SPOTLIGHT Central Europe

Supporting Europe Missionaries: An Email from a Pastor in New Jersey

   

     As a Pastor I am a observer of current events at home and around the world. One day as I was online reading the news I saw an article about how poorly the dollar was faring against the Euro. The article was referring to the effect on the tourism trade in Europe and the United States. I began to consider the burden this would be to our missionaries in Europe. They are not vacationers but live there full-time, ministering and raising their families. I thought about loosing 40% of my income and wasn't sure what I would do.
      As I continued to read I felt the Lord's nudge. "Why not increase the support for the missionaries you support in Europe by 40%." At my next board meeting I presented this idea to the board and they unanimously approved it on a Tuesday Night. No one knew about the decision other than the board.
      The very next Sunday morning in the offering someone gave enough money to our missions fund to cover the increase for the whole next year. Although I don't know who gave it I do know it was none of the Board Members. By taking this step of faith to be a blessing to our missionaries God met us and showed his hand of provision. I tell this story to encourage other churches to take a step of faith and see what God can and will do.

Street clashes erupt in Germany over "immigrant invasion" of Europe.

Thousands of left-wing demonstrators gathered to protest against an extreme right-wing rally have clashed with police in the German city of Cologne.

Police said about 3,000 protesters threw stones at officers, while some tried to steal their weapons.

Violence erupted after the protesters tried to halt an "anti-Islamification" rally, which police eventually banned.

The extreme-right Pro-Koeln group had sought to protest against plans to build one of Europe's biggest mosques.

The police said the decision to ban the rally was a matter of public safety.

'Immigrant invasion'

Some 3,000 police had been drafted in and part of the old city was sealed off as authorities appealed for peaceful protests against a two-day congress called by the Pro-Koeln (Pro-Cologne) group.

click here to read the rest of this BBC article

European Mormons consolidate headquarters to Frankfurt; hope to raise membership

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The Mormon church has consolidated its European headquarters to Germany as it undertakes a bid to increase its membership across the continent.

In August, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — which claims some 13 million members worldwide — consolidated its former western European head office in Birmingham, England, with its central European offices in Frankfurt in Germany.

More than half the members of the Salt Lake City-based church live outside the U.S., with about 450,000 members living in Europe.

The newly appointed senior church leader, or elder, in charge of European operations, Robert C. Oaks, a retired U.S. Air Force general, said the aim was to improve efficiency as the church strives to increase the ranks among Europeans.

"From the fusion, we expect more efficiency and closer cooperation between local management of the church," Oaks said Friday.

He said he also hopes to raise membership and to improve the quality of the weekly sermons and teachings in Frankfurt and across Europe.

Russia Warns it May Target US Missiles in Europe

I don't usually write posts in this blog that highlight political issues in Central Europe. But recently there are some geopolitical events that directly impact both Central Europe, the United States and even the world. These events deal specifically with the countries of Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic and the United States. It seems reminiscent of the cold war era where a physical wall separated East from West. The physical "wall" fell some 20 years ago, but it seems the remnants exist to this day. This looks to me to be a sign of Biblical proportions. I am not a journalist and so for a brief explanation of the situation I am posting the link to a VOA article posted today: Russia Warns it May Target US Missiles in Europe