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Kenyan Churches, conhnued froni page 1“We urge the government to put in placemechanisms to ensure that no other Kenyanis killed, hurt, displaced, abused, or mistreated or discriminated upon or loses his property or feels insecure on the basis of religionor any other basis,” said Cardinal Njue.Australian LawmakersAffirm TraditionalMarriage in House VoteAustralian lawmakers have overwhelminglychosen to preserve the traditional definitionof marriage as a union between one manand one woman by voting against a bill thatpromote and protect marriage,” a statementby Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, along withother notable Christian leaders of Australia,said ahead of the vote.Those in favor of same-sex marriage,however, have said that support among Australians for gay marriage is strong and sharedtheir hope that eventually the laws will reflectthat sentiment. Senior government ministerAnthony Albanese commented, “I think atsome future time our Parliament will catch upwith community opinion, just as it has on otherissues. When marriage equality occurs, peoplewill wonder what the fuss was about.”Restrictions on ReligionRise in United States (4)sought to amend the definition to includesame-sex couples. The House of Representatives voted 98—42 against the legislation,although a separate bill on gay marriage wasalso to be debated in the Senate, the Associated Press reported.“As Christian leaders representing different denominations or churches, we join together and affirm our shared commitment toThe Pew Forum on Religion and Public Lifedocumented a disturbing rise in restrictionson religion in the United States between mid2009 and mid-2010. The US was one of only16 countries to record a rise in both government restrictions and social hostility towardreligion. This was the first time in the historyof Pew’s research that the US saw a rise inboth measures.Unsurprisingly, Islamic governments andgovernments in heavily Muslim nations werefound to impose the most restrictions onreligion. Egypt, Indonesia, Maldives, SaudiArabia, and Afghanistan were the five mostThis month you can. Start to Readthrough the Bible in a Year with REFLECTtart the year in your churchwith an informal journeythrough the Bible—at yourpace—with a community ofcaring friends. Tyndale HousePublishers is making significant free resources availablefor churches to engage members in faithful Bible readingin 2013. REFLECT is not anSintense curriculum, and smallgroup leaders will appreciatethe flexibility of REFLECT resources to introduce, build,and maintain small groupsand to spiritually enrich participants. REFLECT resourcescan be used with any Bible ortranslation, and there is nothing to buy. These resourcesare easily reproducible andcustomizable and includemonthly posters, weekly reading guides, weekly discussionguides, leader guides, andother free downloads. Visitwww.reflectps119.com to signup for free downloads.

44 hurchAroundthe WORLDrestrictive nations in the Pew survey. Iran(6th) and China (ioth) also severely impededcitizens from freely exercising faith.Caribbean nations, Latin American countries, and governments in the South Pacificgenerally scored low in religious restriction,though some African and European countriesalso allowed expansive religious freedom,according to Pew. The United States movedup from the “low” restrictions category to the“moderate” category for the first time sincePew began the research.Perhaps more disturbingly, the US movedwithin a mere tenth of a point of the “high”social hostilities category. Pew said their“Social Hostilities Index” measures “acts ofreligious hostility by private individuals, organizations and social groups. This includesmob or sectarian violence, harassment overattire forreligious reasons, and other religionrelated intimidation or abuse.”Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Iraq, and Bangladesh scored highest in social hostilities,while Russia ranked toward the top in bothgovernment restrictions and social hostilities. Social hostilities toward religion werelowest in Australia, Denmark, Spain, Burundi,and Haiti, according to Pew.Survey Finds EasternGermany Is the LeastReligious (5)A recent survey examining the religious beliefs of citizens from different countries over3time showed that the least religious of allregions is eastern Germany. The report citeddata collected during the same survey of18 countries in 1991, 30 countries in 1998,and 42 countries in 2008. For this particularproject, only countries that had responses ineach of the previous three surveys were used.The survey found that 52.1 percent of respondents from eastern Germany said theyhad no faith in God or any religious dogma,compared to only 10.3 percent of their western German counterparts who claim to beatheists. Experts cite a number of factorsthat could have brought on the current lackof faith within this particular area. The mostoften cited reason points to the fact that fornearly o years, the region was under the influence of the Communist party, known forbeing hostile toward religion of any type. It isthought that much of the faith in God of eastern German residents was crushed during theparty’s rule from 1945 until 1990.“If the modest, general trend away frombelief in God continues uninterrupted, itwill accumulate to larger proportions, andthe atheism that is now prominent mainlycontinued on page 4

Survey Finds, continued from page 3in northwest Europe and some ex-Socialiststates may spread more widely,” the surveyconcluded.Bishop Calls Attentionto Humanitarian Crisis inCongo (6)An Anglican bishop from the DemocraticRepublic of Congo is urging the world to focusits attention on the “neglected” humanitarian crisis in northeastern Congo, where nearlyhalf a million people have been displaced byarmed conflict.Bishop Bahati Bali-Busane Sylvestrerecently visited refugees from North Kivuand described their situation as “pitiful.”Thousands of refugees have sought temporary shelter at a refugee camp and in Anglican schools and church buildings. Sylvestrecalled for prayers for the refugees, who wereforced to flee their homes to escape killing,rape, looting, and the recruitment of childrenas soldiers.Pakistani Police AbsolveChristian Girl ofBlasphemy Charges (7)A police investigator in Pakistan recentlytold a trial court there was no evidence thata Christian girl, believed to be mentallydisabled, had desecrated Islam’s holy bookas her accusers had alleged in an effort toexpel Christians from the area. According tolocal media, the investigator told the court inIslamabad that his final report shows there isno evidence against Rimshah Masih and thatit is possible the cleric of a nearby mosquetampered with evidence by putting pages ofthe Koran into a bag the girl had been carrying. Four witnesses said they saw the clericadding pages carrying Koranic verses toashes that were handed to him as evidenceagainst the girl. The witnesses urged thecleric not to interfere with the papers. But thecleric reportedly told them, “You know this isthe only way to expel the Christians from thisarea.”The cleric himself was later arrested under Pakistan’s blasphemy law. “By puttingthese pages in the ashes he also committeddesecration ofthe Holy Koran, and he is beingcharged with blasphemy,” an investigator explained. At the bail hearing, three of the fourwitnesses recanted their statements, according to the cleric’s lawyer. The fourth witnessstood by his initial statement.The recanted statements are a setbackto Masih’s case, since the witnesses are acritical part of the police investigation thathad determined that the cleric framed theteen. But based on that investigation and alack of witnesses, the girl’s lawyers are stillappealing to have the blasphemy chargesdismissed. One lawyer told AFP news agencythat Masih “should be acquitted immediately,” as it has been “fully proven that it was aconspiracy.”To check out more church resources please visitus at www.tyndaleperiodicals.com.This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.The old life is gone; a new life has begun’ 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17Customer service and subscription number: 1-800-692-99,2. fames Kraus. publisher; Mary Pappas. associate editor. 2013 The Church Around the World.vol 43, ru. a, lanuary ao,3. The Church Around the World is published monthly by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 350 Enecutiuo Dr. Carol Stream. IL 60,88.Printed in the USA. The Church Around the World isa registered trademark of Tyndule House Publishers, Inc. Subscription ocoo per month per too copies.Canada:Sry.oo per,00 permonth. Scripturequotationsfrom theHolyBibie, NewtiuingTranslation, 0996. 2004, 2007byTyndale House Foundation. Usedby permission of Tyrrdale House Pubi,vhers, Inc. Carol Stream. 1160088 All righlt reserved. Sources: bbc.co.uk, blogs.knoonewr.coer, cheiutianpost corn, aodepiscopaldigitalnetmork.uorrn. All photos iStockphoto.uoS4.POSTMASTER: Send address chanes to The Church Around the World, Subscription Services. P0. Boo 405, Mt. Morr;s, IL 69

WE WELCOME YOU!for coming to church, but we hopereasonsThere are many goodthat your joining us this Sunday morning includes the best reason:to thank and worship God for His amazing love revealed in the birth,life, and ministry, the suffering and death, and the wondrous resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! This is what our church is all about!If you are visiting today, please fill out a guest card and bring it to ourWelcome Center in the foyer and receive a free gift. Thank youand visit us again!The mission of our church is to prayerfullyprepare believers for worshiping God, servingChrist, loving one another, andreaching out to others!2013 YEAR VERSE (Thank you for all your suggestions!):PASTOR JOHN & LINDA are in Las Cruces this morning (PastorJohn officiated Christopher and Naomi (Oliver) Yee’s wedding yesterday afternoon). They are scheduled to return to Gallup early thisevening. Please keep them in prayer as they travel. Thank you!IN1.2.3.4.CASE YOU MISSED IT.27 of us went Christmas caroling on the evening of December 17!Our attendance on Sunday, December 23, was 297!Approximately 70 folks attended the Christmas Eve Service.Our attendance on December30 was 175.!fA list of January birthdays and anniversaries of regularattenders of Grace Bible is on the kitchen door. Please make(legible) corrections/additions right on the list. Thank you!CHECK OUT the Christmas greetings to all of us, on thedoor on the south side of the gym!Thursday, January 10, 4 PM 7 PM, we will be taking down theChristmas decorations. It would be wonderful to get your help withthis! Just show up anytime during those hours. For more info., seeLinda Luginbuhl or Betsy Branson.-

/9 INTERESTEDIN PLAYING HANDBELLS? The HandbellChoir will begin rehearsal in a few weeks! If you are interested in being in the Handbell Choir, please contact SharonWilkins. You must be in 8th grade or older to participate.in QtJjnrcljOn January 6, 1850, famed English Baptist preacher,Charles Haddon Spurgeon, at the age of 16, was onverted toChrist. Spurgeon had walked into a Methodist chapel to warmhimself during a snowstorm. Less than 15 people werepresent and even the minister did not appear. A laymanpreached on the text in Isaiah 45:22: “Look unto me, and beye saved.Spurgeon did, and his life touched off a new eraof evangelism in London.“T-9UET FcYR T*EE WEEK.Love’ cut their tongteJy evtd’, &ut the’ocUy Love’ cut theire4’di.Avixyn’wi’

GRACE BIBLE CHURCH 222 Boulder Drive, Gallup, NM 87301 Sunday School-9:00 AM Prayer Time-6:00 PM Worship Service-10:15 AM Edge-6:00 PM John W. Luginbuhi, Pastor Rob Sanchez, Youth Pastor Church Office: (505) 722-5114 Pastor’s E-mail:johngracebiblegaIlup.org Youth Pastor’s E-mail: robgracebiblegallup.org www.gracebiblegallup.org BUT LET US .