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Christians have welcomed the launch of Prime Minister David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ initiative as a way of getting everyone involved in their communities. Spelling out his vision in Liverpool on Monday, Cameron hailed the Big Society as ‘the biggest, most dramatic redistribution of power from elites in Whitehall to the man and woman in the street’. He wants to see more people at the grass-roots level work together to improve the quality of living for all through voluntary work. Initiatives include the local buy-out of a rural pub and the recruitment of volunteers to keep museums open. Steve Clifford, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance, said Christians are already at the heart of serving their communities, and should grasp this opportunity to get further involved. Steve Chalke, founder of Faithworks and Oasis, welcomed the thinking behind the ‘Big Society’. ‘This is what the church has always been about so there are enormous opportunities for churches in all of this. Pray: for Christian groups to prayerfully consider how this opportunity can be used for God’s work. (1Th.5:15) More:http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/christians.see.opportunities.for.the.church.in.camerons.big.society.pla
Only half of British adults are confident that Britain can now be described as ‘a Christian country’, according to research. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, has written to David Cameron urging him to review laws that have seen Christians forced to abandon their faith in public. He warned that reforms introduced under Labour promoted ‘tolerance, equality and fairness’ at a cost of eroding Christianity as the foundation of British culture and society. The warnings follow a series of court cases in which the beliefs of Christians have come into conflict with the state authorities. In the letter to the Prime Minister, Lord Carey said Christians were too often ‘ridiculed’ and dismissed as relics of ‘a bygone age’. ‘Notwithstanding its vast and varied contribution to our society, there appears to be a suspicion about the validity and value of the role that the Christian faith plays in our national life,’ he said.
Pray: for the Church to take up the challenge to be the light in the darkness. (1Th.5:5)
More: http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2010/12/27/only-half-of-britons-say-uk-is-a-christian-country/
The Archbishop of Canterbury has told Anglicans at the Fourth Global South to South Encounter in Singapore that it is only the work of God’s Spirit that can heal tensions within the worldwide Anglican Communion. Dr Rowan Williams said in a video message to the meeting this week that the recent actions of certain provinces had made the ‘confusion, brokenness and tension’ in the Anglican family ‘still more acute’. Dr Williams pointed to the Anglican Communion Covenant, a document aimed at uniting the provinces despite their divisions, as a new way of ‘grounding’ the Communion’s mission and laying the foundation for its future. ‘It is the work of the Spirit that heals the body of Christ, not the plans or the statements of any group, or any person, or any instrument of communion’ he said.
Pray: that God would send His Spirit to heal the broken body of His bride. (Mt.12:25)
An online video promoting church weddings is launched today on the Church of England website, to meet an increase in demand for information on church weddings. Featuring vicars enthusiastic about weddings, couples who have rated their church weddings extremely highly, and the Bishop of Hertford, the professionally produced five-minute video explains how the church has a warm wedding welcome for all. It can be viewed on the weddings website www.yourchurchwedding.org and on the national Church of England website www.churchofengland.org The video, and website, form part of the Church of England's project to promote church weddings that has included road-shows and workshops for clergy in many parts of the country. The Rt Revd Paul Bayes, Bishop of Hertford, explains in the video: ‘Now people move around the country a lot more, we've changed the law so you can get married not just in your local church, but also in a whole range of churches that are special for you.’ Pray: for a strengthening of marriage in society and that this site will be a helpful aid to those considering how to go about getting married. (Jn.2:2)
Online game companies need to do more to prevent players becoming too addicted in order to avoid Government intervention, a study has warned. Researchers at Cardiff, Derby and Nottingham Trent universities said some gamers play up to 90 hours a session, developing a ‘pathological’ addiction. They say while conventional video games have an ending, role-playing games involving numerous players may not. But the gaming body Ukie said it took the health of users seriously. It said it had a number of measures in place to ensure that games could be enjoyed safely and sensibly. The universities' research warned that if game companies did not create restraints for players and their games grew in popularity, Western governments might have no choice but to follow Asia and limit usage. The study, published in the Addiction Research and Theory Journal, has said Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) are an inexhaustible system of goals and success.
Pray: that Online Gaming companies will bring the necessary controls into place that would help those addicted to gambling. (1Jn.5:19)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-23576035
The UK's flatlining economy is having a devastating effect on charities, according to research that suggests that two out of five face closure, with many set to disappear as early as next year unless things improve. A poll commissioned by the Charities Aid Foundation confirms that public spending cutbacks and falling donations are conspiring to devastating effect. The foundation warns that as many as one in six charities believe they may close in the coming year, while nearly half say they are being forced to dip into reserves. One in three say they fear being forced to cut services. The figures will make gloomy reading in Downing Street, which believes the third sector has a vital role to play in delivering the prime minister's vision for his 'big society'. The funding crisis comes as charities report that there is more demand for their services.
Pray: for charities and their supporters that they may be able to continue to do their good work. (Ro.2:7)
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/09/one-in-six-charities-close
The number of church hustings registered on CARE’s election web site Make the Cross Count broke through the 200 mark over the weekend, with more than 220 church hustings now registered. Nola Leach CARE’s chief executive said, ‘The number of hustings registrations surpassed all expectations. When we set out we hoped we might get 50, never expecting that two weeks into the campaign we would have over 200! We continue to be unaware of any larger single source of hustings. It’s wonderful to see the church playing such a strategic role during this election.’ Dan Boucher, CARE’s director of parliamentary affairs said of the site, which addresses subjects as diverse as human trafficking and euthanasia, child poverty and religious liberty. ‘We really hope that Make the Cross Count empowers Christians to make the most of their hustings and to ask challenging questions, putting Christian concerns and priorities right at the heart of this election.’
Pray: for the Holy Spirit to empower Christians to voice God’s will and purposes in the run-up to the election. (Ro.12:2)
Millions of Britons are using consumer power to boycott companies seen to be avoiding their fair share of UK tax, new research reveals. A ComRes survey about public perceptions around tax avoidance, commissioned by Christian Aid, found a third (34 per cent) of Britons say that they are currently boycotting the products or services of a company because it does not pay its fair share of tax in the UK. Almost half (45 per cent) say they are considering a boycott. Public outrage appears to be growing following recent revelations about the remarkably small amount of UK tax paid by some multinationals, the poll suggests. Two out of three (66 per cent) of Britons now believe tax avoidance to be morally wrong, up 10 percentage points from when people were asked the same question in August 2012. And a remarkable four out of five respondents (80 per cent) say that multinationals’ tax avoidance makes them feel angry.
Pray: that the public awareness of tax avoidance and other corporate greed will lead to changes. (Lk.12:15)
More than a quarter of young women today lost their virginity when they were below the legal age of consent, an NHS survey has revealed. According to the study 27 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds had underage sex. By comparison, just four per cent of women now aged 55 to 69 first had sex when they were underage. NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said: ‘The survey paints a picture of sexual behaviour which is changing over the generations, with younger women beginning to have sex younger.’ Across all age groups, the statistics show that 14 per cent of women lost their virginity before the age of 16 compared with 20 per cent of men. The average age for losing virginity was 17, although for those now aged 16 to 24 it was 16. Diane Abbott, the Shadow Public Health Minister, commented: ‘The rising numbers of girls having under-age sex is alarming.’
Pray:that ways would be found to reverse these statistics and improve moral standards. (1Cor.6:9)
More:http://www.christian.org.uk/news/one-in-four-young-women-admit-they-had-underage-sex/
A disturbing number of children - some as young as 11 - are taking pornographic images of themselves and swapping them with friends via text messages or the internet, experts warn. A survey reveals that 40 per cent of 11- to 14-year-olds have used their mobile phones or computer to send pictures of themselves or receive naked or topless images of friends. And more than half of youngsters who sent these images - a trend known as ‘sexting’ - did so knowing the pictures would be passed on to a number of recipients. And four in ten of the 11,000 children surveyed thought it was ‘appropriate’ to circulate pictures of topless girls in their school. Experts said the findings showed a significant shift from children viewing internet pornography - to creating it themselves. The shocking trend has been blamed on the volume of internet pornography seen by boys who, as a result, expect girlfriends to be promiscuous and flaunt their bodies. Pray: against this trend of ‘sexting’ amongst the young and pray that ways would be found to control this and other forms of pornography. (Tit.2:1)