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Liverpool has become the first city in the UK to carry a homosexual rainbow emblem on some of its street signs, despite other councils banning Christian symbols. Liverpool City councillor, Nick Small said: ‘The new signs clearly show that we are recognising where the LGBT scene is based in the city and that it is a very important part of our city life.’ The city’s enthusiasm to promote the emblem stands in contrast to other local councils that have banned Christian symbols from public display. Camden Council in North London told a church group that it could not advertise an event on religion and climate change unless it removed words like ‘Christian’ and ‘God’ from the text. Staff at Salisbury Council were told not to use the phrase ‘singing from the same hymn sheet’ when talking to people because the religious reference might offend atheists.
Pray: for the authorities that make unwise decisions that go against common sense may their ideas be thwarted. (Ps.94:8)
The Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF) has nine key points it wants the Government to consider in its recently announced review of the controversial Liverpool Care Pathway. It suggests that only those who are in the last few days of life should be placed on the LCP and that placing someone on the LCP should be discussed with the relative or carer. Latest figures suggest that around 130,000 people a year are dying on the LCP, amounting to about a third of annual deaths in the UK. Writing in a review for CMF’s Journal, Dr Jeff Stephenson, a Devon-based consultant in palliative care says: ‘The LCP represents a pragmatic and effective response to some of the suffering experienced by many in the last days of life. There is always potential for misuse and abuse and there are undoubtedly instances where this occurs.’
Pray: that the CMF’s points will be considered seriously in the coming review. (Lev.19:32)
Liverpool Councillors have called for extremely addictive high-stake betting machines to be banned from betting shops in the city. Councillor Nick Small said that Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs), which include virtual versions of casino games like roulette, are the fastest way for gamblers to lose money. The machines allow people to bet up to £100 every 20 seconds, and city leaders have called on the Government to ban the machines or give local councils the power to implement restrictions. Councillors voted unanimously in favour of a motion tabled by Cllr Small on the matter. Cllr Small said: “People are spending money they can ill afford on these terminals”. He added: “There’s hundreds of betting shops in Liverpool and we just don’t have the power to control them. “Ultimately, we need power to reduce the speed of play and to bring down the maximum stake.
Pray: for a local councils to be given the power to control to restrict high-stake betting machines. (1Tim.6:9-10)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/liverpool-calls-for-ban-on-addictive-betting-machines/
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Sermons delivered by Catholic priests are often painfully ‘grey and dull’ and need to be livened up with the ‘scandal’ contained within the Bible, the Vatican's most senior cultural official said. Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi said preaching in churches had become so formulaic and boring that it risked becoming ‘irrelevant’ to congregations accustomed to the excitement and immediacy of television and the internet. ‘The advent of televised and computerised information requires us to be compelling and trenchant, to cut to the heart of the matter, resort to narratives and colour,’ said the cardinal, who as the head of the Pontifical Council for Culture is the Vatican's unofficial minister for culture. Too many priests employed theological language that was ‘grey, dull and flavourless’ and instead should spice up their sermons with graphic stories contained in the Bible, which used much more forceful imagery. The Bible was ‘crowded with stories, symbols and images,’ he said.
Pray: for all those who preach to be led by the Holy Spirit to convey the Word in relevant and appropriate ways. (Ac.11:15)
More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8872795/Catholic-priests-urged-to-liven-up-sermons.html
Couples who live together before marriage are at significantly greater risk of divorce, a recent report says. ‘Those couples who have lived with each other are noticeably (around 15 percent) more likely to divorce; couples who have previously lived with a different partner before getting married are around 45 percent more likely to divorce,’ report authors Dr. John Hayward and Dr. Guy Brandon in ‘Cohabitation: An Alternative to Marriage?’ released by the Jubilee Centre, About 55 percent of cohabitations now lead to marriage, while 45 percent end in separation, they said, adding that even those couples who do separate and go on to other live-in arrangements, later marrying their second (or subsequent) partner, are far more likely to divorce. Since the early 1980s, cohabitation overtook marriage as the most common form of first live-in relationship. Marriage remains by far the most common family form of choice overall, the report concluded.
Pray: that this report will raise awareness and the importance of marriage in relationships. (Heb.13:4)
Live streaming of child sex abuse via webcams has emerged as a method of exploitation, experts have warned, amid a doubling of reported indecent images. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) said children were being ‘abused to order’. Offenders targeted vulnerable families overseas, paying them to facilitate child abuse, according to its report. CEOP said those carrying out abuse used a ‘hidden internet’ to disguise their identity and avoid detection. Their report found the number of still and moving child abuse images reported to CEOP had doubled in the last year to 70,000. The child protection body - part of the Home Office's Serious Organised Crime Agency - said it received 8,000 reports of indecent images of children being shared last year. It said live streaming emerged in 2012 as a means of producing and distributing images. ‘We're seeing cases where they're effectively being abused to order for paying customers,’ Chief Executive Peter Davies told the BBC.
Pray: that CEOP will have success in exposing offenders who distribute such material and especially as they use live streaming. (Eph.5:11)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23137754
2013 marked the first confirmation service in a Messy Church congregation in the Diocese of Lichfield. Messy Church originated out of the Fresh Expression movement, which was established by the Church of England and the Methodist Church to pioneer new congregations that appeal to those who might not normally attend a 'regular' or traditional church. Now, however, Messy Church is a movement in its own right, though still under the umbrella of Fresh Expressions. It aims to provide a space for families to experience and take part in worship in a new way, incorporating creativity, celebration and hospitality. Messy Churches have become extremely popular in recent years. Some people have expressed reservations about the movement, however, asking whether it is really just a craft club, rather than a church. Bishop Mark of Shrewsbury, who led the confirmation service, has rebutted these claims.
Pray: for all initiatives that spread the Gospel message and especially for the Messy Church movement. (Mk.16:15)
A weakened safeguard (From November men whose last sexual contact with another man was more than 12 months ago will be allowed to donate blood) which protects against HIV contaminating the blood supply should be removed because it is homophobic, the Liberal Democrats’ conference has heard. Delegates at the Lib Dems’ annual conference passed a motion which called for the complete removal of the weakened safeguard. One party member claimed the new rule was an example of ‘institutionalised homophobia’. Following the weakening of the blood safeguard The Christian Institute’s Mike Judge warned the new rule was a ‘huge cave-in to the demands of the homosexual lobby’. He wrote: ‘After lobbying by homosexual campaigners, we have now arrived at a situation where homosexuals have the right to donate blood regardless of the increased medical risks. This is the Alice-in-wonderland world of the equality agenda.’
Pray: for policy to be based on clinical evidence not political correctness. (2Co.7:1)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/lib-dems-vote-for-complete-removal-of-blood-safeguard/
Three bishops will this week lead calls for the Church of England to make a public statement standing up for the right of Christians to wear a cross. They have signed a motion condemning the ‘silencing’ of outward displays of Christianity in Britain and a ‘growing trend’ towards the ‘restriction of religious liberty’ which is to be debated at the Church’s national assembly. One hundred other members of the Synod, including clergy and lay people, have backed the call for the Church to defend Christians against the ‘overzealous’ interpretation of human rights and equality legislation by judges, politicians and employers. Its backers believe that by passing the motion the Church would make a landmark statement that wearing a cross is an integral part of the Christian faith. The Bishop of Peterborough, the Rt Rev Donald Allister, said the move would make the point that although Christians are not bound to wear a cross they have a ‘duty’ to be ‘public’ about their faith.
Pray: for those who draw up regulations to not be bound by a mistaken perception that for politically correctness they must ban symbols of Christian faith. (1Ti.3:9)
More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9061795/Let-people-wear-cross-with-pride-urge-bishops.html
The Leprosy Mission has hit out at suggestions that the Treasury might take a share of Gift Aid or impose a levy on charities. The call came from the Charity Commission, which has warned that it will not be able to cope with the Treasury's request to make a further saving of 10 per cent in the year 2015/16. The Leprosy Mission said, however, that it was "unfair" to take a slice of gift aid to plug the Government's spending cuts. Peter Walker, national director of The Leprosy Mission said a levy could put people off giving while penalizing recipients of the money. ‘If the Government wants a Big Society, it is responsible for providing the framework for the charitable sector to operate effectively, which includes rigorous investigation where necessary,’ he said. ‘The charitable sector is paramount to the delivery of the Big Society and it is, therefore, unreasonable for the government to expect charities to pay to regulate the sector.’
Pray: that this proposal will not become policy and that charitable donation remains entirely with the charity receiving the gift. (Pr.22:16 )
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/leprosy.mission.says.levy.on.charities.unfair/32723.htm