Raging flames driven by a fierce windstorm scorched a rapidly growing area of Southern California on Tuesday, destroying homes, forcing about 30,000 residents to evacuate and choking the sky with smoke, with officials warning that the worst was yet to come. Traffic was backed up for miles along Sunset Boulevard as residents tried to flee the Pacific Palisades, an affluent coastal neighborhood west of downtown Los Angeles that is home to some 24,000 people and many celebrities. Gusts of up to 100 miles per hour, the strongest Southern California has experienced in more than a decade, were forecast through lunchtime Wednesday. As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire had grown to more than 1,200 acres, California fire officials said, a rapid increase from 300 acres earlier in the day. Billowing clouds of black and gray smoke drifted from the Pacific Palisades toward the shoreline, where it stretched across the Pacific Ocean. Multiple agencies were responding with strike teams, helicopters and other aircraft to battle the blaze.
Lord God, we pray for our neighbors in Southern California fleeing from fire. For first responders across the region, we pray for their strength, for resources to be allocated their way, and for their safety as they protect people and property.
Justin Trudeau has rejected threats from Donald Trump that the US could use “economic force” to annex its closest ally, saying: “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States. “Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner,” Canada’s prime minister wrote on social media. Trump’s musings on Tuesday came as he doubled down on threats to impose protectionist tariffs on one of the US’s biggest trading partners. “Canada and the United States: that would be really something,” he said from Florida, but warned his incoming administration was getting frustrated over what the president-elected called “subsidies” for Canada.
The remarks come after the resignation of Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and the suspension of parliament until late March. Trudeau announced on Monday he would step down after nearly 10 years in power as soon as his ruling Liberal party chooses a new leader.
God, we pray that calm heads might prevail and that sovereignty might be respected. Lord God, may you close the mouths of those who speak without thought or love, and lay out for us a path of cooperation.
The efforts of United Nations agencies to supply humanitarian aid in Gaza are at “breaking point”, a senior official has warned. Aid efforts in Gaza are facing mounting obstacles as Israeli forces continue attacks on relief workers amid a breakdown of law and order in the war-torn enclave, the UN humanitarian agency’s (OCHA) chief said in a statement late on Monday. He also noted the threat from armed Palestinian groups. Tom Fletcher, undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said: “The reality is that despite our determination to deliver food, water and medicine to survivors, our efforts to save lives are at breaking point.” The official noted an Israeli air attack had seriously injured three people at a known food distribution point where the World Food Programme (WFP) partner was operating. Israeli soldiers also fired more than 16 rounds at a clearly marked UN convoy at the checkpoint from the south to the north on Sunday, he added. Armed Palestinian gangs are also hindering operations. They hijacked six fuel tankers entering from the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis, leaving humanitarian agencies with hardly any fuel for aid operations, Fletcher said.
God, we watch on as unspeakable atrocities continue to be committed. This violence is unimaginably cruel, insensible, and inhumane. Lord, may the evildoers among us meet justice for their actions.
The United States on Tuesday accused a Sudanese paramilitary group and its proxies of committing genocide, singling them out in a conflict of unchecked brutality and drawing fresh attention to the scale of atrocities being perpetrated in Africa’s largest war. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group fighting against Sudan’s military had committed acts of genocide, including a fearsome wave of ethnically targeted violence in the western region of Darfur. The Treasury Department backed the determination of genocide with a raft of sanctions targeting the R.S.F.’s leader, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, as well as seven companies in the United Arab Emirates, the group’s main foreign sponsor, that have traded in weapons and gold on his behalf. “The R.S.F. and allied militias have systematically murdered men and boys — even infants — on an ethnic basis, and deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence,” Mr. Blinken said in a statement. “Those same militias have targeted fleeing civilians, murdering innocent people escaping conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing lifesaving supplies.”
We pray for Sudan and those who long for peace. God, protect the vulnerable and all who violence at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces. And God, we pray that the United States exhibit the same scrutiny about genocide across the globe, and not selectively.
Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is quickly approaching! Observed annually on the third Sunday of January, this day is dedicated to honoring the sanctity of life in all its stages. As CRC churches gather on January 19th to commemorate this special occasion, we encourage you to explore the following ideas, tips, and resources to help you plan meaningful activities.
Thrive and Exodus World Service recently hosted a webinar to explain the new refugee resettlement opportunity for U.S churches called the Welcome Corps Program. We broke down the process and discussed how Exodus World Service is equipped to guide CRC churches and individuals interested in engaging in this faithful missional work of welcome. Watch the recording here! Watch »
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