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THE BapTisT TimEsThursday, December 6, 2007

Turkish pastor fears for life after hit-list is found By TOM RICHES

At the time, the deaths provoked outrage from the ruling authorities with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemning the killings as ‘savagery’. Mr Cevik has also been accused in a Turkish newspaper article of engaging in ‘coercive evangelism’ by using money and drugs to attract young people. The church has denied all accusations made. Baptist World Aid director Paul Montacute said he was concerned for the safety of Mr Cevik. ‘This is our one Baptist church in Turkey, so naturally it’s a matter of concern for the European and world Baptist family,’ he said. ‘Christians should always stand up for each other – that is why we are concerned.’ European Baptist Federation general secretary the Revd Tony Peck called for Christians to pray for Christians in Turkey, and particularly the church in Izmir. Mr Cevik’s congregation at Izmir was founded in 2001 and is an associate member of the European Baptist Federation.

A TURKISH Baptist pastor is receiving increased police protection after his name was found on a hit-list carried by three terrorist suspects. The suspects were arrested and are thought to have been planning an attack after they were found with a cache of weapons. Erstan Mesut Cevik, pastor of a Baptist church in Turkey’s third largest city Izmir, has been under police protection since April this year. Mr Cevik first received protection after he led a funeral service for a Muslim convert to Christianity who was murdered in the country on April 18 (The Baptist Times, April 26). The five suspects accused of murdering the convert and two other evangelicals are currently on trial in south east Turkey. One of those killed was Necati Aydin, a former pastor of the Izmir Baptist church. The others killed at the Protestant publishing house in Malatya were Ugal Yuksel and German missionary Tilmann Geske.

Picture: B MS World MIssion

World marches to mark Aids Day

By JENNY WILLIAMS

THE 20th World Aids Day was marked last Friday by a string of events around the world. BMS World Mission partners in D R Congo, including VORSICongo, an organisation working to treat those with HIV and

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educate communities about treatment and prevention, marched to raise awareness about the infection. Around 2,000 demonstrators called for free access to Aids treatment drugs such as antiretrovirals, and remembered those with little or no access to

treatment. Marchers carried a banner calling for action to make treatment universally available. Elsewhere, Pope Benedict XVI called for renewed efforts to fight the spread of the infection, condemning prejudice experienced by sufferers. In Johannesburg Nelson

Mandela voiced his concerns at a concert - broadcast to millions worldwide. The former South African president said despite encouraging figures from the UN, which reduced its estimate of people with HIV/Aids, ‘for every person receiving treatment four others are newly infected’.

Christian leaders call for increased Muslim dialogue

By MARK WOODS

RESPONDING to a recent initiative from 138 Islamic scholars, Christian leaders have issued their own statement asking forgiveness for past sins against Muslims and calling for increased dialogue. A letter sent last October to leaders of Christian world communions was entitled A common word between us and you , and argued for mutual understanding based on shared commitment to ‘Love of the one God, and love of the neighbour’. Without peace and justice between Islam and Christianity, it said, ‘there can be no meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians.’

The response from around the same number of Christian leaders says that they were ‘deeply encouraged and challenged’ by the letter. It pays tribute to the ‘deep insight and courage with which they have identified the common ground between the Muslim and Christian religious communities’. The letter continues, ‘If we fail to make every effort to make peace and come together in harmony you correctly remind us that “our eternal souls” are at stake as well.’ It concludes, ‘We are persuaded that our next step should be for our leaders at every level to meet together and begin the earnest work of determining how God would have us fulfill the requirement

that we love God and one another. ‘It is with humility and hope that we receive your generous letter, and we commit ourselves to labor together in heart, soul, mind and strength for the objectives you so appropriately propose.’ The signatories, mainly Protestants from the US, include very eminent theologians such as Miroslav Volf and Timothy George. Distinguished evangelicals such as Bill Hybels, founder of the Willow Creek Community Church, Rick Warren of the Purpose Driven Movement, and George Verwer, founder of Operation Mobilisation. John Stott, Rector Emeritus of All Souls Church, is also a signatory.

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Loss of Saddam leads to increased danger for current Iraqi Christians

By TOM RICHES

IRAQI Christians are worse off now than they were under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, according to an Anglican priest in Baghdad. In an interview with US news network CBS Television broadcast on Sunday, the Revd Canon Michael White said there is no comparison between Iraq now and under Saddam.

‘Things are the most difficult they have ever been for Christians, probably ever in history. They’ve never known it like now’ he said. Canon White, who was sent to Baghdad nine years ago by the Archbishop of Canterbury, said that approximately 90 per cent of Iraqi Christians have either fled Iraq or have been killed over the years since the invasion.

‘Here in this church, all of my leadership were originally taken and killed,’ he said. The violence has forced him to conduct underground services for the remainder of his congregation. Since the 2003 conflict Islamic militants have fought each other and targeted Christians. Before then there were an estimated one million Christians living in Iraq.
THE BAPTIST TIMES Thursday, December 6, 2007

feature • 

‘We need a positive resistance to unfair trade’

Jenny Williams meets two London pastors to find out why Fairtrade is neglected by many churches

CHRISTIANS should step out of their ‘comfort zone’ and more churches should be Fairtrade, says the Revd Kwame Adzam, a minister at Trinity Baptist Church, West Norwood. Senior pastor, the Revd Kingsley Appiagyei, adds that many remain chained economically, despite the slave trades’ abolition. Following the BUGB Council’s apology for the transatlantic slave trade, Kingsley says, ‘Our hearts have naturally been melted.’ But more has to be done, he adds. According to him, there are three main reasons for our neglect of Fairtrade. ‘The Church is not aware,’ he says. ‘Apathy’ also plagues us, and we are too occupied with the spiritual – ‘As well as healing peopl e, Jesus also fed them,’ he says. Many

churches are ‘woefully’ lacking in Fairtrade awareness, says Kwame. And we need to understand how Fairtrade helps ‘an impoverished people who work so hard and receive so little. ‘As ministers we have the responsibility of educating congregations and creating awareness.’ The Fairtrade mark should also become a legal requirement, says Kwame. ‘Just as we have a minimum w a g e here, it should be illegal to pay under a certain amount there too.’ Both

The Revd Kingsley Appiagyei

Kingsley and Kwame moved to England from Ghana, where cocoa farmers’ average annual income totals £160. In the UK, the average annual pocket money is £166. Such figures demonstrate ‘serious injustice’, says Kwame, who visited the country just recently. ‘It is cruelty to humanity and it saddens me.’ Following the BUGB Council apology for the slave trade, the Baptist Union should also look into current justice issues, such as injustice in trade, he says. ‘We are privileged to be in a position where we have rights. We must stand up and speak for those who do not have that freedom. ‘We need to be a people who exercise our consumer rights in a positive way to promote justice.’ Neglect in justice issues is often a result of unintentional detachment rather than lack of concern, says Kwame. ‘We put figures on items rather than thinking of lives – that these things have gotten to us through people. Peoples’ lives have been spent creating these things – people with names and aspirations. ‘It is time to begin putting faces on the products,’ he says, ‘so we see a farmer, and a producer with a family’. The issue does not only affect the cocoa industry, he explains. Fairtrade relates

to many products, including clothing, fruit, and wine – we can even buy Fairtrade footballs. ‘Jesus says, “What you do for the little ones you do for me.” We belong to one family, as they suffer, Jesus also suffers,’ says Kwame. But buying Fairtrade is ‘one certain way in which we can all make difference’. In Ghana, cocoa farmers’ lives are spent working only for their products prices to be determined in Europe, says Kingsley. ‘This is just not

fair.’ He adds that while this remains the case, change will prove difficult. ‘But Fairtrade is one of the most effective ways to help. ‘We can boycott products that are not fairly traded. If every member in every church only bought Fairtrade it would make a real difference.’ Linking with African churches can raise awareness and ‘spread the fire’. ‘We need a positive resistance to unfair trade. It demands a campaign,’ he says. ‘Only in unity can we win

One of the leading Fairtrade chocolate manufacturers, Divine Chocolate, has teamed up with The Baptist Times to promote the cause. Divine Chocolate is offering a hamper full of its best-quality chocolate as a prize for the best answer in our reader competition. To win, all you have to do is suggest the best advertising slogan for promoting Fairtrade Chocolate in your church. Entries should be sent in by post or email, including your address and telephone number, to arrive at our office by Thursday December 13. Send your entry to: The Editor, The Baptist Times, PO Box 54, 129 Broadway, Didcot, Oxon OX11 8XB.

this battle. There is only one Kingdom and there is only one Church. ‘We need to fight this injustice together.’ London’s Trinity Baptist Church, West Norwood, is a Fairtrade church. It is supporting The Baptist Times campaign for Fairtrade chocolate.

For information on Fairtrade, and how you can help promote trade justice, go to www. fairtrade.org.uk.

Helpachild this Christmas, wherever they are.

Saida is a younggirl with a disability who liveswith her six brothers and sisters in Tajikistan.Her father died in the civil war, and her ageing mother struggles to get by on their small income.Life’s certainly not easy for this family, but you can help. Just £36 will pay a medical worker for a month at a centre run by a local, Christian Aid funded partner organisation.That means Saida and two of her brothers,who also have disabilities, can play with other children and get essentialfoodandsupport.Comeon, it’sChristmas. To hold a collection at your church, call 08080 005 005 and we’ll provide Gift Aid envelopes, a poster and worship material. For personal donations, giveonlinetoday atwww.christianaid.org.uk/christmas, sendachequetoChristianAid, POBox100, LondonSE1 7RT, quoting ‘Christmas appeal’or call 08080 006 006.

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