UPDATE Welcome to World Mission’s June Update Issue 20-06-08, our summary of the latest news, issues and events affecting our partners around the world. Please feel free to share any of the following stories in your newsletters, bulletins and prayer diaries. (Please cite the original source as well as World Mission.) CONTENTS: AFRICA Zimbabwe: World Council of Churches urges the UN to end violence Zimbabwe: Opposition considers withdrawal from election Zimbabwe: Reformed churches call for prayer Ghana: Presbyterian leader asks pastors to accept rural postings SOUTH ASIA Pakistan: New school safety initiative India: Christian university aims to boost health and social work Nepal: Prayer requests from United Mission to Nepal ASIA-PACIFIC China: Sichuan earthquake update from the Amity Foundation EUROPE Italy: Churches appeal to wider European fellowship to oppose EU Directive CLIMATE CHANGE Christian Aid: Carbon emissions campaign asks for support EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES Malawi Celebration 5 July PRAYER FOCUS For Daily Reflection SUBSRCIPTION & CONTACT INFORMATION AFRICA Zimbabwe: World Council of Churches urges the UN to end violence The General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, has urged the UN to end the ongoing violence in Zimbabwe and to ensure a free and fair election on 27 June. In a letter to the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, Dr Kobia expresses the dismay of the council and its member churches "at the news of the brutality meted out by police and other government forces in Zimbabwe." Referring to President Robert Mugabe's statement last week that he would "go to war" rather than acknowledge an election victory by the opposition, Kobia said, "This attitude on the part of the president undermines the integrity of elections and belittles the Zimbabwean electorate."   "Where the Mugabe government fails in its responsibility to protect the Zimbabwean people, the international community must assume that burden; in this endeavour, the United Nations should assume a leading role", the WCC letter adds.   Accompanying the letter was an extensive dossier compiled by the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa about the situation in Zimbabwe. The dossier was prepared under the leadership of Dr Allan Boesak of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa and presents graphic details of violence as well as a review of materials already released through the media and other sources.   The WCC has invited its member churches to pray for Zimbabwe on Sunday, 22 June, as the beginning of a season of prayer for the people and government of the country. [Source: World Council of Churches. You can read the full story at: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1722/wcc-calls-on-the-un-to-en.html ] Zimbabwe: Opposition considers withdrawal from election As Update went to press, the BBC reported that Zimbabwe's opposition party, the MDC, will announce on Monday whether the party will withdraw from the 27 June presidential run-off. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai is said to be under pressure to pull out in view of escalating poll-related violence. Reporters say that a threat to withdraw could be a move to pressure the international community to try to ensure a fair vote. Meanwhile in Brussels, the EU has drafted a summit statement saying they are ready "to take additional measures against those responsible for violence". The EU already has an arms embargo against Zimbabwe and has placed travel bans and frozen the assets of President Mugabe and other senior government and ruling Zanu-PF party officials. The EU statement urged the African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to deploy "a significant number of election monitors as soon as possible and to ensure their continued presence until the electoral process is completed". Three countries from SADC monitoring the polls - Tanzania, Angola and Swaziland – have already said the election would not be free and fair given the current circumstances. The opposition has suffered five violent deaths recently, among them the wife of Harare's mayor-elect. The MDC says at least 70 of its supporters have now been killed and 25,000 forced from their homes in a state-sponsored campaign of violence. [Source: BBC NEWS. You can read the full story at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/7465122.stm ] Zimbabwe: Reformed churches call for prayer The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) has called on its members to pray for the people of Zimbabwe on Sunday 22 June. Reports of the intimidation, torture and death of opponents of Zimbabwe’s government have prompted the request. “Credible reports reaching us indicate a blatant intimidation of voters and people being tortured. Some have died,” said Setri Nyomi, General Secretary of WARC, in a letter to 214 churches around the world. “Already Zimbabweans have been suffering under the burden of high inflation and lack of essential commodities. This current spate of violence and intimidation seems to be targeted at those who did not vote for the ruling party, especially in some specific rural areas. This creates a very intimidating atmosphere for the run-off elections. We are committed to the rights and welfare of all Zimbabweans, not just to one party or the other. Our main concern now is to ensure that Zimbabweans feel free to express their democratic rights.” WARC’s call echoes the that of the World Council of Churches and others for such a day of prayer. Nyomi concluded , “Please join Christians all over the world in praying for Zimbabwe this Sunday, and every day of next week.” [Source: World Alliance of Reformed Churches. http://warc.jalb.de/ ] Ghana: Presbyterian leader asks pastors to accept rural postings The Right Reverend Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, has expressed concern about ministers who refuse postings to rural areas. He made his comments last Sunday in a sermon at the ordination of 32 ministers, including six women, at the church’s north congregation at Tema. Preaching on the theme: ‘Mercy and Love’, Dr Frimpong-Manso claimed the church today lacks concern and compassion for the physical and spiritual needs of the oppressed, criminals and the poor. God, he said, needs a church with ministers who are responsible, obedient to His call. Dr Frimpong-Manso asked the newly ordained ministers to persevere in the church’s evangelistic mission within the context of the current cultural changes and globalisation. [Source: The Ghanaian Times. Full story at: www.newtimesonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16579&Itemid=181] SOUTH ASIA Pakistan: New school safety initiative The Church World Service in Pakistan (CWS-P/A) has started a project entitled ‘School Safety’. As part of the project, CWS-P/A will be reconstructing 8 schools in the north-west frontier district of Mansehra, one of the areas severely affected by the earthquake in October 2005. As well as the reconstruction, the scheme will also try to create a culture of safety and resilience in the communities with the help of training involving school teachers/administration, students and parents, and by the use of schools as community centres as well. The project is funded by the Action by Churches Together (ACT). [Source: Church World Service. Full details at: http://www.cwspa.org ] India: Christian university aims to boost health and social work India's first Christian university says it is pursuing a unique agenda in its goal to provide quality job-oriented education that will also meet the needs of the healthcare and social service work of the churches in the world's second most populous nation. "Though we [the churches] have been pioneers in the field of education running hundreds of colleges, we could not devise courses that we needed most," said K. M. Shyamaprasad, chancellor of the Martin Luther Christian University based at Shillong, the capital of India's north-eastern Meghalaya state. There is an increasing demand for places at the university from the region, where three of the seven small states have a Christian majority. Christians in India account for only 2.3 percent of the 1.1 billion population, but administer more than 15 percent of the country's educational and health care institutions. [Source: Ecumenical News International. Full story at: http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=1994] Nepal: Prayer requests from United Mission to Nepal We’ve received the following prayer requests from our partner organisation, the United Mission to Nepal (UMN): * The heavy rains in the months of June and July bring with it possible threats of flood in Rupandehi, Nawalparasi and Kapilbastu. Let us remember in prayer the homes, mostly of poor farmers that are affected by these rains every year. * Pray for the new Personnel Director, Mary Morgan, who will finish Language and Orientation Programme (LOP) and join the Personnel Team in July 2008. * Please pray for the urgent need for some General Practitioners for both Tansen Mission Hospital and Okhaldhunga Hospital and also for the completion of the new emergency department building in Tansen Hospital which is currently under construction. * Please pray for ongoing negotiations between UMN and the Council for Technical and Vocational Training at the Ministry of Education and Sports so that the current visa problem can be resolved for UMN secondees at Tansen Nursing School. * Please pray for the new Executive Director Search Committee. The search process has already begun. Pray that the right person will be selected for the position of Executive Director. More information can be found on the UMN website at: http://www.umn.org.np/index.php ASIA-PACIFIC China: Sichuan earthquake update from the Amity Foundation The European Network of Amity Partners has just taken place in Hamburg. The first part of the Meeting was taken up with an update on the Sichuan Earthquake relief work from Qiu Zhonghui, the General Secretary of The Amity Foundation. He reported that this is a time of transition. “Relief work will continue but rebuilding and reconstruction are now being looked at. This requires discussion with the Chinese Government before deciding which areas will be focussed upon by which agency. Some areas have been so badly affected that no one can return to them so decisions will need to be made re relocation and that can only be done at Government level.” The report continued, “Rebuilding communities, especially ethnic minority communities, will be very difficult. Homes can be rebuilt but rebuilding communities and people's spirit will be more difficult.” The Sichuan Chinese Christian Council has reported that 100 Meeting Points have not been heard from since May 12th. In one town the local church had only just been renovated and has now been classified as D- which means it will have to be demolished. Worship is still held each evening in the courtyard and many non-Christians are attending, with some coming to faith. The Church is also providing food for the community.   The Theological Education Forum has also just met in Hamburg. It was attended by Rev Dr Gao Ying, Vice President of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary. She told us of plans to move into the new Seminary campus and the preparations to introduce the first ever Doctoral Programme at the Seminary. She emphasised the need for: - continuing faculty development;    - visiting Professors to work in the seminary for between 1-2 years; - scholarships for postgraduate study overseas; - and, scholarships to enable poor students to complete their studies at the Seminary.  + The Amity Foundation is a partner of the Scottish Churches’ China Group EUROPE Italy: Churches appeal to wider European fellowship to oppose EU Directive The Waldensian and Methodist Churches in Italy have expressed deep concern about the proposed EU Directive for returning ‘illegally-staying third-country nationals’. This would, they claim, foresee the detention of migrants – including unaccompanied minors – for up to 18 months and an entry ban into the European Union for five years. The churches say that, “the application of such regulations, in Italy as in other countries of the European Union, represents a serious danger for respect of liberty and rights of migrants.” In a letter to sister churches, the Moderator of the Waldensian and Methodist Churches in Italy, Past. Maria Bonafede, calls on churches in Europe to “share with us these concerns for legislation which does not take into consideration human rights of migrants and for the growing racism in Europe, and put pressure on their European Parliament representatives”. CLIMATE CHANGE Christian Aid: Carbon emissions campaign asks for support As previously reported in Update, Christian Aid has been campaigning to make it compulsory for UK-listed companies to report on their annual carbon emissions. In March, thanks in no small way to Christian Aid and the lobbying of their supporters, the House of Lords passed an amendment to the Climate Change Bill which would do just that. Unfortunately, this week the Westminster government signalled it was going to drop the amendment as the bill goes through the House of Commons, even though, according to Christian Aid, UK-listed businesses are responsible for up to 15% of global emissions. Christian Aid says, “The next few weeks are crucial. We must make sure that Environment Secretary Hilary Benn keeps mandatory reporting for companies in the bill.” They are calling on people to email Mr Benn now. You can click on the following link to do so via Christian Aid’s website: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/stoppoverty/climatechange/actions/no_uturn.aspx + Christian Aid is a partner organisation of the Church of Scotland EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES Malawi Celebration 5 July The Committee of Malawians in Scotland and Scotland Malawi Partnership invite you to the 44th Malawi Independence Celebration, featuring Malawi High Commissioner, Dr Francis Moto; The Bhundu Boys; Traditional and contemporary Malawian music; Food and drink (please bring Malawian dishes). Saturday July 5th, 1-4pm, Glasgow City Chambers. Free admission If you’d like further details, contact Batson Kadzuwa on 07950 367 023 or Yonah Matemba on 07515 750 488. Email info@scotland-malawipartnership.org.uk PRAYER FOCUS For Daily Reflection - Pray for the churches and people of Zimbabwe on Sunday 22 June, and in the lead-up to the election, for an end to intimidation and violence. - Pray for the continuing relief work in Sichuan province in China. - Give thanks for the work of the Amity Foundation and the Scottish Churches’ China Group. - Pray for Burma and its people still recovering from the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis - Pray for all our Mission Partners worldwide - Remember the ongoing work of partner organisations, such as Christian Aid, as they campaign on important issues such as climate change. - Pray for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East, as a fragile ceasefire holds in Gaza. SUBSCRIPTION & CONTACT INFORMATION To unsubscribe: If you no longer wish to receive this update or if you have received this email in error, please email wmeditor@cofscotland.org.uk with 'Update: Unsubscribe' as the message subject. If you would like to find out more about the issues raised here, please contact us at the address below or visit our website: www.churchofscotland.org.uk/worldmission. We’d be delighted to hear from you. Want in-depth articles about our partners overseas? Subscribe to our free monthly magazine by sending your details to wmeditor@cofscotland.org.uk. Update 20-06-08 Editor: Gillian McKinnon World Mission, Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH2 4YN T: + 44 (0) 131 225 5722 F: + 44 (0) 131 226 6121 Copyright © World Mission Council, Church of Scotland. All rights reserved. Views expressed in Update and websites linked from it do not necessarily represent the views of WMC. The WMC is the channel through which the Church of Scotland responds to the command of Jesus “Go into the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15).The Council works in many countries worldwide, usually on the basis of partnership with national churches and institutions and always with a view to involving church members in Scotland in the development of the work. Our mission is to empower everyone to discover, experience and share the challenges and opportunities gained by connecting with the World Church.