Non-urgent services will be cancelled on three days in December, after 98% of junior doctors backed strike action in a British Medical Association ballot. Dr Mark Porter, chair of the BMA council, said, ‘We regret the inevitable disruption that this will cause, but it is the Government’s adamant insistence on imposing a contract that is unsafe for patients in the future, and unfair for doctors now and in the future, that has brought us to this point. Patients are doctors’ first priority, which is why, even with such a resounding mandate, we are keen to avert the need for industrial action. That is why we have approached ACAS to offer conciliatory talks with the health secretary, and NHS employers to clarify the conflicting information coming from the Government over the past weeks.’
More people being helped by UK foodbanks
20 Nov 2015
The Government is proclaiming that our economy is doing well, but there are still many thousands of people in the UK who are forced to rely on charities for food and clothes. This type of report has been repeated in Prayer Alert over a number of years, and still the main issues are low wages and government cuts. With winter around the corner, we are going to see an even larger rise in numbers of people needing foodbanks, as they face choices between eating and heating; last year this number was much higher in December than in other months. The latest figures show that use of foodbanks in the UK is still increasing. Benefit delays and changes remain the biggest cause of foodbank use. Also, some agencies and charities who would normally refer people in crisis to foodbanks have been unable to do so because funding reductions have caused their services to be squeezed or closed.
As the world mourns with the people of France because of the devastation from these insidious attacks, let us engage in sincere, specific and faith-filled prayer for the healing of the victims. The road ahead for those who have been wounded is long. The road for those who have lost loved ones is even longer. As the personal stories of victims begin to emerge over the coming days and weeks, we can stop for just a moment and pray for the person by name. Ask that, if they have a faith in the Lord, it will be renewed; and pray that, if they are without a relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit will lead them into one. We Christians know that the only way to experience true healing from such trauma is through knowing Jesus. Let’s not pray generally for healing but - as much as we are able - pray for people by name.
Rt Revd David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham, spoke about Friday’s terror attack from the House of Lords, where he is sitting this week. He said, ‘We have to face up to the next stages of rooting out the evil which is perpetrated through IS’. The Bishop said that Christians can help most in the local communities by making good personal relationships with those of other faiths and explaining how God and religion can promote peace and harmony. The Bishop’s comments follow David Cameron saying that Britain should attack the ‘head of the snake’ and that Raqqa (in Syria) is that head. He added that we should be doing more than supporting our allies with intelligence, surveillance and refuelling, and there needs to be comprehensive military counter-terrorism as well as ideological approaches.
The so-called Islamic Human Rights Commission
20 Nov 2015
An erroneous and seditious report published on 17 November claims that Muslims in the UK live in ‘an environment of hate’, and that the Government is to blame. The so-called ‘Islamic Human Rights Commission’ launched a report called ‘Environment of Hate’. It describes the UK as an ever-developing ‘Stasi’ state that is rife with hatred for the ‘suspect’ Muslim community, and says, ‘The authors examine the construction of an environment where Muslims are feared and loathed.’ They claim that the UK is like East Germany in its treatment of Muslims and Islam. This ‘Commission’ has been developing what it calls the ‘Domination Hate Model of Intercultural Relations’.
Scotland: guard the gates
20 Nov 2015
The following is a portion of Scotland’s ‘The Stand’ monthly prayer letter regarding recent events in Paris. ‘At such times the inevitable questions are “Why now? Why there? Why them?” and the danger is that we focus so much on the tragedy that we start to lose sight of the One who holds the nations in the palm of His hand - the One who knows the end from the beginning - Alpha and Omega - El Shaddai! We know Jesus broke the power of evil on the Cross, but we are still in that timeframe awaiting the ultimate end of our enemy, Satan, who is out to ‘steal, kill and destroy’. In the meantime we see lawlessness increase in every sphere of society, so what should our response be? PRAYER! Pray with an intensity as never before! Pray without ceasing - crying out to God to uncover and defeat the enemy’s plans.’
France: Church, arise - and pray
20 Nov 2015
Pope Francis condemned the Paris attacks. President Francois Hollande called them an ‘act of war’. We can join our brothers and sisters in France and pray for God's great mercy and compassion to be poured out on those who have lost a family member, friend or colleague. We can pray for this evil to be turned into a wave of salvation for the French. God has told French intercessors that there are other terrorist cells active in France; we can pray that they would be exposed to the authorities and dealt with adequately. Also, the intercessors believe that God has called His Church in France to repent for their silence as they have stood back and watched society slide into moral decadence. They believe God is saying that the ‘normalisation’ of immorality has destroyed His protection over the French nation, and He is calling His Church to repent. We are hearing of some French churches calling on the Body of Christ to repent and pray.
INSIGHTS into the various faces of IS
20 Nov 2015
The organisation called Anonymous has ‘declared war’ on IS in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks. They are leaking on to the internet the personal information of suspected extremists and have taken down thousands of accounts and sites associated with the terrorists. Globally the media and politicians are verbally and physically attacking IS, and the global Church is taking a spiritual stand against the evil of terrorism. What is needed at this time? Informed, wise, Spirit-led pray-ers, praying into terrorism’s sources of finance and the histories and mindsets of the primary game-changers. We need to be aware of the influences of various Islamic sects, and the different ideologies of individuals and groups such as IS. This week an INSIGHT article has been prepared that will give some of this information in concise facts to help with informed prayer. To read/download it click the ‘more’ button.