The state of New York has agreed to pay $250,000 to a Christian adoption agency after trying to shut it down for its religious beliefs. The settlement ensures that New Hope Family Services can no longer be targeted for its faith-based policies of placing children solely with married, heterosexual couples. New Hope is a private religious ministry that doesn’t receive any government funding, their faith-guided services don’t coerce anyone, and do nothing to interfere with other adoption providers who have different beliefs about family and the best interests of children.

‘I woke up with excruciating pain at the back of my head and felt like if a person were to pop my head with a pin, it would explode. I couldn’t even lay my head down without bolting back up in pain. I partook of holy Communion and confessed my healing. The next day, the pain was more unbearable. I curled up in a ball, crying in pain. I told the Lord I really needed the pain to go! While crying, I continued to feed my spirit healing scriptures. I tuned on YouTube and listened to a sermon on Healing soaking up every word. Then he began to pray after saying ‘You don’t have to pray. Let me pray for you. God wants you to receive. Rest and believe He loves you and is healing you!’  I did as he said with tears streaming down my face. God’s healing came. I haven't had any pain since.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s budget scrapped the lifetime allowance on tax-free pension contributions. There were other key measures: Free 30 hours per week childcare is expanded to cover children from nine months to two years old. Fuel duty is frozen for another year and government help with energy bills is extended by three months. Funding will be provided for 50,000 places on a voluntary employment scheme for disabled people, called Universal Support. Tougher requirements to look for work and increased job support for lead child carers on universal credit. More places on ‘skills boot camps’ to encourage over-50s who have left their jobs to return to the workplace. Defence spending and corporation tax will be increased. The economy is forecast to grow by 1.8% in 2024 and 2.5% in 2025 and Inflation is forecast to fall from 10.7% last year to 2.9% by the end of this year.

Christian Labour MP Alex Cunningham said, ‘the budget lacks ambition to tackle the cost of living crisis and support those in need. There is nothing to deal with rising poverty. We need much more done for people at the bottom end of the income line. Above all we need to ensure food supplies are improved - we have already seen prices rise due to shortages. We must tackle these things in order to drive down inflation so that people get better benefits out of the money they have.’ The latest data from the Office for National Statistics reveals that 23% of adults in Great Britain are borrowing more money or using more credit. Policy Adviser for the Methodist Church, Paul Morrison, said that the Budget's number one priority should be to support the poor. People are experiencing destitution in the UK. Destitution should not happen in a country as wealthy as ours.

Harassment, rejection, torture, and death cause many to flee their country. Faiza went from living a comfortable life with her Muslim family to being divorced, homeless and on the streets after she connected with Christians online who helped her study the Bible. God’s Word came alive, bringing answers to her questions and she came to faith in Jesus. Then swift unrelenting persecution came including physical abuse from her husband, who eventually divorced her and took her children away. She lost her job, so her income disappeared. When she heard that her uncle planned to kill her, she knew she must flee. She recalls crying and asking God to come closer so she could hear his voice. She was tired of being homeless, a disgrace and shame to her family, and always in need. ‘I cannot go back to my home country. I will die. Without a visa and no one to help.’ See also

Campaigners say freedom of thought is being criminalised after MPs voted against an amendment to protect silent prayer and consensual conversations around abortion clinics. The amendment proposed to protect peaceful prayer and conversations was lost by 116 in favour to 299 against. Christian advocacy group ADF UK said that this is the first time that Parliament has voted to introduce in modern British history 'thought crime'. Nobody should be arrested, go to court and face these measures simply for holding a peaceful silent prayer in their own mind. The censorship zones around abortion clinics are intended to prevent the harassment of women using abortion services, but this new legislation removes ‘valid choices’ for those in crisis pregnancies and is ‘devastating’ for women and Christians.  MP Andrew Lewer said, ‘the clause leads us into the territory of thought crimes and creates unprecedented interference with the rights to freedom of speech and thought in the UK that would not be out of place in a dystopian novel’.

A 5% pay rise from April has been offered to NHS staff in England, including nurses and ambulance workers.  In addition, staff have been offered a one-off payment of at least £1,655 to top up the past year's pay award.  Unions are recommending members back the deal, after nearly two weeks of talks with ministers, raising hopes the bitter dispute may be coming to an end. The offer covers all NHS staff except doctors, who are on a different contract.  Fourteen unions were represented at the talks, covering: nurses, ambulance staff, physiotherapists, midwives, support staff, including cleaners and porters. The biggest three - the Royal College of Nursing, Unison and the GMB - are all backing the deal, while Unite the Union has said it cannot recommend it to members but will put it to a vote.

On 27 February around 100 people gathered online from across Scotland and beyond in prayer declaring the greatness and goodness of God, confessing the sins of the nation, and praying into aspects of the conduct and process of the SNP leadership campaign. They decided to meet online again on 13 March, the same day that SNP members began voting for their new leader. Voting ends on 27 March. This election is not only important for the SNP, it is significant for the whole of Scotland and beyond.  The new SNP leader will be Scotland’s First Minister, leading the Scottish Government, dealing with leaders of the rest of the United Kingdom, notably with London’s PM and Cabinet. They must maintain the SNP's place in Government, while pushing forward Independence. With Sturgeon no longer leader, her opponents could grasp the opportunity for electing an alternative government - firmly cementing the future of the Union.  See also

Neighbourhood Prayer Network is urging churches to apply for funding from the 'Know Your Neighbourhood Fund' of £30 million being allocated to 27 of the most disadvantaged local authorities. The government launched it with The National Lottery, Historic England and UK Community Foundations to increase the number of projects which help improve wellbeing and social connections. Recent research revealed that adults are more likely to report feeling lonely if they live in a deprived area and that areas with higher unemployment rates tend to have higher rates of loneliness. Loneliness can impact anyone at any time in any community, and the work of voluntary organisations to reduce isolation and loneliness has been in demand since the pandemic.

Wagner is giving ‘career talks’ in Russian schools to recruit young soldiers. Wagner, Putin’s private army distributed questionnaires entitled ‘Application of a Young Warrior’ to collect pupils' details. Moscow attempted to win the Bakhmut conflict with a ‘human wave’ of battalions of convicts, followed by elite Wagner troops. Half are now dead. This initiative will not replace the convict recruit pipeline. Wagner made slow gains at an immense cost. Pray for the ‘career talks’ to fall on deaf ears as adults to protect vulnerable teenagers. Meanwhile on 16th March a short circuit appeared to have caused a fire, which ignited fuel tanks in a building used by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). The FSB is Russia's internal security service, responsible for counterintelligence, border security and counter-terrorism. There has been a spate of arson attacks on government buildings, such as enlistment and conscription offices since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.