We Persevere: Week Ending 10.7.16

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.” (Proverbs 31:8)

We Persevere is a roundup of items of interest concerning religious freedom at home and abroad. It is curated for RAANetwork by K.A. Ellis, Ambassador for International Christian Response.

WORLD: November brings us the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church, with events happening the whole month. Now’s the best time to think about incorporating ideas and media from these sites into your services: http://christianresponse.org and http://idop.org/web/ 

NIGERIA: Former US Representative Frank Wolf, who is now senior fellow at the human rights organization 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, visited Nigeria in February to witness what the U.N. has called “the most neglected humanitarian crisis in the world.” According to Rep. Wolf, “Whole areas in the northeast have been cleansed of Christians, and now Boko Haram is killing Muslims who do not hold to their extreme interpretation.” Learn more about this grossly underreported crisis…

NIGERIA: Leadership Newspaper shows its concern and support for the abducted Chibok girls by listing them as its 2015 Young Persons of the Year. According to organizers of the award, Leadership, the Chibok girls made the list of awardees because of their symbolic role as an open wound in the nation’s fight against terrorism. Read more…

CHINA: China released a draft of new religious restrictions in September, including the prohibition of online religious services, running religious events in schools, and organizing people to leave the country to attend religious training or conferences. This means both official and house churches now face a much bigger threat than the ongoing “cross removal campaign.” Read more…

PAKISTAN: Christians protest Jim Crow-like conditions – discrimination, extremism, & religion-based violence – outside of Geneva’s UN Headquarters. Read more…

KENYA: Al-Shabab murders 6 Christians in Northeastern Kenya in an effort to ‘force them out of the region.’ The grenade and gun attack was launched on a residential block in Mandera town when people were sleeping, marking the latest in a spate of deadly attacks targeting Christians in the region. Read more…