Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

In response to a survey by the Children’s Society which stated that tens of thousands of children are hurting themselves on purpose and a quarter of 14-year-old girls in UK have ‘self-harmed’, the Bishop of Gloucester said that no child should feel unhappy because they don’t conform to the expectations of their peers and society. For the past two years she has spearheaded #Liedentity - a campaign focused around engagement with children and young people in schools and colleges to combat the lie that ‘who you are’ is predominantly about ‘how you look’. To see a video of the Bishop’s talk on body image anxiety go to

Philippa Taylor, of Christian Medical Fellowship, writes on her blog, ‘The Department for Education is drafting guidance for schools which are now required to teach Relationships Education (RE) at primary school and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) at secondary school. It is seeking views from the public on these drafts before they are put before Parliament and the final guidance is published. This is an important time in the development of sex and relationships resources in the UK. School sex education is intended, for good or for ill, to influence both attitudes and behaviours to improve sexual health. Whether improvements occur very much depends on what is in the curriculum.’

Theresa May visited Africa on a major mission to build up new trade relations ahead of Brexit. Pray that every detail of conversations with South African, Nigerian and Kenyan leaders will be used to re-engage with a fast-growing continent which some feel British business and politicians have neglected in recent years. Pray that the delegates who travelled with her (trade minister George Hollingbery, minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin, secretary of state for Wales Alun Cairns, a Stock Exchange representative, and the Lord Mayor of London Charles Bowman) will in the future be able to build on the links made. A Government statement before the visit stated, ‘This comes at a time of enormous change across Africa with a unique opportunity, as the UK moves towards Brexit, for a truly global Britain to invest in and work alongside African nations, with mutual benefits.’

On 28 August President Macron told French ambassadors in his annual address, ‘France wants to maintain a strong, special relationship with London but not if the cost is the European Union's unravelling’. He urged Europe to exert itself as ‘a trade and economic power’, which defends its strategic interests. See Meanwhile about 35 French boats surrounded and rammed five British vessels, leading to an angry standoff in an longstanding dispute over scallop fishing in the English Channel. The French accused British boats of over-fishing off the coast of Normandy, stating they are protecting scallop beds. As they threatened to reignite a simmering ‘scallop war’, the British fishermen called on the Government to intervene. Some believe this incident is exacerbated by the Brexit negotiations. See

The BBC's News at Ten recently featured a one-sided report on a film about Christian 'gay conversion therapy'. The Miseducation of Cameron Post is about ‘a gay teenager sent away to a Christian camp that uses prayer and therapy to try to change her sexuality.’ Despite the film clearly being used to agitate for a ban on any kind of therapy, no counterpoint or challenge was made. The programme was designed to promote the film without any attempt to balance its portrayal of the world. In July, the government released an LGBT action plan that included banning ‘gay conversion therapies’ and may press ahead with the idea in the autumn. However a recent study suggested that, at least for religious men, therapy to help move away from unwanted same-sex attraction can be beneficial in a number of different ways.

Children play online casino-type games that allow them to gamble (without money). At the same time, whether on tablets or phones, children are bombarded with ads which make gambling sound harmless fun. The combined effect of these two factors is that children are being conditioned to gamble. It is legal because of a legislation loophole that allows such games because they do not offer monetary prizes. Meanwhile illegal online gambling for under 18s has been made possible by the creation of virtual items called ‘skins’, modified weapons or costumes that players can win or buy in video games. Parent Zone, an advice service for parents and schools, is demanding action to close the loophole that allows skins to serve as a digital currency that can be gambled and cashed out on roulette wheel spins or other games of chance. There are 6bn skins in circulation, worth an estimated £10bn - potentially fuelling the rise in addictive gaming among teenagers. See

Church buildings house congregations with a variety of physical, mental and spiritual needs. We need flexible and creative approaches when planning a service, so that adults and children with disabilities are not overlooked. Reading isn't easy for those with learning disabilities, poor eyesight or declining comprehension.Pray for churches to explore fresh Bible translations like the Easy to Read Version for those with lower reading skills and comprehension, braille, or versions designed to help the dyslexic. Our churches can sometimes be loud during praise and worship for those with autism who could experience sensory overload. The teaching can be boring or confusing for those with moderate or profound learning disabilities. Pray for more personalised services that tell God’s story creatively just for them. Pray for congregations to help with the range of needs without splitting church families into types, abilities or tastes. See

When MPs return from their summer recess, parliamentary battles on the road to Brexit will be held on the following key dates:20 September: EU leaders discuss Brexit, possibly at a full summit. 17-18 October: EU summit deadline for agreement setting out the ‘divorce’ terms of the withdrawal agreement.A political declaration on the future relationship between the UK and the EU is also expected at this point. November: there is speculation that an emergency EU summit on Brexit might be held if a withdrawal agreement is not reached in October. 13-14 December: EU summit. If a deal has not been done by October, this is the fall-back option if the two sides still want to reach an agreement. 2019: withdrawal agreement approved by UK and the EU.

Five of England’s leading letting agents are discriminating against tenants on housing benefit, a report by Shelter and the National Housing Federation has found. Stephen Tyler, who uses a wheelchair, said he was forced to sleep in his car because of such discrimination. In an undercover investigation carried out by Mystery Shoppers Ltd. 149 regional letting agent branches were called by researchers posing as prospective tenants. One in ten had a branch policy not to let to anyone on housing benefit, regardless of whether they could afford the rent. The worst offender out of the six big brands investigated was Haart, with an outright ban on housing benefit tenants in a third of the branches called (8 out of 25). The research also exposes the uphill struggle faced by housing benefit tenants. Almost half of the letting agents said they had no suitable homes or landlords willing to let to someone on housing benefit.

Chaplains at Pentonville, one of London's biggest prisons, were forced to run for their lives after a fight erupted at a worship service. A new report by the Independent Monitoring Board stated, ‘There has been an increase in gang-related incidents during gatherings for prayer. On one occasion, a fight erupted and ministers had to run for cover. On another occasion, a prisoner was knifed as he entered.’ Thirty staff were assaulted in just two months at the prison. The report warned that drug trafficking, violence against staff, declining job training and ‘inhumane conditions’ are major problems. Although Pentonville had many energetic and committed staff there were too few officers for most of the year. Wings were shut down for three or four half-days a week, activities and association time were restricted, and some prisoners went weeks without exercise in the fresh air. See