Christian politicians will gather next week (2-3 June) in the Ukraine, seeking to form closer links that will protect Christian values in Central and Eastern Europe. Their forum is for ‘cooperation of Christian politicians and civil society in the promotion of Christian values on the international arena’. They aim to develop closer collaboration between Christian politicians and civil society, and will explore ways of protecting the Christian values of human dignity, family and freedom. Pray for the MPs of Ukraine and the international officials as they explore these issues in a ‘western cultural revolution’. Pray for the workshops, where debate and promotion of different ideas will be expressed around subjects of intolerance, discrimination against Christians and challenges to family policies and actual threats. Pray for God’s word to rule and reign as they discuss ‘natural law challenged by gender ideology, redefinition of marriage, and queering of human rights.’

A Messianic Jew writes, ‘Jews and Arabs, and even Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians, don’t mix. I am not saying that we don’t attend each other’s congregations or pray together at conferences. Of course we do. But we don’t let our guard down, talk about the tough questions and bring each other into our lives. In these days of terrorism and occupation, it is not surprising that many of us, if not most, give in to the rhetoric of the media and politicians. We assume the worst of each other and demand that “the other side” make concessions or conform to our perspective before being willing to engage in conversation. As Messianic Jews, we struggle not only with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but with all that it means to be an Israeli. Army service, the love we have for our country and our precarious place in Israeli society all come into play.’

A Baltimore police officer has been acquitted of assault and other charges in the arrest of Freddie Gray, a young black man who died a week after he was critically injured in police custody. A judge found Officer Edward Nero not guilty of misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. He announced his verdict on Monday. Nero was one of six Baltimore police officers charged in the case. He waived his right to a jury trial, opting instead to argue his case himself. An earlier trial for an officer charged with manslaughter in the case ended in a hung jury in December. Gray's death about a year ago led to protests and rioting in the city and fuelled the Black Lives Matter movement. See:

European companies are being hired to find EgyptAir 804’s flight recorders, which are the best chance of finding out what happened on the flight from Paris to Cairo. Egyptian authorities believe terrorism is a more likely explanation than equipment failure for the crash last week. So far no hard evidence has emerged. Debris including life vests, personal belongings, parts of wreckage and small fragments of human remains have been found. Officials in Cairo are trying to identify and match them to victims. Families of the victims have nearly completed giving DNA samples to help with the grim task. Pray for the teams investigating the crash, particularly the forensics department trying to match DNA to family members. Pray for the families in mourning visiting the morgue to give samples. Pray for the Egyptian submarine and for the ships and planes from Britain, Cyprus, France, Greece and the United States taking part in the search.