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Local councillors in Northumberland and Warwickshire have quit the Conservative Party over its controversial push to redefine marriage. In Nuneaton two councillors left the Party, saying there was no mandate for the move. And in Hexham a respected council figure said he could not ‘go along with David Cameron and the rest of them’ on the issue. Nuneaton councillors Nick and Matt Grant, who are brothers, said they were both elected ‘on national and local Conservative manifestos that made no reference to ‘same sex marriage’. They added that although the House of Lords could reject the proposal, while it is ‘promoted and pushed by the leader of the party we belong to, we no longer feel we can remain in that party or campaign actively for it’. They will now be on the council as Independents.
Pray: that parliamentarians will take notice of all the objections against redefining marriage and instead to hold traditional marriage as the preferred form. (Pr.2:17-18)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/tories-hit-with-further-party-losses-over-gay-marriage/
Fashion retailer Topshop has rejected moves to prevent further disasters in garment factories in Bangladesh. The anti-poverty charity War on Want has urged the public to press Topshop's parent company, Arcadia Group, to join other leading fashion retailers that have signed the Bangladesh Safety Accord. The appeal comes three months after the Rana Plaza building in Savar collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people and injuring over 2,500 others. The charity's sweatshops campaigner, Murray Worthy, said: "Topshop’s bosses have got no excuse for not signing this agreement. With their bumper profits, they can easily afford a tiny fraction of that to make their supplier factories safe. “Their failure to act and to work with other UK high street retailers to make these factories safe leaves thousands of workers’ lives at risk. No one should have to work living in fear of death. Yet that is exactly the fate to which Topshop are condemning their workers."
Pray: for Arcadia Group to rethink their position in this matter and fall in line with other UK retailers. (Tim.5:18)
More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18669
A senior High Court judge is set to retire early, partly because of the lack of support from some of his colleagues for his pro-marriage beliefs. Sir Paul Coleridge says there are ‘hundreds’ in the judiciary who agree with him in private, but are too frightened to say so publicly. The judge set up the Marriage Foundation in 2012 to combat the culture of broken families. He was attacked for his involvement, with critics saying a sitting judge should not be so overtly ‘political’. Now, in an interview for Roman Catholic paper The Tablet, he says he will take early retirement so that he will have more freedom to speak his mind. He said he ‘could have struggled on’ if he had got ‘more solid support’. Sir Paul announced in October that he will retire from the bench next year in order to focus on his work with the Marriage Foundation.
Pray: that Sir Paul’s decision to resign and focus on the Marriage Foundation will bring stronger leadership. (Heb.13:4)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/top-judge-to-step-down-over-lack-of-support-on-marriage/
The west is being ‘out-spent, out-manoeuvred and out-strategised’ by violent Islamic extremism, Tony Blair has warned. He said there had been a failure to challenge the narrative that Islam was oppressed by the west which was fuelling extremism around the world. Too many people accepted the extremists' analysis that military actions taken by the west after the 9/11 attacks were directed at countries because they were Muslim and that it supported Israel because Israelis were Jews while Palestinians were Muslims. Speaking in New York to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Blair said it was impossible to defeat extremism ‘without defeating the narrative that nurtures it’. Moderate Muslims who believed in coexistence and tolerance were, he said, being undermined by the unwillingness of the west to take on the extremists' arguments. ‘Examine the education systems that succour it. And then measure, over the years, the paucity of our counter-attack in the name of peaceful coexistence.’ Pray: for strong leadership in all Christian nations to counter false Islamic arguments. (Jn 8:44) More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/oct/06/tony-blair-islamic-extremism-west
Elderly people who are lonely because they do not see friends or family regularly are almost 50 per cent more likely to die before their time than those who do, a stark new study shows. British researchers found that social isolation could dramatically increase the risk of mortality in both men and women, even after underlying health problems are taken into account. They concluded that simply enabling people to get out and about more often would not only make feel them less lonely but actively increase their life expectancy. It follows a series of studies showing higher instances of conditions such as heart disease and dementia among those who live in isolation. There have also been studies linking the emotional effects of loneliness with high blood pressure and stress-induced conditions. But the latest study goes further than previous research to establish a link between isolation and early death.
Pray: for the lonely and for us all to do more to bring older people into the heart of our communities (Ps.25:16)
More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/elderhealth/9953019/Toll-of-loneliness-isolation-increases-risk-of-death-study-finds.html
Teachers have branded more than 20,000 primary school children racist or homophobic following spats in the playground, figures have disclosed. Even some toddlers in nursery schools have been reported to local authorities for so-called hate speech. Critics have hit out at local authorities saying they are overreacting about playground squabbles. Under the 2000 Race Relations Act schools are obliged to report all ‘hate speech’ incidents to local authorities. Adrian Hart, of the Manifesto Club, called for the Government to ditch the policy of ‘hate speech’ reporting in schools. He said: ‘Children need space to play and to learn the meaning of words, without being reported to the local education authority. These policies are an inappropriate intervention into playground life, and undermine teachers’ ability to set a moral example to children and to teach them right from wrong. There is a world of difference between racist abuse and primary school playground spats.’
Pray: for a more moderate, sensible approach to managing ‘playground’ behaviour. (Ps.32:8)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/toddlers-among-thousands-of-children-branded-racist/
Responses to a public consultation on cosmetic surgery have shown strong support for a ban on cut-price deals and aggressive selling. A summary of responses from patients, the public and industry has been published as part of the review set up after the PIP breast implant scandal. Cosmetic surgeons said procedures should not be sold as 'a commodity'. GP Dr Rosemary Leonard, the BBC Breakfast doctor and review committee member, said patients should always talk to a doctor first. 'It is wrong that the first consultation is with a sales person rather than a medical professional,' she said. 'Surgery - indeed any cosmetic intervention - is a serious step, and a patient must be told about the immediate side effects after surgery as well as any potential long term effects on their health.' A final report, by Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS medical director leading the English review, is due in March 2013.
Pray: for a greater acceptance of one's own body and that poor practice in cosmetic surgery be eliminated. (Php.2:3-4)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20850284
The Russian Orthodox Church has threatened to withdraw from dialogue with Anglicans because of the ‘liberalism and relativism’ of some Anglican Churches, and the development of women bishops in the Church of England. In a speech at Lambeth Palace a week ago, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk attacked the Anglican Church for what he described as ‘betraying our common witness by departing from traditional Christian values and replacing them by contemporary secular standards’. He urged the Archbishop of Canterbury to resist pressure from liberal Anglicans. His prolonged attack on liberalism in the Anglican Church stunned Dr Williams, onlookers said. He said ‘The abyss that exists today divides not so much the Orthodox from the Catholics or the Catholics from the Protestants as it does the ‘traditionalists’ from the ‘liberals’. Pray: that fundamental reconciliation between the two churches may be reached to promote the Kingdom. (Mt 5:24)
Last weekend thousands of people marched in Glasgow protesting against government cuts and calling for a just UK-wide economic policy. The People First rally brought together politicians from a range of parties, trade unionists and faith groups campaigning to protect those hardest hit by service and benefits cuts across Britain. The march included a range of fringe events in places of worship, student unions and hotels across the city. The aim was to send a clear message to the coalition Government of the need for a Plan B to avoid recession, rising poverty and damaging cuts in services.
Pray: for Chancellor George Osborne and the coalition as they develop strategies to close the economic gap between rich and poor. (1Sa.2:8)
The Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court admits Service Personnel, many of them recovering from injuries sustained whilst deployed on operations. The aim of rehabilitation is to restore a patient’s lost function and maximize their capacity and independence. DMRC Headley Court has extensive gardens and orchards and a large greenhouse. A Christian physiotherapist Major has obtained permission to use a small part of this area for horticultural therapy. The Headley Walled Garden project seeks to broaden and diversify the rehabilitation already on offer, creating a space where physical, psychological, cognitive and neurological rehabilitation can occur in synchrony.
Pray: for courage and energy for the patients as they work to return to ‘normal’ life; for their families as they adjust to life with a severely disabled family member; that through the gift of creation and growth, God’s message of hope will speak out to the patients involved in the Walled Garden project. (Is.40:31)
More: http://britisharmy.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/reality-check/