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Additionally, the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team responded to flooding in Missouri, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa; the Valentine’s Day shooting at Northern Illinois University; and the November wildfires in Southern California. The agency also deployed Christian workers and aid to Myanmar, Kenya and Grand Turk Island to train local pastors on how to appropriately respond during the tragedies and disasters that devastated the people of those areas. Last year 433 chaplains prayed with more than 17,000 people. The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is a nationwide database of more than 3,000 chaplains and ministry volunteers who are specifically trained to deal with crisis situations. * HCJB Global Hands has Christian doctors and other medical professionals serving the poor in countries such as Ecuador where the ministry operates two hospitals and works in community development. Staff members are also involved in ministries such as the Partners in Hope AIDS clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi. In recent years the mission has begun sending emergency relief teams following disasters in countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Ecuador and Lebanon. PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS AFRAID TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES IN GAZA STRIP Source: Open Doors USA, Bible Society A Christian leader in Israel’s Gaza Strip says “everybody suffers” due to recent violence there, but that children are experiencing “a very tough time.” “The children wake up several times in the middle of the night; crying or even screaming from fear and memories that come back to their minds,” said Suhad Massad who leads the Palestinian Bible Society’s ministry in Gaza. “Many children are traumatized because of previous situations in Gaza. They have seen bodies lying on the streets that used to be their playground. Now it is all happening again.” An estimated 2,500 Christians remain in Gaza. Last month many families tried to leave Gaza to visit family or friends in the West Bank to celebrate Christmas and find a safe place, but could not. “Only permits were given to the elderly. Many people ages 18 to 35 were not allowed to leave Gaza,” said Massad. “Our hearts are broken as we witness the escalation of hostilities in Gaza and southern Israel,” added Victor Kalisher, director of the Bible Society in Israel, in a joint message issued by the Bible Societies of Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories. The group’s development director, Labib Madanat, said that “as a result of 10 years work building relationships and trust with both Hamas and Israeli political leaders, Bible Society has access to people in need.” 8 LUTHERAN BISHOPS FROM U.S., CANADA VISIT MIDDLE EAST DESPITE CONFLICT Sources: rlgmedia, ELCA News Service Despite the continued conflict in Israel’s Gaza Strip, bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada proceeded with plans to travel to the Middle East this week. The Lutheran leaders sought to provide support for Lutherans in Jordan and Israel, to learn more about the realities of living in the Middle East, and to advocate for peace. Eight Lutheran bishops, their spouses and staff made the trip as part of their 2009 Academy—an annual time for theological reflection and study. Though planned for months, the visit is especially timely given the current conflict in Gaza between Hamas and Israel. Israel’s decision to send ground forces into Gaza has heightened concerns. The group was later joined by more than 30 Lutheran bishops planning to meet with religious, community and political leaders in Israel and the West Bank through Tuesday, Jan. 13. RAT-CAUSED FAMINE IN MYANMAR LEAVES 100,000 ON BRINK OF STARVATION Sources: Gospel for Asia, Christian Newswire With bamboo normally a steady source of food for Southeast Asians, this year’s crop has been overrun by rats in parts of the region. The resulting famine in Myanmar (Burma) has left 40 children dead and more than 100,000 on the brink of starvation. The bamboo plants began blooming and producing fruit in late 2007, an event that happens only once every 50 years. Rats that ate the fruit became more fertile and produced even more rats that not only finished off the bamboo plants, but then plowed their way through other fields, devouring grain, corn, rice and even seeds planted in the ground. This twice-a-century event is called a “mautam.” “Mau” is the Burmese word for bamboo and “tam” means famine. Gospel for Asia missionary Kyetipat Maung reported that people have resorted to eating the only thing there is an abundance of—the rats themselves. Gway Win, a man who lives in the same village as Kyetipat said, “We catch more than 50 rats every day, and we eat the rat meat for survival.” * Broadcasts in the Rawang language, spoken by more than 140,000 people in Myanmar, began airing from HCJB Global-Australia’s shortwave station in Kununurra in 2007. Two half-hour programs in this language air daily—one slot in the morning and one in the afternoon. LATIN AMERICA MISSION APPOINTS STEVEN JOHNSON AS PRESIDENT Source: Missionary Journalist A California pastor with missionary experience in Argentina has been appointed as the new president of Latin America Mission (LAM). Steve Johnson, 55, will take office in early February, succeeding the interim president, Jack Voelkel. Serving in Argentina with OC International, Johnson co-pastored an Argentine church with the president of the Argentine National Association of Evangelicals. Returning from Latin America, Johnson led pastoral teams that planted two daughter churches of Scottsdale Bible Church in Arizona, served two congregations in California, as well as collaborated with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association ministries in Latin America. Most recently he was the senior pastor of Cypress Community Church in Salinas, Calif. “I see the role of the Mission as seeking to be involved with any and every significant ‘kingdom’ challenge in Latin America at some level, in a holistic response,” Johnson said. “With already established partnerships, the LAM can certainly confront increasing pluralism with ongoing integral church growth, mission help for local grass-root churches, as well as helping to make theological education more accessible to the local church pastor.” Johnson and his wife, Shellie, have three married children and one daughter still in high school. FOUNDATION LAUNCHES ANNUAL NATIONAL BIBLE BEE WITH $260,000 IN PRIZES Sources: Shelby Kennedy Foundation, Evangelical Press Association The Shelby Kennedy Foundation announced that it will introduce an annual National Bible Bee, a Bible memory competition for children and youth from ages 7 to 18. Local Bible Bees will be conducted throughout the U.S. on Sept. 12. The 100 finalists from each of three age categories will then advance to the National Bible Bee for a two-day, world-class competition to be held in Washington D.C., Nov. 5-6. Staff members from the Shelby Kennedy Foundation are assisting parents, teachers, pastors and Christian leaders from across the country who are planning and coordinating Local Bible Bees. The registration deadline is Saturday, Jan. 31. More than $260,000 in prize money will be awarded with $100,000 going to the first-place winner of the top age category. The goal of the competition is to build godly character in young people by calling them back to the lost discipline of Scripture memorization. AUDIO BIBLES RELEASED IN 8 LANGUAGES SPOKEN ON 5 CONTINENTS Source: Mission Network News Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) recently released eight new Audio Drama New Testament recordings. The recordings are in the following languages: Dan (spoken in Côte d’Ivoire), Garhwali (India), Kimochi (Tanzania), Koma (Ghana), Ndau (Mozambique), Quechua, (Bolivia), Mooré (Burkina Faso), and the New American Bible in the U.S. Together, these recorded languages represent more than 222 million people on five continents. Of the eight language groups represented, FCBH notes that the Koma language is the smallest with only 3,800 people. Experts report that there is not a single literate person among this group. About 70 percent of the world’s population is part of an oral culture and live in poverty. That means access to God’s Word can be out of their reach. FCBH establishes Bible-listening groups in order to begin their evangelization. The ministry’s goal is to record audio Bibles in 2,000 languages by 2016. RELIGIOUS LEADERS PRAISE SOUTH AFRICAN APARTHEID FIGHTER HELEN SUZMAN Sources: Ecumenical News International, The New York Times Religious leaders praised Helen Suzman, for many years a lone liberal crusader against apartheid in South Africa’s parliament, and who died on New Year’s Day. She was 91. “She was a true heroine who contributed to our country’s peaceful transition when many predicted a racial bloodbath. South Africa is poorer without her,” said Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town. Suzman served in an all-white parliament in South Africa in a time when repressive features of apartheid were developed. Relying on her parliamentary immunity, she spoke out when other means of protest were harshly suppressed. She advocated peaceful change and challenged more radical campaigners’ support of economic sanctions against South Africa to press its white leaders to abandon apartheid. Suzman said such sanctions would hurt poor blacks more than whites, prompting critics to accuse her of prolonging, not helping end, apartheid. BAPTIST WORLD ALLIANCE RESPONDS TO LETTER FROM MUSLIM LEADERS Source: Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) has issued a formal response to “A Common Word Between Us and You,” a letter written by 138 Muslim leaders and scholars that appealed for Christians and Muslims to cooperate in engendering peace and religious freedom. BWA President David Coffey was among 27 Christian leaders who received the letter more than a year ago in October 2007. Coffey welcomed the letter from the Muslim scholars and leaders as possibly initiating what could become “a major contribution to a better understanding in Christian-Muslim relations, the cause of religious liberty and global peace.” The response from Coffey said in part, “As Baptists, we are aware of the need for better understanding between Christians and Muslims and our response represents an effort to give expression to this commitment.” BRITISH MISSIONARIES SENTENCED TO A YEAR OF HARD LABOR IN GAMBIA Sources: BBC, Guardian, The Mail, TimesOnline, Telegraph British missionaries David and Fiona Fulton were sentenced in late December to one year in prison with hard labor after pleading guilty to sedition charges in a court in the West African country of Gambia. The couple had been advised to admit the sedition charge in the hope that the judge might show leniency, according to their U.K. pastor, Martin Speed, of Westhoughton Pentecostal Church in Bolton. One media account, TimesOnline, claimed the Fultons referred to Gambian President Yayha Jammeh as a madman. The Mail, meanwhile, cites Principal Magistrate Edrissa Mbai as quoting from a September e-mail message with the subject line, “Hell in the Gambia.” The West African country is described as “sinking fast into a morass of Islam.” At a packed courtroom in the capital, Banjul, Mbai told the couple that their communiqués had not shown sufficient respect for Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup. The Fultons were arrested in late November. In their plea, they said they wrote the e-mail messages but denied any criminal intent. Along with the jail term, the Fultons each received a maximum fine of 250,000 dalasis (US$9,394). Britain’s Foreign Office said it was seeking clarification on what “hard labor” would constitute. It is thought to involve agricultural work as one of the country’s main products is peanuts. Their lawyer said that they did not plan to appeal but were hoping for a pardon. The couple met 20 years ago when David was serving a sentence for armed robbery in Devon, England, and Fiona was a prison visitor who spoke to inmates about Christianity. They have lived in Gambia for 12 years. Fulton established a branch of the Christian organization, Prison Fellowship International (PFI). A 2004 PFI article states that he was banned from the Gambian prison system when an inmate claimed he was trying to convert prisoners. He was subsequently offered the position of chaplain to the Gambian military. Jammeh’s record on human rights and civil freedoms has been questioned after a crackdown on anyone who criticizes the government. There have been six coup attempts during his 14-year rule. Although the country is constitutionally secular, the population is 90-percent Muslim. The couple’s two-year-old adopted daughter, Elizabeth, is being cared for by a friend at the Fultons’ home near Gambia’s capital. It is understood that arrangements are being made to fly her to Britain. David’s children from an earlier marriage are in the U.K. © Copyright 2008 - HCJB Global - Colorado Springs, CO USA |
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