Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

A CofE working party has drafted ‘A Covenant for Clergy Care and Wellbeing’, and are inviting people to comment on it. The 'Big Conversation' about clergy care will aim to prevent burnout in church leaders, who are always ‘on duty’ in a job that could never be 9 to 5. The draft document sets out some ways of changing the culture of the Church to enable the care and wellbeing of its clergy to be more fully addressed.

There will be a prayer meeting on 6 October in West Ham overlooking the site of a radical Islamic group’s proposed ‘mega-mosque’. Three years ago the Government refused the appeal of the Anjuman-e-islahul-Muslimeen Trust against Newham Council’s decision not to grant them planning permission for the development, which would be the largest place of worship in Britain. Legally, Newham could now send in the bulldozers. But this decision will be taken by new mayor Rokhsana Fiaz, whose election promise to ‘tax the value of development land to help our housing programme’ could impact the trustees of the site. An option open to the trust is a new planning application for mixed use, not for using the site as a place of worship, but instead they are going to the European Court of Human Rights to try to keep alive their dream.

The UK government is demanding action from the EU amid strong frustration over the lack of proposals from Brussels on a post-Brexit relationship. Speaking to CNBC recently, several members of the Government appeared frustrated about the EU’s attitude. Chris Grayling said, ‘At the moment, it is very much a question of Europe responding with its proposals. Currently there is nothing on the table.’ Trade secretary Liam Fox said it is the EU's ‘duty’ to help the UK and put forward their proposals. ‘They said they were not very happy with what the UK offered; in which case let them bring forward their own proposals. Under Article 50 we have the right to leave the EU, and they have a duty to help us in that future relationship. Let's see them now deliver what they promised to do in that treaty.’

Dutch military intelligence disrupted a Russian cyber-attack on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The attack, which was thwarted with the help of British officials, came after Russia had also attempted remote attacks on on the UK Foreign Office in March and the Porton Down chemical weapons facility in April. Both attacks were unsuccessful. The Dutch defence minister said that four Russian intelligence officials from the GRU’s cybercrime unit, known as Sandworm, had been expelled from the Netherlands after being caught spying on the chemical weapons body in April. Jeremy Hunt said that a number of hackers widely known to have been conducting attacks around the world were covers for Russia’s GRU intelligence service, and their attacks had been undertaken with the consent and knowledge of the Kremlin. A Russian spokeswoman dismissed the hacking accusations as ‘big fantasies’.

Volunteer chaplain Paul Song has shared the gospel with inmates at Brixton prison since 1998. Many have become Christians. Last year, after a Muslim imam was appointed head chaplain, Pastor Song came under frightening opposition. Islamic militants attacked his classes and physically assaulted and abused him because of his faith. ‘My classes were often disrupted. At times inmates openly spoke in the chapel in support of IS and suicide bombers. There was nothing I could do about it. They spoke with such hatred of Britain that it was frightening.’ The imam said that the Christian material used by the pastor (and by churches throughout the world) was ‘too radical’, and called the pastor’s Christian views ‘extreme.’ He was dismissed, but a petition to reinstate him was signed by over 40,000 people. His case was reviewed and he has been reinstated.

Volunteer chaplain Paul Song has shared the gospel with inmates at Brixton prison since 1998. Many have become Christians. Last year, after a Muslim imam was appointed head chaplain, Pastor Song came under frightening opposition. Islamic militants attacked his classes and physically assaulted and abused him because of his faith. ‘My classes were often disrupted. At times inmates openly spoke in the chapel in support of IS and suicide bombers. There was nothing I could do about it. They spoke with such hatred of Britain that it was frightening.’ The imam said that the Christian material used by the pastor (and by churches throughout the world) was ‘too radical’, and called the pastor’s Christian views ‘extreme.’ He was dismissed, but a petition to reinstate him was signed by over 40,000 people. His case was reviewed and he has been reinstated.

The following is part of a Prayer for the Nation publication. ‘We thank You Lord, for those who have served faithfully within our Sunday Schools, children’s churches and organisations over the years. Now we declare this is a new day, and we declare this is the time for a new move of Your Spirit amongst the children of our land. In the Name of Jesus, we call forth those carrying fresh revelation and creative ideas, able to teach Your children with relevance, life and depth. We thank You for the new wineskins You are releasing regarding children’s ministry, and we speak shift and change into any curriculum, plan, or methodology which is of the old season. We decree the children’s ministries of this land will take hold of the challenge and opportunity of the day. We declare, Lord, Your people will be willing volunteers in this day of Your power.’

Despite Theresa May's earnest hopes, Europe is not supporting the Chequers border plan, and some of her own Conservative Party are not behind her. Theresa May accused the EU of failing to treat the UK with respect, capturing positive newspaper headlines the next day. But she now faces the Tory party conference, from 30 September to 3 October. Pray for God to strengthen her as she faces a cabinet civil war over EU membership. Ask God to dilute the deep differences of opinion within the Conservative party and soften the sharp edges of aggressive voices. The clock is ticking towards the Brexit deadline of March 2019. The next milestone is 18 October, when Donald Tusk expects the British government to provide a solution that will avoid a hard border in Ireland. Unless this problem is resolved, no final treaty with the UK on trade and other matters will be agreed.

Jane Fisher’s statements on Radio 4 sounded appealing. The new non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), she says, is safer and more accurate than the current test, is available in Wales, is being delayed by bureaucracy, and women in England are ‘desperate’ for it. Those against the test were not mentioned in the interview, even though the plan takes the form of an abortion. In Iceland and Denmark, which have such screening, the abortion rate of babies with Down’s is almost 100%, as technology advances and testing becomes more precise. In a society that highly values intelligence, will we one day decide there is an IQ level so low that it would be better for a child to be aborted? What about blind people in a world where visual media like TV and WhatsApp messages are taking over from radio and phone calls? People have committed suicide because of bullying over their hair colour: could parents decide that their ginger unborn baby should be aborted?

The MediaNet is a UK network and community that supports, encourages and inspires Christian producers, journalists, photographers, editors, content creators, social media managers, and press officers. Their vision is to see Christians in the industry flourish and become key influencers, to see churches engaging positively with the media, and to see the life-affirming Gospel message of faith, hope and love increasingly reflected in the media. At a time when fake news and unhelpful agendas are encroaching more and more on what we read and view, we can pray for God to encourage and spiritually strengthen His people in broadcasting so that they expose what is really going on. Pray for the work of MediaNet to grow as it encourages and helps organise meet-ups and online networking to help Christians understand how their faith and work interact more effectively, whilst meeting the demands of the industry. May there be honest, reliable, and accurate journalism and programming.