At a major Lambeth Palace conference, the Archbishop of Canterbury explored how disabled people can participate fully in church life. Livability, a disability charity, and Lambeth Palace heard the voices of those living and working with the disabled, through videos and live discussions. The Church is called to be, and has huge potential to be, a place where all people are valued and belong. Human rights guarantee inclusion and social justice for the disabled, but another dimension is needed. ‘Setting God’s People Free’ explored the challenge to empower, liberate and disciple 98% of the Church of England who are not ordained, and set them free for fruitful, faithful mission and ministry, influence, leadership and, most importantly, vibrant relationship with Jesus in all of life. Justin Welby said ‘deep listening conversations’ to those with lived experience of disability are absolutely vital if we are to be a Church where everyone is valued and everyone belongs.
A new Reformation?
19 Jul 2018
Churches are closing but small groups of believers meeting to study the Bible and to pray are multiplying. Clifford Hill writes, ‘I’ve been looking at the reasons why some people leave their church. A variety of reasons are given. Unhappiness at the introduction of different worship styles, change of leadership; but by far the most quoted reason is unhappiness with the teaching, or with unbiblical practices being introduced. Many leaving their churches are mature Bible-believing Christians dissatisfied either with the lack of sound biblical teaching or that the Gospel is never applied to current issues in the world. This is, by far, the most worrying factor in what is happening in the Church today. It is the lack of a prophetic sense of mission. When the church loses its prophetic mission of declaring the Word of God, it loses vision and dynamic, and slumps into a routine form of religion.’ For the full article, click the ‘More’ button.
Ex-magistrate appeals his removal from NHS trust
19 Jul 2018
Richard Page has won permission to appeal his removal as a non-executive director of an NHS trust where he worked. He was removed from the bench as a magistrate for his belief that a child is better served by having a mother and a father. At the time, he was also serving an NHS trust as a non-executive director, but because he spoke out in the media about his pro-family beliefs, he was then suspended from his role and was blocked from restarting it. He had successfully served the NHS for 20 years as a director of finance, keeping them within budget. A panel concluded it was not in the interests of the health service for him to serve as an NHS director, as his views would be ‘likely to have a negative impact on the confidence of staff, patients and the public’.
Heatwave turns UK into giant tinderbox
19 Jul 2018
The fire on Saddleworth Moor is out, but the fire service told the public to stay safe on the moorlands, especially as schools are closing. Between 15 and 19 July there have been many fires on grasslands, including one near Epping Forest where forty fire engines attended a blaze which stretched across 247 acres. The London fire commissioner said, ‘This weekend we dealt with the largest grass fire in our history, as well as a range of other serious fires. The ground is extremely dry, and grassland and parks will act like a tinderbox when exposed to the smallest of sparks. We are asking people not to drop cigarettes or matches on dry ground or out of car windows; don’t have barbecues on dry grass or parks and don’t leave glass bottles out as they can concentrate the sun’s rays and start a blaze. Grass fires spread like lightning. If you see grass smouldering, call 999 immediately.’
On 18 July a protest was organised by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) outside the Nigerian High Commission in London, to mark 150 days since 15-year-old Leah Sharibu was kidnapped by Boko Haram in Yobe state, Nigeria. Leah was one of 110 schoolgirls abducted on 19 February from the a local government college. Five died during the ordeal and the rest were freed, but Leah remained in captivity as she refused to renounce her faith. CSW’s CEO Mervyn Thomas said, ‘It's very important to remember that this is not just a protest - this is prayer and protest. CSW believes in those two things going together. So we're hoping first of all that God will answer prayer, but we're also hoping that the Nigerian government will take action.’
Ireland: proposed boycott of Israel goods
19 Jul 2018
The Irish Senate has voted to approve a proposal to criminalise doing business with Jews in settlement areas, parts of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights - areas that came under Israel’s control after the 1967 Six-Day War. After the vote the Irish ambassador was summoned to a meeting at the Israeli foreign ministry’s office. If Eire officially approves the proposal, it will become the first country in the European Union to criminalise import of goods from Israel. The proposal’s initiator, Senator Frances Black, slammed Israeli settlements as ‘war crimes’ and compared her initiative to Ireland’s anti-apartheid actions against South Africa. Ireland’s government strongly opposes the initiative, which creates trade restrictions contrary to EU values and undermines Ireland’s influence in the region. EU law states that its members can only mark products coming from settlements - not boycott or impose sanctions on their imports.
Europe: inside people-smuggling networks
19 Jul 2018
Nazeri Zubair’s travelling companion crushed a pill, dissolved it in water, and fed it to her two-year-old daughter to make the baby sleep for over a day. It was a requirement of the smugglers who were guiding the group from Serbia across Croatia’s border then into Slovenia; opening up possibilities of travelling without passport checks within 26 countries on Europe’s mainland. Over 90% of undocumented immigrants who enter the EU illegally use people smugglers at one stage of their journey, according to Europol. Nazeri came into contact with dozens of smugglers while traversing 12 countries. Finding them was as easy as finding a regular travel agent, through recommendations or at notorious hot spots such as Victoria Square in Athens. One led him through a minefield, and another across treacherous Mediterranean waters. Nazeri said children aged under 4 were systematically spoon-fed sedatives to keep them quiet. Smugglers refuse to take young families who won't administer drugs.
On 15 July the Christian Association of Nigeria reported that in the previous week 238 Christians were killed and more churches desecrated by Muslims. This puts the total number of Christians killed as 6,000+ since January. This is genocide. A joint communiqué from the Christian Association, representing different denominations, said, ‘There is no doubt that the sole purpose of these attacks is ethnic cleansing, land seizure and the forced expulsion of Christian natives from their land and ancestral heritage.’ The statement condemned recent attacks, where 2,000+ people had been brutally murdered and churches destroyed without any security intervention despite the various calls for help that were made. Taking into account that Christians constitute more than 50% of the Nigerian population, it is obvious that the objective of the Islamists is to create serious conflicts that, if not controlled, can lead to another civil war. Also, floods are killing many and ruining crops, raising fears of food shortages. See https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/07/nigeria-floods-worsen-food-shortages-180715120551293.html