The Parish Magazine May 2022

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14 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>May</strong> <strong>2022</strong> Please mention <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when responding to advertisements • Top brand name flooring at the lowest price • Samples to view in your home/office day/evening Sunday 15 <strong>May</strong> 2O2222 A magical family day out including quidditch, butterbeer in the Great Hall, birds of prey on the lawn, potion-making, wand lessons, fancy dress competition and other wizarding activities. £10 for ages 4-16 (additional £3 for Quidditch ages 6-12) Children aged 0-3 and adults go free! For further details and to book tickets go to www.shiplake.org.uk/magicatshiplake • Free Advice / FreeQuotes • Old flooring uplifted & furniture moved • Fast turn around on fitting if required • Carpet, design and wood flooring specialists We supply and install: Amtico Carpets - Laminate - Wood - Vinyl Non-slip and more... Tel: 0118 958 0445 10 Richfield Avenue, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 8EQ info@richfieldflooring.co.uk/www.richfieldflooring.eo.uk

the parish noticeboard — 5 Below, an impression of the tensions experienced by Christians in Pakistan are followed by an appeal giving the opportunity to support Christian children going through school in Pakistan. An incident in Lahore in February resulted in a murder case being brought against 150 to 200 Muslims. An altercation with a Christian shopkeeper was reported to the police and was settled. However, the next day a mob of up to 200 Muslims went to the shop armed with clubs, iron bars and guns. <strong>The</strong> shopkeeper was hit on the head with a brick and died of his injuries. <strong>The</strong> previous day Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, said that his government had 'zero tolerance' for anyone taking the law into their own hands. He was responding to a mob lynching of a man accused of 'blasphemy' in Punjab. Mr Khan’s words were echoed by the special representative to the Prime Minister on Religious Harmony, Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, who said that the culture of being 'judge, jury and executioner' could no longer continue, and that no one should think of 'running the country as per their own desires'. An article in <strong>The</strong> Spectator on 1 April suggested that Mr Khan’s presidency may be coming to an end since he had lost his majority in the National Assembly. <strong>The</strong> writer, Kunwar Khuldune Sahid, points out that in the 75 year history of the country not one of the prime ministers has served their 5 year term. A vote of no confidence was due to take place on Sunday 3 April. However, prior to a vote taking place, Mr Khan dissolved parliament and called fresh elections. <strong>The</strong> deputy speaker had refused to accept the motion against him. Mr Khan alleged that the vote was a 'foreign conspiracy'. <strong>The</strong> information minister has confirmed that Mr Khan remains as prime minister, until elections are held in 90 days from 3 April. Kunwar Sahid reported in an earlier article in <strong>The</strong> Spectator that there has been a rise in jihadist attacks in Pakistan. He says that the recent spate in jihadist violence has been claimed by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In January a Christian priest was shot dead by gunmen in Peshawar while going home from mass. TTP and affiliated groups bombed churches across Pakistan in recent years. A Muslim man tried to break a large concrete cross on top of a church in the Christian community of Green Town, Lahore. Failing to dislodge it, he sat on it and chanted 'Allahu Akbar' (God is the greatest), the traditional Islamic affirmation which is often used by jihadists when they attack. A crowd gathered in the street but there was no violent response by the people. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>May</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 15 <strong>The</strong> Persecuted Church by Colin Bailey Pray for children, peace and stability in Pakistan FORWARD Deanpictures, dreamstime.com Outside Copenhagen Town Hall candles are lit during a vigil for Pakistan peace FORWARD Please pray for peace and stability within Pakistan, in the light of the political uncertainty, and for security for all Pakistan’s citizens in particular at-risk minorities including the Christian community. FORWARD More than 11,000 poor Christian children attend Christian schools in Pakistan supported by Barnabas Fund. Thanks to that support, the schools can charge minimal fees. This makes it affordable for the parents, who work in low-paid jobs such as labouring, domestic service, or brick kilns. <strong>The</strong> free schools provided by the Pakistan government are usually very tough for Christian children, who are made to feel so inferior and face pressures so great that some drop out of education altogether, since their parents cannot afford private schools. If you would like to donate to the Christian Schools in Pakistan project (Ref. 41-1209), please follow the bottom link below or call Barnabas Fund on 0800 587 4006 or 0167 256 5031 References and further reading: Killing of Christian shopkeeper (Barnabas Fund article) - https://www.barnabasfund.org/gb/news/over-150-pakistani-muslims-face-murder-accusation-following-killing-of-c/ Imran Khan (<strong>The</strong> Spectator) - https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-this-the-end-of-imran-khanapr/03/pakistan-imran-khan-parliament-vote-no-confidence-early-elections Christian schools in Pakistan (Barnabas Fund article) - https://www.barnabasfund.org/gb/latest-needs/christian-schools-in-pakistan-your-donation-gives-christian-children-hap/ Christians living in terror (<strong>The</strong> Spectator) - https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/pakistan-s-christians-are-living-in-terror<strong>The</strong> example of Pakistan’s Christians (Barnabas Fund article) - https://www.barnabasfund.org/gb/news/editorial-pakistan-s-christians-are-example-and-a-witness-to-their-natio/ Vote of no confidence article (<strong>The</strong> Guardian) - https://www.theguardian.com/world/<strong>2022</strong>/apr/03/pakistan-imran-khan-parliament-vote-no-confidence-early-elections Vote of no confidence article (<strong>The</strong> Telegraph) - https://www.theguardian.com/world/<strong>2022</strong>/