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The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s emergency budget has met a lukewarm response from some Christians fearful that its impact will be felt by those least able to afford it. The Chancellor presented the severest budget for nearly 30 years outlining tax hikes and painful cuts to public spending. Paul Morrison, a member of the Methodist Church’s Joint Public Issues Team, said the taxation burden should be put on the people who could afford it rather than those least able. Chris Sheldon, Deputy Chief Executive of Kingdom Bank, welcomed the efforts to reduce the nation’s massive deficit. ‘I am pleased to see that the government is taking the issue of balancing the country’s income and expenditure so seriously,’ he said. ‘It is a strong biblical principle that we should not spend more than we can afford and that applies to the country in the same way that it applies to individuals’. Pray: for us to balance the collective responsibility we hold to address the national deficit whilst protecting the most vulnerable. (Pr.1:3) More:http://www.christiantoday.com/article/emergency.budget.draws.mixed.reaction.from.christians/26157-2.htm
An electrician faces the sack for displaying a palm cross in the window of his company van. Colin Atkinson, 64, from Wakefield, has been called to a disciplinary hearing at the housing association where he has worked for 15 years. His bosses at the publicly funded Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) have demanded he remove the eight inch long cross made from woven palm leaves that sits on his dashboard. The organisation claims the cross may cause offence but says it strongly promotes ‘inclusive’ policies and allows employees to wear religious symbols at work. It has provided stalls at gay pride events, held ‘diversity days’ for travellers, and has allowed other staff to display photographs of Che Guevara, the revolutionary leader, in their office. Mr Atkinson, who is a regular worshipper at church, said: ‘I have worked in the coal mines and served in the Army in Northern Ireland and I have never suffered such stress'. Pray: for Mr Atkinson and for WDH to withdraw their discriminatory action. (Ps.40:10)
The Government’s immigration policies are forcibly separating families of Irish children, and allow no mechanism to appeal, Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Raymond Field has said. ‘Not only are parents forced to live in different countries but they must choose where and with whom their child will live,’ he notes. Bishop Field, chairman of the Irish Bishops’ Council for Justice and Peace, says: ‘Ireland is the only EU member state without primary legislation on family reunification for immigrants. In Ireland, in accord with EU law, a child is entitled to Irish citizenship if one parent is an Irish citizen or a legally resident immigrant. The other parent may be someone whose visa is expiring or whose asylum application has failed. However, despite a child’s rights as an Irish citizen, we are now seeing the deportation of a parent whose immigration status is irregular.’
Pray: that Eire’s immigration process will take into account the human tragedy of split families. (Isa. 63:8)
More: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0104/1224286701369.html
Secularism isn’t a neutral force in education and it attempts to exclude faith from the classroom risk of anti-religious indoctrination, according to a new report by a professor of education. Prof Trevor Cooling’s report, entitled Doing God in Education, also criticised opponents who claim that faith schools shouldn’t be able to consider religious criteria when selecting pupils. The report, published by the theology think-tank Theos, argues that all education is value driven and shaped by school leaders. It cautions: ‘The objection to so-called neutral approaches, then, is that they privilege secular worldviews and are in danger of implicit anti-religious indoctrination. ‘They are not, in other words, neutral.’ Commenting on the report Paul Woolley, the think-tank’s director, said: ‘The idea that education is religiously neutral or objective is indefensible. ‘Teaching is shaped by our understanding of which virtues we should practise, what qualities we should value, ultimately of what kind of people we should be.’
Pray: for the value of good religious education to be recognised and its place in the school curriculum to be ensured. (Ti.1:13)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/education-report-debunks-secular-neutrality-myth/
Around 1,000 Christians from across the denominations and traditions heard the call from the Archbishop of York to the ‘be, see, think and do mission’ on Sunday night as they came together for the close of Edinburgh 2010. Christians were gathered for the conference in the Scottish capital for most of last week. The occasion celebrated the 100th anniversary of the historic World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in 1910 and the subsequent birth of the world church. In an honest closing address, the Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu, said that' too much of what the church did today amounted to nothing more than ‘re-arranging the furniture.’ ‘re-organizing the structures; arguing over words and phrases, while humanity as a whole plunges suicidally into obscurity and meaningless despair. And so often the Church’s activities and energies appear to be totally irrelevant to the needs of the world today,’ he said. (See Prayer Alert 2310) Pray: for the Holy Spirit to empower and lead the Church in its mission to reach the world in a meaningful way. (Ac.9:31)
The Edinburgh World Missionary Conference 2010 opened on Wednesday with the aim of providing direction for Christian mission in the 21st century. Hundreds of leaders from around the world gathered in Edinburgh, Scotland, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first-ever global mission conference, Edinburgh 1910. From June 2 to 6, mission experts will convene to discuss nine major themes, including Christian mission among other faiths, mission and post-modernites, and Christian communities in contemporary contexts. Unlike the original World Missionary Conference in 1910, however, the 2010 gathering brings together Christians from different traditions – ranging from the Roman Catholic Church to evangelical and Pentecostal churches – and from nations worldwide. Organizers hope this week’s conference will facilitate conversations between mission leaders from the older mission movements of the North and the new mission movements from the South and East.
Pray: for delegates to the conference that the Holy Spirit will lead them and that God will grant them wisdom. (Ps.34:11)
New Labour leader Ed Miliband does not believe in God, he has said. He had previously said his religious views were a ‘private matter’, and his declaration means two of the three leaders of major British political parties are self-proclaimed atheists. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg also confirmed he does not believe shortly after being named Liberal Democrat leader, while David Cameron last year said religious faith was ‘part of who I am’ but admitted he did not go to church regularly. The Labour leader's atheism puts him in stark contrast to his predecessors Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, for whom religion was a central part of their lives. Mr Miliband and brother David are of Jewish descent, but religion did not play a large part in their upbringing by their Marxist father Ralph Miliband. David has said publicly he is an atheist, and was the target of some criticism for sending his son to a Church of England school. Pray: that our nation's leaders recognise by God’s Grace the nation’s spiritual dimension. (Ps. 57:8) More: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100929/tuk-ed-miliband-i-don-t-believe-in-god-6323e80.html
Drugs are everywhere and far too easy for teenagers to get hold of, warn the grieving parents of a teenage girl who died after taking ecstasy. They criticised websites for glorifying the effects of drug use and blamed peer pressure for the death of their daughter, 16-year-old Serena Harding. The judge, sentencing three men for supplying the teenager with drugs, said the ‘misguided individuals’ were part of a culture which believes that taking drugs such as ecstasy is harmless. Miss Harding collapsed after taking ecstasy whilst on a night out with friends to celebrate her exam results. Mr and Mrs Harding warned: ‘It’s too easy for teenagers to get hold of drugs. Drugs are everywhere and somebody will always know somebody who will sell you some.' Three men were sentenced for supplying Miss Harding with the drugs, one of whom was said to be a close friend of Miss Harding.
Pray: for the authorities that they will be able to find the source of these dangerous drugs blocking the supplies and jailing those responsible. (Rom.13:5)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/drugs-are-too-easy-to-get-hold-of-warn-grieving-parents/
A new strain of gonorrhoea that is resistant to antibiotics has been discovered by scientists. The bacterial infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections, with thousands of Britons becoming infected each year. Gonorrhoea can cause infertility, ectopic pregnancies and increased susceptibility to HIV. Dr Magnus Unemo, who led the team behind the discovery, described the find as ‘alarming’ and the researchers warned that the strain is likely to become a ‘global threat to public health’. He added: ‘While it is still too early to assess if this new strain has become widespread, the history of newly emergent resistance to the bacterium suggests that it may spread rapidly unless new drugs and effective treatment programmes are developed.’ Dr Unemo’s disturbing findings were presented at the 19th conference of the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Disease Research in Quebec, Canada. Scientists are now trying to combat the infection using different drugs.
Pray: for those researching this disease that they may find a way to treat it. (Is.57:19)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/drug-resistant-sex-disease-discovered/
A petition of half a million signatures supporting the traditional definition of marriage has been handed in to Downing Street . The petition by the Coalition for Marriage supports the legal definition of marriage as the ‘voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others’ and expresses opposition to any attempt to redefine itn - It was signed by over 550,000 people. While the list of signatories was submitted to Downing Street, the full petition of names and addresses will be handed in to the Home Office as it is too large to deliver to No 10, filling more than 30 A4 boxes. The petition was launched on 20 February in response to the Government's plans to redefine marriage. Although the petition was submitted, it remains open and www.C4M hopes to reach a million signatures in the coming months. It comes just before a public consultation on redefining marriage closes on Thursday.
Pray: for a favourable response to this petition and for further signatories to sign-up in the months ahead. (Heb.13:4)