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The deaths of two unarmed police officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has ‘devastated’ the force, Home Secretary Theresa May has said. Mrs May condemned the ‘savage acts of pure brutality’ that led to the deaths of PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes. They suffered fatal injuries in a gun and grenade attack on Tuesday morning. Mrs May cut short her holiday to travel back to the UK to visit GMP's headquarters. Speaking on Wednesday evening, Mrs May said: ‘(The attacks) have left grieving families, they have devastated Greater Manchester police force. They were incredibly brave and their deaths remind us what police officers can face every day.’ Eyewitnesses said a hail of bullets was fired and then a grenade was used during the attack. Police have been given more time to question 29-year-old Dale Cregan on suspicion of their murders. He had been the subject of a huge manhunt following two murders earlier this year of a father and son in separate attacks in the area. A 28-year-old man is also being held on conspiracy to commit murder.
Pray: especially for the families of the two police officers at this time. Pray for the authorities that they make wise decisions as the seek ways of combating such crimes.
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-19657784
Hindus have welcomed the reports of Lincolnshire County Council allowing its schools to teach Paganism to students. Prominent Hindu statesman Rajan Zed living in Nevada said that all religions were different ways to relate to the Divine. Debbie Barnes, Assistant Director of Children's Services for Lincolnshire County Council, said individual schools can decide whether or not to teach Paganism. See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1328080/Schools-ahead-teach-Paganism-alongside-major-religions.html?ito=feeds-newsxml Currently Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Judaism are part of the religious education. Recently Britain officially recognised Druidry as a religion and the rise of paganism in 21st century Britain has led to police officers advised on how to approach witches, and jailed druids allowed official pagan days of worship off prison work. Pray that Christians will stand against this growing acceptance of primitive beliefs so that new faiths will not undermines our social values. Pray: that Britain will fill her spiritual void with Jesus Christ and stop reaching out to ancient divinities. (Ac.19:18-20)
New figures released (29 May) by the Department of Health show that the high abortion rate in England and Wales continued in 2011 and even slightly increased. Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, greeted Government abortion statistics published today with sadness: ‘It is sad that the abortion rate in this nation, which everyone agrees is too high, has not been reduced in 2011, and that so many young women in particular are having abortions. ‘Since the introduction of the Abortion Act 1967, there have been well over 7 million abortions in England and Wales. Yet Parliament never intended abortion to be available on demand. How have we let this happen? ‘It is clear that the reality and dangers of abortion are not widely known. Abortion is seen as the solution to a problem; this must change. We must not resign ourselves to this high level of abortions but must tell women that there are other alternatives.
Pray: for better education to avoid unwanted pregnancies and improved care and support for women who face such a pregnancy. (Ps.139:13-16)
More: http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/abortion/new-figures-show-high-abortion-rate-continues-with-young-women-at-risk
‘Offenders should be ‘met at the prison gate’ by mentors who can help them escape a life of crime.’ said Chris Grayling the Justice Secretary. He has plans for a major extension of mentoring provided by voluntary groups and private companies on a payment-by-results basis, calling for an ‘enlightened’ approach to dealing with criminals and to decry the tragedy of inmates leaving jail with no idea how to get their lives back on track.This proposal comes during ‘Prison Week’ when Christians are asked to pray for those administering justice and those within the criminal justice system. May those ministering to offenders be given the wisdom of Solomon for the tasks they are engaged in, and good judgment as they guide prisoners on their daily journey through the prison system. See: http://www.prisonsweek.org/
Pray: that the implementation of the mentoring system will grow and produce a new path for ex-prisoners to follow. (Ps.139:11-17)
More: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/mentor-every-inmate-released-jail-051453731.html
The UK's busiest airport, Heathrow, has been put on high terror alert after ‘credible’ intelligence emerged that al-Qaeda is plotting attacks on airlines flying out of London with the help of women suicide bombers with explosives concealed in breast implants. ‘There are genuine fears over this. We have been told to pay particular attention to females who may have concealed hidden explosives in their breasts. This is particularly difficult for us to pick up but we are on a very high state of alert,’ said an official with airport security, as quoted by the Daily Mail. ‘It's led to long queues here at Heathrow, much longer than usual at this time of the year. But because it's the summer holiday season, no one has complained,’ the official said.
Pray: against attempts to cause acts of terror and pray that the authorities will be given wisdom. (Pr.2:2)
Council bosses are investigating a head teacher who urged school girls to show more modesty in how they wear their uniform. Robert Kelly, rector at Berwickshire High School in the Scottish town of Duns, said flouting uniform rules by wearing short skirts and half-buttoned blouses would encourage inappropriate thoughts among boys. But some parents thought he was blaming girls for unwanted male attention, and he is now under investigation by the Scottish Borders Council. Union leader Ken Cunningham said: ‘There will be a lot of sympathy for Mr Kelly as it’s a difficult issue that affects schools around the country – there’s no way he should lose his job and I hope common sense will prevail. ‘I’m very worried about sexualisation, particularly of young girls, which I think has got worse. Parents and schools have a duty to ensure that dress is sensible – common sense is the key factor.’ Pray: for God’s guidance to all involved in this matter and for common sense to prevail. (1Ti.2:9)
Children as young as four should be given advice on the dangers of pornography, according to headteachers. Delegates at the National Association of Head Teachers’ (NAHT) conference in Birmingham warned that children were being robbed of their innocence by sexually explicit material on the internet as well as on television, often being shown before the 9pm watershed. The call came as a survey of parents showed four in 10 would like their five-year-olds given lessons on dealing with pornography, at the same time as they learn how to use the internet. On internet pornography, Steve Watkins, headteacher of Millfield primary in Leeds, said schools needed to talk to nursery-aged children about “things that shouldn’t be there” if they accessed material by mistake. Russell Hobby, general secretary of the NAHT, added: “Young people must be protected from pornography and children should receive appropriate guidance as part of sex and relationships education.”
Pray: for the protection of our children and for the media to adopt a more rigorous and responsible approach to programming. (Pr.8:32)
More: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/headteachers-want-fouryearolds-to-be-taught-about-dangers-of-porn-8622991.html
The Church faces huge challenges over the next few years - but growth is still possible, according to a leading researcher. Dr Peter Brierley points to continuing decline in many denominations due to people leaving, deaths outstripping conversions, and churchgoers attending less often. The liberalisation of Sunday trading in 1994 is a major factor here, he told The Baptist Times but the downward slope, he says, is largely due to the departure of teenagers in the 1980s and children under 15 in the 1990s.'Twenty and 30 years later there is a dire absence of those in their 30s and 40s, and no sign of younger replacements.' Nevertheless, he said, Church decline is not inevitable - though clear-sighted and courageous leadership would be required. There are seeds of hope, change is possible. We need to look at which denominations are growing, and why.' He also stressed the need for equipping congregations and encouraging them to witness confidently. Pray: for the church and for outreach and revival. (2Co.4:15)
The vetting of up to nine million people who frequently work with children, which was due to start next month, was halted by the Home Secretary, Theresa May, pending a review intended to scale back the scheme to ‘common sense’ proportions. May said she had taken the decision because it was now recognised that the vetting and barring scheme was disproportionate, burdensome and infringed on civil liberties. ‘Until this remodelling has taken place, we have decided to maintain those aspects of the new scheme which are already in place, but not to introduce further elements.’ More than 66,000 employers, charities and voluntary groups are being told the details of the decision. Under the original scheme the database of people registered to work with children would have covered 11 million adults, the largest child protection database in the world. Similar action is required for hospital volunteers. Pray: for those who freely volunteer their talents and that the remodelled scheme will be widely accepted. (Ac.8:15) More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jun/15/child-worker-vetting-scheme-review
A combination of natural hormone changes and greater use of screen-based technology means many teenagers are not getting enough sleep. Research has suggested teenagers need nine hours' sleep to function properly. "Sleep is fundamentally important but despite this it's been largely ignored as part of our biology," said Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at Oxford University. "Within the context of teenagers, here we have a classic example where sleep could enhance enormously the quality of life and, indeed, the educational performance of our young people. Yet they're given no instruction about the importance of sleep and sleep is a victim to the many other demands that are being made of them. The great problem with teenagers is that you're not only biologically programmed to go to bed late and get up late, but there's also many attractions like gaming and social media and many teenagers are doing this into the early hours of the morning and delaying sleep even further."
Pray: for a greater appreciation by teenagers of the need for quality sleep. Pray also for better information to be given to them about sleep. ( Pr.3:24)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-23811690