Lausanne World Pulse – WORLD NEWS BRIEFS

Thanks to volunteer knitters from the United States and abroad, more than 250,000 impoverished children around the world now enjoy the comfort and warmth of handmade sweaters. World Vision has partnered with Guideposts magazine in its “Knit for Kids” sweater project that encourages people to knit or crochet sweaters for needy children. The sweaters are distributed to children in countries such as Azerbaijan. The Knit for Kids project began in 1996; last year World Vision delivered about 4,500 sweaters. (World Vision)

China’s official media has confirmed that two people have been arrested after reports that about three thousand Christians in eastern China’s Zhejiang province clashed with police over the demolition of a church building for a denomination not officially recognized by the government. The acknowledgement of the arrest by the official Xinhua news agency came after the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said that up to five hundred Chinese police clashed with Protestant Christians on 29 July when authorities demolished a partially built church building. The centre said the clash left about twenty people hurt, four seriously. (Ecumenical News International)

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, is set to visit China 8-23 October 2006. The visit is at the invitation of the senior leadership of the post-denominational Protestant churches in China. Dr. Williams’ trip will include visits to cities such as Beijing and Shanghai and is designed to give him a deeper understanding of the Church of China and the context in which it is developing. During his travels he will engage with religious leaders, academics, government officials, NGOS and business leaders concerning the contemporary challenges facing the Church and society. (Anglican Communion News Service)

The Brno Sports Blitz, the largest event that the Majak Ministry Center has ever hosted, took place 8-18 June. Eighty-three student athletes, coaches and support staff from several colleges in the US converged in Brno. After two days of intensive training, the teams began visiting schools, conducting clinics and playing exhibition games. Time was taken to share their testimonies and tell about the love of Jesus. An estimated six hundred people were directly impacted by these events and three hundred heard about Jesus through the sharing of personal testimonies. Many seeds were planted during the Blitz and two young people accepted Christ as Savior. (Wesleyan Information Network)

Representatives of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church and the World Evangelical Alliance met in dialogue 8-11 August 2006 on the campus of the International Baptist Theological Seminary, located in Prague, Czech Republic. Although informal contacts had occurred during the past fifty years, this was the first official meeting of the two groups. The purposes of the dialogue were (1) to gain a clearer understanding of the theological positions of each body (2) to clarify matters of misunderstanding (3) to discuss areas of agreement and disagreement on a niblical basis and (4) to explore possible areas of cooperation. (Adventist Press Service APD)

Christian groups have decried changes to laws said to enshrine “freedom of religion” by legislators in India’s central state of Madhya Pradesh, ruled by the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), a party opponents describe as having a Hindu nationalist agenda. Under an amendment to the Freedom of Religion Act passed without discussion in the state legislature, the government now requires persons changing their religion to report to authorities about it one month before doing so. The existing law requires people changing their religion to report this to the government within one month of making the move. (Ecumenical News International)

The only Christian player in Iran’s national soccer team was named “Christian star of the World Cup” in a poll undertaken by a Dutch ecumenical Christian group. Andranik Teymourian, a 23-year-old midfielder, received 31.3 percent of votes in the online contest, organized by Gristelijk, a group of Protestant and Roman Catholic teachers and lecturers, out of a shortlist of eleven leading Christian soccer players. (Ecumenical News International)

The Salvation Army has announced that it is to return to Namibia in November after a 67-year absence from the formerly South African-administered territory. “We feel our caring ministry will make great contributions in such areas as caring for the homeless, the elderly and AIDS, sufferers with special emphasis on children orphaned by the epidemic,” Captain Barry Swartz, the army’s territorial secretary for Southern Africa, told Ecumenical News International by telephone from South Africa. (Ecumenical News International)

Mark Brown, national director for Scripture Union in New Zealand, has been appointed chief executive officer of the Bible Society in New Zealand. Brown will start his post in the early part of 2007. He is succeeding Colin Reed, who retired earlier this year. Brown has degrees in theology and art therapy. Brown says his “calling and passion is to see the Bible returned to its rightful central place within every Christian’s life.” (Assist News)

The Rev. John C.A. Barrett of the British Methodist Church is the new chairperson of the World Methodist Council, which includes churches in 132 countries. Barrett was elected by the council and installed at the 24 July closing worship service of the World Methodist Conference in Seoul, South Korea. Quoting from Luke 4:16-19, Barrett declared that God’s Spirit is still at work in the world and acknowledged that although the Church is in decline in Great Britain and other places, it is seeing great growth in other parts of the world. “Are you being true to your mission?” Barrett asked those gathered. “Do you understand what it means to be a Methodist Church? John Wesley combined evangelism and social witness. We asked council members to list the priorities for the next five years. Far and away, the most common response was evangelism.” He reiterated that the Methodist Church also stands for justice and peace and hears the groans of people who suffer around the world. (Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church)

Dan Brokke was recently named president and CEO of Bethany International. He replaces Dave Hicks, who stepped down after five years of service. In his new position Brokke has placed a priority on the expansion of Bethany College of Missions (Bloomington, Minnesota, USA). “The heart of Bethany is to train and send missionaries. We see our role to equip young men and women, working in partnership with indigenous church and mission leaders around the world,” he said. More than seven hundred missionaries have been sent out through Bethany International in the past sixty years. (Bethany International)