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Church and other faith leaders came together this week for a vigil to mark the close of '100 Days of Peace' in London.
The 12-hour vigil was held at St Martin in the Fields church and was attended by the Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres, and the Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols. It also marked the start of the Olympic Truce 50 days before the start of the Games in London. The tradition of a truce before the Olympics goes back thousands of years to Ancient Greece when it guaranteed the safe passage of competitors and visitors to the competition. The vigil was organised by Westminster Justice and Peace, with St Martin in the Fields and the London Church Leaders' Group. Faith groups were invited to pray over 100 days for peace in the capital, and to build a peace legacy for London after the Olympic Truce ends on 28 October.
Pray: for the Olympic Truce to be respected by all and that it will have a lasting legacy beyond the 100 days. (Ecc.3:8)
More: http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/church.holds.vigil.for.olympic.truce/30076.htm
CSAN, the social action arm of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, has come out in opposition to the Prime Minister's plans to introduce more cuts to child and housing benefits. David Cameron announced on Monday that housing benefit would no longer be available for under-25s, while child benefit payments would be limited to families with no more than three children. CSAN said it was ‘extremely concerned’ by the proposals and their impact on families already affected by a cap on the size of their homes and an overall benefit cap. ‘Child benefit exists to provide for the basic needs of children; imposing limitations on the basis of family size will inevitably deprive children from larger families of essential support,’ it said. A spokesperson for Depaul UK, the largest national youth homelessness charity added: ‘80,000 young people become homeless every year. The majority of these become homeless because of family breakdown.’
Pray: that the authorities would consider the needs of all children and families and not cap benefits just to save money. (1Pet.5:2)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/church.hits.out.at.proposed.welfare.cuts/30146.htm
The Church of Scotland has launched a radical new regeneration programme to boost some of the poorest parts of the country. The Chance to Thrive project will work with eight communities on development initiatives over the next five years. The Church says the onus of the project will be on the hopes of the people, rather than buildings. It wants to support local people in bringing about long-term change through their own ideas rather than ‘having ideas imposed from outside’. Communities will be supported by a panel of volunteers with relevant experience as entrepreneurs, community workers, business planners, artists and architects. It is hoped that the projects will lead to the development of major new and sustainable church-based community facilities. ‘Over the last decade the Church of Scotland has doubled its commitment to Scotland’s poorest neighbourhoods.’
Pray: that this move by the Church of Scotland would lead to long-term change to some of the neediest people. (Dt.15:11)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/church.helping.scotlands.poorest.communities.thrive/28806.htm
Sentamu may not be welcomed or applauded for it, but the Archbishop of York said on Tuesday that the Church of England must continue to shape the debate on Britain’s moral order and proclaim the good news to the nation. In his presidential address to the General Synod in London, Dr Sentamu said the ‘urgent conviction’ of the Church’s calling to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God must underpin its work. He admitted that there was a ‘pressing need’ to equip the Church ‘confidently to discharge that calling’ in the face of the economic uncertainty, high levels of unemployment, the widening gap between rich and poor. The Archbishop spoke of the need to ‘assert the value and importance of the contribution of trust in God to our national life. We must actively continue to seek to influence the terms of the national debate on key issues affecting our society,’ he said. Pray: that the Church would claim the moral ground and proclaim the good news. (Pr.2)
The Methodist Church has criticised the Government's ‘responsibility deal’ to tackle alcohol abuse, saying that it prioritises the drinks industry over the vulnerable. Rachel Lampard, Public Issues Team Leader for the Methodist Church, said:’ We are totally unconvinced that the Government’s proposed ‘responsibility deal’ on alcohol regulation will be effective in reducing the problem of harmful drinking.’ The deal covers voluntary agreements with the drinks industry on matters such as promotions and labelling. Six medical organisations, including the BMA and Alcohol Concern, have walked away from this deal on the grounds that it favours the drinks industry, and places no limits on pricing or advertising. ‘We have an opportunity to reverse the devastating effects of years of under-regulation of the drinks market. If the Government means to keep its promises around harm reduction, alcohol policy should be informed strongly by medical evidence and not sidelined by the pressures of the industry.’ Pray: that the needs of the consumer, especially the vulnerable will take priority over commercial profit. (Lk.21:34) More: http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentogod.newsDetail&newsid=494
Five denominations have formed a coalition to raise their shared concerns with the three main parties during conference season. The coalition is formed of senior leaders from the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist Church, the Quakers, the Salvation Army and the United Reformed Church. They hope to keep the Government’s Big Society initiative, affordable housing and poverty on the agenda when they attend the conferences of the Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative parties during September and October. These denominations are encouraging members of the public to attend the fringe events that they and Christian political fellowships are staging alongside each of the conferences. The Rev Martyn Atkins, General Secretary of the Methodist Conference said: ‘Some people believe that politicians don’t ‘do God’ and that the churches shouldn’t get involved in political life. Our delegation demonstrates that the churches value the vocation of those who work to improve our society through political life’. Pray: that our politicians will take into account our Christian values when planning change. (Ps.103:6) More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/churches.form.coalition.at.party.conferences/26752.htm
Ministering to children’s spirituality is a core function for the Church rather than a luxury add-on, argues Dr Rebecca Nye in ‘Children's Spirituality’, a new book from the Church of England’s official publishers. Local churches have a crucial role in listening to children’s verbal and non-verbal expressions of spiritual searching and wonder, and must be careful in how they use ‘teaching’ methods to ensure they do not inadvertently stifle long-term spiritual development, she says. Alister McGrath, Head of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture at King's College, London, describes the book as ‘a powerful reaffirmation and exploration of the importance of childhood spirituality for the ministry and mission of the Church, which will be welcomed by all working in this field.’ Dr Nye argues that children’s capacity for exploring faith is significant and that churches should be more concerned with nurturing children’s ways of ‘being with and knowing God’, rather than the transmission of religious knowledge.
Pray: for churches to place children at the heart of their ministry nurturing their spiritual growth. (Ep.6:4)
Church bells across the country will ring in tune with the United Nations next month to mark crucial international talks on biodiversity. As the bells toll at the UN headquarters in both New York and Nairobi, bell ringers from small parish churches to large cathedrals and minsters are being encouraged to ring on September 22, the day the UN General Assembly will discuss for the first time ever the crisis affecting the world’s biodiversity. This year was declared the UN 2010 International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) and the Church of England is one of the official partners in the UK. With a Christian presence in every community, around 6,000 of the CofE’s 16,000 churches have a peal of bells (not including those with a single bell). IYB in the UK is encouraging bell ringing by faith groups, schools and organisations from 12-2pm. Pray: that this sign of unity and its message will be recognised by the wider community. (Gen.1:24-28) More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/church.bells.ring.to.highlight.toll.of.biodiversity/26480.htm
Churches all over the country will be ringing out their bells simultaneously for three minutes at 8 am on 27th July as part of the London 2012 Festival in celebration of the beginning of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. On the 19 May the Olympic torch began its journey around the country. Churches in the land are invited to ring their bells as the torch passes. The central council of church bell ringers state on their website, ‘If your bell tower is on the route, you should contact your local authority to tell them that you would like to ring as the torch passes. If the route doesn't pass your tower, but goes through the town, it is still worth contacting your local council to see whether they are planning any events to mark the occasion,that you might be able to contribute to.’
Pray: for a mighty call to ring out from our churches across our nation.
More: http://cccbr.org.uk/olympics/torch-relay/
The Catholic Church is the latest organisation to come out in support of a campaign to end the detention of families seeking sanctuary in Britain. It follows in the footsteps of other major denominations in backing the Citizens for Sanctuary pledge. The pledge warns that Britain’s history of providing sanctuary to people in difficulty is being threatened by the rise of extremist politics, ‘media scare stories’ and Home Office failings. It asks politicians to support policies aimed at ending the detention of children and families for immigration reasons, and not to ‘demean’ those seeking sanctuary in Britain. It goes on to ask politicians to preserve the UK’s legacy of providing refuge for victims of persecution and promote a ‘culture of sanctuary’ by helping the public to understand why it is important to offer a safe haven. Catholic Bishop for Migrants, Patrick Lynch, urged politicians to back the pledge.
Pray: for the persecuted and displaced people who seek sanctuary with us that they may find a compassionate helping hand. (Na.1:7)