Senior figures in the United Reformed Church (URC) have expressed solidarity with minority communities feeling vulnerable in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris and the aftermath. They issued a statement of 'interfaith solidarity' last week affirming the important contribution to national life made by members of the Jewish and Muslim faiths in the United Kingdom. The statement said: ’Amid reports of security concerns in some of our Jewish and Muslim communities in Britain, the United Reformed Church is keen to emphasise our high regard for both of these faith groups. We also place on record our wish to work for community cohesion and well-being in places where Christians and adherents of other faiths live side-by-side, and we rejoice in the positive and practical ways in which many of our neighbours reciprocate this concern. As a people of faith, we honour the integrity of other faith communities in this island.’

Fiona Bruce, MP is helping International Justice Mission-UK (IJM) with their campaign to stop child sex tourism.  During December 2014 a Briton was convicted for abusing young street boys in Kenya. IJM assisted in the case and supported the British and Kenyan police. The man was charged under a British law which allows UK nationals who commit sex offences overseas against children to be tried in the UK. IJM has been campaigning for effective application of this law and were recently joined by Cambodia Action, Hagar and Love 146 as part of their Stop It Together campaign, which now has over 7000 signatures. Steve Webster, Chief Operating Officer of IJM-UK said, ‘We are delighted that Fiona Bruce is helping to publicise the situation within Parliament through a House of Commons Early Day Motion (493)’. Ms Bruce emphasised, ‘This conviction evidences the tremendous work that IJM is undertaking and shows that sex tourism of this nature can be stopped in its tracks. I congratulate IJM on its persistent, detailed and highly professional work and encourage people to contact their MPs to ask them to sign Early Day Motion 493. The impact of constituents making such a request cannot be overstated.’

The Church of England issues a damning judgment of the state of Britain under the Coalition as a country in which the poor are being ‘left behind’ and entire cities ‘cast aside’ In a direct and unapologetically ‘political’ intervention timed for the beginning of the General Election campaign, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, warn politicians against selling a ‘lie’ that economic growth is the answer to Britain’s social problems.They condemn inequality between rich and poor as ‘evil’ and the assumption that the value of communities is in their economic output as a ‘fundamental sin’. Britain, they argue has been ‘dominated by rampant consumerism and individualism,’ while the Christian values of solidarity and selflessness have been supplanted by a new secular creed of ‘every person for themselves’. While London and the South East forge ahead, much of the rest of the country is still  ‘trapped in apparently inevitable decline’.

It was intended, she says, as a simple but heartfelt gesture of comfort and support for a troubled colleague. Victoria Wasteney put her hand on her friend’s knee and, asking if she could pray for her, said simply: ‘God, I trust You will bring peace and You will bring healing.’ So when Miss Wasteney was later suspended by the NHS from her position as a senior occupational health therapist for having prayed with her colleague, she was left openly distraught and angry. East London NHS Foundation Trust suspended her for nine months on full pay, but, on Tuesday Miss Wasteney, who describes openly herself as a 'born-again Christian’, begins a legal challenge against the Trust, claiming it discriminated against her on grounds of religion and that it infringed her rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. She says she also wants to challenge what she regards as the stifling of ordinary conversations about faith in the workplace.

A special state school could open its doors in the centre of Manchester to specifically teach LGBT young people who are struggling in mainstream schools. It might also be open to young carers, young parents and those with mental health problems. Amelia Lee, strategic director for LGBT Youth North West, the youth work charity behind the plans, said that bullying of LGBT is incredibly common in schools and causes young people to feel isolated and alienated, which often leads to truanting.  A £63,000 feasibility study into the plan is under way thanks to a grant from the Department for Communities and Local Government. The charity has also been involved in discussions with Manchester City Council about how it can provide more alternative education for LGBT children in the area and Ms Lee hoped the school would act as a trailblazer and inspiration for more.

A Christian magistrate has been disciplined by a Tory Cabinet Minister for expressing the belief that children should be raised by both a mother and a father. Richard Page told colleagues behind closed doors during an adoption case that he thought it would be better for a child to be brought up in a traditional family rather than by a gay couple. He was shocked a week later when he found he had been reported to the judges’ watchdog for alleged prejudice and was suspended from sitting on family court cases. Mr Page, an experienced NHS manager, has now been found guilty of serious misconduct by Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling – who previously spoke in support of a Christian couple who turned away a gay couple from their B&B. He has also been ordered to go on an equality course before he is allowed back in the courtroom.

2015 celebrates 800 years since the sealing of the Magna Carta, which paved the way for the House of Commons and democracy. This week, 20 January is the 750th anniversary of the birth of our parliament In 2015 sittings in both houses commence with Christian prayers. A well-established parliamentary prayer is as follows:- ‘Lord, the God of righteousness and truth, grant to our Queen and her government, to Members of Parliament and all in positions of responsibility, the guidance of your Spirit. May they never lead the nation wrongly through love of power, desire to please, or unworthy ideals but laying aside all private interests and prejudices keep in mind their responsibility to seek to improve the condition of all mankind; so may your kingdom come and your name be hallowed.  Amen.’ In the months leading up to the general election we can use the helpful prayers at 

Thousands of patients whose operations have been cancelled because of the growing turmoil in the UK’s A&E departments are facing prolonged anxiety, discomfort and pain while they wait for a new date for their surgery. A sharp rise in the number of procedures hospitals are postponing has prompted the leader of Britain’s surgeons to warn that patients affected will suffer ‘considerable distress’. Clare Marx, president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: ‘The continued rise in the number of operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons remains of deep concern. Telling a patient that they cannot have the operation they have waited and planned for can cause considerable distress to the individual and their family. As surgeons we are doing our best to manage our patients’ conditions and to make sure they can have the surgery at a time when they need it.’

A local council in Northern Ireland is calling for a taxpayer-funded equality quango to drop its legal case against a Christian-run bakery.(Previously reported in Prayer Alert.) Members of Craigavon Borough Council voted 13 to 8 in support of Ashers Baking Company, which is facing court action for declining to make a pro-gay marriage campaign cake last year. Councillor Philip Moutray tabled the proposal, as the case could have significant financial implications for Ashers. He explained: ‘I am appalled at the targeting of a small bakery because of its Christian beliefs. The commission has tens of thousands of pounds of pu blic money at its disposal. Ashers haven’t resources like that’, he added. Moutray also put forward the motion in light of DUP plans to amend equality legislation to introduce a conscience clause.The DUP has launched a consultation on introducing a conscience clause, which closes on 27 February.’

An Anglican bishop is among those backing a call on all prospective MPs to pledge a time limit on the detention of migrants. The campaign he is supporting is being led by Citizens UK, the alliance of civil society organisations. Jonathan Clark, the Area Bishop of Croydon within the Church of England, said: 'Detaining people indefinitely in prison-like conditions without judicial oversight is unjust, ineffective and inhumane. That’s why [we] are calling on people of goodwill across the country to join them in taking this issue to their parliamentary candidates in the UK general election. We will ask politicians to pledge their support for a time limit on the detention of adults – and to work with us to make it happen.’ Independently, some 30 charities and NGOs are specifically calling for a time limit of 28 days’ detention. Eiri Ohtani, coordinator, Detention Forum, explained:‘The practice of locking up migrants indefinitely has no place in Britain.’