Weekly Prayer Letter

Prayer Diary For Week Commencing

 20th April 2025

Please continue to pray about the future of Scunthorpe steel works after the British government had to step in to stop the Chinese owners closing down the blast furnaces.  Pray that a permanent solution will be found to make sure that we can continue to make steel in this country.  Also pray about the threat that China is now making, because of what happened, to stop all financial involvement with British firms.

 

Please thank God that an American church leader has been found safe and well after being abducted at gunpoint in South Africa.  Please pray about the high rate of violence and murder in that country.

 

Please pray that more and more people in our own country will come to know the real meaning of Easter and accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

 

Please continue to pray about the civil war in Sudan that has now been going on for 2 years.  It has caused the world's biggest humanitarian crisis with many civilians killed and people starving.

 

Please pray about the wildfires in our country over the last few months.  There have been 1,400 in Wales already this year.  Rare animals are being burnt alive and some species are threatened.  Many of these fires have been deliberately lit.  Pray that people will stop doing this.  Also pray that the fires will die out and for the safety of the firemen.

 

Please pray that a fair solution will be found for the dustbin lorry dispute in Birmingham. Also pray that the rubbish (which the city council are trying to clear up) will not lead to increased disease and rats.

 

Please pray about the effects of the serious dust storm in Iraq's central and southern areas.  It has caused breathing problems in at least 1,000 people.  Pray that they will get the medical help needed and will soon recover.

 

Please pray for our preachers who are preaching next Sunday.

Pray for the preparation as well as the service.

Lester Kitching at North Thoresby, Inga Greet taking the service with us at Scartho

and Chris Norman at St. Andrew's

 

Please pray for the church in Mali, a Saharan country in Africa.  It is number 14 on the Open Doors at risk list.

The Islamic extremist insurgency that devastated the north of Mali in 2012 continues to have huge repercussions for the country's small number of Christians (about 543,000 – 2.3% of the population).  Churches were burned down and many Christians lost their homes and had to flee the region.  Although some Christians and congregations have returned under police protection, they still live under the threat of attack.  Those Christians living in areas controlled by militants have been denied access to water and land to grow crops. Believers who engage in evangelistic activities in the north are especially vulnerable to violence, while Christian missionaries live under the constant threat of abduction by jihadists (Islamic militants).  Those who leave Islam to follow Jesus risk violence and pressure from their relatives and communities if their new faith is discovered. The jihadist violence is spreading southward, and the country's institutions are rapidly breaking apart, further playing into the hands of jihadist groups.  The authorities' inability to stem the insurgency has led to public protest and contributed to two military takeovers (in 2020 and 2021).  The country has also become a geopolitical battleground between the West and East, making Christians vulnerable to government-related persecution.

 

Please pray for the Church in Armenia.  Armenia was the world's first Christian nation, with a Christian legacy of more than 1,700 years.  Still the vast majority attend church.  Praise God for the survival of the Armenian Church through the centuries, despite frequent and harsh oppression.  Centuries of bitter conflict, oppression, and massacres left Armenians with hatred and mistrust of their neighbours.  Two attacks by Azerbaijan in the last 30 years included genocide.  Armenians are understandably shaken, especially when traditional support from Russian melted away, and the world's focus was on Ukraine and Israel.  Pray for peace in this region.  Pray that Armenian Christians might become a source of light and blessing to the region.