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Violence at the Lower Newtownards Road interface is a recurring theme in the history of sectarian trouble in Northern Ireland. On the cusp of east Belfast, the nationalist enclave of Short Strand sits beside estates and streets populated almost exclusively by loyalists. The only thing separating the two communities are several ‘peace walls’ - high artificial barriers which physically separate Catholic and Protestant homes. Across Belfast, there are now more such walls than there were when republican and loyalist paramilitaries first went on ceasefire in 1994. In some areas, including the Newtownards Road interface, political progress has not meant an end to sectarian strife. Police officers and civilians were regularly injured while some residents chose to move to other parts of Belfast rather than continue to live in an area blighted by violence.
Pray: against this further outbreak of sectarian violence and pray that peace would prevail. (Ps.34:14)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13860978
Police and community representatives are appealing for calm after trouble in west and north Belfast. An investigation is under way into the possibility that shots were fired in west Belfast during the trouble. Petrol bombs and other missiles have been thrown at police during rioting in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast. The trouble broke out after police in riot gear took up position ahead of an Orange parade walking past the Ardoyne shops on Tuesday evening. Stones, bottles and fireworks were thrown at police. Water cannon was used to push back the crowd of about 200 people. Community worker Robert McClenaghan, from the Falls Residents Association, said the violence was organised by nationalist youths. Crowds of nationalists threw petrol bombs and masonry at police who fired plastic bullets in the Broadway and Oldpark areas. Mr McClenaghan said the violence was ‘nothing but thuggery’.
Pray: against this annual violence and pray for a cessation of hostilities and reconciliation. (2Co.5:19)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14128807
The recent outbreak of rioting in North Belfast was an indication that the political peace process had not yet completed the transformation of society in the area, according to Methodist minister the Rev Dr Gary Mason. In an article for last week’s Methodist Recorder (‘Displaying grace and building community’, September 7) Dr Mason had written presciently that peacemakers were ‘haunted’ by the notion that the peace process ‘could simply result in a form of benign apartheid, with segregation now worse than it was when the conflict began in 1968. The reality is that on the ground in the inner city that is pretty much the picture.’ He also said that many ‘peace walls’ had been built separating communities since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
Pray: that the peace process will not cease but continue to move forward to complete its transformation. (Ro.12:2)
More: http://www.methodistrecorder.co.uk/mrhlines.htm
Rioters have been warned against ‘holding Belfast to ransom’ after a petrol bomb attack on a police officer by suspected loyalists which is being treated as attempted murder. A gang of 15 men targeted, surrounded and smashed the unmarked vehicle on Monday night outside the offices of Alliance Party MP Naomi Long in Newlands Road. It was the worst incident in nine nights of violence in parts of east and south Belfast involving loyalists who took to the streets again in protest against a decision to restrict the flying of the Union Flag at Belfast City Hall. In a statement to the House of Commons, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said that while the matter was a sensitive issue, the clashes would not be tolerated. ‘There can be absolutely no excuse or justification for this kind of thuggish and lawless behaviour,’ she said. ‘It is a disgrace. We condemn it unreservedly and it should stop immediately.’
Pray: that God would stay the hand of the enemy and bring about a peaceful resolution to this situation. (2Th.2:9-10)
More: http://news.sky.com/story/1023570/belfast-flag-protest-riots-a-disgrace
The ongoing conflict in Syria has prompted a number of prayer and worship events around the globe, with Belfast next to have a special Day of Prayer for the country locked in civil war. St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast will be hosting a Day of Prayer for Syria on Wednesday 23 October. An estimated quarter of Syrians have left their country in huge numbers for neighbouring countries. According to the Lebanese government, it has received nearly a million as refugees. St Anne's Cathedral is inviting people from across Belfast and beyond to visit the cathedral at any hour of the day to pray and hear readings from a number of guest speakers. To end the day, a Service of Reflection will take place with Psalms-based prayers for those affected by conflict and persecution.
Pray: that the call to pray will lead many to seek the Lord for Syria and the refugees in neighbouring countries. (Eph.6:18)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/belfast.cathedral.to.host.day.of.prayer.for.syria/34341.htm
During a visit to the UK the United Nations' special investigator on housing has told the British government it should scrap the bedroom tax, after hearing ‘shocking’ accounts of how the policy was affecting vulnerable citizens. Britain's record on housing was also worsening from a human rights perspective, Raquel Rolnik, the UN special rapporteur on housing, said in a Guardian interview after presenting her preliminary findings to the Government. After speaking to dozens of council house tenants in Britain during her visit over the past fortnight, Rolnik said she was particularly concerned by the impact of bedroom tax, officially known as the new spare room subsidy. The policy was introduced by the Government in April, and is designed to charge tenants extra for under-occupying homes that are supposedly too large for them.
Pray: that the Government will reconsider its decisions on the so called bedroom tax. (Lk.20:22)
More: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/11/bedroom-tax-should-be-axed-says-un-investigator
Nearly one in three council housing tenants affected by the bedroom tax have fallen behind on their rent since its introduction earlier this year, according to new figures released on 17 September. Figures provided by 114 local authorities across Britain in response to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests by False Economy show that since the bedroom tax was introduced this April, over 50,000 council housing tenants - 31 per cent of all tenants affected by the tax in these areas - have been pushed into arrears. However in some areas the proportion of tenants that have been pushed into arrears is far higher. In Barrow, three-quarters of all council house tenants affected by the bedroom tax have been pushed into arrears since April. With emergency funding from councils rapidly drying up, the situation is likely to get far worse over the coming months, warns False Economy. (See Prayer Alert 37-2013)
Pray: that the government will take notice of the serious problems that are being caused. (Lk. 20:22)
More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/19083
‘The Archbishop of Canterbury has used his Christmas sermon to call on rich and poor alike to share in the hardships brought on by the financial crisis and cuts in public spending. Reflecting on the mutual dependence of humans, Dr Rowan Williams urged people not to give in to the temptation of abandoning others to suffering, whilst they secure their own safety. ‘Faced with the hardship that quite clearly lies ahead for so many in the wake of the financial crisis and public spending cuts, how far are we able to sustain a living sense of loyalty to each other, a real willingness to bear the load together?’ he said. ‘How eager are we to find some spot where we feel safe from the pressures that are crippling and terrifying others? ‘As has more than once been said, we can and will as a society bear hardship if we are confident that it is being fairly shared.’
Pray: for a sense of fairness and justice throughout all levels of our society as we face financial cutbacks. (Am.5:24)
The BBC has been criticised for giving too much coverage to Halloween. Not the occasionally terrifying outfits that the Strictly Come Dancing contestants were treated to last weekend but a news report about a coven of witches who gathered to celebrate Samhain, the turning of the year from light to dark. The decision to allow so much airtime to the minority event in Weymouth, Dorset, was questioned at a time of a 16% cut in the corporation's budget. 'I understand the BBC might choose to concentrate on something for one day, but I consider it to be symptomatic of a much bigger problem across the BBC,' said Christian Institute spokesman Mike Judge. 'They downplay Christianity and up-play paganism which is unreflective of British society. It does create an atmosphere where it's OK to marginalise Christians.' We can only hope that Christmas gives the corporation a chance to redress the balance. Pray: for the BBC to ensure programme planning better reflects the requirements of a mainly Christian nation. (Mi.5:12) More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/mediamonkeyblog/2010/nov/02/bbc-halloween-row
Pentecostal church leaders are concerned the BBC has purposely misled the public with its story about pastors advising sick patients to give up their medicine and rely on faith alone to be healed. The story went out across BBC TV, radio and online platforms over the weekend, and was based on anecdotal evidence from 19 doctors and health professionals. Ten doctors said they had encountered HIV patients over the last five years who had felt under pressure by their pastors to stop taking their anti-retroviral drugs. But the story has been labelled ‘biased and unfounded’ by Rev John Glass – a member of the Alliance's One People Commission and general superintendent of Elim Pentecostal Churches, and Rev John Partington, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God. Together, the men lead the UK's two largest and longest established Pentecostal denominations.
Pray: that the truth will be exposed and any misleading reports be ignored. (Pr.12:7)
More: http://www.eauk.org/current-affairs/news/bbc-under-fire-for-misleading-public.cfm