Amidst the ongoing devastation in the Holy Land, Gaza’s small Christian community has suffered significant losses. Many sought refuge in the Holy Family Church, which was recently hit by an Israeli airstrike. Among the 600 people sheltering in the church was Faeqa Ayyad, a 12-year old girl who shared her story on SAT-7.

Other key highlights from this month's Briefing:

• Lebanon's growing anxiety
• Sudan on the brink of famine
• Iran's political shift
• Stories of hope through film

Don’t forget to go deeper with the long-read Briefing article at: www.sat7uk.org/middle-east-briefing-july-2024

Emily Shurmer recently interviewed Marianne Awaraji, a beloved presenter and Audience Relations Manager for SAT-7’s Arabic channels. She finds out more about Marianne’s work with SAT-7’s viewer support team, which provides practical support, prayer and advice to hundreds of SAT-7 viewers each day. Marianne’s team mostly hear from non-Christian viewers asking questions about faith – listen as Marianne shares her powerful stories of God at work in people’s lives.

To watch the filmed studio interview and to pray for Marianne and the viewer support team visit: https://www.sat7uk.org/pages/in-conversation-with-marianne-awaraji

This month, in our first ever Country Briefing, we take a closer look at Sudan – a nation that has been gripped by war since April 2023. To date, the conflict has displaced over 8 million people and left around 25 million in dire need of humanitarian aid. Many Christians have faced threats and forced displacement, and churches have been attacked.

Read the full article here: https://www.sat7uk.org/country-briefing-june-2024

PRAY FOR SUDAN:

• For protection and safety: Pray for the safety of Christians caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict. Ask for God's protection over their lives, homes, and places of worship, and for an end to targeted violence against them.

• For provision of basic needs: Pray for the provision of essential resources such as food, clean water, and medical aid. Many Christians are struggling to survive amidst the fighting, so ask for God's provision and support from international aid organisations.

• For strength and unity: Give thanks for the strength and unity within the Christian community. Ask God to help them support one another and remain strong in their faith despite the challenges they face. Give thanks that through SAT-7, they can find fellowship and support from other believers.

• For peace and stability: Pray for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Sudan. Ask for wisdom and humility for the leaders involved, and for international efforts to successfully mediate and bring about lasting peace.

• For religious freedom: Pray for the protection and enhancement of religious freedoms in Sudan. Ask God to soften the hearts of those in power and to protect the rights of all religious minorities in the country.

Martin Thomas, recently interviewed Rami Al-Halaseh, who took up his position as Executive Director of SAT-7 ARABIC’s satellite TV and digital media channel, just months before the events of 7 October 2023. He started, by asking Rami about the ongoing conflict in the Holy Land at this time, how he feels it's been impacting Christians on the ground in the region, but also how it’s been impacting him and his team personally.

For key questions for reflection and to watch the filmed studio interview, visit: https://www.sat7uk.org/pages/in-conversation-with-rami-al-halaseh

Freedom and security seem ever more elusive in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This month, we bring you various reports on religious freedom, women’s rights and press freedom, as well as more hopeful news from Syria.

The Church across the MENA faces a host of new and existing challenges to its freedom. In rural Egypt last month, the construction of a new evangelical church has sparked hostilities against local Christians, including homes being set on fire and attacked with stones. In Algeria, most Protestant churches remain closed after being forcibly shut by the government in 2017. Concerns are also growing for religious freedom in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and northern Yemen, where Christian minorities are under increased persecution. And in Gaza, International Christian Concern have reported that up to three quarters of the already-tiny Christian community have either left or are planning to leave the enclave.

Here at SAT-7, we long for freedom in the MENA – where our brothers and sisters in the MENA can worship together without danger or restrictions, where women are treated as equals, and where journalists are free to report in safety. But while that day remains elusive, our channels continue to broadcast powerful programmes that hold out the certain hope of freedom in Christ.

And in a story of resilience, we celebrate the news that church bells will ring out again in Raqqa, Syria. “The fact that people can once again rebuild their churches and ring their bells is a sign of hope to a place that has suffered so much,” says George Makeen, SAT-7’s Ministry Content Adviser. “SAT-7 is aware of the good work churches are doing in Syria – the spirit of unity is growing.” Let’s continue to pray for freedom, unity and resilience for the Church across the MENA.

To read the Briefing long-read article visit: https://www.sat7uk.org/middle-east-briefing-may-2024

Our sister podcast, Voices of the Middle East will be released soon. Visit https://www.sat7uk.org/listen for updates

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) finds itself on a knife-edge after the fresh involvement of Iran in the ongoing Holy Land conflict, and a war between generals continues to ravage Sudan with dire humanitarian consequences. In the past month, many Christians in the MENA celebrated Western Easter on 31 March. But against a backdrop of regional war, famine, tension and suffering, celebrations were subdued.

Stay up-to-date with the latest news and monthly updates sign-up at sat7uk.org.

Read more about our Easter appeal: https://www.sat7uk.org/womenoffaith

Deniz Carey, a Turkish pastor and SAT-7 UK Ambassador, recently sat down with us to share her powerful faith journey and the challenges and persecution she experienced in Türkiye for her beliefs.

Read more here: https://www.sat7uk.org/the-face-of-jesus-in-a-turkish-prison/

The Holy Land and Sudan continued to suffer ruinous wars this month. Millions of people face hunger and starvation in Sudan, and famine has now taken hold in Gaza. As the Muslim month of Ramadan approached last week, international efforts to end both conflicts were intensifying.

Hopes for a 40-day ceasefire between Hamas and Israel were disappointed last week. Israel has so far held off a ground invasion in Rafah, where around 1.3 million displaced Gazans have taken refuge. Among them is Dalia, a teenage girl who told SAT-7 about her hopes to finish her education. Click here to read the Briefing and watch Dalia tell her story.

Calls for revenge can be deafening in the Middle East and North Africa, where lives are regularly torn apart by national conflicts and community tensions. But SAT-7 is sharing a radically different message through the stories of Christians who choose to follow Christ’s call to forgive their enemies. In this month’s Briefing, you’ll also find the story of Rania, a Lebanese woman who forgave her father’s killer.

And, when the news headlines feel like too much to take, we can always respond by bringing these situations before our heavenly Father in prayer. We invite you to join us on Zoom on 27 March, for what will hopefully be an uplifting and encouraging “40 minutes of prayer for the Middle East”.

Links:
https://www.sat7uk.org/middle-east-briefing-march-2024

https://www.sat7uk.org/i-forgave-my-fathers-killer/

https://www.sat7uk.org/supporting-christians-in-the-worlds-most-hostile-places/

Find out more at https://sat7uk.org