news in brief
Morocco
Christian volunteers and foster parents at a Moroccan
orphanage were forced to abandon 33 children at a few
hours’ notice after being expelled from the country,
accused of ‘proselytising’ Muslims. The orphanage was
registered with the Moroccan government in 2002 as an
official Christian organisation. A number of other Christian
professionals and their families who have lived in Morocco
for years were given one day’s notice to leave the country.
All deny the proselytising accusations. (Christian Post)
Freeset
Africa
The Assembly production team in their Freeset t-shirts
enough to provide the necessary relief and assist
agricultural recovery.
BMS has sent a relief grant of US$13,420 via
the Baptist Convention of Mozambique (BCM) to
provide food and seeds to 200 families in Buzzi
district, Sofala province. The BCM has used existing
church structures of pastors and church members to
identify those most in need.
Watch Cyclone Nargis response –
a recent video from BMS about our relief
work in action in Burma. Go to
www.bmsworldmission.org/relief
When disasters happen, BMS is only able
to respond quickly with your support. Help
us continue to make a difference. Visit
www.bmsworldmission.org/relief
Families in Mozambique are receiving food aid
or donate by telephone using our
donations hotline: 01235 517641.
World
Ian Britton
“Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt,” is a familiar saying. It trips off the tongue, almost
without thinking.
But for the first time, to aid team identification, the production crew – comprised of people
from both BMS World Mission and the Baptist Union of Great Britain – at this year’s Baptist
Assembly in Plymouth were kitted out in black t-shirts, and not just any old t-shirts.
The t-shirts came from Freeset (www.freesetbags.co.uk), already known to Assembly
delegates as suppliers of the jute satchels used to carry all their papers and belongings.
Freeset’s strapline is “in business for freedom”. Established in 2001, it provides employment
for women who had been trafficked into prostitution in Kolkata, India. Today Freeset employs
over 100 women who manufacture quality bags for export.
Selling t-shirts was a later development. In fact, the production team’s t-shirts were some
of the first to be manufactured by Freeset. They are made from fair trade cotton, and Freeset
states that, “from grower to sewer all workers are paid fair wages and have healthy working
conditions.” All the t-shirts are sewn by women in Kolkata,
who were once on the fringes of society and trapped by
poverty and prostitution. Freeset has given these women
an opportunity to learn new skills, earn a respectable
and shame-free living and find a way to freedom.
Lynne Weir, BMS Publications Co-ordinator, said,
“When I ordered the t-shirts, I realised they were
slightly more expensive than the ones we could have got
from another supplier. However, when they arrived, the
Freeset t-shirts were of better quality, and so it seemed
to me, they were very good value. I’m really pleased
with our purchase.”
And the production crew were very pleased too.
Ken Banks/Kiwanja.net
“Bought the t-shirt”
Church leaders across the continent are heaping
praises on mobile phones, as they say they
are helping congregations grow. They
make it easier and cheaper to spread
news of activities and can be connected
to microphones to record sermons that
are sent to congregations in remote
areas. Young people are sharing Bible
verses through text messages and using
the phones to discuss religious matters on
social networking sites. Christians are also able
to use their phones to give offerings, using a money
transfer facility. (ENI)
About 70 per cent of the world’s people live in countries
with high or very high restrictions on religion, a Pew Centre
report has found. Some restrictions result from government
policies; others from hostile acts by private individuals,
organisations or social groups. Religious minorities often feel
the brunt of hostilities because they are perceived as a threat
to the culture, politics or economy of a country’s majority
population, the 72-page report said. (ENI)
Philippines
Over 150 drug barons in the Quiapo district of Manila have
abandoned their criminal activity, thanks to a programme of
training and work placement arranged by a priest. He visited
their families and gained their trust. “Nobody has ever dared
to help these people rebuild their lives [before],” said Father
Suarez. “For years they have fled from themselves. Above all
they need the Word of God.” (Joel News)
USA
When a 2008 report listed the Huntingdon area of West
Virginia as the nation’s unhealthiest, a local Baptist church
started exercise classes and prayed for someone to
come and teach them about nutrition.
Jamie Oliver’s production crew read
the story online and offered
to help. The result was a TV
series, Jamie Oliver’s Food
Revolution, featuring the
pastor and church members.
The church aims to continue
its healthy emphasis and
now has walking, aerobics
and Zumba fitness classes for
the community. (Baptist Press)
Cuba
Ken Walker
A woman in Kolkata making Freeset bags
Cuba’s Baptists recently gathered in Havana to celebrate
more than 100 years of ministry. In spite of limitations under
the Castro government, they are committed to continue
to plant new churches. “We have experienced ministries
in other places where a children’s club or a Bible class has
later become a place where a church was started,” said the
Programme Co-ordinator. Dr Victor Gonzalez, president of
the Western Baptist Convention, said he believed “this is the
time of revival in Cuba.” (CBN News)
connecting with world mission
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