Hardened gang member’s change
04 Jun 2020
After Angel’s babysitter led him in a sinner’s prayer he felt there was a shield around him as a child, but as a teenager he followed his older brothers into crime, drugs, alcohol, rage, revenge, and jail. Finally, after committing an offence that could have imprisoned him for life, he listened to a preacher: ‘God loves you so much. He doesn’t want this for your life. He has more for you.’ His sisters were praying for him. He broke down, fell to his knees, and said, ‘Here I am, Lord. Here is my life. I am totally out of it. I do not know what to do. I have heard about you. I need you to take over because I am out of control.’ For years he mocked people who were healed and fell under the power of the Spirit on Christian television programming. But when he finally broke before God, he decided to go to church.
A clarion call for justice
04 Jun 2020
In the light of George Floyd’s death, the Evangelical Alliance has joined thousands of voices around the world, to declare that the indescribable pain and dehumanisation of others because of their skin colour has to stop. ‘Let us stand together as brothers and sisters in Christ, as we cry out for justice, as we stand with those suffering oppression, as we weep with those grieving and in pain. We all have a responsibility to act against discrimination and systemic racism in our workplaces, churches, justice systems, and wider communities. We cannot view this as white vs black. This is a clarion call for us to come together and fight every form of racism in all its disgusting manifestations. As the Church we must unite across all ethnicities in saying, and showing, that all are created equal, all people bear God’s image.’
Schools open, parents and unions wary
04 Jun 2020
There is a lack of certainty about the safety of children returning to school. Reception, year 1 and year 6 pupils are able to return; however there are mixed local pictures. Some schools reopened, some remained shut, and some have not brought back all the pupils mentioned by the Government. Please pray for: the only child in the family, still at home with no one to play with; children still missing lessons and friends; returning pupils having to learn new ways of behaving in school and playground; children readapting to school and joining children of key workers who have continued education; teachers reorganising teaching plans for mixed abilities and keeping classrooms safe. Pray for teachers unable to keep to curriculum for classes because half the children are absent or the classrooms are too small to facilitate the whole class.
Government’s duty to keep us safe
04 Jun 2020
Our government has the responsibility to protect those in the health service risking their lives for our health. There are still doctors, nurses, care home workers, carers and others who do not have some essential personal protective equipment. Amnesty International say we are not safe until everyone is safe. Also migrant women who are victims of domestic abuse go without safety and healthcare. They are too scared to seek urgent medical care or help with safe housing, for fear of being reported to immigration authorities. Women’s Aid estimates that four out of five migrant women are turned away from refuges because they lack access to government support or funds. Pray for the Government to provide resources for everyone who needs them, no matter what their immigration status. Pray also for the police to catch the criminals stealing PPE to sell at inflated prices on the internet (see).
Boris Johnson and Hong Kong
04 Jun 2020
Hong Kong citizens may be offered UK visas. Boris Johnson has opened the path to what he called one of the ‘biggest changes’ to our visa system, stating he is ready to offer a right to live and work in the UK to any of the nearly three million Hong Kong citizens eligible for a British National Overseas (BNO) passport. The prime minister’s offer would come into play only if China presses ahead with new security laws that strip Hong Kong of its traditional freedoms. Pray for him and Dominic Raab to be wise in all their relations and dealings with China. Pray for peaceful streets in Hong Kong, and for Chinese Christians to be unwavering and protected as they face their government’s current attitude.
Update on Madeleine McCann
04 Jun 2020
Madeleine McCann is ‘assumed’ to be dead, say German prosecutors investigating her disappearance in 2007. A 43-year-old German predator currently in prison for sex crimes is being investigated on suspicion of her murder. Police are appealing for the public's help in solving the case, after they announced on 3 June that they had a new suspect. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, felt the latest development was ‘potentially very significant’. Their spokesperson said, ‘Of all the thousands of leads and potential suspects that have been mentioned in the past, there has never been something as clearcut as that from not just one, but three, police forces.’ The Met are working with German and Portuguese police. They have released details of the suspect's phone number and the number which dialled him before Madeleine’s disappearance; any information about these numbers could be ‘critical’.
PM cautious about reopening churches too quickly
04 Jun 2020
The Tory MP for Loughborough asked Mr Johnson during PMQ: ‘Local church leaders have contacted me about access to churches for services, to help tackle loneliness. Please could I ask that religious faiths be allowed to let people into their places of worship, observing social distancing within their premises, and that wedding venues be allowed access for bookings?’ The Prime Minister said he understood the urgency many people feel about the need to reopen places of worship, but highlighted the risks it could cause to the public if done prematurely. ‘We are not there yet. It is vital that the people of this country understand the continued need to push down on the infection rate.’
Hope for the countryside
04 Jun 2020
June brings with it longer daylight hours and an explosion of new life in the bird, insect, and animal worlds. Give thanks for the natural beauty of our world and the way so many people have begun to interact with it in new ways during lockdown. Rural churches will need to think about gathered worship; pray for those making decisions at local and national levels to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, and to continue mission in new ways. Give thanks for Daily Hope, a free telephone service with prayers, hymns and services designed to serve those without access to the internet (0800 804 8044). Also a drought is developing, which will seriously reduce crop yields (some estimate by 60%) and grazing this year. Pray for rain.