Archbishops’ letter after Synod vote
24 Feb 2017
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have written to members of the General Synod setting out the next steps, following this week’s vote not to ‘take note’ of a report on Marriage and Same Sex Relationships. The report by the House of Bishops had stated that there should be no change in the church's teaching while calling for a ‘fresh tone’ on the issues. Speaking immediately afterwards, Archbishop Justin Welby said the vote was ‘not the end of the story, nor was it intended to be.’ The full text of the joint letter can be read at: During the debate, Andrea Williams (christianconcern.com) spoke of God's beautiful design for marriage as a picture of Christ's coming for His spotless bride, saying, ‘We rob society of that picture when we seek to destroy the truth of what marriage is.’
Inequality in the UK
24 Feb 2017
The Equality Trust reports, ‘The richest 10% of households spend more on eating out (£58.40) than the poorest 10% of households spend on housing, fuel and power combined (£44.50). They spend £34.50 per week on furniture and furnishings, that’s more than the weekly food shop of the poorest 10% (£30.40).’ The list also covers alcohol, clothing and pets, revealing a massive gap between the richest and poorest households and huge inequality in our society. We often criticise the poor for being wasteful, but the richest are spending more on their pets than the poorest are on clothing their families. Many people are working, budgeting, and making difficult choices about which necessities to go without. Millions more are in danger of falling into debt and poverty. UK income inequality is among the highest in the developed world and evidence shows that this results in poorer mental and physical health, higher violent crime, poorer educational outcomes and lower levels of trust.
Refugees: who should come in?
24 Feb 2017
In the wake of the closure of the Dubs scheme (see article 1 in the Europe section) allowing unaccompanied minors from Calais into the UK, the Government has come under fire. Lord Dubs (himself a refugee from Nazism), who introduced the scheme, is outraged at its closure. The Archbishop of Canterbury was ‘shocked’ over the decision and asked the Government to reconsider. Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the French authorities did not want the scheme to continue because it encourages people-traffickers. Deut.10:18,19 says, ‘He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. You are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt’. Also Job 31:32 says, ‘No stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveller.’
Black-majority churches growing fast
24 Feb 2017
Andrew Rogers, a lecturer in practical theology at the University of Roehampton, speaking on Pentecostalism, said that the number of black majority churches in Southwark is so high that, at 240, they are nearly twice as numerous as all the other churches in the borough put together. Black churches are growing as fast as ever while white churches continue to decline. There is a greater concentration of African Christianity in south London than anywhere in the world outside Africa. Most black churches are 'Pentecostal', featuring long services with exuberant and often loud worship. Many of the pastors are first-generation migrants to Britain. Although it is acknowledged that black-majority churches have enjoyed rapid growth, it is difficult to determine precisely why. While Southwark may currently be the most intense case, there is significant growth of black churches in Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham. Sadly few BMCs are managing to reach out beyond the black community.
Nuclear bunker raid finds £1m cannabis farm
24 Feb 2017
Wiltshire police have said a large-scale cannabis factory has been found in an underground former nuclear bunker with an estimated street value of £1m. The plants were seized in a midnight raid on Regional Government Headquarters Chilmark. Six men were arrested on suspicion of cannabis production in twenty rooms in the building, with almost every room converted for the wholesale production of cannabis plants.
France: child refugees and traffickers
24 Feb 2017
The UK Government’s decision to refuse lone child refugees (see last week’s Prayer Alert) has been a boost to traffickers, who are ‘helping’ desperate teenagers rejected by official schemes. Labour MP Yvette Cooper, chair of the home affairs select committee, said that MPs felt misled by the premature closure of the scheme after only six months. It takes councils time to set up systems, and we are back to square one, with teenagers and children at risk of traffickers in Dunkirk. Desperation is what the traffickers want. Traffickers tell children, ‘Every route has been closed, but I can help you’. Volunteers have no hope to offer them, to make them go back to the official centres. Almost 100 under-18s believe they are eligible for transfer to the UK. Hundreds are sleeping rough (about 200 are teenagers), with no shelter and donated sleeping bags. See also the article in the British Isles section.
Spain: IS threat to tourist hotspots
24 Feb 2017
IS fanatics have issued ‘direct threats’ to Spanish tourist hotspots where millions of Britons are expected to visit this year, according to a government report. The warnings were reportedly found on social media, amid fears that the terror group is also recruiting translators and foreign jihadists from the country. Its bid to find Spanish speaking fanatics started last summer, the report claims, adding that extremists are increasingly publishing in the language. It comes just weeks after police in San Sebastian, in the country’s north, arrested a Moroccan boxing coach suspected of recruiting for IS.
Syria: peace talks under way
24 Feb 2017
UN-sponsored peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition began in Geneva on Thursday. The two sides will not meet face-to-face to begin with. Staffan de Mistura, the UN's special Syria envoy, said on Wednesday he was ‘not expecting a breakthrough’, though we can pray for one. The opposition insists that the fate of President Bashar al-Assad must be on the agenda, but the government refuses to discuss this. For the sake of the 300,000+ people killed since the war began, the 4.8m who have fled the country and 6.3m displaced inside Syria, ask God in His mercy to be in the midst of these negotiations and for His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.