10th June 2025

With the world's attention focused on Los Angeles, Gazza and Ukraine, another global crisis is happening almost entirely unnoticed. Sudan is facing an emergency of staggering proportions, with over 12 million people displaced and a decimated healthcare system. According to the World Health Organization, 70 to 80 per cent of the country’s healthcare facilities are either non-functional or overwhelmed. “This is not just a war between two parties,” says Sana Bég, executive director of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Canada. “It’s a war on the people of Sudan.”  Medical teams from charities like MSF are forced to choose between one life-saving activity for another.  Dr. Reza Eshaghian, returned to Vancouver recently following a tour of duty in Darfur.  Reza said, “What’s happening in Sudan is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, full stop. There are bombings, sexual violence, armed robbery. There’s a lack of protection and international humanitarian law.” He commented that “So much of the suffering and death is from preventable illness. We saw women dying from eclampsia and postpartum haemorrhage. People are dying of malaria, malnutrition, diarrhoea, dehydration, sepsis. These are things we know how to treat, but there’s no infrastructure left to do it.” 80% of MSF's workforce globally is locally hired. In Sudan their homes are in war zones, and they live in fear of retaliation or repercussions for any actions that could be interpreted as siding with one warring party or the other. That means, providing medical care can be seen as a political act. What is needed in Sudan is a significant improvement in humanitarian access, stronger diplomatic pressure on Sudan’s warring factions, and more support from the international community.

Loving God, we thank you for all who are devoting their lives to caring for people who are injured or ill in Sudan.  We understand they do this at risk to themselves and their families and so we ask your protection of them. We pray that humanitarian aid might be permitted to reach desperate people and that illness not be used as a weapon of war. Place your healing hand on all who are ill and all recovering.  May they sense your presence, love and peace. Guid the leaders of nations to help the waring factions to come reach a ceasefire agreement that will lead to a lasting peace. Forgive that people kill, maim and destroy.  Help us to use our time, energy and resource to show one another love, to heal the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the naked and provided houses for the homeless.  In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

More than 100 people from Aylesbury, UK came together for a day of high-energy workouts to raise funds for families of cardiac patients undergoing treatment. Engine Race was hosted by fitness studio Fitness Blueprint and raised £3,528 for Wessex Heartbeat House, which supports people while their loved ones receive life-saving cardiac care. Guy Woodliffe-Thomas, founder of Fitness Blueprint, said: "Engine Race was more than a competition - it was a celebration of what makes our community strong: support, resilience, and care for one another. Raising funds for Wessex Heartbeat House while promoting health and connection in our town is something we’re extremely proud of."  Engine Race has also inspired renewed interest in fitness across the community, with many participants motivated to continue their health journeys. Fitness Blueprint now plans to make Engine Race an annual event.

Lord of all being,

it is right to give unceasing thanks and praise to you,

 Holy God,

ruler of the universe and giver of life. 

We give thanks to you for our creation in your image

and for all the blessings of this life. 

We love you with all our hearts and souls and minds. 

We love you because we see your love

in every part of our lives. 

We sense your love woven into all of life,

in joy, in sadness, in relationships,

in achievements and failures.

You are indeed Lord of all we know

and of all that is unknowable. 

We give you praise and thanks

for your immeasurable love

in the redemption of the world

by our Lord Jesus Christ,

for the means of grace and the hope of glory.

All honour, glory and praise be yours

eternal and loving God.