Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at your Church
Stories of Christians in action, both at home and around the world
- New reports have highlighted continuing concern over Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, eight months after Asia Bibi was finally allowed to leave the country. The reports came from sources as diverse as the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCRIF) and Humanists International. The USCIRF reports there are still 80 people in Pakistan imprisoned on blasphemy charges....Eight months since Asia Bibi fled Pakistan, blasphemy laws still cause for concern
- Chinese authorities have forced a church in Jiangxi province to paint over its name and replace it with a communist slogan, “Follow the Party, Obey the Party, and Be Grateful to the Party,” amid increasing attempts by officials to ‘sinicise’ (make Chinese) Christianity. Late last year The True and Original Source of the Universe church...Church ordered to replace name sign with political slogan
- As late last year Islamic State released a video claiming to show the killing of 11 Christians in Nigeria, persecution watchdog Release International named Nigeria as a country of special concern for 2020. Other persecution hotspots are likely to include Iran, Iraq, China and India. A splinter group of Boko Haram produced the video claiming...Nigeria named as key Christian persecution hotspot in 2020
- Church Action on Poverty Sunday takes place later this month. Many of us want to help the poor, but the challenges are huge. ‘Good News for the poor’ – that was what Jesus promised – and the crowd flocked to hear it. But He didn’t promise to abolish poverty. ‘The poor you always have with...Church Action on Poverty Sunday – 23rd February
- Young people who go to church are less likely to struggle with anxiety than those who do not go to church (22% compared to 33%.) Fewer church goers are also lonely and isolated (16% compared to 31 %) In a survey almost one third of all young people reported feeling sad or depressed; this was...Anxious and lonely? Come to church!
- Perhaps you have been ‘gossiping the gospel’ for years? Maybe you even lead a small group, or are passionate about community outreach? Or – perhaps you feel a quiver of panic at the very thought of talking about your faith. Society seems to be hostile, and so you struggle to know how to engage with...How do you feel about sharing your faith?
- New research carried out by Church Mission Society has explored the relationship between mission, theology and business. And it has found that mission entrepreneurship is having a significant impact, in both churches and across local communities. ‘Make Good’, part of CMS’s training programme, explores the relationship between mission and enterprise, and helps students to set...New research highlights how mission entrepreneurs are being trained
- Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2020 Holocaust Memorial Day – 75 years since Auschwitz World Leprosy Sunday – 26th January Silence can be golden – as long as the transmitters don’t cut out! Garden recycling project needs your old tools China: growing religious persecution Looking for clergy in need of financial support Yoga and...Looking at your Church (all articles) for January 2020
- ‘Unusual kindness’ is the unusual name for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (18th to 25th January). The materials for the week have been prepared by the Christian churches in Malta and Gozo (Christians Together in Malta). ‘Unusual kindness’ is found in the book of Acts. The phrase refers to the warm welcome...Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2020
- This year Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) marks 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It also marks the 25th anniversary of the Genocide in Bosnia. Both dates are worth remembering. And it is also a time to thank God for all the various people who did whatever they could at the time to defend the...Holocaust Memorial Day – 75 years since Auschwitz
- World Leprosy Day aims to raise awareness and knowledge of this horrific disease. The good news is that nowadays, it can in fact be cured, and so it is vital to change attitudes that stigmatise the people affected. Many churches and groups across the country will hold their own local Leprosy Sunday sometime between 26...World Leprosy Sunday – 26th January
- Political parties often describe themselves as ‘broad churches’, by which they mean that they are able to accommodate widely differing views. The title was first applied to the Church of England, where some churches are so ‘Catholic’ that they would make the Pope himself feel like a Protestant, and where the noisiest and most exuberant...Silence can be golden – as long as the transmitters don’t cut out!