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Merry Christmas – again! No, we haven’t got the dates mixed up: Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas on 7 January. In Egypt this week, millions of Copts will be gathering to attend church and celebrate the birth of Jesus – but they will do so knowing that the year ahead holds a lot of fear and uncertainty.

In September the Egyptian parliament approved a controversial new law covering the building and renovation of churches. While it’s good that the law addresses the issue of building churches (which could previously only be approved by the president), this new law is very vague and could be quite restrictive. Please pray that it would be amended, so it truly protects the right to construct places of worship.

Sadly, a rumour that a new church is being built can spark a mob attack. 2016 saw a spike in these incidents, particularly in Upper Egypt. Please pray for Christian communities to be protected from such attacks, and the hatred behind them.

One such incident took place in July last year, in Saft al-Kharsah village in Beni Suef Province. After rumours that one storey of a man’s home was being turned into a church, a mob attacked and destroyed several homes belonging to Coptic families. Please pray for physical and spiritual strength for the community as they rebuild.

In May we heard that an elderly Christian lady in Upper Egypt was stripped and beaten while her home was razed to the ground. The reason? An unsubstantiated rumour that her Christian son was in a relationship with a Muslim woman. Though the elderly lady has recovered from this horrific incident, please continue to pray for strength and freedom from fear, for her, her family and her community.

Last September we asked you to pray for Mina Thabet, an Egyptian human rights defender who had been arrested in May and released on bail in June. He’s still carrying out his vital work despite his ordeal: please continue to pray for God to grant him strength and protection. Pray also for unjust charges against human rights defenders to be dropped.

“I am praying a lot for those who put me in solitary confinement and I invite you to pray for them also.” Mina Thabet, human rights defender, Egypt. We’re so inspired by Mina’s words: please pray with him today for those who persecuted him.

Loving heavenly Father, thank you for the nation of Egypt and its rich history. We pray for an end to sectarian attacks and a healing of societal divisions. We also pray for the defeat of terrorism and that Christians would be protected so that they can worship freely and without fear. Amen.