Canadian Mennonite
Volume 10, No. 18
September 18, 2006

Prayer urged for the ‘persecuted church’

Ottawa—Resource kits for the 2006 International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) are now available online at idop.ca. This Nov. 12, Canadians will join together with churches from more than 100 countries in prayer for those who are persecuted for their faith.

“This global day of prayer for those who face persecution highlights an issue that we should pray about every day,” says Janet Epp Buckingham, director of the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), one of the partners in IDOP Canada.

The online resource kit is designed to assist congregations to pray effectively for the persecuted church—especially for congregations in the four focus countries of Belarus, Uzbekistan, India, and Israel/West Bank and Gaza.

Following this year’s theme, “Blessed are the persecuted,” the online kit includes a PowerPoint presentation, sermon notes, country information for this year’s focus countries, children’s materials, suggested songs, and archived kit materials from previous years’ resource kits. A prayer map and DVD movie can also be sent out by mail.

Beginning in October, the website will also provide breaking prayer and news updates to keep participating churches and groups informed about needs that arise in the focus countries after the resource kit is produced. To purchase a kit for $20, visit idop.ca and follow the “Order Info” link.

—EFC release