Church Mission Society (CMS)

Christians arrested in Iran

At least 10 Christians were arrested in Iran on 21 January, including some believers from a Muslim background.

Middle East Concern (MEC) reports that the arrests, which took place in Tehran included an Armenian Christian called Hamik and at least one couple, Jamal and Nadereh, from a Muslim background.

In 2008, Iran's parliament approved a law to make converting from Islam a capital offence - though this has still to pass into law and is awaiting approval by Iran's supreme clerical hierarchy.

Before these new arrests, Iran's Christians had enjoyed a relatively peaceful Christmas, despite threats, especially to Muslim background believers, that severe consequences woudl follow if they met together to celebrate. Some believers arrested in 2008 are still detained waiting trial, says the MEC report.

They pass on prayer requests from Iranian Christians:

• Hamik, Jamal, Nadereh and others arrested last week will know the Lord's presence and enabling in prison
• all those detained for their faith will be released soon
• the ongoing wave of arrests will end
• any believers who do appear in court will know the Spirit's guiding throughout the proceedings
• the proposed changes to the penal code concerning apostasy will be dropped
• all officials involved will hear the good news of Jesus

Listen up: CMS's Mark Berry on Radio 4

Tomorrow at 11am Radio 4 airs a documentary about the work of CMS's Mark Berry. "The Most Godless Town in Britain" follows Mark's work as a pioneer mission leader in Telford - a joint appointment of Lichfield Diocese and CMS - and the community, safespace, he has founded.

We wait with interest to hear the actual programme, as Mark was not best pleased about the blurb in the Radio Times - even the programme maker agreed it was "unfortunately worded". The Radio 4 publicity is rather more accurate - see below. Hopefully we are in for a treat - you can find out more about Mark and his work at his blog.

Safespace's latest initiative is sanktuary - a safe place to chill out post-club in Telford.

Telford in Shropshire has one of the lowest per capita church attendances in Britain, with less than one in 100 residents being regular Anglican churchgoers.

In the last 10 years church attendance has dropped dramatically in this new town, which has a large population of people in their twenties and thirties, so the Church Mission Society has appointed a new missionary for Telford.

Describing himself as a pioneer leader rather than missionary, Mark Berry hopes to tap into the huge number of people who describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious".

He takes his message to Telford's annual "Mind Body Spirit" fairs, where he competes with reiki healers and gong therapists. He has also set up "Sank.tuary", a chill-out zone next to Pussy Cats nightclub, as a space for young revellers to take a spiritual moment, drink coffee and eat flapjacks. But Mark says it's not about bums on pews and that God is as likely to be found in the pub as in the church.

Presenter Jolyon Jenkins follows Mark in his endeavours, and explores some important questions about today's crowded spiritual marketplace, in which spirituality merges with therapy and many take an increasingly consumerist, pick-and-mix approach to beliefs and practices.

Mark also features in the BBC News Magazine today.

Goma: immediate impact of Nkunda's arrest

The arrest last week of rebel general Laurent Nkunda in eastern Congo has had an immediate impact, says a local Anglican priest who has been in touch with CMS.

The Congolese army has already retaken areas controlled by Nkunda around Rutshuru and road barriers set up by Nkunda’s forces have come down. Local government is being reinstated in the formerly rebel-controlled districts.

People are beginning to feel safe enough to travel a little, says our correspondent (who remains anonymous because of the still fragile situation), yet still fear retaliation from Nkunda’s forces. "But this shows that peace is nearer," he says.

The Interahamwe Hutu groups are also being pursued by both the Congolese and Rwandan armies in an effort to force them to repatriate to Rwanda. "Some few number have started crossing officially the border to Rwanda and this is a positive sign in this process."

But thousands of internally displaced people are still in camps around Goma and others have been taken in by people in the town – they all need our prayers, says our correspondent.

"Let us pray so that in the near future, they must rejoin their respective villages and reorganise their lives and start working for a living and worship God through work."

To prayer supporters in this country he has the message: “I hereby want to express all my sincere thanks for your daily prayers about Congo and supports about victims of the war and may God richly bless you." Let’s keep praying.

Children travel in time to fight for rights

Over 750 children have already experienced time travel back to the Victorian age this year - thanks to the CMS youth and children's team.

The World To Rights programme sees the team touring the UK's cathedrals throughout 2009 to help schoolchildren explore children's rights - and the lack of them in many places in the world.

After a lot of preparation, including a trip to the Philippines to learn about the situation for street children there, the tour kicked off in Guildford cathedral and then headed north to Chester.

Following in the footsteps of their successful Free For All tour, the team lead drama workshops to help children explore what life was like for people their age in Britain in the Victorian era - and then to find out why people saw a need for change and how they campaigned for it.

They also find out about street children's lives in the Philippines, thanks to a DVD filmed in Manila with Jigsaw Kids Ministry, where CMS mission partners Kate and Tim Lee work. You can see an interview with Kate and Tim here (but catch World To Rights on tour to watch the team' s film made in Manila).

You can follow the tour, which marks the 50th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Children's Rights, at the World To Rights blog. The CMS Lent resource for 2009 is also inspired by the children of Jigsaw and was written by Anita Matthews, CMS adviser for children and youth. It explores how we can all grow up spiritually and you can get a free download of this great resource here.

LRA attacks in Congo and Sudan continue

Disturbing reports continued to circulate this week of more attacks by the Lord's Resistance Army rebels based in the Dungu area of north-east Congo.

In the last month, more than 620 people have been killed and more than 160 children abducted, according to Human Rights Watch.

The rebels, who have terrorised hundreds of thousands of people in the region since 1986, when they began their war against the Ugandan government, have attacked several areas across the border in Southern Sudan since Christmas, as well as carrying out attacks in DRC.

Suspected LRA fighters murdered people sheltering in a Catholic church on Boxing Day and reportedly set another church on fire in Duru, north-east Congo on Saturday (18 Jan).

Meanwhile reports have been coming in from partners in the Episcopal Church of Sudan who have also experienced attacks. In echoes of the atrocities experienced in northern Uganda, the Bishop of Mundri told how two young men had had their hands and legs chopped off while alive, and reported the shooting of a baby on its mother's back.

People have been fleeing the affected areas into the town of Mundri, with many who have no relatives in the town sheltering in the cathedral compound.

Also trying to cope with an influx of displaced people is Levi Bona, projects coordinator for Ezo Diocese. As of Tuesday, he counted 9,412 people who had come to Ezo for safety - both Sudanese and refugees from across the border in Congo.

Bishop Wilson Kamani also reported attacks in Western Equatoria, including the murder of a local chief.

Please pray for all those seeking shelter and those trying to help them. Our friends at Salisbury Diocese, with their strong Sudan link are tracking the situation well on their website.

Also pray for a resolution to the drive by multinational armed forces to crush the LRA in the area - though the Catholic archbishop in northern Uganda has suggested more warfare will not resolve the conflict.

20 Jan: Historic Day for Us too

Today CMS members voted to approve a merger with the South American Mission Society (SAMS). The whole world may not have stopped to watch as it seemed to for the inauguration of President Barack Obama just an hour later, but it was certainly a historic day for the two mission societies and we hope one which will bring a positive and long-lasting contribution to mission in Latin America.

The vote was carried by an amazing 99 per cent in favour of a merger.

The Special General Meeting was held at the CMS mission centre in Oxford and a packed conference hall voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposal from CMS trustees to integrate with SAMS.

The CMS chair of trustees, the Rt Rev Paul Butler, Bishop of Southampton, called the result "hugely encouraging". The meeting heard supportive messages from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of the Southern Cone, the Rt Rev Gregory Venables.

SAMS General Council had already approved the merger in principle.

There are some photos of the event on our Flickr page

Kidnapped pastor freed in Pakistan

Severely beaten, deeply traumatised - but alive - the Rev Tanzeel Zafar was dumped at the gates of St John's Cathedral in Peshawar, north-west Pakistan, on Sunday evening.

He had been abducted on the previous Friday on his way home from the diocesan centre in Peshawar.

It is not known who his abductors were, said the Diocese of Peshawar. Bishop Mano Rumalshah of the diocese praised the police actions in resolving this case.

The Rev Tanzeel Zafar is the priest-In-charge of Charsadda and Shabqadar parish and is also assistant in Mardan Parish, in the North West Frontier Province.

Bishop Mano noted with sadness that "kidnapping in the area goes unabated. And it really affects the whole community especially when religious leaders are abducted." He prayed that such incidents may be stopped and that religious tolerance and harmony may be realized amongst all people, said a diocesan statement.