2 CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN INDIA ATTACKED IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS

UKRAINIAN CHRISTIANS JOIN IN PROTEST AGAINST ELECTION RESULTS

RELIGIOUS TENSIONS RISE IN EGYPT AFTER ALLEGED FORCED CONVERSION

‘HAITI AT THE CROSS’ OUTREACH PRESENTS GOSPEL TO THOUSANDS

PAPUA NEW GUINEA TRIBE TO RECEIVE NEW TESTAMENT TRANSLATION

ARABIC SATELLITE TV MINISTRY NAMES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Today’s News Stories:

2 CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN INDIA ATTACKED IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS The Zenit news service reported separate incidents of violence against two Catholic churches in India early this month. On Friday, Dec. 3, vandals broke into St. Francis of Assisi Church in Mathal, Tamal Nadu. They destroyed the door and windows along with the statue of St. Francis outside the church. Previously, the church had received threats from a militant Islamic group called Byath. Father Perpetual expressed surprise at the violence, saying that the Hindus, Christians and Muslims in that area had always lived in peace. Two days later, Naxalite rebels ransacked and burned down the Church of Matha Mary in the village of Pusnar in the state of Chattisgarh. Bishop Simon Stock Palathra said the Maoist Naxali rebels do not want the people to become either Christian or Hindu, but to “retain their tribal culture.” (Voice of the Martyrs)

UKRAINIAN CHRISTIANS JOIN IN PROTEST AGAINST ELECTION RESULTS Ukrainian Baptists and other Christians have joined hundreds of thousands of protesters in the streets of Kiev to demonstrate against of the recent presidential election favoring pro-Moscow Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich. Rev. Victor Kulbich, general secretary of the country’s Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, said many people have set up camps in the streets as bases for prayer and evangelism. “Many churches have sent their representatives to the demonstrations in order to be there and defend the truth, and of course to witness to people about Jesus,” he said. They are supplying protesters with hot drinks and food to see them through the cold weather, and distributing pamphlets and New Testaments. “Every morning the whole crowd prays the Lord’s prayer, and there are lots of Christians singing,” he said. Yanukovich has publicly stated that he will tolerate no church other than the Russian Orthodox Church. A second run-off presidential election is set for Sunday, Dec. 26. (News Bytes/Baptist Times)

* HCJB World Radio has worked with local churches to establish radio ministries in Kiev and four other cities in Ukraine. Stations in three Ukrainian cities are also affiliated with New Life Radio, a Russian satellite radio network started with HCJB World Radio’s help in 2000. In addition, daily programs air to Ukraine via shortwave.

RELIGIOUS TENSIONS RISE IN EGYPT AFTER ALLEGED FORCED CONVERSION Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt burst onto the public stage last week after allegations by Coptic Christians of forced conversion to Islam triggered demonstrations in Cairo. Sectarian friction was also reported in the provinces of Upper Egypt. Mohamed Said, deputy director of the state-run al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, said a number of minor events in the last six months such as mutual accusations of forced conversion and wrangling over the construction of religious edifices have roused emotions on both sides of the sectarian divide. On Dec. 5-6, longstanding resentment exploded as hundreds of Coptic Christians, Egypt’s largest Christian denomination, staged angry protests in Cairo and in the west delta province of Beheira. The demonstrations were sparked by the alleged abduction and forced conversion to Islam of the wife of a Coptic priest. About 55 people were injured while 34 Christian demonstrators were arrested for allegedly attacking police during the disturbances. In light of the unrest, Pope Shenouda of the Coptic Church in Egypt called for a three-day fast Dec. 15-17. (WorldWide Religious News/Inter Press Service/ Jericho Walls International)

‘HAITI AT THE CROSS’ OUTREACH PRESENTS GOSPEL TO THOUSANDS New Directions International and Promised Keepers recently finished “Haiti at the Cross,” a series of spiritual enrichment events Dec. 8-12 to help free the Haitian people from 200 years of bondage to voodoo. Haiti at the Cross reached thousands of Haitians with the gospel message through special events in the National Stadium, the Haitian White House, a central plaza in the capital and via radio and TV broadcasts. Speakers included J.L. Williams, president and chief executive officer of New Directions; Tom Fortson, president and chief executive officer of Promise Keepers; and former Major League Baseball pitcher Dave Dravecky. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the voodoo ceremony when witchdoctors sold the country to Satan in exchange for freedom from slavery. “Haiti is poised for unprecedented revival,” Williams said. “We must act decisively to seize this moment for the kingdom and initiate a new era in Haiti — one in which the people will not be bound by the evils of voodoo, but rather satisfied by the joys of being in Christ.” (New Directions International)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA TRIBE TO RECEIVE NEW TESTAMENT TRANSLATION With more than 700 indigenous languages in Papua New Guinea, Bible translation is an ongoing task to reach people with the gospel. Missionaries with New Tribes Mission are working with the Aziana people in the highland region of Papua to complete a translation of the New Testament and parts of the Old Testament. “These people need to have . . . Bible in their mother tongue too,” says ministry spokesman Mike Henderson. “Even though there’s only 1,000 of these people, they mean a lot to God.” The common trade language had previously been used to reach the Aziana people, but there were misunderstandings about who God is. With the Bible in their own language, it is a “much better way of communicating,” Henderson says. In addition to translating the Scriptures, missionaries have taught the Aziana people how to read and write, and trained teachers to teach these skills to the young people. (Mission Network News)

* Staff members from the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind., are working with partners in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, to design and build a satellite radio network with at least 32 outlets planned. The first outlet went on the air in Port Moresby in 2002. Together with Wycliffe Bible Translators, HCJB World Radio also helped plant a Christian FM radio station in Kitai in 1996.

ARABIC SATELLITE TV MINISTRY NAMES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SAT-7, a Christian Arabic satellite television service for North Africa and the Middle East, has named Debbie Brink as its new executive director for North America. She was appointed to the position following the resignation of Ron Ensminger who served in that capacity for nine years. Brink has worked with Christian mission agencies for 25 years, including SAT-7 for the past three years as vice president and chief development officer. Under Ensimger’s leadership, SAT-7 grew into a network viewed by 5 to 7 million people. Ensminger leaves SAT-7 to become managing partner of the Strategic Resource Group in Flagstaff, Ariz. Board Chair Ray Padron noted that Ensminger “almost single-handedly built SAT-7’s North American operations from scratch, and we look forward to future partnerships with him in his new role with Strategic Resource Group.” SAT-7 is one of the ministries in the group’s portfolio. (Mission Network News)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 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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