Two Christian charities have launched a new service to help pastors and senior church leaders struggling with debt. While it is hard enough for the average Joe to ask for help in personal finance matters, Christians Against Poverty (CAP) and Stewardship said it could be near impossible for the leaders of churches who are expected to set an example to their flock. It said many church leaders ended up suffering in silence because of personal finance problems. Now CAP and Stewardship have joined forces to launch a specialised service aimed at church leaders. The service is free, non-judgemental and completely confidential telephone service for senior church leaders to find a way forward. CAP's Chief Executive Matt Barlow explained: ‘We know there is a problem, they are often paid very little or their pay can fluctuate. Often there are unfair expectations placed upon our church leaders and admitting any vulnerability can be so hard.

Pray: for this initiative and for better support for all church leaders. (Heb.13:16-17)

 More: http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/new.service.for.pastors.in.debt/29202.htm

Lord Falconer will have another go at legalising assisted suicide – despite being soundly defeated last time. He says he will introduce a Bill to the House of Lords in the summer, but peers rejected a similar effort in 2009. The Care Not Killing group, which opposes assisted suicide, believes the Lords will reject this latest attempt. Currently, assisted suicide is a crime in the UK but some terminally ill patients travel to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland and are helped to commit suicide. Under Lord Falconer’s new proposal, relatives of terminally ill people could legally help with travel to the clinic or with a drug overdose at home. Peter Saunders, campaign director of the Care Not Killing group, said a new bid to change the law had been expected. He said he believed the Lords would reject the attempt.

Pray: that this further attempt to legislate in favour of assisted suicide would not succeed. (Pr.14:27)

More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/peer-in-new-push-to-legalise-assisted-suicide/

David Cameron has announced new plans to automatically block access to online pornography after warning that explicit images available on internet websites are ‘corroding childhood.’ In a major speech Mr Cameron said that internet users who wish to access pornography will be required to ‘opt-in’ under the new regime, unless they choose to have the filters removed. Harmful online content will be blocked automatically for all new customers, whereas existing users will be contacted by their internet providers and presented ‘with an unavoidable decision about whether or not to install family friendly content filters’. The UK’s biggest internet service providers have all agreed to offer the filters, which would apply to both home and public Wi-Fi networks ‘wherever children are likely to be present,’ including railway stations and cafés.

Pray: for any measures put in place to protect our children to be robust and effective. (Col.3:23)

More: http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/social/new-plans-to-block-online-pornography-automatically

Christian Concern have launched a petition over last week’s judgment in the case of Owen and Eunice Johns which provoked huge national interest and wide scale media coverage. The Judgment highlighted once again the difficulties that Christians can encounter when attempting to participate in some parts of public life without compromising their beliefs. On Monday this week, the Johns, along with Christian Concern, have launched a major new petition, calling on the Prime Minister to respect Christian conscience and take urgent action to address the problems created by equalities legislation. You can read and sign the petition here. http://christianconcern.com/equalities-and-conscience

Pray: that this petition would receive wide support and lead to a change in the equality legislation. (2Th.2:13)

More: http://www.theway.co.uk/feature.php?id=8392&this=Christian_Concern_launch_new_petition_over_equalities_legislation

Christian prayers have been dropped from the beginning of council meetings by the new mayor of Bridport in Dorset. David Rickard has decided to replace the prayers at full meetings of Bridport Town Council with a ‘short time of quiet, private contemplation’. He announced the move at his mayor-making ceremony but the decision has proved highly controversial. Councillor Sandra Brown, a former mayor, warned that many members of the council were against the decision. She said: ‘I feel very strongly about it and there are several of us on the council who are quite dismayed by it. Sadly though I don’t think there are enough of us to make him change his mind’. David Tett, another former mayor and independent councillor, said: ‘I am a traditionalist. I am disappointed to see the prayers thrown out of the window like that. It is totally uncalled for.’

Pray: that those who support prayer would receive backing to see this ruling reversed. (Ps.20:2)

More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/new-mayor-bans-christian-prayers-at-council-meetings/

The Methodist Church has formally changed its learning structure to offer more training from locally placed staff across 11 regions. The Discipleship and Ministries Learning Network will work through two institutions, Cliff College and the Queen's Foundation in Birmingham, as well as from homes or regional offices. The changes will result in more staff being based regionally than before. Jude Levermore, head of Discipleship and Ministries, believes the changes hold enormous potential for the Church's growth. "This is a response to the challenge of being a 'Discipleship Movement shaped for Mission'. To be a vital, growing church, we need to be a learning church," said Levermore. "By having more Connexional Team members in the regions, we can combine the strengths of being a Connexional church with the strength of local mission. Being closer to where people are allows the Church to get the best out of what is already happening and what will be developed. The potential is huge."

Pray: for this 'new era' in the Methodist church and that it will bring the Gospel to even more people. (Eph.4:11-12)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/new.era.of.learning.for.methodist.church/33833.htm

HCJB Global and Feba UK have joined forces to equip Christians with new media skills and resources that will help them reach non-Christians more effectively. They hope other Christian organisations will join the OneSheep consortium and pool their know-how and experience towards researching and developing new ways of communicating the Gospel through social media. Part of the research will look at how young people are consuming and communicating via social media. Projects that impact un-reached and limited-access people groups will be prioritised, the organisations say. Social media content to emerge from the consortium will be published on a dedicated website, www.onesheep.org The organisations will also work together on providing mentoring and training on the use of new media and how it can be used to link online and offline ministry. ‘Working together is far more effective than working alone,’ said Wayne Pederson, president of HCJB Global.

Pray: that this new initiative will lead to a unity of like minded organisations. (Jn.17:22)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/new.consortium.to.equip.christians.in.social.media/28842.htm

Four major British churches have criticised government proposals for a new way of measuring child poverty in the UK, which they say masks the problem. The Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church have accused the Government’s consultation on the proposals of being "confused" and "surprisingly badly evidenced". “Child poverty is an unacceptable injustice,” said Paul Morrison, Public Issues Policy Adviser for the Methodist Church. “While we applaud the Government’s commitment to eradicating child poverty in the UK, the proposed new measure is fatally flawed. It is a confusion of targets, measures and, most disturbingly, the Government’s beliefs about what causes poverty, backed by very little solid evidence.” “As Christians we believe that we all have a duty to take responsibility for the injustices that have become embedded in the society we have built," added Marie Trubic, United Reformed Church spokesperson on public issues.

Pray: for the Government that in seeking to address the issue of child poverty, they will listen to the people who are working with the people affected by it. (Pr.1:5)

More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18006

Cornish speakers can now read the complete Bible - An Beybel Sans - in their chosen language. The New Testament was translated into Cornish by Prof Nicholas Williams and published in 2002. It has taken him about six years to translate all the books of the Old Testament, using a variety of versions, including Hebrew and Greek texts. An Beybel Sans is written in standard Cornish and its 10 maps also have place names in Cornish. The 69-year-old professor from London, who is considered to be one of the leading experts on Celtic languages, taught himself Cornish at the age of 15 because it seemed ‘a bit odd and a bit bizarre’. He told BBC Radio Cornwall: ‘One of the reasons we lost the language was because there was no Bible in Cornish. ‘Once you have the Bible you have created your literary heritage and I hope this book will be influential in the Cornish revival.’

Pray: for this new version of the Word of God to raise interest and reach new audiences. (Acts12:24)

More: http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/new.bible.for.cornish.speakers/28768.htm

The Christian Institute and other civil liberty organisations have launched a campaign to reform clause 1 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill that could catch street preachers and carol singers. Under the clause, a court can grant an Injunction to Prevent Nuisance and Annoyance (IPNA) if someone “has engaged or threatens to engage in conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance” to any person. IPNAs are easier to grant, and require a lower threshold of evidence than Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, known as ASBOs. In a piece for The Daily Telegraph, Philip Johnston said the new IPNAs would be deployed against “easy targets” while others “get away with terrorising their neighbourhoods. Lord Macdonald also said: “Of course political demonstrations, street performers and corner preachers may be ‘annoying’ to some but, he added, “The danger in this Bill is that it potentially empowers State interference against such activities in the face of shockingly low safeguards”.

Pray: for the concerns raised to be heeded and for Clause 1 to be amended to exclude preaching, carol singing. etc. (Gal.5:1)

More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/new-asbo-law-could-catch-carol-singers/