Today’s Headlines:

CHRISTIANS FAST AFTER THREATS TO RADIO STATION IN KENYA

CHINESE HOUSE CHURCH PRESSURED TO JOIN ‘OFFICIAL’ CHURCH

MUSLIMS IN SOMALI TOWN VOW TO BEHEAD THOSE WHO DON’T PRAY

LONDON CATHEDRALS SWAMPED WITH CHRISTMAS WORSHIPERS

CHRISTIAN SCHOOL IN NEPAL ACHIEVES HIGH HONORS

This week on “World Radio” hear the amazing story behind the “Canaan Hymns of China.” More than 1,000 such hymns are sweeping China and touching people’s lives. The remarkable thing is that they were all composed by one peasant girl with no formal musical training.

To listen visit the following webpage: http://www.hcjb.org/worldwide/australia/world_radio_programme.html.

Today’s Top Stories:

CHRISTIANS FAST AFTER THREATS TO RADIO STATION IN KENYA

Christians at the Nairobi Pentecostal Church in Kenya began a three-day fast on Sunday, Dec. 10, after their bishop received a letter threatening an attack on its affiliated radio station, Hope FM. Bishop Boniface Adoyo read the letter to church members at last Sunday’s worship services, and then called for the fast, saying other churches were also threatened for various reasons. Hope FM was attacked just seven months ago after airing a program called “Jesus is the Way” which compared the Bible with the Koran. In that attack on May 12, one person was killed and two others injured from gunshots and burns. The attackers started a fire in an attempt to destroy the station and adjacent buildings. On Friday, Dec. 8, the church’s senior pastor, David Oginde, met government officials in Nairobi who promised him that an investigation would be launched to find the source of the letter. Although the government was quick to condemn the attack, officials deny any religious connections and urge tolerance among religious groups. (Compass Direct News)

* HCJB World Radio has worked with local partners to install eight radio outlets in seven cities of Kenya.

CHINESE HOUSE CHURCH PRESSURED TO JOIN ‘OFFICIAL’ CHURCH

Local government officials in Tongling, in China’s Anhui province are pressuring independent house church members to join the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) church. On Sunday, Nov. 26, a house church assembly was shut down by the local Religious Affairs Bureau as leaders were told to worship at the TSPM church. Renowned Christian house church leader Wang Xingquan spent time in prison for his faith during the Cultural Revolution and is now being pressured to end his ministry through extortion of his family members. Xingquan’s daughter’s employer has ceased paying her a salary, and her employer has threatened to fire her if she refuses to set an example and join the TSPM church. Under threat of losing his job, another church member was forced to resign from the church. Congregants are now meeting in their homes and preparing further legal action to re-establish their religious freedom. Dr. Bob Fu, president of the China Aid Association, said of the incident, “It is obvious that the entire course of action was formulated by the upper-level government.” (China Aid Association)

MUSLIMS IN SOMALI TOWN VOW TO BEHEAD THOSE WHO DON’T PRAY

Residents in the Somali town of Bulo Burto have been threatened with beheadings if they fail to pray five times per day. Sheik Hussein Barre Rage, chairman of the town’s Islamic court, has declared that all shops, tea houses and public places be closed during prayer times and that no one should be on the streets in the town which lies about 125 miles northeast of Mogadishu. In recent months a network of armed militiamen and fundamentalist Islamics has taken control of large portions of southern Somalia. The strict religious laws are foreign to many residents. Rage told the Associated Press that those who do not begin following the prayer edict in the next three days “will definitely be beheaded according to Islamic law.” He continued, “As Muslims we should practice Islam fully, not in part, and that is what our religion enjoins us to do.” Courts have also recently introduced public executions, floggings of convicts, and bans on women swimming at Mogadishu’s public beaches and on the sale and chewing of khat, a leafy stimulant consumed across the Horn of Africa and in the Middle East. (Assist News Service/ Associated Press)

LONDON CATHEDRALS SWAMPED WITH CHRISTMAS WORSHIPERS

Christmas services at cathedrals across London, England, are becoming so popular with worshipers that they are holding extra services to keep up with demand. Since the year 2000, cathedrals have seen congregations growing in significant numbers, especially at Christmas and Easter. In contrast to falling attendance in many churches, official statistics indicate that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day attendance is up 25 percent since 2000 with more than 120,000 attendees expected during the two-day period this year. Canon Lucy Winkett of St Paul’s Cathedral said, “We were overwhelmed on Christmas Eve last year, and must have turned away a crowd of at least 800 who couldn’t get in.” Rev. Colin Slee, dean of Southwark Cathedral, said the church will host 35 special services during the Christmas season — a record number. “My hunch is that many have reached the point when they realize how dangerous rampant secularism really is, and they want to preserve their Christian heritage,” Slee said. (WorldWide Religious News)

CHRISTIAN SCHOOL IN NEPAL ACHIEVES HIGH HONORS

A school in Nepal affiliated with Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)

recently received an award from the (Hindu) Ministry of Education for its educational progress and development. Called the Solidarity International Academy, the school has been running for 10 years, funded almost entirely by CSW and its supporters. The school has expanded to 1,300 students from ages 4 to 19 with an equal number of girls and boys (uncommon in Nepal). Many of these students would not receive an education if it weren’t for the school. Recent exam results were outstanding with six distinctions (above 85 percent) and 43 first places among the 53 entries for graduation. One male student received the highest score in the district and second overall at the national level. One student was the highest female scorer nationwide. The district’s chief judge and chief education officer attended the graduation celebration to honor the students’ achievements. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

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