LIFESTORY: ERITREAN CHRISTIAN MAN FACES MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES AFTER 13 YEARS IN PRISON
“Shiden” spent 13 years in prison in Eritrea for his Christian faith, during which time he was tortured. World Watch Monitor reports on the challenges he continues to face following his release…
Gospel singer Edwin Hawkins – best known for ‘Oh Happy Day’ – dies at the age of 74
US Gospel singer Edwin Hawkins – best known for his hit Oh Happy Day – has died at the age of 74. Mr Hawkins died in his hometown of Pleasanton in California on Monday. He had been treated for pancreatic cancer. The singer, along with the likes of Andrae Crouch, is credited as one of […]
Iranian pastor’s wife joins husband in jail
World Watch Monitor Shamiram Isavi Khabizeh PICTURE: Article 18 The wife of an Iranian pastor sentenced to 10 years in jail has been given a five-year sentence of her own. Shamiram Isavi Khabizeh, the wife of Victor Bet-Tamraz, was convicted of “acting against national security and against the regime by organising small groups, attending a seminary […]
PRAYER: EXPERIENCING AWE AND INTIMACY WITH GOD
For January and February, 2018, we’re reading Timothy Keller’s book, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with GodTo buy the book, follow this link – Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God.
Only about a third of Protestant churches in US offer online giving option, study finds
Only about a third of Protestant churches in the US offer the option to give online, according to new data from LifeWay Research. The US-based research company said a phone survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors showed that only about 30 per cent of their churches offered online giving, up from 14 per cent in 2010. […]
With rebel ceasefire in tatters, fears of fresh displacement in Colombia, warns UN
Thomson Reuters Foundation Thousands of Colombians risk being forced from their homes amid renewed violence after the expiry of a ceasefire between the country’s ELN rebel group and the government, the United Nations and aid groups warned on Monday. The National Liberation Army (ELN) leftist guerrilla group and the government of President Juan Manuel Santos […]
CLEANING THE TOILET
It’s strange – when I go to clean the toilet these days it feels like it’s going to be an all day affair. PICTURE: Amy Reed/Unsplash I get all the stuff I need. A few hour long podcasts to listen to, then I go for it, only to find, I’m finished in no time at […]
Sinai militants pledge to ‘kill more Copts’ after murdering man over cross tattoo in Egypt
World Watch Monitor Bassem Herz Attalhah was 27. PICTURE: World Watch Monitor Militants belonging to the ‘State of Sinai’ group in Egypt have promised to “kill more Copts” after murdering a 27-year-old Coptic man because of the tattoo of a cross on his wrist. Bassem Herz Attalhah, also known as Haythem Shehata, was on his […]
ESSAY: MEET THE THEOLOGIAN WHO HELPED MLK SEE THE VALUE OF NON-VIOLENCE
As the US marks Martin Luther King Jr Day, PAUL HARVEY, professor of American History at the University of Colorado, looks – in an article first published on The Conversation – at the relationship between Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, and theologian and mystic Howard Thurman…
EGYPT: “NO SINGLE MINUTE IS INVESTED IN VAIN” – HOW A DOCTOR PROMOTES RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE VIA HEALTH WORK
In an article first published by the World Council of Churches, KATJA DOROTHEA BUCK reports on the work of Egyptian doctor Freddy Elbaiady in building bridges between Christians and Muslims…