With pilgrimages on hold, Holy Land Easter programming fills a gap
United States RNS Holy Week is typically a time when church groups flock to Israel to walk in the way of Jesus before his crucifixion in Jerusalem. But not this year. With the Hamas attack on Israel on 7th October, and the fierce ground assault on Gaza that has followed, most US church groups are […]
Franklin Graham tours devastation in Israel, commits to helping rebuild
RNS Franklin Graham, who leads the Christian humanitarian relief organisation Samaritan’s Purse, has seen war zones from Iraq to Ukraine. On his way to Israel last week to assess the damage from the 7th October Hamas terrorist attack, he was prepared to offer the country 14 ambulances to replace ambulances compromised or destroyed in the […]
Samaritan’s Purse sends 52-bed field hospital to Antakya, Turkey
United StatesRNS In the wake of what may be Turkey’s deadliest earthquake, Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian humanitarian relief organization, announced it would send a 52-bed emergency field hospital to the city of Antakya, historically known as Antioch. The organisation, run by founder and president Rev Franklin Graham, said it will also send more than 100 […]
From shoeboxes to war zones: How Samaritan’s Purse became a $US1 billion humanitarian aid powerhouse
YONAT SHIMRON and BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, report on how Samaritan’s Purse, one of the largest US non-profits, has grown largely through frontline work in public health crises and natural disasters around the world…
Franklin Graham writes to Putin, Zelenskiy to ask for a ceasefire during Holy Week
RNS Fresh from a two-day visit to Ukraine, the Rev. Franklin Graham said he wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to ask for a ceasefire in the war in observance of Holy Week in the Western and Eastern Christian churches, which together span from 10th to 24th April. Graham visited […]
Samaritan’s Purse, Israelis will treat Ukrainians in Lviv field hospitals
RNS Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian humanitarian relief organisation, is setting up an emergency field hospital in an underground parking garage in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv to provide medical aid to those besieged in escalating Russian attacks. Rev Franklin Graham, who leads the organisation based in Boone, North Carolina, in the US, said he […]
Franklin Graham sends disaster response teams to Europe; says he opposes war
RNS Rev Franklin Graham said his Christian humanitarian relief organisation was sending disaster response teams to Poland, Romania and Moldova to assess how it can meet the needs of Ukrainians fleeing their country. Graham said at least 24 Samaritan’s Purse personnel will be on the ground in those countries bordering Ukraine this weekend. “First of […]
Faith-based disaster relief teams fan out across six US states to help tornado recovery
RNS Faith-based disaster relief teams are already working in several of the areas hardest hit by devastating tornadoes that tore through six states on Friday. On Monday, 74 people were confirmed dead across eight counties in Kentucky, and another 13 died in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois. Dozens more are unaccounted for. President Biden […]
US evangelist Franklin Graham undergoes heart surgery at Mayo Clinic
Boome, North Carolina, USAP Evangelist Franklin Graham successfully underwent a specialised heart surgery on Monday to treat a condition which had developed in recent months, a spokesman said. In this 7th May, 2020, file photo, the Rev. Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, sits for a portrait at his group’s field hospital in […]
Faith-based disaster relief groups balance COVID safety with speedy response to Hurricane Ida
RNS In the wake of Hurricane Ida, faith-based disaster relief groups are assessing damage, setting up mobile kitchens and preparing to send skilled volunteers to Louisiana, Mississippi and other states hit hard by the storm. Those groups began putting equipment and supplies into place before Ida made landfall on Sunday and have kept in constant […]