AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER * MUSLIMS CANNOT COPE WITH CHRISTIAN WORSHIP - SEEK TO CLOSE CHURCH DOWN * INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH SUNDAY 8TH NOVEMBER * AUSTRALIA INCREASES ASSISTANCE TO SAMOA AND TONGA * PRAYER ALERT FOR PAKISTAN * 700 PORTUGUESE DOCTORS SIGN PETITION OPPOSING ABORTION * NORTH KOREA OPENS THE DOOR TO MEDICAL MINISTRY * BAHAMIAN GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS CHRISTIAN PROGRAM TO REDUCE YOUTH VIOLENCE ----------------------------------------------- MUSLIMS CANNOT COPE WITH CHRISTIAN WORSHIP - SEEK TO CLOSE CHURCH DOWN A London Church has been effectively ‘silenced’ by a Court decision to uphold a noise abatement notice after just one Muslim neighbour complained about noise levels of worship emanating from the church. Singing Songs of Praise on a Sunday is normal Church activity. Using amplification is a normal part of Church life and it was argued at the Court hearing that the normal use of a Church building entails worship and cannot constitute noise nuisance. Immanuel House of Worship has been meeting at its premises in Walthamstow since it purchased them in 2006. The Church was built in 1894 and was formerly used by the United Reformed Church. The property next door to the church, No 87, was formerly the Manse. In 2005, No 87 was sold to the current occupants. Mr and Mrs Baha Uddin who did not occupy the building until 2008. Immediately upon assuming occupancy Mr and Mrs Uddin complained about the level of noise of worship coming from the church for just 40 minutes a week and an Abatement Notice was served on the Church Trustees in May 2009. The church appealed to the court and the hearing took place last month. Mr Ade Ajike, a Trustee of the church said: “In 2007, we renovated the property and bricked up the three windows facing No 87. We double glazed all windows, except one stained glass window, and spent £10,000 to carry out sound-reduction. The Environmental Officers who visited the Church gave us the OK. Following the complaint by Mr Uddin in August 2008. “Another council officer visited Mr Uddin’s house during Sunday worship and two days later issued a letter saying that the volume from the music was of statutory noise nuisance level throughout the neighbours’ property. Our Pastor was informed that ‘the church had to keep the noise down so as not to offend Muslims living in the area.' The Church has since reduced hours of worship from 4 hours to 2 hours 30 mins, of which music is played for only 45 minutes. Services have been reduced to one service on Sunday, and all mid-week services are held without music. The premises are no longer hired out to further reduce noise levels, a move which has cost the church additional revenue. However, the visiting officer changed and questioning got more hostile. Mr Ajike said: “Officers questioned the church why they needed amplifiers when 50 years ago the Church would not have used drums and amplified music. “Since then we have stopped using drums and further reduced our worship time to 20 minutes on a Sunday morning. Despite all our action, Mr Uddin would stand at the main entrance door of the Church and shout his complaints and demand our Pastor come out to speak to him during his sermon.” The Church has sought the advice of the Christian Legal Centre (CLC) with a view to appeal the courts decision. Andrea Williams, director of the CLC said: “The charge of nuisance in law must involve proving there is a substantial interference with comfort. Surely, any reasonable person would think that singing for 40 minutes once or twice a week would not cross this threshold. Worship in a Church is to be expected. This is a vibrant Afro Caribbean community of Christian believers whose worship of God is fundamental to the expression of their faith. The richness and vibrancy of groups like the London Gospel Community Choir is based on the Afro Caribbean expression of faith through music.” Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH SUNDAY 8TH NOVEMBER (Editors note: Some Australian Churches observe the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church on Sunday 15th November.) There are many countries in the world today where Christians are martyred for their faith. The world watched in horror the unbridled violence that was unleashed on Christians in Orissa state, India last year. There are other places in the world, such as North Korea, where acts of persecution take place, but we often don’t see or hear the full story. The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is a time set apart for us to remember thousands of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world who suffer persecution, simply because they confess Jesus Christ as Lord. The Bible tells us to “Remember those in prison and those who are mistreated as if you yourself were suffering.” Pause on 8th November and pray for those who are enduring persecution for the sake of the Gospel? Remember those who have not eaten for days because they are given nothing to eat, those languishing in prison, Christian families whose homes have burned to the ground and who live in constant fear of violence, pastors brutally beaten and tortured for their faith, those who have lost loved ones or are facing death themselves for refusing to denounce Christ. As one widow of a Christian leader killed in the anti-Christian violence in India said “I have lost everything except my faith.” Clutching her baby she added, “Pray that I stay strong and bring up our children in the faith for which their father gave his life.” Each year, The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church gives us the privilege of joining together with over half a million churches in 150 countries to pray for the suffering church. Let us unite in prayer for the persecuted church, in the spirit of oneness that Christ commanded, “For, if one suffers, we all suffer.” Source: Religious Liberty Commission of World Evangelical Alliance ----------------------------------------------- AUSTRALIA INCREASES ASSISTANCE TO SAMOA AND TONGA The Minster for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, and the Minister for Defence, Senator John Faulkner, have announced further Australian support to Samoa and Tonga following the tsunami that devastated both communities on 30th September. The Royal Australian Navy's heavy landing ship HMAS Tobruk has left Sydney, loaded with a range of goods, equipment and relief aid destined for the two countries. 'The Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade has donated a fire truck to Samoa to replace one destroyed during the tsunami,' Mr Smith said. 'A large consignment of heavy machinery and donated goods from the Australian community - including the Samoan and Tongan communities in Australia, non government organisations and several businesses - will also be delivered to both Samoa and Tonga.' 'Tobruk will carry earth movers, generators, cement mixers and other heavy machinery, provided by the Australian Government, to be used in Tonga to clear debris and rebuild over the next 12-18 months.' Total Australian assistance to Samoa and Tonga now stands at $13 million. This assistance will help re-establish infrastructure and ensure affected communities have access to essential services such as power, water, health and education. Australia will also provide support to help businesses re-establish quickly, and improve disaster monitoring and warning systems. Senator Faulkner said, 'Delivery of the earthmoving equipment will allow reconstruction efforts to begin earlier and at a faster pace than would otherwise be possible and provide tangible support to the people of Samoa and Tonga rebuilding their lives in the weeks after the tsunami.' Source: Press release from the Department of Foreign Affairs ----------------------------------------------- PRAYER ALERT FOR PAKISTAN Three security sites in Lahore, Pakistan were recently attacked by teams of gunmen. Initial reports place the number of deaths at 27 with 30 people injured. The violence occurred as teams of militants began assaulting a law enforcement facility then a police training school. A third wave of gunmen attacked an elite police commando training centre. Authorities said three of the l3 terrorists were females. “The enemy has started a guerrilla war,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced. “Once more, terrorism has forced its way into the flow of ordinary lives.” Eighty have died so far in October as a result of suicide bombings alone. On October 9, a suicide bomb killed 53 in a Peshawar marketplace. This was followed by two suicide bombs on October 15 (killing 11) and one on October 16 (killing 16). The most recent attacks were a show of strength by the militants in Pakistan. October 2009 has been an especially deadly month in Pakistan. In addition to the suicide bombings on October 10, the Taliban attacked the military headquarters in the town of Rawalpindi, resulting in a standoff that lasted two days and left l9 people dead. PLEASE PRAY FOR: * a swift and complete end to the recent outbreak of violence and murder and for the protection of the citizens of Pakistan. Pray for God to arise and sovereignly restore peace to this nation. * the government to move decisively to counter the Taliban and militant attacks. Pray for the authorities to be given supernatural discernment and wisdom to fight and have these groups dismantled effectively. * members of terrorist groups to experience godly sorrow that brings repentance and leads to salvation. Pray for all terrorist organizations themselves to fall to pieces, lose power and influence, and be abandoned by all members. * the Lord to place His hedge of protection around Christians and give them the courage to stand firm in Him in the midst of conflict and persecution. Pray for an immediate end to all persecution of Christian Believers. * these events to present an opportunity for the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to be proclaimed throughout Pakistan, for the Kingdom of God to come in Power and glory to this war-weary land producing peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Source: Windows International Network ----------------------------------------------- 700 PORTUGUESE DOCTORS SIGN PETITION OPPOSING ABORTION Members of the Portuguese Medical Association are circulating a petition on the Internet to urge the Association leadership to maintain its anti-abortion ethical code, asking it to "maintain with the greatest rigor and commitment the intransigent struggle for the ethical independence and autonomy of the medical profession." The Portuguese government, legalized abortion on demand in 2007 during the first trimester of pregnancy, and says it is now initiating legal proceedings against the nation's doctors for refusing to alter their code of ethics, which prohibits abortion. The Code of Ethics of the Association states that "doctors must maintain respect for human life from its beginning," and "the practice of abortion constitutes a grave ethical failure." Denouncing the "misuse of medical knowledge that various powers and pressure groups" are attempting to impose on the Association, the signatories compare the government's demands with earlier movements for, "forced internments in psychiatric institutions, sterilizations, and elimination of human beings for eugenic or racist reasons." The doctors remind the Association that the 2,500-year-old Hippocratic Oath exists to resist the moral fashions of the times, which have often been a threat to the dignity of human life. They wish to avoid "the subjection of this Code to a changing 'ethic', moulded to the taste of the interests, conveniences, ideologies or convictions of those who happen to have power or influence at the time." Over 700 Portuguese doctors have so far signed the petition, which is addressed to the Medical Association. Source: LifeSiteNews.com ----------------------------------------------- NORTH KOREA OPENS THE DOOR TO MEDICAL MINISTRY North Korea appears to be opening doors to the outside world as they struggle to cope with the effects of poverty.The International Red Cross will be increasing its medical program to prevent the collapse of the country's health care system. Few medical facilities have any equipment at all. If a national disease outbreak were to occur, medical personnel would have no way to cope. Outside medical authorities fear years of malnutrition have made the North Korean population especially vulnerable to epidemics. International Aid's (IA) Mark Heydenburg says they are partnering with a group that has been granted access because of their medical work. On a recent trip, the team focused on improving the inadequacy at some of the hospitals. "Not one of the hospitals out of the four I visited had running water and most of them only had sporadic power of about three hours a day." Heydenburg says, "We ran electrical lines, put in generators, put new panels in, surgery lights and medical devices." IA Medical Equipment Services (MES) functions as a critical link between equipment donors and recipients. The team furnishes hospitals and clinics with appropriate medical equipment, operational manuals, and technical and field support. This is one area that opens to an avenue of ministry, Heydenburg notes. "I was able to spend time with the physicians and nurses, indirectly witnessing for Christ whilst showing them how to operate the machines. Pray for more opportunities for our teams to share their love and concern and the hope of Christ with those they help." Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- BAHAMIAN GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS CHRISTIAN PROGRAM TO REDUCE YOUTH VIOLENCE In response to a skyrocketing youth crime-rate in their nation, the Bahamas Christian Council has called on the Government to implement a program of public school chaplaincy. The Ministry of Education responded by saying it would give such a program its full support. At a candlelight vigil to honour the country's murder victims, and to ask that violence cease, organizer Dr. David Allen called on Bahamians to pray for the healing of the nation and to assist in the crime fighting efforts, stating that prayer was the first step towards healing. "With heavy hearts and burdened spirits, we gather to mourn the loss of so many of our brothers and sisters who have succumbed to the cruel ravages of murder and violent crimes," he said. "We confess that we have not done enough to dispel the darkness, anger and fear from our hearts making it difficult for the light of hope and freedom to shine through." Source: The Nassau Guardian
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