Christianity Today reports – Prayer vigils are being held for those involved in the pro-democracy demonstrations currently gripping Hong Kong.

Churches throughout the city are urging their congregations to uphold Hong Kong in prayer as the protests are now well into their third day.

Tens of thousands of people have flooded the streets in protest against the Chinese government’s insistence on screening political candidates to ensure their allegiance to the CCP.

It was hoped that open elections would be held in 2017, but a motion ruling against this was passed in August.

Many locals believe that this contradicts Beijing’s promise to one day allow Hong Kong “universal suffrage”.

The protest movement has been largely peaceful, though there have been some small clashes with police who responded on Sunday with tear gas, pepper spray and riot gear in an attempt to dispel the demonstrators.

Since then, however, those on the ground say that riot police have withdrawn and the protest has continued without violence.

Among the leaders of the movement, under the banner ‘Occupy Central with Love and Peace’, are a number of Christians, including former Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun and Baptist minister Rev Chu Yiu-ming.

Churches in the region are now also responding to the movement in prayer.

The Vine, an international church located in Wan Chai district just a few blocks from the protests, has opened itself up for 48 hours as a place of prayer and intercession, as well as refuge, rest and support for those involved.

A statement from senior pastor Andrew Gardener released yesterday said: “The last twenty four hours in Hong Kong has seen some scenes that we thought we would never see in our city. No doubt you have all been following what has been unfolding on our streets. We have seen some unprecedented social action with calls for more to come.

“It is times like these when we believe the church has an essential role to play in society,” he continued.

Gardener, who has lived in Hong Kong for 28 years, says it’s the first time he’s seen protests in the city of this scale.

… Read More …

Source : Christianity Today

Christianity Today reports – Vicars in the Church of England can look forward to an average salary of about £23,000 for most of their career. Ok, so they get a house (usually in the need of a new carpet or two), but this is nothing in comparison with the rewards of ministry in the US.

In the CofE there are no pay rises for good performance – delivering a life-altering sermon or seeing a record number of conversions, or bonuses for working on Christmas Day. Even the Archbishop of Canterbury only earns just over £70,000 a year, and being in charge of the Anglican Communion is no easy job.

It’s a similar story in most denominations. If you become a pastor, minister, reverend or priest in the UK you’re not beginning the path to riches – at least not in the material sense.

And perhaps that’s how it should be. After all, we like to think that those going into ministry are following a call of the Lord, not a call of the wallet.

But a report released this month by Leadership Network, a church think-tank, and Vanderbloemen Search Group, a church recruitment agency, shows the economic opportunities for those working for large churches in the US.

Attractive pension plans, bonuses and salaries of up to $300,000 (£184,000) are just some of the rewards on offer at America’s churches.

We are, of course, looking at a very different kind of church. The survey involved participation from 727 churches with attendance figures between 1,000 and 33,000 people. Of those, 91 churches had congregations of 5,000 people or more – a description that only applies to about five churches in the UK. That’s a lot of prayer meetings, Alpha courses and bring and share lunches to oversee.

The report found that church size was by far the biggest indicator of the size of salary; the larger churches had larger budgets and paid higher salaries. Though interestingly, the study showed that the per capita income from giving declined with the size of church. Location also had some bearing, with the highest salaries found in the southern states.

According to the report’s analysis: “Only 14 per cent of churches have a bonus structure in place for their senior pastor”. That’s probably 14 per cent more than any CofE church.

The average salary for a senior pastor in these churches was around $200,000. This figure includes any housing allowance that is given, and there is also private healthcare to take into consideration.

The analysis at the end of the report noted the “modest salaries overall, but especially at the top” when a comparison was made with CEOs of private companies. The authors cite research which suggests these directors might be earning about $10 million, about 257 times the average worker’s salaries. In churches, however, the discrepancy between the highest paid (almost always the senior pastor) and the rest of the staff is nothing like this high.

There are, of course, churches that deviate from the norm. In one church surveyed, among the lower salaries recorded for senior pastors, all the staff were paid the same amount.

And for every wealthy pastor whose personalised mansion is featured in the press, there will probably be at least one, and probably many more pastors leading their churches by sacrificial living.

But still, for the vicar in a ‘team ministry’ in a shire somewhere in England, looking after five churches (and not in the ‘multi-site campus’ sense) while struggling to heat the vicarage, more news of the American dream could make uncomfortable reading.

Source & Content by  Christianity Today

JPost reports – Efforts to legally differentiate Christian and Muslim Arabs bore fruit on Tuesday as Interior Minister Gideon Saar ordered that the population registry recognize a separate Aramean identity.

Christians who identify with the ancient people can decide to register as Arameans instead of Arabs.

MK Yariv Levin (Likud) has been arguing for such a move and a bill proposed in February would identify Christians as a minority group separate from Arabs, most of whom are Muslim, and give them their own, unique representation on the Advisory Committee for Equal Opportunity in Employment Commission.

The bill called for more representatives on the commission for Christians, Druse and Circassians, as well as for haredim, new immigrants, reserve soldiers, senior citizens, and women.

MK Levin responded to critics, telling the Post at the time: “I don’t try to change the reality; the reality is there. There is a big difference between Christians and Muslims, and they deserve recognition and separate representation.”

Source : Jerusalem Post

Please LIKE our Facebook page – it allows us to reach more people

Chrisma News reports – A Pennsylvania banquet hall that refused to host a same-sex wedding because of the owner’s Christian beliefs has come out victorious in a lawsuit.

Following its longstanding policy, Inne of the Abingtons in North Abington politely refused to host the wedding of a lesbian couple and suggested several alternative venues. After the Inne was unfairly shamed on social media for its stance, a heterosexual couple canceled their 100-guest wedding and reception event. Even though there was not enough time for the Inne to rebook the facility, the couple demanded the return of their deposit, which was nonrefundable under the industry-standard contract.

Having no contractual or legal grounds to force the Inne to take a loss on their cancellation, the couple sued the business anyway, seeking not only a return of the deposit, but triple that amount as damages. On the day of trial, the judge agreed with Liberty Counsel, who is representing the banquet hall, that the suit was improperly filed and should be dismissed.

Rather than let the judge enter a formal dismissal, the couple withdrew their lawsuit, essentially giving up in the face of Liberty Counsel’s defense.

“We are happy to host dinners, birthday parties, or just about any other kind of event regardless of a client’s sexual orientation, but not a same-sex wedding,” said John Antolick, the owner of the Inne.

“I don’t want to discriminate against anyone, but my conscience will not allow me to use my business to endorse an event that contradicts God’s design for marriage,” he added.

“A Christian business owner should not have his contracts dishonored or be hauled into court because he operates his business according to conscience,” said Roger Gannam, Senior Litigation Counsel at Liberty Counsel. “This is a victory for religious liberty.”

Source : Chrisma News