Weekly Prayer Letter

Prayer Diary For Week Commencing

3rd May 2025

Please pray about the cyber-attacks on the IT systems of shops.  Marks and Spencers are still struggling to sort the problems out.  They restarted some of their systems only to suffer another attack.  Since then, the Coop has had to close some of its IT systems to prevent attacks damaging things.  Pray that these attacks will stop and the damage done by them will be sorted out.

 

 

Please pray about the tension between India and Pakistan after an attack that killed 26 tourists in Indian controlled Kashmir.  Pray that this will not lead to hostilities between these two neighbours.

 

 

Please pray about the danger of wildfires in the UK.  Already this year more land has been burnt than in a whole year in the last 10 years.  Pray that these fires will die out.  Also, some of the fires have been lit deliberately.  Pray that people will no longer do this.

 

 

Please pray for people that are mourning in Uppsala, Sweden after 3 young people, between 15 and 20, were shot recently.  Pray that this sort of attack will not happen again.

 

 

Please pray for everyone that has been affected by the recent severe power cuts in Spain and Portugal.

It is thought that 3 people have died because of them but far more people's businesses will have been affected

and many will have lost food in their freezers and fridges.

 

 

Please pray that people in Gaza will get the food they need to stop them from starving to death.

 

 

Please pray for our preachers who are preaching next week.

Pray for the preparation as well as the service.

John Boardman taking the early morning Communion Service with us at Scartho, Lester Kitching with us

at Scartho and Susan Chambers taking an evening Church Anniversary service at Tetney.

 

 

Please pray for the church in Saudi Arabia.  This is a large near eastern desert country.  It is number 12 on the Open Doors at risk list.  It's very risky to become a Christian in Saudi Arabia.  Not only is it illegal to leave the Islamic faith, new believers will face intense opposition from their families and communities as well.  In a shame/honour culture, bringing shame on the family in this way is considered the worst thing a person can do, and they can be pressured, disowned, locked away, beaten, or even killed to restore the family's honour.  Because of this, most Saudi Christians tend to follow their faith quietly and secretly.  This extends as far as not even telling their own spouse or children about their faith, for fear that extended family members or school staff could discover that they have left Islam.  There are no legal church buildings or meetings.  But we are seeing secret believers becoming bolder in recent times, sharing their Christian faith with others on the internet and Christian satellite TV channels – though Saudi Christians who have been caught doing this have faced serious repercussions.  The majority of the Christians living in Saudi Arabia are temporary workers from other countries.  They are forbidden from sharing their faith with local Saudis, and gathering for worship is restricted. Breaking these rules can get them detained and deported.

 

 

Please pray for the Church in Australia, who face a mighty challenge.  The strong influence of Christianity declined as the country became more diverse in religions and became more secular in its public life and laws.  

Many Australians see the Church as intolerant, abusive of its power, and anti-progressive in its values.

A series of scandals and corruption in Hillsong and other high-profile churches accelerated disillusionment and disgust with Christianity.   Only 44% of the population claimed to be Christian in 2021, down from 71% in 1996!

From 2016 – 2021, Christianity declined by over 1 million people, and by the 2026 census, "No Religion" will almost certainly become the largest group in Australia.   Pray for revival that will affect every area of Australian society.