Staff and students at the NM home in Sivaganga

Orphaned of both parents as a young boy, Chinnarai lived with his widowed aunty, who struggled to take care of him, let alone send him to school.  She asked for help from a boys’ hostel run by Nehemiah Ministries in Sivangangai.  It has been three years since he joined the hostel. He is a sincere and hard working boy, the first to successfully complete his government exam last year.  He has dreams of becoming a doctor and his standard 12 exam next year will be crucial in choosing for him a future career.

Nehemiah Ministries (NM) is a Christian charity aiming to take the love of Jesus to India, particularly to the poor and neglected.  It is led by Jayakumar, who gave up his job as technology teacher at Hebron School to set up NM.  They now operate in several states of India and have extensive church support and aid operations.  This growth has not come easily – there has been much opposition and in some areas churches supported by NM saw their buildings burnt down.  Even the hostel in Sivangangai experienced a lot of hostility at first, but has gradually been accepted as the value of the work there is recognised.  A recent government inspection praised the hostel and recommended its expansion.

The NM centre in Nagapattinam

Much of NM’s work is with the dalits, who are the ones who suffer the most poverty and neglect.  One such boy is Rajamurthy.  He is a class 10 student and a Sunday school student from the time he was touched by the gospel. His father is a habitual drinker and his mother steeped in worship of the Hindu gods. Life was always miserable for Raja, who still has to witness his father’s daily verbal and physical abuse of his mother. His only source of comfort is the word of God, the church and the pastor’s family who reached out to him and visit him regularly in his village. It was through consistent prayer and witness that he was touched by the power of the gospel. His great desire in life is to see peace descending on his family. He has been fervently praying for the conversion of his family.

• Please pray for the work of Nehemiah Ministries, and for its Indian staff, who carry out their ministry under much difficulty and danger.
• Pray for the dalits, who suffer so much but among whom the gospel has spread rapidly in recent years.
• Pray for other Indians, who often erroneously look down on Christianity as a dalit religion, and fear loss of status and respect if they become Christians.

You can find out more about NM’s work at their website www.nehemiah.org.uk

Statue of Aidan at Lindisfarne

I’ve recently been reading a biography of Saint Aidan, the founder of the Holy Island monastery and the man who brought Christianity back to Northumbria in the seventh century.  There were many impressive things about this celtic missionary to the pagan Angles, but what struck me most was his commitment to prayer.

He regularly spent hours in prayer, often alone on a small island.  He prayed as he travelled, and of course, as a monk, kept regular times of prayer throughout the day – and the night.  When he was first given the island of Lindisfarne to build the monastery, faced with the task of starting a farm to become self-sufficient in food, building a church, setting up a school and building shelter for the brothers from the bleak north sea weather, Aidan and his team spent 40 days in prayer instead.  They wanted to build on firm foundations.

I wonder if you are so committed to seeking God’s will for your endeavours.  I certainly am not.  When I set up Syzygy six years ago, of course I prayed, often, but not for 40 days.  I doubt that you did when you set out on your ministry.  We’re all too busy.  Yet Aidan realised that he had so much to do, he couldn’t afford not to pray.  Like John Wesley, who apparently spent three hours a day praying, and justified it by saying that he was so busy he couldn’t possibly pray less.  Like Jesus, who regularly withdrew to a lonely place to spend time with his father.  Time he could have spent teaching, or healing the sick.  He obviously thought it was important.

Perhaps our independent spirits lead us to be Marthas rather than Marys.  Of course, if it were left to Mary Jesus would never have got his dinner, but somehow I don’t think he’d have minded that much.  Are we so busy doing stuff for him that we don’t have time to sit and be with him?  Maybe that’s why so many of us are stressed and burnt-out.

I have decided to engage more in prayer, particularly in the workplace.  I pray at my desk before I start work, and  continue in prayer at regular intervals throughout the day.  Well, when I’m not too busy.

In a move which clearly prioritises principle over church unity, the Church of England voted on Saturday night to reject a proposal to provide for traditionalist parishes to opt for male bishops to preside over formal events once women are installed as bishops.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York had both laid their personal authority on the line in an appeal to maintain the unity of the 400 year old church after some traditionalists had threatened to leave if women bishops are introduced.  Yet the General Synod narrowly voted down the Archbishops’ compromise measure, paving the way for the introduction of women bishops in the near future.  Interestingly, the majority of Synod members voted for the proposal, but the clergy didn’t, and since changes have to be accepted by all three houses of the synod (laity, clergy and bishops), the clergy effectively vetoed the will of the wider church.  Whether this was out of loyalty to the principle of male leadership, or simply dislike of working for a woman, is not clear.

Liberals have accused the Archbishops of being weak in their concessions, suggesting that the church has dallied over this issue for far too long and that traditionalists who don’t want women to become bishops can ‘go to Rome’.  Pope Benedict XVI already muddied the waters by last year holding out the promise of ‘fast-track conversion’ to disgruntled Anglo-catholic priests.  Yet many of the conservative clergy who voted against the proposal would not have been traditionalist Anglo-catholics, but evangelicals.  They will have no desire to join Rome, so will be faced with the dilemma of staying within the Church of England or leaving it.

Liberals are also disgruntled over plans to appoint a new Bishop of Southwark to succeed Tom Butler.  In an apparent leak from the Crown Nominations Commission (which may have been orchestrated by conservatives) it was suggested that Canon Jeffery John was in line for the post.  Canon John was forced to revoke his acceptance of the role of Bishop of Reading in 2004 after an outcry over his long-term relationship with another male priest.  They subsequently entered a civil partnership together.  If the traditionalists’ goal in raising a hue and cry over Canon John was to prevent him being considered, it seems it has worked, as the CNC has confirmed that his name is not on their list of candidates.

Over the centuries, the C of E has been remarkably successful at not being dogmatic about belief and creating room for those with differing opinions to shelter under the one roof of a very broad church.  These two issues do however seem to be in danger of tearing the C of E apart as the liberal and conservative wings become increasingly strident in their demands.

Please pray for the members of the General Synod as they continue to debate these issues till Tuesday 13^th July.  Pray for the Archbishops to have wisdom and grace as they lead a dividing church.  Pray for a spirit of unity to prevail, and for a loving sensitivity to be shown among Christian brothers and sisters who disagree passionately about these issues.

Chinese believers in an unregistered church (China Daily)

Several recent articles in the authoritative website China Daily have prompted observers to wonder if the Chinese government may be softening its traditionally tough stance against Christians.  The official government daily has published a number of positive articles about Christianity during the last six months and while it must be remembered that they may merely be part of a ‘charm offensive’ (particularly since none of the articles were published in the Chinese language version of the paper), they are published in an official government organ and will have been scrutinised by censors.

The most significant of these articles (25^th December) concerned an official report for the government in which the Chinese Academy of Social Scientists (CASS) estimated that there are now over 70 million Chinese who are members of unregistered churches.  Add these numbers to the Catholic Church and the official Three Self Patriotic Movement church and this is the first time that there has been an official estimate that there are now over 100 million Christians in China.  In 1979, when the TSPM church was relaunched after the Cultural Revolution, there were only about one million.   One western commentator remarked that it is unthinkable that an article like this has slipped past the censors unnoticed, and therefore this must be an indication of a change of government policy.

Miao Christian choir (China Daily)

Another article (17^th March) talks about how house churches are thriving in Beijing.  It states that there are now over 50,000 Christians in Beijing, and as the registered churches are often overcrowded, many people are joining smaller unregistered churches where they can connect more effectively.  The article even quotes Cao Zhongjian, an expert on religion in China at CASS, as saying “The authorities have a much more open attitude toward discussion and debate on house churches.”  This has led to freedom for the churches to acquire premises or rent permanent locations.  This is all a far cry from even a few years ago when reports of serious oppression of Chinese Christians were commonplace.

Other publications include a positive article about influential Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci, reference to a thriving church in Shanghai, a report about a village in Yunnan province where 80% of the villagers are Christians, and (amazingly) the testimony of how a young Beijing believer found Jesus after being given a Bible by a colleague.

Chinese choir (China Daily)