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Writing a New Year message in Yorkshire Post, The Archbishop of York said that morality must come first. He said, ‘I am not one for unattainable New Year’s Resolutions. They can only be temporary fixes, based on blind optimism rather than on what is sustainable.... after a few days the promises are broken. Personal good intentions and national well-being should go together. A strong society needs decent ideals, too. We need strong morals and a shared purpose which is grounded in more than what is on the bottom line of a balance sheet in Whitehall. If we want to build a strong country, we need to ensure the foundations are solid. Candidates for election should ‘put morality ahead of politics, science, and economics’ and that ‘the only genuine core of all our actions – if they are to be moral – is responsibility......Our country was built on Christian faith and morals, and we should not only be grateful for this, but also celebrate this fact.’
Pray: for a reclaiming of Christian morality by a society that finds itself victim of amoral greed and violence. (Ps.25:9)
More: http://www.archbishopofyork.org/articles.php/2307/archbishops-new-year-message
One in three children is accessing a ‘tsunami’ of explicit pornographic images on the internet by the age of ten, a study has revealed. Four in five teenagers regularly look up unsuitable photographs or film on their computers or mobile phones, it also suggested. Campaigners warned that exposure to these images inflicts ‘serious mental harm’ on children and prevents them forming healthy adult relationships in later life. The average age of a child first exposed to pornography is just 11. At a conference in Parliament on Monday, campaigners called on ministers to force websites to carry cigarette-style health warnings. A large ‘R18’ banner would pop up on targeted websites, alerting children and parents to the nature of the site, they said. The British Board of Film Classification, which censors films, should also be called in to classify website content. Miranda Suit, director of SaferMedia, said pornography was getting more extreme and easier to access. Pray: for the internet to become better regulated to prevent corruption of our young. ( Job.5:17)
Up to 5,000 Muslim children at a network of Islamic schools across Britain are being taught how to chop off the hands of thieves and that Jews are plotting to take over the world. This was disclosed on the programme Panorama on BBC One, which also claims that the children's textbooks were discovered at a network of 40 private schools, called Saudi Students Clubs and Schools, teaching the Saudi Arabian national curriculum. One book for six-year-olds warns that those who do not believe in Islam will be condemned to ‘hellfire’ in death. Another book for 15-year-olds teaches about Shariah law and its punishments. ‘For thieves their hands will be cut off for a first offence and their foot for a subsequent offence,’ it says. Two diagrams show where cuts should be made. Panorama also found examples of private Muslim schools using extremist sentiments on their websites. Pray: that the Imams who fervently wish for better understanding between our faiths will rein in the use of such subversive material in Islamic schools. (Ps.55:9) More: http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC101123-0000046/Where-pupils-learn-to-cut-off-hands-of-thieves
Most people alarmingly underestimate the health risks of smoking cannabis, the National Lung Foundation has warned.
Almost 90 per cent of people think a tobacco cigarette carries a greater risk than a cannabis joint – but the risk of lung cancer is actually 20 times higher with cannabis. The British Lung Foundation (BLF) carried out a survey of 1,000 adults, and a third wrongly believed cannabis did not harm health. The BLF said the lack of awareness was ‘alarming’, and issued a report warning people about the dangers saying that smoking one cannabis cigarette every day for a year increases the chances of developing lung cancer by a similar amount as smoking 20 tobacco cigarettes each day for one year. ‘We therefore need a serious public health campaign – of the kind that has helped raise awareness of the dangers of eating fatty foods or smoking tobacco – to finally dispel the myth that smoking cannabis is somehow a safe pastime.’
Pray: for better education to alert people to the newly discovered dangers of taking drugs such as cannabis. (1Co.6:19-20)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/public-misjudge-health-risk-of-smoking-cannabis/
Thousands of residents in Kingston upon Thames will be affected by cuts in provision for mental health patients by Kingston Council and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, according to local campaigners in the Christian Peoples Alliance party (CPA). The CPA is warning that pressure on individuals from the economic recession and stagnant jobs' market could lead to additional demands on existing services, not fewer. It has written to South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust - which delivers care at Tolworth Hospital - demanding guarantees that inpatient care will continue to be provided in the borough, following news that it is to end at Tolworth. Last year, Kingston Hospital said it was cutting £600,000 from its mental health budget. Next week, Kingston's Budget Council will consider making their own cuts this year and next of over £240,000, amounting to nearly 8 per cent of its present budget for mental health social care services.
Pray: for the situation within the NHS with all the proposed cuts. Pray that wisdom would be the guide over all the decisions. (Jas.1:5)
The legal system may have gone ‘too far’ in restricting the right of Christians to live out their faith, Britain’s former top judge has cautioned. (See Prayer Alert 5310.) Lord Woolf’s comments came after the Bishop of Winchester warned that the demise of ‘religious literacy’ had created an imbalance in the way Christians are treated by the courts. Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has urged the Prime Minister to review legislation which has been used to penalise Christians. Lord Woolf acknowledged that the Bishop of Winchester’s concerns had ‘a grounding in the facts’, saying ‘The law must be above any sectional interest even if it is an interest of a faith but at the same time it must be aware of the proper concerns of that faith. The law should be developed in ways that, wherever practicable, it allows that faith to be preserved and protected.’
Pray: for fairness in the law towards Christians acting out their belief. (Ps.136:16)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/ex-top-judge-warns-against-penalising-christian-beliefs/
Senior religious-education (RE) professionals are warning that their subject could disappear from the curriculum in community schools if the subject is not included among the humanities that qualify for the planned English Baccalaureate. The new qualification, which is to be introduced to ensure that pupils receive a more rounded education requires good passes in English, maths, science, a foreign language, and either history or geography. Religious studies (RS), currently a popular examination choice, is not included as a humanities option. Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, which represents secondaryschool heads, says that his members believe that the proposed Baccalaureate is too narrow: ‘Religious studies, in particular, is glaringly absent. In the light of the global political situation, surely the objective study of religious issues should be encouraged,’ he said. A recent poll among 18 to 25-year-olds revealed that RE lessons were remembered as valuable for several years after leaving school.
Pray: that Christian teaching remains as a required element of schools’ curricula. (Ro.16:17)
Amnesty International has warned that the opportunity to deal with the past in Northern Ireland must not be squandered following a lack of agreement at the end of multi-party negotiations, chaired by Dr Richard Haass. Northern Ireland’s five main political parties failed to agree to a new approach to dealing with the legacy of three decades of human rights violations and abuses, among other issues. Amnesty is calling for the publication of draft proposals from the inter-party talks and for negotiations to recommence in the New Year. The human rights group’s Northern Ireland Director Patrick Corrigan said: “We are disappointed the parties failed to reach an agreement on dealing with the past, but determined to continue to press for truth and justice for all victims in Northern Ireland. “What progress has been achieved by the parties and the Haass team towards agreeing a new approach to the past must not be squandered or obscured by disagreement on other issues.
The shock of leaving the Armed Forces took its toll with alcohol and mental health problems, unemployment and family break-ups according to the Forces in Mind Trust. Veterans’ alcohol problems had the biggest effect, costing an estimated £35 million in 2012, followed by mental health problems costing £26 million. The costs are predicted to rise this year because of the loss of thousands of jobs in recent months in defence cuts. The trust, which campaigns to make it easier for veterans to settle back into civilian life, said the great majority made the jump successfully, but it was still surprised by the scale of the costs. The report found the culture shock for those leaving the forces has been underestimated. Andrew Curry, author of the report, said: “Even those who have gone through a good transition said they found their experience of civilian life and the workplace to be a shock.”
Pray: for members of the armed forces as they make the transition to civilian life and that they will receive appropriate support. (Ps.55:22)
More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/ben-farmer/10243464/Problems-of-Forces-personnel-switching-to-civilian-life-cost-114m.html
Problems continue for St Paul’s as protesters stay put. Anti-capitalist protesters forced the cathedral to close its doors to the public for the first time in 72 years. St Paul’s Cathedral is considering taking out an injunction to remove hundreds of anti-capitalist protesters occupying the churchyard. The cathedral has been in talks about legal action with the City of London Corporation. Around 300 protesters have gathered outside the cathedral in the last 10 days since the Occupy Wall Street demonstration went global. They continue to defy requests by St Paul’s to leave voluntarily, despite their presence forcing the cathedral to close its doors to the public for the first time since World War II. The cathedral, situated in London's financial district, is estimated to be losing around £16,000 every day in lost tourism income – revenue that is vital to the upkeep of the building. The cathedral reportedly turned away worshippers from services on Sunday. Only a scheduled wedding has taken place. The canon chancellor of St Paul's Dr Giles Fraser who has been sympathetic to the protest camp outside which has led to the cathedral's closure has resigned from his post.
Pray: that a just solution to these protests would be found. Pray that the Church would take this opportunity to witness to the protesters. (Mic.1:2)