There was a time when Christians felt self-confident enough to thank God in a public restaurant for the food, for the people who prepared it and for the establishment in which they were consuming it. We didn't care. Today, as we attend the same restaurant, the food is brought out, around the table we fidget with forks, someone adjusts their chips and adds sauce. But no-one makes a move; everyone instinctively knows that this might be the point where someone decides they should make a show of themselves. Then, to audible sighs of relief all round, someone says grace. The awkward half-grace. ‘Well,’ someone says, with forced confidence. ‘Thank you Lord!" The deed is done. Has the awkward half-grace emerged because we don't want to look different to the culture we live in and draw attention to ourselves? See THE MILL GATHERING at
Amnesty International has said the Prime Minister David Cameron was ‘completely wrong' to say at Prime Minister’s Questions that ‘the vast majority of Mediterranean migrants are not asylum-seekers’, in answer to a question about the UK’s refusal to take part in an EU refugee quota system on the issue. Amnesty’s Refugee and Migrant Rights Director Steve Symonds said, ‘At least half of those risking their lives in the Mediterranean are fleeing persecution in places like Syria, Eritrea and Somalia’. Amnesty and other monitoring groups have said that the single largest group by nationality attempting the Mediterranean crossing in recent months have been people from war-torn Syria, nearly all of whom will be internationally-recognised refugees. The next single largest group comprises Eritreans - with the great majority of these also very likely to be refugees (see also article 7 in Prayer Alert World Section).
Trumpet Call on 4 July
11 Jun 2015
Numbers 10:9 says, ‘When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy that is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies.’ From that and other scriptures we see that the sounding of trumpets were for gathering the people, moving the people, calling the people to war and celebrating all that God had done. We, God’s Church, are ambassadors of Christ and on Saturday 4July we will stand together at the INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE in Birmingham in unity and SEEK THE FACE OF GOD that He would, in response to our repentance and prayers of faith, hear our cry, have mercy and pour out His Spirit on our land. Readers of Prayer Alert are invited to come, if they are able, and pray. There’s nothing more powerful than when saints pray and seek God’s Kingdom, standing in the gap for the lost. (2 Chronicles 7:14) Please join us for a historic gathering of believers from across the UK crying out for a transformative move of God.
Born-again Christian set for love reality show
04 Jun 2015
A born-again Christian is to be one of the contestants on ITV reality show 'Love Island'. Zoe Basia Brown, 24, will take part in the programme which sends 12 single people to the Mediterranean island of Mallorca in an attempt for them to 'find love'. The model said she would avoid controversy in a bid not to embarrass her priest or mum. She said, ‘I'm a Christian and that is the number one thing in my life, so I can turn the other cheek. I started going to church two years ago. It's the opposite of fashion and I love it because everyone is so nice. I'm not going to start giving sermons on the island, but it's a big part of me. I'm not going to mess around on Love Island, I'm going to maintain my dignity. A cheeky snog might happen, but nothing more’. It launches on Sunday 7 June at 9 pm.
Gay marriage: Belfast City Council says 'yes'
04 Jun 2015
Last week Prayer Alert reported: ‘The ‘Yes’ result in the same-sex marriage referendum in the Republic of Ireland has led to calls for its introduction in Northern Ireland.’ On Monday this week Belfast City Council voted in favour of same-sex marriage; 38 councillors voted for, 13 voted against and there were two abstentions. Councillors from Sinn Féin, the SDLP, Green Party, PUP, People Before Profit, and Alliance spoke in support of the motion. All but three Ulster Unionists also voted for the motion. In April, the Northern Ireland Assembly rejected a proposal calling for the introduction of gay marriage, after debating the issue for a fourth time.
Petition launched against ‘Named Person’ scheme
04 Jun 2015
Campaigners opposing Scotland’s controversial Named Person scheme launched a new petition last weekend, tapping into mounting opposition to the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act passed at Holyrood last year. Under the law, every child in Scotland will be assigned a state-employed Named Person to monitor their welfare. A campaign spokesman said they were concerned about the threats to the human rights of families to their privacy in their own homes as well as possible breaches of data protection laws as the state passes confidential family information to and from different public bodies. The petition says, ‘I oppose the Scottish Government’s plan to assign a Named Person to every child in Scotland because it undermines families and diverts resources from children who need them.’ In January, judge Lord Pentland dismissed a judicial review brought against the legislation, but three judges will consider an appeal next Wednesday.
Lord Falconer’s suicide bill
04 Jun 2015
Earlier this week, Labour peer Lord Falconer said he would reintroduce a Bill at Westminster attempting to allow assisted suicide for patients in England and Wales who are deemed to have less than six months to live. But in a ballot on Wednesday 27 May determining the order in which private members’ bills are to be introduced in the House of Lords, Lord Falconer's bill came 21st, meaning that it's unlikely that it will be brought before Parliament. Earlier this year politicians on the Isle of Man voted strongly against a private member's bill calling for the legalisation of assisted suicide. The World Medical Association re-asserted its opposition to assisted suicide in 2013. A 2006 survey by the Royal College of Physicians found that over 70% agreed no change in legislation is needed.
20,000 worshippers at the ‘Big Church Day Out’
04 Jun 2015
More than 20,000 campers and day visitors descended on the Wiston Estate near Steyning, Sussex, for a two-day event over Pentecost weekend. The Big Church Day Out offered families the Big Church Fete where there were fair rides, a climbing wall, arts and crafts and face painting. There were three different stages with a variety of worship styles brought to crowds by artists from the UK and abroad, including Rend Collective; American worship leader and composer Israel Houghton; Martin Smith, formerly the front man of the Christian rock band Delirious?; the Watoto Children’s Choir; and rap and dance group LZ7. There was prayer and more intimate worship in Wiston Church, near the estate’s house. The church was packed throughout both days as people sought some quiet, more reflective worship time. Tearfund ran its ‘Free a Slave’ campaign, and the event ended with a beacon being lit to launch the Diocese of Chichester’s new mission strategy.