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Handle with prayer!
News – ANiC and AEN
Chile earthquake relief appeal
A deadly 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Chile in the early morning hours of Sunday, February 28, collapsing buildings, shattering major bridges and highways across a long swath of the country. The quake was centered roughly 500 km southwest of the capital Santiago near the country’s second largest city of Concepcion. Many roads were destroyed, making it difficult for help to arrive. Hundreds are reported dead and many injured. Anglicans in Chile are part of the Province of the Southern Cone. Information about the Anglican Diocese of Chile is available at on their website.
Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone told Anglican Mainstream that Bishop Tito Zavala, Bishop of Chile, and his team “are leading inspiring Anglican work throughout Chile. This earthquake represents both a setback and a great opportunity to demonstrate the reality of the transformation Christ brings through his Spirit working through his people. I hope we can support our brethren in Christ in Chile strongly at this time." Bishop Zavala had reported that, as far as they knew, all staff and clergy families were safe. However, they have not been able to contact those in the worst hit areas around Concepción. He asks for prayer. The Anglican Church League website has this update from Archbishop Peter Jensen (Sydney): “The latest reports indicate that in Concepcion, where the earthquake was at its most destructive, four Anglican congregations have been camping in groups together. They are sharing a very limited supply of food and water.”
If you would like to help, you can send your donation through the Anglican Relief and Development Fund Canada (ARDFC) by sending a cheque to ARDFC c/o Box 1013, Burlington, ON, L7R 4L8, with a note specifying that it is for Chile Relief. On you can donate online, clicking “Donate Now”, then making sure you select “ARDFC” in the “Fund/Designation” drop-down menu, and finally noting “Chile Relief” in the “Message/instructions” box.
Vancouver area churches proceeding with legal appeal
The appeal of Mr Justice Kelleher’s decision involving Vancouver-area ANiC parishes is proceeding. Please pray for their legal counsel, Geoff Cowper and Stanley Martin, as they prepare the appeal on behalf of the congregations.
Welcoming a new clergy member
The Rev Mark Davison (Brentwood Bay, BC) has been licenced by Bishop Don upon relinquishment of his previous Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) licence. You can hear his farewell message to his ACoC congregation and read more about this on the AEC blog. Please pray for the Davison family.
Clergy conferences and retreats
ANiC Retreat for Clergy & Spouses – For information see our website. Please register ASAP!
When: March 16-18
Where: Cedar Springs, Sumas, WA (just minutes south of the border near Abbotsford, BC)
Speaker: The Rev Canon David Roseberry, rector of Christ Church Plano (Texas), who is
spearheading ACNA’s church planting thrust – accompanied by his wife Fran
Information: the Rev Gary Stobbs at 604-854-5380 or garystobbs@shaw.ca.
Register: On the ANiC website ASAP as numbers must be finalized this week.
Ministry Leadership Day with speaker Dr John Stackhouse. For information see the website.
When: March 18
Where: Heritage Seminary, 175 Holiday Inn Drive, Cambridge, Ontario
Theme: "What in God's Name are you doing?"
reFocus Preaching and Theology Conference – With speakers: Dr. John Piper, Dr. Bruce Ware, Dr. John Neufeld, the Hon. Preston Manning, and Bishop Charlie Masters. For more information and to register see the reFocus website.
When: Apr 7-9
Where: Willingdon Church, Burnaby, BC
Theme: Suffering for the Gospel
Clergy openings
Church of the Resurrection (Hope, BC) has an opening for a part-time rector. See parish profile and position information. Applications to Bishop Trevor Walters by March 15.
St Matthews (Abbotsford, BC) is looking for a full-time assistant priest. Those interested should contact the church office by calling (604) 853-2416 or emailing stmatts1@telus.net for a Parish Profile. Deadline for applications is 31 March 2010.
News from our parishes, church plants and projects
Christ the King (Victoria, BC) is hosting a prayer seminar with ANiC’s national prayer coordinator, the Rev Garth Hunt, entitled “Pursuing Intimacy with God”. For full information and registration see the brochure.
When: Friday, March 19, 7 - 9pm & Saturday, March 20, 9:30am - 5pm
Where: Gateway Baptist Church, 898 Royal Oak Ave, Victoria, BC
St Andrew’s ANiC project (Delta, BC) is hosting a spiritual life conference with Bishop Malcolm and the Venerable Paul Crossland. For information, email godslovingtouchconference@gmail.com or call 604-943-8727. Also see the conference brochure.
Time: Friday, March 19, 7 – 9:30pm & Saturday, March 20, 8am - 9pm (Meals not included)
Place: Cedar Park Mennonite Church, 5300 – 44 Ave Ladner, BC
Church of the Ascension (Langley, BC) – On Sunday March 21, Church of the Ascension will hold its first confirmation service with Bishop Trevor Walters. Describing the significance of this service, Bishop Ron Ferris says, “A number of adults and teens will profess their faith in Jesus, ask for the strengthening of God's Holy Spirit, and celebrate their connectedness to the global Anglican family, and the universal Church.”
The following week on Palm Sunday, March 28, St John’s Sudanese choir from Surrey, BC will lead the music at Church of the Ascension.
During Lent, Church of the Ascension will send 10,000 invitation postcards to homes in their community. Please pray with this congregation that this effort will bear spiritual and eternal fruit.
Good Shepherd (Vancouver, BC) is hosting a revival conference on March 19-20 with guest speaker Dr Dennis Ngien.
Toronto Centre Project which meets every second Wednesday evening for worship, teaching and prayer, is also continuing its support of Toronto’s inner-city Yonge Street Mission by serving meals and helping with services and worship. They served a meal at the Mission on Valentine’s Day and plan to do so again on Easter Sunday. They request prayer for: God’s clear direction for their next steps; for a venue where they can start regular Sunday services; and for clergy and music leadership. Their next meeting is March 10. For contact information, see the website.
Holy Trinity (Marlborough, MA) – Bishop Don will be with the people of Holy Trinity this weekend as he ordains Dwight MacPherson as a deacon at All Saints (Rutland, VT) on Saturday and Rhonda Cotton also as a deacon at Holy Trinity on Sunday. Please remember them in prayer. Holy Trinity is currently planting four new churches including All Saints in Rutledge.
St John’s Vancouver – Bishop Don will be with the people of St John’s Vancouver the week of March 8-15. Then Bishop Brighton Malasa and Father Grant Tebulo from Malawi will spend from April 15 to 27 with the congregation.
Calendar of upcoming events – for your interest and prayer support
Mar 9 – St Chad’s Bible Study in Etobicoke every Tuesday at 2pm. For info call 416-236-4647
Mar 10 – Toronto Centre Project meeting at 7:30pm
Mar 16-18 – 5th Annual ANiC clergy retreat at Cedar Springs (near Abbotsford, BC)
Mar 18 – Ministry leadership seminar at Heritage Seminary, Cambridge ON
Mar 19-20 – St Andrew’s (Delta, BC) – Parish renewal with +Malcolm & the Ven Paul Crossland
Mar 19-20 – Good Shepherd (Vancouver) is holding a revival conference with Dr Dennis Ngien
Mar 19-20 – Christ the King (Victoria) prayer seminar with the Rev Garth Hunt
Mar 21 – Confirmation service at Church of the Ascension, Langley, BC
Mar 28 – St John’s Sudanese choir to lead music at Church of the Ascension, Langley, BC
Apr 7-9 – reFocus Canada , a preaching and theology conference, in Burnaby, BC
April 17-24 –Church of the Good Samaritan (St John’s, NL) mission to Guatemala
June 3-11 – Anglican Church of Canada General Synod, Halifax, NS
June 7 - 11 – ACNA House of Bishops, Provincial Executive and Council meet in Amesbury, MA
Nov 3, 4-6 – Clergy day followed by ANiC synod, Ottawa, ON
News shorts – Anglican Church in North America (ANCA)
Anglican 1000 Summit for church planters
The Anglican 1000 church planting summit in Texas last month fueled the evangelistic fervor of leaders and church planters throughout our province, ACNA – including the 40 Canadians who attended. AnglicanTV has video of the speakers at this summit, including ANiC’s Rev Jim Saladin who provided Bible teaching.
The Rev Phil Ashey provides an excellent report from the summit which is well worth reading. He says, “Sometimes in the heat of battle it's hard to remember what you're fighting for. I am grateful to the organizers of the Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit… for reminding us what we are fighting for. We are not fighting merely for survival as orthodox Anglicans in North America. We are fighting against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places… We are fighting for the hearts, minds, souls and eternal destinies of multitudes of unsaved people in North America.” He says he came away from the summit “with four action steps we must do together in order to reach the goal of planting 1000 new churches in the next five years:”
1. “We must exalt Jesus Christ”
2. “We must do the work of an evangelist”
3. “We must be more like Anglicans in the Global South” (in our missionary practices)
4. “We must plant churches now” (We can’t wait until our churches are strong)
VirtueOnline reports attendees heard the Rev David Roseberry – who is also speaking at the ANiC clergy retreat in a couple weeks – say, “I think this event signaled the end of the beginning. The next chapter is about moving forward in mission.” Archbishop Robert Duncan also told them that “the mission God has given us is to reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ.”
Interview with Archbishop Robert Duncan
In a video interview posted to the AEC blog, Archbishop Bob mentions that an average of three congregations per week have joined ACNA since last June – some church plants, some existing congregations. He says, “We have a sense that God is really in this; it’s pretty exciting.” He also discusses differences within ACNA on the ordination of women, his being seated on the GAFCon Primates Council, the invitation for ACNA to be represented at the Global South meeting in Singapore next month, the recent Church of South-East Asia synod which acknowledged their fellowship with ACNA, and the implied threat to Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Diocese of South Carolina by TEC’s Presiding Bishop.
ACNA in the news
VirtueOnline – Feb 25 2010 – New North American Anglican Province grows even as the Episcopal Church declines
News shorts – Canada
Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) General Synod
An Anglican Journal article lists some of items that will dominate the ACoC’s General Synod in Halifax this June. These include: Church planning priorities, the role of the primate, reducing the size of General Synod, incorporating indigenous ministries into the canon, and issues of sexuality. On the issues of sexuality, Archbishop Fred Hiltz says, “I think…people feel the process should be driven more by conversation and discernment than by resolution and debate.”
More on the closure of ACoC Vancouver Island churches
The Anglican Journal, in discussing the proposed closure of thirteen Vancouver Island churches reveals that St Mary’s Metchosin – once the home of ANiC’s The Open Gate congregation in Victoria – might not close after all thanks to an “impassioned plea” by the new rector who asked for more time to rebuild following the departure of those who now make up the ANiC congregation of the Open Gate.
In a follow-up article, the Journal says that the diocesan synod, March 5-7, may alter the planned closures and consolidations. In telling the story of one of the liberal parishes slated for closure, the article quotes the rector saying, “Our three guiding principles are to accept that God is present in other faiths, to make the world a better place and to end war. … We feel that we have a unique message. Anglicanism is so broad.”
Another related Journal article discusses the Diocese of Niagara’s response to dwindling numbers through evangelism. Niagara Archdeacon Michael Patterson is quoted saying, “Anglicans have never been comfortable articulating clearly what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in the world… Inviting someone to church is the single most important thing you can do to evangelize.”
Canadian news
Anglican Journal – Mar 1 2010 – Reality check in BC
News shorts – United States
Update on Episcopal Church (TEC) litigation
The US Supreme Court has refused to review a California Supreme Court ruling that gave a St Luke’s church property to TEC’s Diocese of Los Angeles. The people of St Luke’s were asking the US Supreme Court to decide whether the state decision violated the First Amendment. The Glendale News Press reports that “the St. Luke’s Anglican Church would now shift its focus off the protracted legal battle and onto securing more permanent worship facilities, said the Rev. Robert Holman… “We lost the property, and we’re moving on,” Holman said.”
The Supreme Court of Virginia will hear an appeal by the TEC Diocese of Virginia of an earlier decision which decisively confirmed church properties belonged to the ACNA congregations in that state. The appeal will be heard April 12-16.
Also, the ACNA Diocese of Pittsburgh has appealed a negative ruling in its property dispute.
US news
Church of England Newspaper – Feb 28 2010 – Episcopalians told they must ignore conservatives
VirtueOnline – Mar 2 2010 – Bishop Mark Lawrence: “This man hath done nothing amiss”
News shorts – International
Important paper on the Anglican Covenant released
The Rev Professor Stephen Noll, Vice Chancellor of Uganda Christian University has written “Communion Governance: The Role and Future of the Historic Episcopate and the Anglican Communion Covenant”. A central point of the paper is that “there is emerging in the Communion a new paradigm of centralization under Canterbury and his executive circle. This new paradigm corresponds with and gives rationale to certain changes in the structures of the Communion by giving an enhanced role to the Archbishop and to the ACC Secretariat and its Standing Committee, both of which are now designated “of the Anglican Communion.” This paradigm necessarily involves demotion of conciliar bodies like the Primates.”
Commenting on this paper, the Rev Phil Ashey of the American Anglican Council says it, “is characterized by meticulous research into the history of Communion Governance… and the relative merits of three different models of governance: pure autonomy, executive bureaucracy (with an enhanced role for the See of Canterbury), and the conciliar authority of bishops… This essay establishes a robust ecclesiology and model for governance that will sustain the Anglican Communion in the years ahead. We hope and pray that it will inform the prayerful deliberations of the Primates of the Global South as they prepare to discuss the adoption of the Anglican Communion Covenant and the future of Communion governance.”
The Rev Ashey notes several key points in the paper:
1. “The conclusion of this essay is that the one matter of principle that cannot be abandoned without abandoning our particular catholic and Anglican heritage is the responsibility of the ordained and bishops in council in particular, to rule and adjudicate matters of Communion doctrine and discipline.
2. “If this is true, then the Lambeth Conference and the Primates' Meeting (with the Archbishop of Canterbury presiding as primus inter pares) must be seen as the primary organs to deal with articulation of the faith, as happened at Lambeth 1998, and with breaches of the faith, as has not happened since then.
3. “There must be only one track: those who adopt the Covenant are members of the Communion; those who do not adopt it are not…”
Some of Dr Noll’s other observations included:
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The crisis in the Anglican Communion is above all a crisis of truth – the truth of the gospel and the open denial of that truth |
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The influence of Global South primates in the Communion has been diminished “with the most recent top-down reordering of Communion structures” and can only be restored if “they stand firm for a conciliar role under an effective Covenant”. |
Professor Noll also raises some hard questions, including:
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“Why were the recommendations of the Windsor Report ignored…? |
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“By what authority did the Archbishop of Canterbury and the ACC Joint Standing Committee establish itself as "The Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion (SCAC)," with responsibility to oversee the Covenant? And what is to prevent the new SCAC from becoming a "Fifth Instrument" of disunity? |
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“Why have the Archbishop of Canterbury and the ACC consistently ignored the consequences recommended for those who breach Communion discipline and order…?” |
StandFirmInFaith also notes key passages from Dr Noll’s seminal paper for those who don’t have time to read the entire 51 page document.
House of Lords allow civil partnership ceremonies in churches
England’s House of Lords has voted to allow civil partnership ceremonies in churches. The Times reports that this clears the way for homosexuals to be married in church buildings. “It is predicted that as a result there would be effectively no difference between marriage and civil partnership within the church. Critics say that the change will force clerics to take a more liberal approach to same-sex relationships.” The amendment must still be approved by the House of Commons but is expected to pass. Commenting on this development, Peter Ould says, “One thing is clear though – this is legalised gay marriage in church by the back door and those of us who are Biblically conservative need to be very aware of what is going on. The Bill in its current form is too ambiguous and would arguably permit Church of England clergy to let Civil Partnerships be registered in churches without the permission of their Bishops.”
International media coverage
SPREAD – Feb 24 2010 – When will gay couples be able to take vows in the Church of England?
Church of England Newspaper – Feb 19 2010 – Pakistan Church hit by arrest warrant for bishop
Soul food
God’s created order vs our increasingly antagonistic culture
Pornography – Tim Challies highly recommends a recently released book, Wired for Intimacy by William Struthers, which “…shows how the male brain is hard-wired for intimacy and relationships and how pornography affects the male brain… Struthers provides a primer on the brain and shows both how sexuality is hard-wired into the brain and how pornography can disrupt that God-given capacity. He shows that… the capacity of the brain to pursue intimacy with a wife is very easily disrupted and perverted by a desire to look at pornography. The wiring that ought to be used to pursue intimacy with one woman can easily be disrupted and used to pursue a kind of false intimacy with an endless succession of women… [The book] challenges men to be exceedingly careful about what they view and it makes them doubly responsible before God for images they’ve consumed. The implications of the neurological basis for human sexuality call men to purity before God in a whole new way. Wired for Intimacy is a book we need. With pornography increasingly reaching epidemic proportions, this book helps us understand it at a whole new level. And it calls us to deal with human sexuality in a way that acknowledges all of its dimensions—moral, ethical, psychological, spiritual and physical.”
Abortion – In a letter to their local paper, two Saskatchewan Members of Parliament explain that, despite the intense criticism of government policy of not promoting abortion in developing nations, the evidence shows ready access to abortion is inversely related to maternal health and directly related to increased maternal mortality. They cite evidence from Poland and Ireland and then add, “In a letter in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2009, Dr. Rene Leiva cites a 2006 Salvadorian Ministry of Health study. Until 1998, abortion was legal in El Salvador and the maternal mortality ratio was calculated to be 150 per 100,000 births. Abortions were no longer legally permitted after 1998, and by 2006 the maternal mortality ratio had dropped to 71.2, or by more than 50 per cent… There is also research evidence that abortion can have a detrimental impact on a woman's psychological health. In a 2008 study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, researchers linked abortion to "an increased risk of a variety of mental health problems (panic attacks, panic disorder, agoraphobia, PTSD, bipolar disorder, major depression with or without hierarchy) and substance abuse disorders… With respect to infant mortality and morbidity, abortion has been shown to be associated with a "significantly increased risk" of future pre-term birth and low birth weight. Low-birth weight puts infants at higher risk for such things as cerebral palsy, visual problems, learning disabilities, respiratory problems and infant death.”
Sexuality – A 1995 article by psychiatrist Charles Socarides chronicles “How America Went Gay”. He explains how homosexuality was arbitrarily reclassified by the American Psychiatric Association as a condition, rather than a disorder, how the “sexual revolution” got westerners to think like homosexuals and pursue of multiple partners, how we in the west have been desensitized, shamed by our “bigotry”, and “converted” into advocates of homosexuality through unrelenting media propaganda. The author then recounts what he has learned from 40 years of working with homosexuals, including that thousands who were desperately unhappy in their “gay” lifestyle have successfully changed their behaviour. He also reports that “even in such gay publications as The Journal of Homosexuality that the gay-gene studies and the gay-brain studies do not stand up to critical analysis.”
Marriage – In “Permanence before experience – the wisdom of marriage”, the Rev Dr Albert Mohler discusses a recent study by the National Center for Health Statistics that suggestions that while cohabiting before marriage is now the norm in North America, it actually “makes divorce more likely after eventual marriage”. The new logic is “The experience of cohabiting just makes sense to many young adults. Their logic is that marriage is what happens after a relationship becomes sexually intimate and is found to be adequately fulfilling -- not before. They do not know that what they are actually doing is undoing marriage. They miss the central logic of marriage as an institution of permanence. They miss the essential wisdom of marriage – that the commitment must come before the intimacy, that the vows must come before the shared living, that the wisdom of marriage is its permanence before its experience. Cohabitation weakens marriage – even a cohabiting couple's eventual marriage – because a temporary and transitory commitment always weakens a permanent commitment. Having lived together with the open possibility of parting, that possibility always remains, and never leaves.”
Resources
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, of which ANiC is a member, has resources for youth on the issues of “Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery” and “How Merciful: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide”. The booklets equip youth by examining the issues, providing statistics, offering legal and policy analysis, as well as including expert opinion and personal testimonies. Practical suggestions for taking action are offered as well.
Canon Dr J I Packer blows the whistle on evangelicals
Michael Horton of the White Horse Inn interviews Dr J I Packer on our failure as evangelicals to catechize and what this means – ie systematically instruct new believers in the basics of the faith. It is worth listening to this 1/2 hour interview and thinking about what we need to do to address this failure. On this website, select the February 28th interview called “Grounded in the Gospel.”
Worth reading
The End of the Reformation? – The Rev Dr Albert Mohler has commented on the thought that the “reformation is over” – as signaled by the pope’s overtures to Anglo-Catholics. After recounting the growing embrace of heresies by mainline protestant denominations, he agrees that “that there is no shortage of evidence to support [the] argument that "the last gasp of the Reformation" can be seen in many quarters.” However, he says, “The central doctrine of the Reformation is this -- justification by faith alone. Angry and disenchanted Episcopalians may seek refuge from their denomination's apostasy, but if they "cross the Tiber" they deny the central doctrine of the Reformation and take the position that it is heresy.” The apostasy we are witnessing in the mainline churches, he says, does not point to the end of the Reformation, but rather, “to the urgent need for genuine reformation in the churches that once claimed Reformation faith.”
The Office of Deacon – In the last newsletter, Bishop Don commented on the office of Deacon. You can gain even more insight into this important office by reading the sermon the Rev Tom Carman preached at the February 28 ordination of new deacon, the Rev Roy Laing. Bishop Don highly recommends it saying, “It is one of the best on the Office of Deacon that I have heard.” Photos of the Rev Roy Laing’s ordination are available on the ANiC website.
Just for fun – Children and prayer
When Kelli said her bedtime prayers, she would ask God to bless every family member, every friend, and every pet – current and past. But then she began adding something new. After several weeks of hearing her finish the nightly prayer with, "And all girls" her father’s curiosity got the best of him. He asked, "Kelli, why do you add the part about all girls?" Kelli replied, "Because everybody always finishes their prayers by saying 'All Men'!"
Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When Little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away.
"Johnny! Please wait until we say our prayer," said his mother.
"I don't need to," the boy replied.
"Of course, you do," his mother insisted. "We always say a prayer before eating at our house."
"That's at our house." Johnny explained. "But this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook
Thought
You don't stop playing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop playing.
Please pray...
For ANiC projects, church plants and parishes,
especially as they seek to proclaim the Good News to those in their
communities who desperately need new life in Christ.
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For the Good
Shepherd (Vancouver) revival conference, Mar 19-20 with Dr Dennis Ngien |
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For the prayer seminar at Christ the King (Victoria, BC) Mar 19-20 led by the Rev Garth Hunt |
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For the Church of the Good Samaritan (St John’s,
NL) mission to Guatemala, April 17-24 |
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For good results from the invitation postcards Church of the Ascension (Langley, BC) is sending to those in the neighbourhood |
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For God’s clear leading for the Toronto Centre Project as they seek facilities for Sunday services, clergy and music leadership |
For our bishops and clergy.
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For Bishop
Malcolm and the spiritual renewal missions at St George’s (Burlington,
ON) on Feb 26-28 and St Andrew’s (Delta, BC) on March 19-20. |
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For those being ordained to the diaconate: Roy Lang (St Aidan’s, Windsor, ON), Dwight MacPherson (All Saints,
Rutledge, VT) and Rhonda Cotton (Holy
Trinity, Marlborough, MA) |
| • |
For the Mar 16-18 ANiC clergy retreat at Cedar Springs (near Abbotsford, BC) |
For
legal cases and disputes
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For the Vancouver-area
ANiC parishes that are proceeding with an appeal of the November 25
court decision. |
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For all the congregations involved in court proceedings and disputes. Pray for
peace for the wardens and trustees who
are on the front lines and bear the burden of risk and responsibility. Pray for
a continued focus on, and blessing upon, their ministry in the midst of this
turmoil. |
| • |
For ongoing financial contributions to the Legal Defence Fund so that legal costs
can be covered and just decisions rendered for the future of Anglicanism in
Canada. |
| • |
For the leaders
and parishioners of the dioceses pursuing eviction of and damages
against ANiC congregations and wardens in court. |
| • |
That God
will be glorified in all court proceedings. |
Praise God
for the granting of charitable status to the Anglican Relief & Development Fund –
Canada. Pray for sufficient funds to be
raised for the Kenya Malaria Prevention Project.
For our fellow Anglicans and
other Christians facing violence,
persecution and natural disasters in Haiti, Nigeria, Congo, Sudan and
other Muslim lands as well as in Communist countries, especially North Korea.
And now a word from our sponsor
And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Luke 12:15-34
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