Today’s Headlines: CHURCHES SERVE AS SHELTERS IN SOUTHERN U.S. AS KATRINA BLOWS THROUGH MOB OF HINDU EXTREMISTS ATTACKS PRAYER MEETING IN INDIA CENSORSHIP OF E-MAIL MESSAGES PUTS CHINESE CHRISTIANS AT RISK CHINESE MISSIONARIES DISPLAY PASSION TO SPREAD GOSPEL WORLDWIDE ‘GOGO’ GRANDMOTHERS WORK TOGETHER TO HELP AIDS ORPHANS IN AFRICA

Today’s News Stories:

CHURCHES SERVE AS SHELTERS IN SOUTHERN U.S. AS KATRINA BLOWS THROUGH Baptist churches and association buildings across the region affected by Hurricane Katrina have been opened as shelters for those fleeing the storm which made landfall near Grand Isles, La., early Monday, Aug. 29, as 140-mph winds battering the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary President Chuck Kelley issued a mandatory evacuation for everyone on campus Saturday morning as Katrina approached.

Parkway Baptist Church in Natchez, Miss., is housing about 350 people, mostly from the New Orleans area. Jason Cole, an associate pastor at the church, told Baptist Press about 40 church members have joined forces with the Red Cross to provide food and medical assistance. First Baptist Church in Orange, Texas, is serving as a shelter for 115 people, according to Pam King, the church’s financial secretary. About 50 people sought refuge at Southside Baptist Church in Mansfield, La.

The Clarke County Baptist Association in Quitman, Miss., on the state’s eastern boarder was prepared to house up to 70 people. Among other churches serving as shelters during the storm were Antioch Baptist Church, First Baptist Church and Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Florien, La.; Hornbeck Baptist Church in Hornbeck, La.; First Baptist Church and Southside Baptist Church in Mansfield, La.; First Baptist Church in Kosciusko, Miss.; North Carrollton Baptist Church in Greenwood, Miss.; First Baptist Church in Purvis, Miss.; and Seventh and James Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.

Meanwhile, Michigan-based International Aid is ready to ship relief supplies to what may be the most devastating hurricane to hit New Orleans in a generation. Spokesman Myles Fish says temporary shelters are normally set up to help thousands for a short period, but with a storm like Katrina, the survivors may be homeless for an extended period of time. “We will be providing what we call ‘disaster relief kits’ with things for personal hygiene, first-aid supplies and some medical supplies. But then, we’ll also be involved later on in the progress of the tragedy and helping to do clean up with volunteer support.”

As for sharing the hope of Christ in crisis, Fish says that’s why the ministry is working with local Christian partners. “Our strategy is that we will contribute our supplies and our efforts as a means for that local church to reach out and touch its own local community. So we’ll be working in partnership with local churches in the affected areas so that they can have ministry resources to provide to the people of their communities.”

Tractor trailers from Operation Blessing’s Hunger Strike Force are also en route to the affected areas, full of food and emergency relief supplies that were donated by corporations. (Religion Today/Baptist Press/Mission Network News/Operation Blessing International)

MOB OF HINDU EXTREMISTS ATTACKS PRAYER MEETING IN INDIA A mob of Hindu extremists violently attacked a prayer meeting in the town of Indore in India’s north-central state of Madhya Pradesh Sunday, Aug. 21. At least 10 people, including women and a 2-year-old child, were injured. The attack appeared to target Jagdish and Grace Nayak, independent Christian workers who are awaiting trial on charges of forced conversion. “About 50 people allegedly belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) threw stones at the prayer room where about 15 people were praying, and beat them up,” said Indira Iyengar, a member of the Madhya Pradesh State Minorities Commission. The attackers ransacked the room, tearing Bibles to pieces, and brutally beat up the Nayaks and their infant child. Three of the attackers were identified, though at press time they remained at large. (Compass)

CENSORSHIP OF E-MAIL MESSAGES PUTS CHINESE CHRISTIANS AT RISK Chinese sources have reported widespread phone tapping, interference with e-mails and Internet censorship in mainland China. Representatives of the China Internet Project at the University of California at Berkeley shared their concerns about Internet censorship before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in April. Member Xiao Qiang pointed out, “The [Chinese] government . . . is expending significant resources to maintain control over both Internet content and public access to that content.” Xiao added that all Internet traffic in China passes through six gateways that are tightly controlled by government agencies. These gateways are protected by a firewall that screens any incoming content deemed “undesirable” for a Chinese audience. “In effect,” Xiao said, “the Internet in China is really a nationwide intranet (internal network) with limited and government-controlled access to the global Internet.” Internet police in more than 700 centers monitor websites and e-mail for “heretical teachings or feudal superstitions” and information that is “harmful to the dignity or interests of the state.” They also use software to detect key words in e-mails and Internet downloads and to trace “subversive” messages back to the computers from which they were sent. China has passed several laws since 1994 to regulate the content of the Internet. “Illegal content,” however, is vaguely defined, putting Christians at the mercy of local officials who may or may not approve of Christian references in e-mail or Internet postings. (Compass)

CHINESE MISSIONARIES DISPLAY PASSION TO SPREAD GOSPEL WORLDWIDE Christians in China are demonstrating a passion to spread the gospel not only in their own country, but around the world. One of their strategies is to follow the Silk Road from China through the Muslim world and back to Jerusalem. It’s a village church movement that’s long been growing, but the church lacks resources and training, says Johhny Li of Open Doors. The outreach now has 10 Chinese missionaries on the field. “Mentally, we are in the preparation, and we have a great desire, but slowly. And for us, sending out 10 missionaries today is a big job already.” There may be few missionaries right now, but, Li says, “Behind that, there are more than 100,000 people. I’ve talked to hundreds of people . . . and I think the desire is within the church of China.” (Mission Network News)

‘GOGO’ GRANDMOTHERS WORK TOGETHER TO HELP AIDS ORPHANS IN AFRICA “In Malawi there are 1 million orphans because of AIDS,” says Charlotte Day, a grandmother to 11 grandchildren who started Gogo Grandmothers, a grassroots organization of grandmothers who support African grandmothers who find themselves caring for AIDS orphans. Day and her husband, Dick, have lived in Africa since deciding to stay after a sabbatical in 1990. They promote Christ-centered educational initiatives throughout the region to meet the pandemic. A survey was taken in six small villages which found 104 orphans being cared for by 39 grandmothers. Feeling a sense of compassion for their predicament, Day invited the grandmothers to meet as a group. “We read the Bible together and talked about issues important to their lives,” she said. They began to meet regularly, discussing issues such as nutrition, child discipline and other matters relevant to women facing such a challenge. Then she organized a group of well-educated grandmothers from the city as support. They raised funds to provide blankets before the cold season arrived, and they adopted an unusual name for themselves: the Gogo Grandmothers, taken from the Chichewa word for grandmother — “gogo.” Charlotte has also started two Gogo groups at churches in the U.S. “The main idea is to pray for the grandmothers because many of them don’t know the Lord, and they need His help in raising these children,” she said. (Assist News Service)

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