Ten days of constant prayer June 2-11
02 Jun 2011
will pray for the ten days leading up to Pentecost, the Global Day of Prayer. Beginning on Ascension Day, June 2, millions of Christians will find ways to pray night and day throughout the ten days leading to Pentecost. Gathering in creative ways many are forming prayer chains to build bonfires of 24-hours-a-day prayer. Others will meet for an hour or two of focused prayer. Some will be fasting. Look for how the Holy Spirit may give you fresh ways to pray with family and friends. Click 'More' for full details of resources to help you plan your event and pray with others. Pray: for the Church to humble itself and seek God's face. (2Ch.7:14) More: http://www.gdopusa.com/how-to-be-involved/ten-days-of-constant-prayer/
Teens one click away from internet porn
15 Oct 2010
‘Internet search engines make pornography available to teenagers at the click of a mouse’, said Miranda Sawyer, the presenter behind Radio 4 documentary; Sex, Porn and Teenagers. Miss Sawyer interviewed Lucy Emmerson, Principal Officer of the Sex Education Forum, which claims that sex education is the solution to the problem. But academics and family campaigners say current ‘anything goes’ sex education is part of the problem, not part of the solution. Norman Wells of the Family Education Trust hit out at the Government’s Teenage Pregnancy Strategy saying: ‘With all its emphasis on sex education and handing out contraceptives to school children under the age of consent, it is giving them the green light to experiment sexually. We need to return to a combination of realistic education and empower youngsters to know how dangerous and foolish underage sex is.’ The Daily Mail’s Jan Moir says children should be told that any early sex is ‘just plain wrong’. Pray: for a review of sex education that addresses the current failures, building instead on Christian values.(Jas.1:21) More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/teens-just-one-click-away-from-internet-sex-and-porn/
Teenagers search for family values
17 Jan 2011Young people want to learn about responsible parenting rather than sexual mechanics in sex education, a recent survey has revealed. Around three quarters of teenagers interviewed said that a relationship does not need to involve sex. The findings challenge the current emphasis in sex education on the mechanics of safe sex. The survey, conducted among over 2,000 13 to 16-year-olds from a range of schools and backgrounds, has surprised experts in the field. Researchers from Hull University said that they were surprised that the majority of those surveyed supported ‘moral’ ideas about having sex. The survey revealed that the single most important ‘fact of life’ for both boys and girls was parenting. Commenting on the findings, Norman Wells of the Family Education Trust, said: ‘Young people are clearly tiring of the negative messages they are receiving about pregnancy and parenthood from sex educators obsessed with contraception’.
Pray: that Christian morality supporting the ideals of marriage and family values is disseminated strongly to our young people. (Heb.13:4)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/teach-us-more-about-family-values-say-teenagers/
Teenage girls regret having alcohol-fuelled sex
18 Aug 2011Binge drinking is leading many teenage girls to engage in risky sexual behaviour which they later come to regret, a new report has warned. Researchers have revealed that more than one in five 15 and 16-year-old girls who drink at least once a week has had drunken sex which they have later regretted. The report also revealed that more than 15 per cent of boys have similar regrets. The report, compiled by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, said: ‘Those binge drinking three or more times a week were over five times more likely than non-binge drinkers to have had sex they regretted following alcohol’. The report, which examined the drinking habits of 15 and 16-year-olds in North West England, was based on questionnaires filled in by nearly 10,000 teenagers.
Pray: that ways would be found to change the habits of our young people. (Ps.14:3)
A mum has described as ‘morally wrong’ a scheme which allowed her 13-year-old daughter to be given a contraception implant at school without her knowledge.
The unnamed mum said she thinks more parents should be aware that their children could be having the medical procedure. She said: ‘I feel really angry about this. I agree that teaching teenagers about sexual health and contraception is very important but this is a step too far. And Norman Wells, Director of the Family Education Trust, criticised such schemes, warning that they ‘treat parents, the law and basic moral principles with contempt....Schemes like these inevitably lead to boys putting pressure on girls to have sex.
Responding to the controversy, another mum told BBC Radio 4: ‘I am sure most parents object to this as an assault on their authority. ‘I send my children to school to get an academic education. The age of consent is there for a reason – to protect our daughters.’
Pray: for young people who face tremendous pressure to be sexually active and for parents to be fully involved in their children’s welfare. (Pr.22:6)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/teen-allowed-contraception-implant-without-mum-knowing/
An attempt to exempt Catholic adoption agencies from gay rights laws failed this week when the leaders of the three main political parties united to deny peers a vote. An amendment tabled by four senior members of the House of Lords to Harriet Harman's Equality Bill aimed to overturn a regulation banning the religious adoption agencies from rejecting gay couples and cohabitees as adopters and foster parents. Led by Baroness Williams of Crosby, the peers claimed their move had the support of the majority of the House. But the amendment was dropped after the ‘usual channels’ - the leaders of the major parties in the Lords and their whips - ruled that it could not be moved on a technicality. Baroness Williams said she felt that the abuse scandal convulsing the Church in Ireland and Germany had undermined the support her amendment might have generated. (See Prayer Alert 1210)
Pray: for the freedom of charities to organise themselves in such a way that their activities are consistent with their religious beliefs when clearly providing public services. (Ro.12:2)
More: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/articles/a0000780.shtml
Teaching of Christianity in schools
31 Oct 2010
The former Bishop of Rochester is urging Education Secretary Michael Gove to restore the teaching of Christianity in Britain's schools. Writing in Standpoint magazine, the Rt Rev Nazir-Ali welcomed the move to end what he calls Britain's ‘collective amnesia’ about its Christian heritage. He said Christianity was the most significant link in the story of Britain and that education should look at the vital role played by reformers in the struggle for the freedoms he says shaped the British nation and are now under threat. He wants to see schools teach children about the link between Britain today and its foundations in the Judeo-Christian traditions of the Bible. He particularly mentions the role of Christians in abolishing the slave trade, introducing universal education, improving working conditions, and caring for the sick. ‘I am glad that the Minister is setting out to remove our collective amnesia. This will also have to mean the rediscovery of our spiritual and moral identity’. Pray: for the renewal of Christian faith and values in all aspects of public life including our schools. (Isa.41:1) schools/26959.htm
Teachers to ask 11-year-olds if they are gay
05 Apr 2011
A report commissioned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) recommends that children should be asked if they are homosexual from the age of 11 and that records should be kept of those unsure about or ‘questioning’ their sexuality. The report was conducted in an effort to encourage teachers, nurses and youth workers to start monitoring the development of young people’s sexual identity. The aim of the monitoring would be to ‘shed light on the complexities of young people’s developing sexual orientation and how this may disadvantage them.’ The report suggested that it is both ‘practically and ethically’ possible to interview children as young as 11 about their sexual orientation, if necessary without parental consent. The report has prompted concern in some quarters. Pray: for the authorities and there seeming obsession with sexuality especially with the young. (1Cor.6:12&6:18) More:http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/sexual-orientation/equality-commission-wants-teachers-to-ask-children-if-they-are-homos