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The Queen has spoken of the ‘difficult’ and ‘painful’ choices facing the Church of England as she formally opened the Church's General Synod. She spoke of the ‘need to communicate the Gospel with joy and conviction in our society’. The Queen addressed the 476 members of the Church's governing body as they marked the start of a five-year term. The Synod will debate measures to keep the Church together over issues such as same-sex blessings. Its members are preparing to discuss Prime Minister David Cameron's ‘big society’ idea. Before her address, the Queen, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England, attended a service of Holy Communion at Westminster Abbey, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh. Speaking at the Synod meeting, she said: ‘The new Synod will have many issues to resolve to ensure that the Church of England remains equipped for the effective pursuit of its mission and ministry'. Pray: for the General Synod that all members will be open to God’s guidance in their forthcoming deliberations. (2Tim.1:14)
Quakers in Britain, as members of the ‘Close the Gap Campaign’, have called for greater tax justice in a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Caroline Lucas MP, Kate Green MP and Jeremy Corbin MP have introduced a Private Members Bill (Tax and Transparency Bill) to enhance transparency in corporate payment of tax. Tax evasion and avoidance is estimated by the Treasury to cost the UK purse at least £35 billion annually. Others estimate the number to be substantially higher. This is nearly nine per cent of UK tax revenue and the efficient collection of this revenue would lessen the demand to cut social and welfare expenditure which is hurting the poorest in our communities so much. Treasury estimates also suggest that those who are avoiding paying their contribution are mainly wealthy individuals and corporations, so the recouping of this money would not harm the poorest and most vulnerable.
Pray: that this Private Members Bill bring the right response from those who avoid paying correct taxes. (Ps.1:6)
More than 1,500 Quakers will gather in Canterbury next week for their annual meeting to discern the way ahead for Quakers in Britain. The eight-day programme for all ages will be a mix of worship, learning, teaching,celebration, business, spiritual growth and fun - including a ceilidh and the making of patchwork quilts. The theme for the Yearly Meeting Gathering at the University of Kent, from Saturday 30 July to Saturday 6 August, is ‘Growing in the Spirit: changing the way we live to sustain the world we live in’. More than 270 under 19 year olds will take part in a parallel programme, exploring the same theme, with 107 taking part in Junior Yearly Meeting for 15 – 18 year olds and 165 in the children and young people’s programme.' Yearly Meeting Gathering is a high point of the Quaker year and we have a chance to discern together what God requires of us in the world'.
Pray: that the Holy Spirit would give his wisdom and insight to envision this gathering. (Ac.2:17)
A housing trust’s decision to demote a Christian after he said on Facebook that gay weddings in churches were ‘an equality too far’ was described as an ‘extraordinary over-reaction’ in court yesterday. Adrian Smith lost his managerial position and had his salary cut by 40 per cent after his employer, Trafford Housing Trust, said his Facebook comments amounted to gross misconduct. Yesterday Mr Smith’s lawyer, Hugh Tomlinson, QC, said: ‘The whole thing is a huge and extraordinary over-reaction’, as he also raised suggestions of entrapment. Mr Smith is trying to recover his lost earnings, and his case is supported by The Christian Institute, a national charity that protects the civil liberty of Christians. The court will decide whether the Trust breached Mr Smith’s employment contract and interfered with his right to free speech. The case is set to conclude this week although judgment is expected at a later date.
Pray: for Mr Smith and for the outcome of this case. (1Pe.3:15)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/qc-demoting-christian-housing-manager-was-over-reaction/
This is the theme of an expert panel discussion that will take place at the Greenbelt Festival, at 11am on Saturday 25th August 2012. The controversial Welfare Reform Act has reignited debate about the scope and nature of public support for children, carers, disabled people and vulnerable people in society. So is ‘the welfare state’ a thing of the past? Who is welfare for? Who provides for whom? And what is the role of voluntary and faith bodies? This Children’s Society panel in association with the Christian think-tank Ekklesia looks at the future of ‘welfare for all’ in tough economic times, and asks how fairness and creativity can help chart fresh ways forward. The speakers are: Sam Royston (Children’s Society policy adviser) - Sue Marsh (Disabled activist, Spartacus Welfare Campaign) - Savi Hensman (Care and equalities adviser, Christian commentator) - Simon Barrow (Ekklesia think-tank).
Pray: that the discussions will lead to a wider understanding of fairness in this generation and beyond. (Pr.2:9)
Church charity shop is a listening ear and a place for a bargain. ‘The Church Shop’ is the brainchild of the Rev Alison Phillipson, vicar of Coatham and Dormanstown, and has been set up with the help of lay members of her church. ‘In a world where people don’t stop and listen, we here will listen,’ she said. Alison is one of the individuals living out the Gospel in the north-east of England whose stories will be told on the Archbishop of York’s website in the coming weeks. Other stories to be highlighted include a former drug addict and school bad boy who now contributes to the spiritual and moral development of school students. See: http://www.archbishopofyork.org/ Dr John Sentamu said: ‘How wonderful it is to hear these encouraging stories. Across the country, so many people are proclaiming the Good News and putting God at the heart of their communities’.
Pray: that the Holy Spirit will give vision to believers in creating ways to spread the Good News. (Ps.127:1)
Writing a New Year message in Yorkshire Post, The Archbishop of York said that morality must come first. He said, ‘I am not one for unattainable New Year’s Resolutions. They can only be temporary fixes, based on blind optimism rather than on what is sustainable.... after a few days the promises are broken. Personal good intentions and national well-being should go together. A strong society needs decent ideals, too. We need strong morals and a shared purpose which is grounded in more than what is on the bottom line of a balance sheet in Whitehall. If we want to build a strong country, we need to ensure the foundations are solid. Candidates for election should ‘put morality ahead of politics, science, and economics’ and that ‘the only genuine core of all our actions – if they are to be moral – is responsibility......Our country was built on Christian faith and morals, and we should not only be grateful for this, but also celebrate this fact.’
Pray: for a reclaiming of Christian morality by a society that finds itself victim of amoral greed and violence. (Ps.25:9)
More: http://www.archbishopofyork.org/articles.php/2307/archbishops-new-year-message
One in three children is accessing a ‘tsunami’ of explicit pornographic images on the internet by the age of ten, a study has revealed. Four in five teenagers regularly look up unsuitable photographs or film on their computers or mobile phones, it also suggested. Campaigners warned that exposure to these images inflicts ‘serious mental harm’ on children and prevents them forming healthy adult relationships in later life. The average age of a child first exposed to pornography is just 11. At a conference in Parliament on Monday, campaigners called on ministers to force websites to carry cigarette-style health warnings. A large ‘R18’ banner would pop up on targeted websites, alerting children and parents to the nature of the site, they said. The British Board of Film Classification, which censors films, should also be called in to classify website content. Miranda Suit, director of SaferMedia, said pornography was getting more extreme and easier to access. Pray: for the internet to become better regulated to prevent corruption of our young. ( Job.5:17)
Up to 5,000 Muslim children at a network of Islamic schools across Britain are being taught how to chop off the hands of thieves and that Jews are plotting to take over the world. This was disclosed on the programme Panorama on BBC One, which also claims that the children's textbooks were discovered at a network of 40 private schools, called Saudi Students Clubs and Schools, teaching the Saudi Arabian national curriculum. One book for six-year-olds warns that those who do not believe in Islam will be condemned to ‘hellfire’ in death. Another book for 15-year-olds teaches about Shariah law and its punishments. ‘For thieves their hands will be cut off for a first offence and their foot for a subsequent offence,’ it says. Two diagrams show where cuts should be made. Panorama also found examples of private Muslim schools using extremist sentiments on their websites. Pray: that the Imams who fervently wish for better understanding between our faiths will rein in the use of such subversive material in Islamic schools. (Ps.55:9) More: http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC101123-0000046/Where-pupils-learn-to-cut-off-hands-of-thieves
Most people alarmingly underestimate the health risks of smoking cannabis, the National Lung Foundation has warned.
Almost 90 per cent of people think a tobacco cigarette carries a greater risk than a cannabis joint – but the risk of lung cancer is actually 20 times higher with cannabis. The British Lung Foundation (BLF) carried out a survey of 1,000 adults, and a third wrongly believed cannabis did not harm health. The BLF said the lack of awareness was ‘alarming’, and issued a report warning people about the dangers saying that smoking one cannabis cigarette every day for a year increases the chances of developing lung cancer by a similar amount as smoking 20 tobacco cigarettes each day for one year. ‘We therefore need a serious public health campaign – of the kind that has helped raise awareness of the dangers of eating fatty foods or smoking tobacco – to finally dispel the myth that smoking cannabis is somehow a safe pastime.’
Pray: for better education to alert people to the newly discovered dangers of taking drugs such as cannabis. (1Co.6:19-20)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/public-misjudge-health-risk-of-smoking-cannabis/