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| Spindle Ermine, Yponomeuta cagnagella |
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| The Dun-bar, Cosmia trapezina |
From the Newsroom at www.JW.org
"NEW YORK—On June 2, 2017, officials in the Russian city of Oryol gave special recognition to the local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, expressing gratitude for their participation in the city’s annual cleanup efforts on April 22, 2017. There were 70 Witnesses who volunteered to spend the day removing trash from the streets of Oryol and from the Orlik River that winds through the city. As a token of their appreciation, city officials presented the Witnesses with a small gift and a handwritten note stating, in part: “In gratitude for a good deed for the community and for the environment.”
However, one month after the cleanup, and one week before being formally thanked by city officials, one of the Witness volunteers, Dennis Christensen (pictured in above inset), was arrested for so-called extremist activity while attending a peaceful religious meeting on May 25. Russian authorities have been using the claim of extremist activity to target Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout the country.
However, one month after the cleanup, and one week before being formally thanked by city officials, one of the Witness volunteers, Dennis Christensen (pictured in above inset), was arrested for so-called extremist activity while attending a peaceful religious meeting on May 25. Russian authorities have been using the claim of extremist activity to target Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout the country.It is no surprise to those who know Jehovah’s Witnesses that Dennis, and the other members of the congregation, would voluntarily participate in the cleanup of their city. They have been performing this service for many years, continuing even after their legal entity was liquidated in 2016,” states David A. Semonian, a spokesman at the Witnesses’ world headquarters. “Jehovah’s Witnesses in Oryol and in other cities around the world are known for being model citizens. That is why it is ironic that Dennis, a diligent, law-abiding Christian, would be treated like a criminal shortly after making a positive contribution to his community that was recognized as honorable by officials in Oryol. We believe that Dennis should be released immediately and be allowed to continue his peaceful worship and positive community service in association with his fellow worshippers.
The arrest of Mr. Christensen took place almost a year after the local legal entity used by the Witnesses in Oryol was liquidated on June 14, 2016. The charges leveled against Mr. Christensen also came on the heels of the April 20, 2017, decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to liquidate the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, near St. Petersburg. Mr. Christensen is still being held in pretrial detention by authorities in Oryol."
We are being targeted under new religious extremism laws. Why, when we are peace loving and try to be good citizens and to good to all, as Jesus teaches?
This is from an interesting article in The Economist.
"The ruling puts the group, whose members preach non-violence and refuse to serve in the military, on the same legal footing as several neo-Nazi groups. Lawyers from the Russian Ministry of Justice argued that they pose a threat to “public order and public security”. The group’s property and assets are set to be seized. Any organised religious activity will be considered illegal, with violators facing steep fines and even potential prison sentences. If implemented, the decision would be “by far the most severe blow to religious freedom in Russia since the end of the Soviet Union”, argues Geraldine Fagan, author of “Believing in Russia: Religious Policy after Communism”.
The ruling is a testament to the growing influence of the Russian Orthodox church, especially of a radical wing who see the Jehovah’s Witnesses as a dangerous sect that deviates from the official version of Christianity. Christianity. The court’s decision marks the culmination of a long and concerted campaign. Experts trace the latest wave of troubles back to 2009, when Orthodox activists and local authorities began aggressively pursuing members and congregations. Regional courts steadily added Jehovah’s Witnesses literature to lists of banned extremist works, often on absurd premises. (One pamphlet was flagged for a line criticising the Russian Orthodox church. It was a citation from Tolstoy, whose works are not exactly banned in Russia.) The group’s refusal to participate in militaristic state rituals further fuelled suspicion. “The campaign dovetails with the drive for greater security, unity and patriotism,” says Ms Fagan. “Otherness and dissent are seen as threats.”
If the Russian Orthodox Church feels that we have deviated from Christian teaching then it can clearly demonstrate that, using the Inspired Scriptures. We would be the first to want to know if anything we are teaching is unScriptural.
We are trying to tell everyone what the Bible really teaches, and so many of us can testify to its power. Its nearly 30 years ago that I first talked to the JWs, and in that first twenty minutes talk in my front room at Newington Road, I learnt more about what the Bible on my shelf says than i did in all my years of churchgoing, both Catholic and Protestant.
And I am so grateful.
The New Statesman article concludes like this:
"The Jehovah’s Witnesses came under attack in part because they presented an easy target, argues Mr Lunkin. Members do not vote, are staunchly pacifist, and enjoy little support among a population that bristles at their door-to-door proselytising and unfamiliar theology. But the ruling is unlikely to cause believers to lose faith. “Who are we supposed to listen to now?” Mr Sivulsky muses. “The unjust decision of the court, or God?”"
Yesterday was our 44th Wedding Anniversary. And it doesn't seem a day too much. ("More like 44 years too much" I seem to hear Captain Moth muttering the background.)
He had some champagne chilling in the fridge, and we had pizza and great tennis to watch - and the Captain drove off and fetched Jacks to join us! She is a bit shaky, but on the mend at last it seems.
And I managed to distribute Convention invitations round the block - and had a long and interesting chat with a neighbour.
It was so HOT. Where are these promised thunderstorms?
Yesterday was our 44th Wedding Anniversary. And it doesn't seem a day too much. ("More like 44 years too much" I seem to hear Captain Moth muttering the background.)
He had some champagne chilling in the fridge, and we had pizza and great tennis to watch - and the Captain drove off and fetched Jacks to join us! She is a bit shaky, but on the mend at last it seems.
And I managed to distribute Convention invitations round the block - and had a long and interesting chat with a neighbour.
It was so HOT. Where are these promised thunderstorms?
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