CSW.
Hi All,As we journey towards Easter – the cross and the resurrection and the hope of Jesus – I’m struck again by the scene of the last supper: Jesus sharing a meal with his friends in the shadow of his own death. This week I've spent time with pastors, Christians and communities around Colombia who are living under that same shadow. I met Pastor Marino, for example. He was sentenced to 40 lashes, was brutally beaten, and still carries the mental and physical scars to this day. His ‘crime’ was using the Bible in education and social reform programmes in his community. The shadow of death is very real for these wonderful people in Colombia. But so is the presence of Jesus with them. As you read the news below, I hope you’ll see that even though there is much darkness, Jesus is right in the middle of it. And he calls us to help bring the light and hope of the resurrection to those in greatest need. Grace and peace, | |
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#EyesOnSudan – One month to go!We’re just four weeks away from handing in our petition to the Premier League, urging them to help stop the war in Sudan. They have the power to hold Manchester City club owner Sheikh Mansour – the UAE’s deputy prime minister – to account for his nation’s role in the conflict. More than 1,900 people have signed the petition so far – will you help us reach 2,000? We continue to press for action at the United Nations, UK Parliament and elsewhere, but we need your voice too. Over 30 million people are in urgent need, including nearly 15 million children. At least 150,000 have been killed, and over 13 million displaced. This cannot continue. | ||
‘Raising your voice over here makes a difference over there.’ – Mohaned Elnour, CSW’s Sudan Specialist | ||
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Save the date: Prayer and protest for EritreaLast year, someone commented on a video about our annual prayer and protest vigil for Eritrea, telling us to ‘give it a rest’. Because in their mind, our efforts hadn’t achieved anything. So why do we continue, even as some church leaders have been held for nearly 22 years? Because we cannot and will not forget them. We believe in the power of prayer to bring change. This May, we’ll once again stand outside the Eritrean Embassy with partners Church in Chains (Ireland), the Eritrean Orthodox Church in the UK, Human Rights Concern-Eritrea, and Release Eritrea. Will you join us? Thursday 21 May 2026, 3:30pm Embassy of Eritrea, You can also stand in solidarity using our one-page prayer guide: csw.org.uk/FreeEritrea | ||
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Arrested for YouTube? What is happening in Cuba?On 15 March, Pastor Rolando Pérez was arrested in front of his family after uploading a Bible teaching video to YouTube. The reason for his arrest was unclear. The next day, in another part of the country, the authorities arrested Pastor Elier Muir Ávila and his 16-year-old son Jonathan. Pastor Muir was released shortly after, but his son remains in custody. Sadly, these crackdowns on religious groups are not uncommon in Cuba. As the country faces another social and economic crisis, our blog explains: how did we get here? |
