Today’s Headlines:

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES REPORT MIRACLES IN NORTHEASTERN INDIA

BOLIVIA’S NEW PRESIDENT CONSIDERS LIMITS TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS

Today’s Top Stories:

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES REPORT MIRACLES IN NORTHEASTERN INDIA

Presbyterian leaders in the northeastern Indian states of Meghalaya and Mizoram — surrounded by Muslims in Bangladesh and Buddhists in Myanmar — are saying there have been numerous miracles that could point to a religious reawakening in the region. One church in Meghalaya’s capital city of Shillong reported a cross glowing and radiating the image of Jesus, resulting in a steady stream of devotees. This, along with reports of school students “convulsing, behaving abnormally and even fainting,” prompted Presbyterian spokesman Rev. Laldawngliana to say, “The Holy Spirit is here to reawaken people” and point to similar events that sparked a revival in the region 100 years ago. The region has many historical ties to the Presbyterian Church in Wales which founded the denomination in India in 1841 through missionary Thomas Jones. Previous revivals in the region have coincided with reawakenings in Wales. Of late, the connection has been reversed as two priests from India were sent to Wales to help fill a “spiritual void” after a 2001 study showed less than one in 10 Welsh people attended church. (WorldWide Religious News/BBC News)

BOLIVIA’S NEW PRESIDENT CONSIDERS LIMITS TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS

Christians in Bolivia are awaiting the results of possible changes in the law ushered in with new socialist President Juan Evo Morales Ayma. Popularly known as Evo, the president claims to be the first minority tribal head of state since the Spanish conquest more than 470 years ago. He has commissioned more than 200 men and women to study the revamping or rewriting of the country’s constitution. One possible change could limit freedom of religion, and have a dramatic impact on outreaches such as Grace Ministries International (GMI) which runs private Christian schools. “Some of the issues that have been brought up, and especially one that would be very detrimental to the Christian churches would be the idea that there’d be no more private schools,” said GMI’s Sam Vinton. “All our schools would be . . . taken over by the government. We would not only lose the schools per se, but it would be a matter that Christian teaching could not be taught because schools would be under the authority of the government where none of those biblical teachings would be allowed.” While nothing has been decided yet, GMI and other similar ministries are asking for prayer. (Mission Network News)