DAWN Fridayfax 1996 #22

DAWN News from Scotland, Africa, Germany, Switzerland

Scotland: God in Dunblane

"Following the massacre in Dunblane, where a man cut down a whole school class, many people are asking 'Why?' Of the hundreds of people with whom I spoke, it was often only members of the media who asked about God's role in the affair," said pastor John Drane, lecturer at Stirling University near Dunblane.

He continues, "6,000 people attended a prayer meeting in Dunblane Cathedral two days after the shooting. Often, people approached me on the street wanting simply to be hugged and be assured of God's presence in this dark situation. Once, on the way to the school gate, which had been turned into a place of quiet, I saw a group of youths, between 17 and 20 years old. I saw them place 16 candles - one for each child who died - in a circle on the damp street and light them with a cigarette. Then one of them said 'I think someone should say something', but they had no idea what to do. They saw me and realised that I was a pastor, and called me with the words 'You know what to say in situations like this.' As I stood there with tears streaming down my face, I had no idea what to say. So we just stood there, holding hands. After a moment, I spoke a short prayer. Then the teenagers also started to pray. One said 'I must change!' and, glancing towards a group of policemen, pulled a knife out of his pocket. He kneeled by the candles and said 'I don't think I need this any more', then hid the knife under some flowers. Another pulled a piece of bicycle chain from his pocket and did the same. After standing together for a moment longer, we went on our way.

"Was God in Dunblane?" he asks, "Of course."

Source: John Drane

In the corner

In a Christian African tribe, the following procedure has become normal for reconciliation when a husband and wife argue: the one who can't stand it any more and wants to start reconciliation stands in one corner of the house and says, "I have treated you badly!"

If the partner also wants to make up, they stand in the opposite corner and says, "I have treated you even worse!"

Then the first walks towards the second, saying, "I want you to forgive me!" with every step. The second walks towards the first, answering "And I want you to forgive me even more!", until they meet and embrace.

Source: African

Germany: over 30,000 attend Christival 96 youth congress

Figures like these are normally only heard in America, Korea and Nigeria: over 30,000 young people from 35 nations travelled to Dresden for the "Christival 96" from 15-19 May 1996.

"The spiritual variety of the attendees and staff at the meeting was unusual, from the state church, free churches and independent groups. Charismatic and Pentecostal staff and visitors were particularly well integrated in this festival," according to Oldenburg's pastor Lothar Krauss, one of the speakers.

The largest age group were the 22-year-olds. Roland Werner, one of the Christival's board members, expressed his joy that the current young generation could also be called to follow Christ, as demonstrated by the age structure of the visitors to the festival. Everybody was surprised by the number who visited the festival. Also surprising were the positive reports in the daily newspapers, unusual for Germany's hyper-critical media.

Source: Lothar Krauss, fax (+49) 441-86565

Thun, Switzerland: Renewal conference assumes responsibility for church-planting in Russia

The "Fresh Water" conference for counselling and renewal in Thun, Switzerland, from 12-17 April 1996 was organised by a group probably broader than ever before for such an event in the German-speaking world. 18 pastors and leaders of 13 churches and organisations spent 15 months preparing the conference, which 1,500 people from Switzerland, Germany and Austria attended for the entire duration. The German/Swiss/Austrian speakers Haselbarth, Keller and Prean worked together with 130 specially-trained counsellors. Many of the attendees testified to inner and bodily healing, renewal and deep changes. "Our region will no longer be the same, and we cannot simply return to our normal daily business" was the comment made by one of the organisation team about the conference. Just over one third of the conference's budget could be donated to various groups, including 75,000 Swiss Francs for planting 3 indigenous churches in Russia, in co-operation with the evangelist Flury Bartsch. Bartsch has created a "Church-planting pack" for the CIS countries, a complete concept stretching from selection of preachers through evangelistic crusades, to teaching and discipleship covering the approximately three years from foundation to the desired independence of the local church.

Source: R. Scharnowski fax (+41) 33-377364, 100257.1440@compuserve.com

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