Members of a house church in the village of Umarkote in Orissa state have been ordered by police to stop meeting after a conflict with Hindu militants. According to a January 4 report from Compass Direct, the militants set up a make-shift Hindu temple in October 2005 near the house church. They then complained to police that the noise from the Christians was interfering with their Hindu worship. On December 29, an official complaint was also issued, charging the Christians with forcible conversions.
On December 30, three Christian women were physically abused as they were making their way to a prayer meeting at the home of Tirinath Nag. Another member of the church, Samraj Rai, was also slapped and had his motorbike damaged when be came to warn the women. The Christians reported the incident to the police the next day, but the officer would not register an official complaint. When contacted by Compass, Inspector Narayan Chand Barik said he had not received any complaint from the Christians, but had a complaint submitted by the Hindus. He also discovered that some Hindus had converted to Christianity without the official process of reporting their conversion to the magistrates, as required under Orissa's "Freedom of Religion" laws.
As a result of a meeting on January 3, police said they would allow the makeshift Hindu temple to remain on public land, but Christians were banned from holding services in Nag's house. They would be allowed to meet in the home only for prayer and not for any other church-related activity.
Pray that the believers will display patience and love during this confrontation. Ask the Lord to bring justice into the situation, and that the Christians will be allowed to worship freely. Pray that the believers will be strengthened in their walk with the Lord and in fellowship with each other and will have even more boldness to share the Gospel of Peace.
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