Qatar is hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. There are thousands of migrants - from India, Nepal and the Philippines - working on the project. God is at work and many are meeting Jesus. One convert from Buddhism said, ‘I would never have expected to become a Christian in a strict Muslim country. But it happened.’ Evangelism is forbidden - but that isn't stopping the Christians. ‘We can't go to people with the gospel. But they are coming to us. I have many conversations with colleagues about Christianity, and they just keep asking questions. The only thing we have to do is answer them. There is no law against that.’
Friday Focus: the Millennial generation
24 Feb 2017Northern Ireland, Scotland and Brexit
24 Feb 2017On 2 March, Northern Ireland will vote for a new Assembly amid much uncertainty. DUP leader Arlene Foster faces criticism for an energy scheme that wasted hundreds of millions of public money. Sinn Fein faces a generation change as Martin McGuinness steps down, and the finance minister describes the Brexit votes as having a calamitous effect on the economy. Some say Brexit could scupper the peace deal. Pray for God’s hand on this election: for truth, integrity, and peace. Scotland voted 62% to remain, believing the single market is vital to jobs and economy. The SNP are deciding whether to call another referendum - their conference is in late March.The UK will trigger Article 50 in mid-March. Pray for the relations between London and Scotland to improve, for leaders to have wisdom and integrity.
Archbishops’ letter after Synod vote
24 Feb 2017The 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 2017The 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 2017In 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 2017Andrew 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 2017Wiltshire 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.