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Will it be another Anglican bunfight or will new Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby hold the communion together? Asks Sam Jones in last Sunday's Guardian. He writes “On Friday afternoon, the Church of England's General Synod will descend on York to begin the Herculean task of clearing away some of the debris from its last meeting. The synod's failure in November to approve draft legislation that would have allowed female clergy to become bishops was memorably described by one member as "a train crash of epic proportions". Few would disagree. With parliament breathing down its neck and many angered by the church hierarchy's opposition to same-sex marriage, the C of E knows it cannot risk another embarrassing meeting. On Friday evening, Justin Welby, will address his first synod. Even for a man who has travelled to some of the most dangerous places on earth in the hope of bringing about peace and reconciliation, the five-day meeting will be a tough gig.
Pray: for Justin Welby and all attending General Synod that they will be open to God and be led by the Holy Spirit. (Ro.8:28)
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/30/church-of-england-general-synod
The Church in Wales has unveiled radical plans to ensure its future ahead of its centenary in 2020. The Church makes 50 recommendations for change in a published report. Recoromendations.include setting up supersize parishes run by teams of vicars and lay people. These would replace parishes with larger ‘ministry areas’ and mirror the catchment areas of secondary schools. Recations are intended to address the problem of small, unsustainable parishes and overstretched priests having to serve multiple parishes. The report also recommends that churches invest in ministry to young people and come up with ‘creative ideas’ to ensure they stay at the heart of their communities. To implement the vision, churches are being asked to allow their buildings to be available for use by the whole community. Other recommendations include: training lay people to play a greater part in church leadership; developing new forms of worship to reach out to those unfamiliar with church services; encouraging tithing.
Pray: for the Church in Wales to rise up and meet the challenge. (Mt.16:18)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/church.in.wales.unveils.major.overhaul/30316.htm
A kitemark devised to help teachers find suitable school trip destinations has been awarded to a Christian zoo accused of promoting creationism. Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm in Wraxall, near Bristol, is among the latest organisations to receive the Learning Outside the Classroom ‘quality badge’, developed by the last Government. The zoo already runs sessions for more than 15,000 pupils a year from key stage 1 to A-level. But it has attracted controversy for its views on evolution and creation, arguing that science has tried to ‘remove any notion of God from our understanding of life. This is unjustified and we look to put the case for a Creator across to those who wish to investigate,’ the zoo’s website says. James Gray, education officer at the British Humanist Association, criticised the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, the educational charity that awards the badges, for its decision.The zoo continues to be picketed by opponents who try to discredit its work. Pray: that the work of this zoo would continue to be recognised for promoting God's truth. (Jn.8:23)
The devil, it is sometimes said, is in the detail. But in an experimental service from the Church of England, it is the absence of Satan from the small print which is causing a furore. A trial liturgy for baptising children in church has been making waves because, while parents and godparents have traditionally been asked whether they ‘reject the devil and all rebellion against God,’ the suggested alternative format merely asks them to ‘reject evil’. Also proving contentious is the omission of any question asking whether those bringing a child to be christened are willing to repent – as has been the case up until now. The service is currently being trialled. To come into permanent use, it would need to gain approval from the church's governing body, the General Synod. The existing wording in the Common Worship service book, with its references to the devil and to repentance, will remain in use either way.
Our British Service personnel have done a wonderful job in maintaining security at the London Olympic Games. Their presence was a blessing and their cheerful and helpful manner enhanced the success of the Games. Half way round the world 9500 more British Service personnel are involved with the security in Afghanistan under very difficult and exhausting conditions. Please pray for our British Service personnel as they continue to serve our country in whatever role that is demanded of them. Pray for them as they continue to provide security during the forthcoming London Paralympics.
Pray: also for those who work willingly and tirelessly under the most difficult and hostile conditions of Afghanistan. (Ps.25:1,2)
Tesco has sparked outrage after dropping its support for the Cancer Research ‘Race for Life’, and announcing shortly after that it would now become a headline sponsor of Britain’s largest gay festival. The supermarket giant has supported Cancer Research for more than a decade, helping the charity raise hundreds of millions of pounds towards combating the illness – estimated to affect one in three of the population. But now the retail chain has signed a deal to become a major sponsor of Pride London, and will host the festival’s family area.
Pray: that this move by a major retail company would be looked at carefully in light of its involvement with the wider
community. (Eph.5:15)
will pray for the ten days leading up to Pentecost, the Global Day of Prayer. Beginning on Ascension Day, June 2, millions of Christians will find ways to pray night and day throughout the ten days leading to Pentecost. Gathering in creative ways many are forming prayer chains to build bonfires of 24-hours-a-day prayer. Others will meet for an hour or two of focused prayer. Some will be fasting. Look for how the Holy Spirit may give you fresh ways to pray with family and friends. Click 'More' for full details of resources to help you plan your event and pray with others. Pray: for the Church to humble itself and seek God's face. (2Ch.7:14) More: http://www.gdopusa.com/how-to-be-involved/ten-days-of-constant-prayer/
‘Internet search engines make pornography available to teenagers at the click of a mouse’, said Miranda Sawyer, the presenter behind Radio 4 documentary; Sex, Porn and Teenagers. Miss Sawyer interviewed Lucy Emmerson, Principal Officer of the Sex Education Forum, which claims that sex education is the solution to the problem. But academics and family campaigners say current ‘anything goes’ sex education is part of the problem, not part of the solution. Norman Wells of the Family Education Trust hit out at the Government’s Teenage Pregnancy Strategy saying: ‘With all its emphasis on sex education and handing out contraceptives to school children under the age of consent, it is giving them the green light to experiment sexually. We need to return to a combination of realistic education and empower youngsters to know how dangerous and foolish underage sex is.’ The Daily Mail’s Jan Moir says children should be told that any early sex is ‘just plain wrong’. Pray: for a review of sex education that addresses the current failures, building instead on Christian values.(Jas.1:21) More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/teens-just-one-click-away-from-internet-sex-and-porn/
Young people want to learn about responsible parenting rather than sexual mechanics in sex education, a recent survey has revealed. Around three quarters of teenagers interviewed said that a relationship does not need to involve sex. The findings challenge the current emphasis in sex education on the mechanics of safe sex. The survey, conducted among over 2,000 13 to 16-year-olds from a range of schools and backgrounds, has surprised experts in the field. Researchers from Hull University said that they were surprised that the majority of those surveyed supported ‘moral’ ideas about having sex. The survey revealed that the single most important ‘fact of life’ for both boys and girls was parenting. Commenting on the findings, Norman Wells of the Family Education Trust, said: ‘Young people are clearly tiring of the negative messages they are receiving about pregnancy and parenthood from sex educators obsessed with contraception’.
Pray: that Christian morality supporting the ideals of marriage and family values is disseminated strongly to our young people. (Heb.13:4)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/teach-us-more-about-family-values-say-teenagers/
Binge drinking is leading many teenage girls to engage in risky sexual behaviour which they later come to regret, a new report has warned. Researchers have revealed that more than one in five 15 and 16-year-old girls who drink at least once a week has had drunken sex which they have later regretted. The report also revealed that more than 15 per cent of boys have similar regrets. The report, compiled by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, said: ‘Those binge drinking three or more times a week were over five times more likely than non-binge drinkers to have had sex they regretted following alcohol’. The report, which examined the drinking habits of 15 and 16-year-olds in North West England, was based on questionnaires filled in by nearly 10,000 teenagers.
Pray: that ways would be found to change the habits of our young people. (Ps.14:3)