The Queen has a strong Christian faith and in recent years has displayed it more openly. In June she will become Britain's longest-reigning monarch, and her 90th birthday is on 21 April. The country is expecting to celebrate these events with special church services and street parties. Two prayers approved by the Queen herself have been published by the Church of England, to be used in services marking these national celebrations. The modern version of one says, ‘Heavenly Father, as we celebrate the 90th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen, receive our heartfelt thanks for all that You have given her in these 90 years and for all that she has given to her people. Continue, we pray, Your loving purposes in her, and as You gather us together in celebration, unite us also in love and service to one another; through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ Two graces have also been published for use at the start of more local celebrations such as street parties.

There is a potential conflict between Northern Ireland and European law on discrimination as the attorney general has halted a gay cake appeal hearing. The appeal was made by Ashers Baking Company, a Christian-run bakery who refused to bake a cake embellished with a pro-gay marriage slogan. But it was adjourned on Wednesday, following an intervention by Northern Ireland’s attorney general, John Larkin QC, raising legal issues regarding discrimination and equality legislation. He made a last-minute request to make representations in the case about any potential conflict between Northern Ireland’s strict equality legislation and European human rights laws. The case has been rescheduled for 9 May and will involve arguments about whether or not the local attorney general can become involved in the case, and also about the compatibility of the regulations with European human rights law.

The EU referendum is likely to be four months away. Some say the Prime Minister is depriving the Out campaign of time to organise themselves into a credible opposition. Others say an early date is to limit the potential for unexpected events - an economic crisis, terrorist attack, Brussels scandal. Whatever the reason, there is now a draft agreement between the UK and the EU which will be presented to EU members, paving the way for an early vote. Less than a third of Conservative MPs and as few as five cabinet members will endorse withdrawal. Theresa May’s support for Cameron’s deal leaves Boris Johnson as the only front-rank Conservative who could yet oppose him. Tory MPs on both sides speak of their desire to avoid a rerun of the 1990s Maastricht debates when the prospect of election defeat encouraged rebellion.

Alongside programmes like ‘Orange Is the New Black’ and ‘House of Cards’, Netflix now offers users another type of content - Christian sermons. The online video streaming service has added lectures by four popular Christian pastors. Many believe that some of the most powerful sermons only reach as far as the church door and do not touch the public. Preachers using Netflix to share the love of God hope to bring Christianity to the popular media in whatever forms technology provides, saying that Jesus was the most creative communicator in history and that we should take a page from his instruction-book and be the most creative entity in the universe.