PE Christians called to join in prayer for victims of violence

Christians in Port Elizabeth are urged to unite from 09h30 to 10h30 on Saturday, August 23, to pray for all victims of violence and for peace in the Middle East.

The prayer gathering will take place in the park next to ABSA, between 3^rd and 4^th Avenues on Cape Road, says convenor, Patricia van Niekerk, of  The Salvation Army, Central.

Prayers should gather at the venue from 09h00. Men and youth who are willing to help as marshalls are asked to wear black, plastic armbands and to stand on the perimeter of the group. The Salvation Army Central Band is expected to participate in a time of praising God.

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Van Niekerk says that after the prayer event the plan is to remove illegal abortion posters in the Greenacres area and to “offer prayer and gospels/tracts as we go”.

“Please bring an appropriate banner or poster, your guitar if you wish, a container of water, old paintbrush and scraper and bucket (to get the posters off),a plastic packet (for disposing of paper)  and a folding chair or blanket, as an hour can be a long time to stand. Also do bring any scripture portions you have to give out,” she says.

In a challenge to Christians to take a bold stand against violence – especially against women and children – she says: “ We dare not sit back and allow Satan to destroy their dignity through violent acts such as abduction, abortion, trafficking, rape, persecution, starvation, assault, neglect, often resulting in the actual death of the innocent.

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“However, such is the global pandemic of violence in almost every sphere of modern life, that even the most dreadful atrocities no longer shock us. On our TV screens, pictures of crying, desperate, suffering people have become the ‘norm’ in almost every home. Hence we are becoming ‘hardened’ or desensitized to even the worst of evil acts.

“Have we reached ‘saturation point’? Are we as Christians, like everyone else, in danger of becoming emotionally and spiritually numb? Some of us may have the insight and courage to admit that we have already done so! If this is the case, where do we go from here?”