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Hundreds of people turned out at a public meeting against plans for a sex shop near a small English village. Sex shop company Cocktails Limited wants to open a store close to Sawtry, which has a population of just 6,000. Local MP Shailesh Vara gave his support to locals who say a sex shop would ‘cast a shadow’ over Sawtry. Ward Councillor Darren Tysoe, who chaired the public meeting, said a ‘unanimous and strong message’ had been delivered that ‘we don’t want a sex shop in Sawtry’. The sex shop is planned for a former Little Chef building just off the A1. Keith Walters, a former councillor, said: ‘Sawtry is a quiet, rural, family-friendly village. ‘It’s not big enough to have a bank or building society and can’t have cable TV. But apparently, someone can impose a branch of the largest sex shops in Europe against our will.’ Pray: for the District Council to heed and respond positively to the views of the local people of Sawtry. (Ep.5:3) More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/sex-shop-close-to-village-opposed-by-locals/
Sex education resources should be licensed to ensure they are age-appropriate, an MP has said, following concern among parents about ‘inappropriate’ materials. Andrea Leadsom’s comments come in the same month that a report by The Christian Institute highlighted shocking resources being pushed by public bodies for use in schools. One such resource encourages primary school pupils to learn about anal intercourse, oral sex and prostitution. (See Prayer Alert 11-2011) Mrs Leadsom, the MP for South Northamptonshire, asked if the Education Secretary Michael Gove was ‘aware of the great concern of some parents about the inappropriate material being shown to their five-year-old and seven-year-old children under the guise of sex and relationship education’. Education Minister Tim Loughton replied, saying he shared some of her concerns. He noted the current Government review into personal, social and health education, of which sex and relationship education is a key part, and said he would welcome the MP’s further input into the review. Pray: that those in authority will be given Godly insight when preparing teaching materials for the young. (Pr.3:21)
A mother has taken her seven-year-old daughter out of school after she was shown a cartoon featuring a couple chasing each other around a bed and having sex. According to The Daily Mail, seven and eight-year-old students watched the controversial Channel 4 sex education DVD, ‘Living and Growing’, at their local elementary school. A voice-over on the DVD describes the sex as ‘exciting’. Lisa Bullivant, from Legbourne, Lincolnshire, was so upset by the content, she took her daughter out of East Wold Primary School and placed her with another school. Bullivant said, ‘The cartoon was very graphic. My daughter was frightened and children have unfortunately been copying what they have seen. Parents should have been given the decision of whether the video should have been shown or not.’ She added, ‘There is no educational, psychological benefit or need for children of this age to have full knowledge of what sexual intercourse entails.’ (See also Prayer Alert 11.2011) Pray: that material that is considered controversial should not be taught without wise discernment. (Tit.1:11a)
For those of us finding it difficult to hear God’s still small voice in the orchestra of political sound bites there are a number of valuable websites available to help our intercessions in the final lap of the election race. (hustings) documents a summary of the local husting meetings held in the past few weeks. (2) The Care General Election Prayer Guide can be downloaded from Prayer Forum (3) Initiatives and suggestions from Christians in Politics can be downloaded at Susa (4) A concise election twelve point prayer plan is on the World Prayer Centre website (5) 24-7 Prayer offer an election prayer meeting plan that can be downloaded from EAUK (6) Information concerning the Christian Peoples Alliance candidates and speeches are at (7) This week's Insight article is a scripture based prayer pointer distributed through the Parliamentary Prayer Fellowship. Click the 'info' button.
Pray: as the Lord leads into areas of government and the election process. (1Ti.2:1-2)
The Archbishop of Canterbury preached at a Service for the New Parliament at St Margaret's Church, Westminster Abbey. Used the words of Jesus ‘Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar’, he said. ‘You may or may not as an individual share the perspective of faith; but in the difficult years ahead it will be worth remembering that giving God what belongs to God is something that is not a matter of dry and unwelcome duty but a release of human possibilities that we all need to witness and in some degree to share. May this Parliament mark a new level of enthusiasm and imagination around the call to honour God-given dignities by creating strong citizens of our nation and of the world; May the work of our elected leaders be for the sake of gathering and not scattering and may the divine image in men and women, recognised or unrecognised, be the vision that directs us towards a fresh political energy and moral vision.’ Pray: for the Government and Opposition that they will honour God in their work for this nation. (1Ki.3:9)
The Archbishop of York has urged David Cameron to tackle the ‘great injustice’ of care for the elderly, warning we risk growing into a ‘sick society’ if there are no improvements in the way vulnerable pensioners are treated. Speaking out in support of the Daily Mail’s Dignity for the Elderly Campaign, Dr John Sentamu said it was wrong that tens of thousands of pensioners are being forced to sell their homes to pay for care which is often less than adequate. He said the Government has reached a ‘moral crossroads’ and must decide whether to build a society that supports the vulnerable or ‘one where individuals face whatever life throws at them on their own’. In a separate intervention, the former Liberal Democrat care minister Paul Burstow also challenged Mr Cameron to act quickly to fix the ‘broken system’ amid signs that the Government is planning to delay introducing a cap on the cost of care.
Pray: for the elderly and especially those who are most vulnerable and in need of a well-planned system of care and support. (Ps.71:18)
More: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2221184/Sentamu-moral-crossroads-care-elderly-sick-society-improvements.html
Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, has warned against forcing vicars to conduct same-sex civil partnerships as the Coalition prepares to grant full marriage rights to homosexual couples. Some critics fear the reforms could pave the way for legal challenges that would force vicars to conduct homosexual ‘wedding’ ceremonies against their will. Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, told BBC One’s Andrew Marr show ‘I live in a liberal democracy and I want equality for everybody. I cannot say the Quakers shouldn’t do it. ‘Nor do I want somebody to tell me the Church of England must do it or the Roman Catholic Church must do it because actually that is not what equality is about.’ Stephen Parkinson, director of Forward in Faith, a traditionalist Anglican movement, said: ‘It is a matter for the Christian churches to order their own affairs. Her Majesty’s Government has no place interfering.’ Pray: for the Church to retain is own jurisdiction on such matters. (Ro.7:22)
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Dr John Sentamu, the second most senior cleric in the Church of England, tells Ministers they should not overrule the Bible and tradition by allowing same-sex marriage. The Archbishop says it is not the role of the state to redefine marriage, threatening a new row between the Church and state just days after bishops in the House of Lords led a successful rebellion over plans to cap benefits. ‘Marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman,’ says Dr Sentamu. ‘I don’t think it is the role of the state to re-define what marriage is. It is set in tradition and history and you can’t just change it overnight, no matter how powerful you are.
Pray: for the Government to listen to and respect the views of the Church and other religious groups when considering this matter. (Ps.85:8)
The Archbishop of York has challenged politicians to put their money where their mouths are and make the living wage a reality. Dr John Sentamu has just taken up his new appointment as chair of the Living Wage Commission, which will spend the next 12 months looking at how the living wage can be implemented. Writing in The Observer at the weekend, he said it was a ‘national scandal’ that five million people in Britain are not being paid enough to live on. ‘Millions of people across the country will get up today, leave their families and travel to work to carry out jobs that we all depend on,’ he wrote. ‘They will care for people, serve us food, clean the spaces that we all use and share. They will do more than a fair day's work, but they won't get a fair day's pay.’
Pray: that a living wage for a fair day's work will become the norm and not something that leaves people with less than enough. (Dan.9:17)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/sentamu.attacks.scandal.of.low.wages/33295.htm
The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Rt Rev John Packer, warned that the rules would allow developments when councils had not set out local plans, which would make clear where building can take place. His intervention is the first time that a senior cleric has entered the dispute over the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework. The framework distils 1,300 pages of planning guidance into as few as 52, and writes in a ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’. Groups including the National Trust fear this will allow developers to build on large parts of the countryside. The bishop criticised the draft rules during a House of Lords debate. He said: ‘Just because no one has thought about a proposal before does not mean that it should automatically be granted. A default answer of 'yes’ seems to be dangerous in legislation and could well lead to problems in, for example, the proper provision of affordable housing.’
Pray: for the Government to build in safeguards to address the concerns of many who seek to protect townscapes and countryside. (Ps.72:3)