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Headlines for Wednesday, Dec. 17:

ANOTHER CATHOLIC PRIEST ASSASSINATED IN ARAUCA, COLOMBIA MOSCOW CITY OFFICIAL INSISTS CHURCH BUILDING SALE WAS LEGAL RUSSIA MAY BE REVERTING TO DICTATORIAL WAYS MINISTRY AIMS TO TRAIN 120,000 BIBLE INSTRUCTORS WORLDWIDE THEFT AT FLORIDA CHURCH’S FUND-RAISER BECOMES ‘BLESSING IN DISGUISE’ * HCJB WORLD RADIO-UK WINS ANOTHER TOP AWARD FOR EASTER PROGRAM

News Stories for Wednesday, Dec. 17:

ANOTHER CATHOLIC PRIEST ASSASSINATED IN ARAUCA, COLOMBIA The bullet-riddled body of the second priest murdered in less than three weeks in Colombia’s volatile Arauca department was found Nov. 21 on a street near the community where he ministered. Jos © Rubin Rodr ­guez, 51, was kidnapped at a roadblock Nov. 14, news sources reported. Arauca Bishop Carlos Germ ¡n Mesa says that military intelligence and local citizens believe the 10th front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

killed him. On Nov. 4 Saulo Carre ±o, parish priest of Christ the King Church in Saravena, was shot and killed after leaving a hospital where he ministered to sick parishioners. Asked whether he believed the two killings indicate that priests are now military objectives, Mesa said, “This is what I’ve been wondering, but what would the reason be? We haven’t given anybody a reason to wage war against us. We serve the community and preach the gospel.” (Compass)

MOSCOW CITY OFFICIAL INSISTS CHURCH BUILDING SALE WAS LEGAL The senior official of Moscow’s justice department has failed to explain why it amended the founding document of the Kwan Lim Methodist Church in Moscow last year without the knowledge of the church, resulting in the building being “sold” to new owners. These owners have used guards to seize the building with the pastor and church officials holed up inside. Aleksandr Buksman, head of the local city registration department for religious organizations, said the demands of Russia’s religion law were “fully observed by the religious organization.” This claim is “strongly disputed” by church officials who say no valid church meeting took place and that those who registered the amended founding document had done so after a meeting not authorized by the church, not involving church members and not held on church premises. Buksman said the internal affairs department for Moscow’s Northern Administrative Region launched a criminal case on Oct. 30 last year into accusations of “large-scale swindling” regarding the church building. Svetlana Kim, church administrator, said the church is doing all it can to resolve the issue peacefully through negotiation. Maksim Zubov, an official from the federal Justice Ministry, said his department would investigate the issue with the Moscow city justice department, and noted that “no one has the right to change the founding document of a religious organization without its knowledge.” (Forum 18 News Service)

RUSSIA MAY BE REVERTING TO DICTATORIAL WAYS Evangelical Christian groups are concerned the Russian government may be heading back to their dictatorial ways. Victory in the recent election by those loyal to President Vladimir Putin means Russia’s major voices of democracy will be absent from the next parliament. Surgey Rakhuba of Russian Ministries says this raises serious concerns. “Putin controls the parliament, and at the same time he has an unlimited executive power in Russia today. It gives him a chance to change the constitution and take further action in this regard.” Rakhuba says this could ultimately lead to the end of foreign missionary work in Russia. “Our main goal is to train nationals to do this ministry if anything happens,” he says. “Then if the door for foreign ministry would close in Russia, we are able to say that we’ve trained enough national leaders to carry this ministry further.” (Mission Network News)

MINISTRY AIMS TO TRAIN 120,000 BIBLE INSTRUCTORS WORLDWIDE When Walk Thru the Bible launched its international branch in 1998, setting a goal to train one Bible instructor for every 50,000 people worldwide, skeptics called the challenge “lofty.” With a world population of about 6 billion, that works out to about 120,000 teachers. Phil Tuttle, Walk Thru the Bible’s vice president for international ministries, says that while the goal may appear to be overly ambitious — especially in countries resistant to the gospel — it is attainable. “In the last five years we’ve trained 35,000 teachers in 82 countries,” he says. “We have materials available in more than 40 languages. In 2003 we can document that more than 3 million people have been through at least one of our courses.” This came despite a 40-percent drop in giving to the ministry and increased pressure on Christians around the globe. “Obviously there’s a lot of religious persecution in some places around the world such as India and parts of the Middle East. The people who are teaching our materials are taking a great risk.” (Mission Network News/Walk Thru the Bible)

THEFT AT FLORIDA CHURCH’S FUND-RAISER BECOMES ‘BLESSING IN DISGUISE’ A theft that occurred at a Florida church’s fund-raiser became a blessing in disguise for the nondenominational congregation. After accepting a free meal the week before Thanksgiving at Community Deliverance Church in Palm Beach, two unidentified teenagers snatched a cash box containing $200, taking advantage of pastor William James Bouie’s generosity, The Palm Beach Post reported. However, thanks to publicity from local media, Community Deliverance has received more than $2,500 in donations with many of the gifts coming from anonymous donors who wanted to replace the stolen money collected at the church’s weekly benefit cookout. “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can,” wrote a couple from West Palm Beach, who attached a short poem to a check for $300. Bouie said the 130-member congregation has been “blessed because of the incident.” Some of the donated money was used to deliver Thanksgiving dinner baskets to about a dozen families in the community. The church is raising funds for a planned $230,000 building expansion. (Charisma News Service)

* HCJB WORLD RADIO-UK WINS ANOTHER TOP AWARD FOR EASTER PROGRAM Colin Lowther, a program producer at HCJB World Radio-UK, has won a second prestigious award for his Easter program, “Tears in Heaven,” that first aired on West Yorkshire station Pulse Classic Gold on Good Friday. He won the Sandford St. Martin Trust Radio Awards premier prize worth  £2,000 (US$3,524), presented by the Church of England on Tuesday, Nov. 25.

The winning program focused on the story of Paul Bailey, a Bradford man who lost his 7-year-old son, Robert, when a driver accidentally struck him on a crosswalk. Bailey said he was ready to kill the woman, but asked Jesus to help him ultimately forgive her instead. The special feature told his story through voices and music.

“We all needed to sit quietly for a moment at the end of it to gather ourselves,” said Chairman Paul Brown at the awards ceremony at Lambeth Palace in London. “It goes straight to the heart of the listener and the heart of Christian faith. At the end of our two-day listen, my colleagues gave me their notes. Only this program made one of them write ‘Yippee!’ and another, ‘Fab!'”

Eric Clapton’s song written after the death of his son, Conor, provided the theme for the winning program. The awards were presented by Lord Gordon of Strathblane, chairman of Scottish Radio Holdings and trustee of the John Smith Memorial Trust, along with the trust’s chairman, Rev. Nigel McCulloch. The Sandford St. Martin Trust was set up in 1978 to encourage excellence in religious broadcasting.

Lowther, who presents “The Full Breakfast” show Sunday mornings on Pulse Classic Gold, said while it was an honor to receive the award, but he was “especially pleased” for Bailey. “Even though he’s been through some terrible tragedies in his life, God has always pulled him through, and I know it means a lot to him for his story to be recognized in this way.”

The runner-up also dealt with the theme of bereaved parents. In “Cornwall Celebrates: The Compassionate Friend,” several parents living in the county discussed their experiences as producer/presenter Naomi Rowe of BBC Radio Cornwall explained how their faith had helped them cope.

HCJB World Radio-UK has captured numerous awards for radio programs in recent years. In 2002 Lowther received a merit award from Sandford St. Martin Trust. Since 1997 he has won the Easter on Independent Local Radio (ILR) Award five times, including first prize for “Tears in Heaven,” presented on Sept. 24, 2003. He also captured the Christmas on ILR Award in 2000. “The Full Breakfast” program took the Andrew Cross Award for best music-based religious output. Sandra Coleman garnered a New Century Radio Award in 2001 for her creative “Thoughts in Shorts” program. (HCJB World Radio/Sandford St. Martin Trust)

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio U.S. Ministries Communications Director E-mail: Phone: 1-719-590-9800 Fax: 1-719-590-9801 Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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