To those of us within the UK: we have the responsibility of standing guard in prayer over the whole process that will now roll out on this Election Day and beyond - what a privilege! Use 1 Timothy 2: 1-3 and Ephesians 3: 10-12. Let’s continue to worship Jesus as Lord; thank Him for His goodness; seek His forgiveness;  release the blessing of Father, Son and Holy Spirit into the whole process and pray for His Kingdom to come and His will be done. Pray for: 1. God’s mercy on the UK - we have done much to grieve God’s heart. | 2. God’s plans and purposes for the UK to be fulfilled. | 3. Safety from terrorism – up to and beyond the election. | 5. God to call new Christians into our assemblies, parliaments & in local government. | 6. Wise & unbiased reporting by the media. | 7. Many people to turn out and use their votes wisely - in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland (James 1:5). | 8. Wisdom in the formation of a new government in Westminster and in the start of the next season in the Assemblies in Northern Ireland and Wales and Parliament in Scotland (Prov. 14:34; Prov. 11:14).

A leading liberal clergyman (Rev Giles Goddard, vicar of St John's Waterloo) who had defended his right to offer services of thanksgiving for gay weddings and hold a full Muslim prayer service in his church has now apologised for the ‘great consternation’ and offence caused by his comments. When the Bishop of Southwark issued a statement expressing his sorrow at the infringement of Church of England guidelines, it was thought that was the end of the matter. However on Saturday the Dean of Westminster defended the choice of a prayer in which the prophet Muhammad was described as 'The Chosen One' at the Abbey as ‘within orthodox Christian worship’. See also the statement from THE MILL GATHERING in January 2015 (http://wpc.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/The-Mill-Statement-Apr-2015.pdf).

The Methodist Church has deep roots in UK mining and manages £1.1bn of investments for charities and pension funds. Under a new climate policy announced this week, those funds could exclude investment in coal used for power generation, tar sands and companies whose business model is dedicated to finding and exploiting new fossil fuel reserves. The Church of England has announced it will end investments in heavily polluting tar sands oil and thermal coal. A third of Catholics say they will make their lifestyle greener if Pope Francis makes an official statement on climate change, ahead of a significant publication from the Vatican on the environment. (See article 1 in this week’s Europe section) The Quakers in the UK are disinvesting their money from fossil fuels and want an end to unconventional fracking and tar sands oil. See:  http://www.quaker.org.uk/sites/default/files/Fracking-briefing-for-Friends-web-April-2015.pdf

As a nation we have turned away from God’s values and His guidelines when it comes to taking and giving life. The Liverpool Care Pathway was meant to be phased out last year following concerns that it was being abused by NHS staff. But recently, nurses have warned that it is still being used by hospitals under a different name. The LCP is a practice whereby foods and fluids are withdrawn from patients who are thought to be close to death. They are usually sedated and given a 'do not resuscitate' order. An inquiry overseen by Baroness Neuberger ordered the practice to be phased out and the practice was banned last summer. But earlier this year nurses and cancer charities told MPs on the health select committee that the pathway was still being used by hospitals - although not by that name.