Climate change failure is moral outrage
17 Jan 2011Scotland's religious leaders have described the West's failure to help developing nations cope with climate change as a ‘moral outrage’. Senior members of the country's Christian and Islamic communities outlined their position in a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron. They urged the UK government to do all it could to ensure progress was made at the UN climate change conference. The summit is due to open in Cancun, Mexico, on Monday. The letter to Mr Cameron has been signed by the Moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly, John Christie, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, David Chillingworth, and Shaykh Ruzwan, a senior figure in the Islamic community. It adds: ‘It is a moral outrage that as yet developed countries appear unwilling to find the money so urgently needed to deal with this issue.’
Pray: for the Cancun summit and that world leaders will strive to make significant progress. (Job.22:28)
Clergy told to take on the 'new atheists'
10 Feb 2011
The Church of England will this week vow to fight ‘new atheism’ in an attempt to combat the rise of secularism and defend Christianity in Britain. Clergy are to be urged to be more vocal in countering the arguments put forward by a more hard-line group of atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, who have campaigned for a less tolerant attitude towards religion. A report endorsed by Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, warns that the Church faces a battle to prevent faith being seen as ‘a social problem’ and says the next five years are set to be a period of ‘exceptional challenge’. It expresses concern that Christians are facing hostility at work and says the Church could lose its place at the centre of public life unless it challenges attempts to marginalise religious belief. Pray: for a new vision to ensure a strong future for the Church. (Ac.18:9)
Clergy battle against sham marriages
21 Sep 2010
Rev Tim Codling, Rector of St John the Baptist, Tilbury Docks, in Essex, has said his church has been ‘violated’ by fraudsters targeting it for sham marriages. The diocese has admitted that the problem has become unmanageable. Mr Codling has referred 64 marriages in the past three years to the Police and Immigration Authorities, after becoming suspicious. Once married, non-European nationals can apply for British citizenship. Mr Codling said that he has undoubtedly married bogus couples. On four occasions he interrupted wedding ceremonies and escorted couples from the building. On one occasion he inserted the names of railway stations into the vows to catch out a bride who failed to notice the interpolation. His church may have been targeted because of its good links to Stansted and London City airports. ‘When a couple come with a bishop’s licence you’re in a difficult position. You assume everything is in order.’ Pray:for divine protection for vicars and their families from dangerous criminal gangs orchestrating sham marriages.
CLC objects to sex club licence in Oxford
14 Jul 2011On Tuesday the Christian Legal Centre, along with other objectors including St Ebbe’s Church, asked Oxford City Council not to grant a sexual entertainment licence to a club called Coven II. The club is situated on one of the main roads running into Oxford City Centre, close to residential areas, a higher education college and the Oxford University Training Corps, making it a highly unsuitable area for a sex club. This is the second application for a sex club licence in Oxford in the space of eight months. (See Prayer Alert 10-2011 and 2710)
Pray: that the city council will listen to the objections and reject this application. (1Th.5:22)
Clampdown on offensive language on the radio
05 Jan 2012Media regulator Ofcom has moved to clampdown on offensive language on the radio amid concerns that children are being exposed to inappropriate material. It says that broadcasting offensive language when children are likely to be listening has ‘frequently been the focus of complaints’. In October the watchdog censured one radio station for playing a track which repeated one swear word 41 times at 7.30 in the morning. Now Ofcom, which has a statutory duty to protect young people, has issued new guidance saying that listeners ‘do not expect to hear strong language during the day on radio’ even if children are unlikely to be listening. It has also warned broadcasters that children must be protected from songs with clear references to drugs and sex. The guidance says that ‘broadcasters should avoid broadcasting lyrics that clearly focus on the taking of drugs, sexual acts or behaviour, or convey a clearly sexualised theme, when children are particularly likely to be listening.’
Pray: that the move by Ofcom to restrict the use of offensive language on the radio will succeed in its aim. (Ps.139:24)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/clampdown-on-offensive-language-on-the-radio/
The Scottish Government, the European Parliament, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and civic and faith leaders were among those involved in the official opening of the 2013 Just Festival. Hundreds of people turned out for the occasion at St John's Episcopal Church, in the heart of Edinburgh, on Saturday 3 August. Just Festival is the largest multi-ethnic and multi-faith event of its kind. This year it features 129 events across 450 performances and 28 venues from 2-26 August. "As ever, the vibrant multi-cultural mix of the Festival is a key feature of its continuing popularity and it is great to see a continued commitment to building positive relations within the diverse communities of Scotland. "Each year, there are some fantastic and engaging talks on important topics such as peace-making, the future of Scotland and working to eliminate sectarianism and discrimination. We wish the Just Festival and all involved in it the very best for their busy programme."
Pray: for all those running and visiting this festival throughout August. Pray that's its impact will be positive and long lasting. (Rev.5:9)
More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18720
Citizens Advice is working with churches and other places of worship across the country to make advice services more accessible, particularly for those living in remote areas. This will provide face-to-face advice in the local community rather than users having to travel significant distances. Faithful Advice: A guide for advice services in places of worship published at the Citizens Advice service’s annual conference provides practical examples and guidelines for churches to set up face-to-face advice sessions on their premises. The guidelines acknowledge that as the public sector cuts bite, churches can play a vital role in offering premises for advice sessions, particularly where there are no alternative sites available locally. The Rt Revd John Gladwin, former Bishop of Chelmsford, said, ‘By working with faith organisations, Citizens Advice Bureaux have already established partnerships which enable them to reach out and provide advice services to some of the most vulnerable and disengaged sections of our communities.’
Pray: for the success of such ventures and for it to further emphasise to Government the importance of the church in society. (Ac.5:20)
More: http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentogod.newsDetail&newsid=533
Churches welcome government's decision on Syria
01 Sep 2013Leaders from the United Reformed Church, the Methodist Church in Britain and the Baptist Union of Great Britain have given thanks for the decision of the UK Parliament to reject military action in Syria. Leaders from the three churches said: "We are thankful that our MPs carefully considered the difficult matter of military intervention in Syria - and decided to reject it. Our prayers now are that all diplomatic means are used to bring government and opposition leaders to the negotiating table and that divided parties are encouraged to seek a future they can inhabit together. We also urge that priority is given to a quick and effective humanitarian response to the thousands of Syrian people affected by the violence."
The Revd Roberta Rominger, General Secretary of the United Reformed Church
The Revd Ruth Gee, President of the Methodist Conference
The Revd Stephen Keyworth, Faith and Society Team Leader, Baptist Union of Great Britain
Pray: for the United Kingdom to unite in prayer for Syria and for our leaders to be granted the wisdom to do the right thing. (1Co.14:33a)
More: http://www.methodist.org.uk/news-and-events/news-releases/churches-welcome-governments-decision-on-syria