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Today’s Headlines:

SUDAN’S CHRISTIANS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT HIGH-LEVEL PEACE TALKS IN KENYA CHINESE POLICE FINALLY NOTIFY CHRISTIAN WOMAN OF HUSBAND’S ARREST ‘PRAISE REVOLUTION’ ROCKS NORTHERN IRELAND’S YOUNG PEOPLE RELIGION BOOSTS ECONOMIC GROWTH, SHOWS HARVARD STUDY ‘SAUSAGE SIZZLE’ OUTREACH IN AUSTRALIA GETS GRANT FROM FOUNDATION * HCJB WORLD RADIO PROGRAM PRODUCER DIES OF CANCER

Today’s News Stories:

SUDAN’S CHRISTIANS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT HIGH-LEVEL PEACE TALKS IN KENYA U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is in Kenya to support high-level talks with the goal of ending Sudan’s 20-year civil. Under the onus of last year’s Sudan Peace Act, the Bush administration enforces security issues. Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs emphasizes the strategic importance of the talks. “There’ll be a six-year period of self-determination for the people of southern Sudan,” he said. “They will have the ability to make their own decisions. They will not be forced to accept Islamic law (sharia). Then at the end of the six-year period, they will be allowed to vote on whether they want to continue to be a part of the nation of Sudan, or whether they want to break off and form their own nation.” Nettleton says the civil war has been largely a religious one in which Christians have faced unrelenting pressure from Muslims. “Anything that results in more peace and more safety on the ground in southern Sudan is going to make it easier to do ministry there,” Nettleton said. “It’s going to make it easier to travel there and make it safer for mission teams which are doing work on the ground there.” (Mission Network News)

CHINESE POLICE FINALLY NOTIFY CHRISTIAN WOMAN OF HUSBAND’S ARREST The wife of imprisoned Chinese house church leader Xiao Bi-guang was officially notified Tuesday, Oct. 21, that her husband had been arrested on charges of “subverting the national government,” reported Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). The wife, Gou Qinghui, received the notification from the Chinese authorities nearly a month after her husband’s detention on Sept. 26. Police said they received the wrong address from Bi-guang during his interrogation, and therefore failed to notify his wife earlier. However, local believers accused local authorities of stalling to intimidate his family and fellow believers. Meanwhile, an investigation is ongoing regarding another house church Christian, Liu Feng Guang, who was arrested last week in Xiao-Shan, Zhejiang province. Police raided his apartment in Beijing, confiscating computers, cameras an address book and other items. VOM learned on Tuesday that police officers are calling everyone listed in the address book or stored on Guang’s cell phone. His wife, Bi Yu-xia, was told that he would be charged with “leaking state secrets,” but she also has not received official notification of his arrest. (Assist News Service)

‘PRAISE REVOLUTION’ ROCKS NORTHERN IRELAND’S YOUNG PEOPLE A “praise revolution” is taking place among hundreds of young people in Northern Ireland that is helping to relieve longstanding tensions between Catholics and Protestants. More than 1,000 youth line up each month to praise God at Belfast’s Ulster Hall for Mannafest, an event run by Youth for Christ. The initiative has also spread to Enniskillen — a town that was torn apart by an IRA bomb in 1987. Each location has its own flavor but shares the same aim — to provide a place where young people can meet and learn more about God. Musician Johnny Parks, who is part of the Mannafest team, said the ministry has been “hugely significant” in people’s lives. He said the team caters to a wide spectrum of denominations. Leaders say the clear, spiritual songs help the young people open up to God, but Mannafest is more than an event. “We try to provide facilities and support for people outside the Saturday night,” Parks said. “We run off Bible notes for them, give them access to the website, and hold training events in drama, worship and teaching.” Parks believes the praise revolution is already helping to bring Catholic and Protestant together. (Charisma News Service)

RELIGION BOOSTS ECONOMIC GROWTH, SHOWS HARVARD STUDY More than 80 percent of the people in 59 major countries believe in a higher being, 58 percent anticipate a life after death, 55 percent are convinced of the existence of heaven, and 38 percent of hell. These are some of the results of studies carried out by Harvard economics professors Robert Barro and Rachel McCleary. They also found that 36 percent worship of respondents attend church at least once a month, and 24 percent each week. They based their studies on the economic influence of religion on statistics published by David Barrett of Virginia Beach, Va., and Patrick Johnstone of London, England. By comparing religious with economic data, Barro and McCleary concluded that economic growth corresponds with a firm belief in heaven and hell. This strengthens character and boosts morale, because believers expect to be rewarded in heaven. On the other hand, frequent worship does not automatically reap economic growth. The professors’ explanation is that once religious activities become institutionalized, interest tends to shift away from the spiritual to the political and social. Commenting on the studies, the Institute for the German Industry in Cologne concluded, “Religion is good for the economy, but not necessarily church attendance.” (IDEA)

‘SAUSAGE SIZZLE’ OUTREACH IN AUSTRALIA GETS GRANT FROM FOUNDATION A community safety initiative in Newcastle, Australia, called NightCare has been awarded a grant of $246,000 (US$173,000) from the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation to help the project expand in the next four years. Newcastle Mayor John Tate says NightCare is a simple idea that has succeeded due to the commitment of an extraordinary group of volunteers. “In the past three years more than 100 volunteers from five city churches have cooked up more than 30,000 pounds of sausages, served an estimated 226,000 people and contributed 22,000 volunteer hours to the NightCare scheme.” Tate says the grant will enable the project to expand to seven sites, up from the present three sites. The service is more than just sausage sandwiches, he says. An evaluation of the program by the University of Newcastle’s psychology department concluded that the “sausage sizzle” had a “calming influence” on the city. “A brief stop at a NightCare location and a friendly chat with the volunteers helps to put people in a better mood and reduce loud, angry behavior,” Tate said. NightCare also provides an informal counseling and referral service to help people overcome alcohol or substance misuse. (Newcastle City Council)

* HCJB WORLD RADIO PROGRAM PRODUCER DIES OF CANCER Radio program producer Ruth Ann Jacobsen of Colorado Springs, Colo., went to be with the Lord the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 21, following a courageous battle with cancer. She was 45.

Ruth Ann, born in Chicago on May 17, 1958, joined the staff of HCJB World Radio in January 2001. She worked as executive producer of “Beyond The Call,” a daily one-minute radio program hosted by HCJB World Radio Chairman Ron Cline, encouraging believers to “get off the curb and step into the parade.” The program airs on more than 1,000 outlets nationwide.

Cline described Ruth Ann as a “fun, committed, professional producer. She spent hours preparing those stories for me to tell. Some of my favorite times have been recording those programs in the studio with Ruth Ann sitting beside me, evaluating every word, my intonation, the general feeling of each story. She lived those stories, and I loved her passion for the program. I will miss her greatly. I thank the Lord for sharing her with me for these years. I will be a better storyteller because of her.”

Ruth Ann came to HCJB World Radio with nearly 20 years of broadcasting and marketing experience. After graduating from Wheaton College in 1983, Ruth Ann began serving in Christian broadcasting, initially working for a year as a network development representative at Moody Broadcasting in Chicago. Then she became an administrative assistant to Norman Plunkett, executive director of In Touch Ministries in Atlanta, where she worked helped market “In Touch,” the popular Christian radio and TV program.

Ruth Ann also expanded the outreach and ministry of all Peachtree Media Management syndications, including “Let My People Think,” a weekly half-hour radio broadcast hosted by program by Ravi Zacharias. She also helped promote Kay Arthur’s program, “How Can I Live?” originally a daily 15-minute radio program now called “Precepts.”

Ruth Ann temporarily discontinued her Christian broadcasting career in May 1999 when first diagnosed with brain cancer. After recovering from surgery and a series of chemotherapy treatments and radiation, she and her family moved to Colorado Springs in late 2000 when her husband, Jeff, came to work at Christian station KTLF. He later moved to Focus on the Family where he is senior manager of Christian representation.

“I’m just thankful for the opportunity to be here,” Ruth Ann said in an interview upon joining HCJB World Radio. “God gave me a chance to make a difference in people’s lives, even if it’s small. He gave me life, and I know He wants me to use the time I have for Him and my family.”

Ruth Ann enjoyed relatively good health until this last spring when the cancer returned, necessitating career-ending surgery and additional therapy.

Ruth Ann made a decision to follow Christ when she was in eighth grade. “While I asked Christ into my life, I struggled, and my spiritual growth was slow,” she said. “It wasn’t until I was 22 that I totally turned my life over to Him.”

After working as a bank teller and then as an executive secretary at an ad agency, Ruth Ann enrolled at Wheaton College in Illinois. “I was a music major, but the Lord was leading me into radio broadcasting,” she said.

It was at Wheaton that Ruth Ann heard first about HCJB World Radio since her Spanish professor was John Clark, son of J.D. Clark who co-founded the ministry along with Clarence Jones and Reuben Larson in 1931.

Ruth Ann spent the summer of 1982 in Quito, Ecuador, as a short-term missionary. She helped produce and engineer a daily live program called “Passport” and edited syndicated programs that aired worldwide on HCJB World Radio’s shortwave station in Quito.

She leaves behind her husband of 19 years, Jeff, and three children, Christian, 16, Joy, 14, and Kathryn, 12.

The funeral will be Monday, Oct. 27, at LaGrange Bible Church, 850 7th Ave., LaGrange, Ill. A private family graveside service will be held Tuesday, Oct. 28, in Streeter, Ill.

Dr. Ron Cline and Dr. Joseph Wheat, senior pastor at Village Seven Presbyterian Church, 4050 Nonchalant Circle S. in Colorado Springs, will officiate at a memorial service set for 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4. (HCJB World Radio)

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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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