Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

The Message Trust, a Christian youth charity, will take the good news of Jesus to 150,000 young people through its schools work this year. It is launching the Higher Tour 2020, which will see music bands and mission teams from the organisation head into schools across the country. Working with local youth workers, they will provide assemblies and RE lessons. All the young people they come into contact with will be invited to a gig to enjoy music from age-related bands, and then be given the opportunity to respond to the gospel presentation they will have heard. Each person who makes a commitment to Christ will then be linked in to a local youth worker to continue discipleship. Pray for these events to build thousands of relationship opportunities for the local church to connect and build ongoing outreach with local schools. Pray also for powerful follow-up and CU discipleship courses to be birthed in schools.

Last week a Liverpool venue for Franklin Graham’s UK tour cancelled the booking: now four more of the eight venues booked have cancelled, quoting reports of preaching hate, prejudice and intolerance. PinkNews and Northern Pride have praised the cancellations. Unfortunately Franklin, son of Billy Graham, has been criticised in the past for his attitude towards LGBTQ+ communities. Also, a Christian conference due to have Larry Stockstill preach will no longer be able to do so unless they change venue. According to the Times, he has described same-sex relationships as ‘offensive’, ‘repulsive’, and ‘deeply grievous.’ Larry is a preacher, author, and pastors' mentor who runs a church planting network. He was due to speak alongside Gavin Calver of the Evangelical Alliance at a conference to equip church growth. See

February is the month of waiting, the last, quiet pause of winter before the year stirs into renewed natural vigour. The early signs are there: heads of snowdrops, hellebore flowers nodding amid new green leaves, viburnum's tiny displays bursting out. God is always doing a new thing, but even in our waiting for it He blesses and amazes us. Give thanks for new life in Jesus, and for His grace as we patiently anticipate what He will do next. In February, the Government's post-Brexit Agriculture Bill, published in January, will continue its progress through Parliament. The bill has been described as ‘one of the most significant pieces of legislation for farmers for over 70 years’ - see

Jack’s law gives working parents who suffer the loss of a child two weeks of paid leave. But while it offers a cushion for the immediate loss, many believe it is not long enough and might even backfire. Carrie, who lost her baby to brain cancer, said, ‘I had to put on a false face, which was exhausting. All sorts of things triggered my grief during the day. As a parent who has lost a child, you never stop grieving. I am concerned that these two weeks will be seen as the official and “correct” amount of time that people need to get over their loss. Nobody can complete grieving within two weeks. Parents will still be arranging a funeral. It is only after that they can begin to grieve. While I appreciate the cost of providing any leave, further support needs to be available once parents return to work, much as it is on return from illness.’

The CofE's bishops appear to be at war after some distanced themselves from a statement reiterating a longstanding Christian teaching that sex is for male-female marriage only. The Bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek, said that she was ‘deeply frustrated and saddened’ by the way the statement was published. She continued, ‘I recognise that it has fanned into flame unnecessary pain and distress and I wish to acknowledge my part in that’. In the House of Bishops’ document responding to the introduction of mixed-sex civil partnerships, they wrote, ‘For Christians, marriage - that is, the lifelong union between a man and a woman, contracted with the making of vows - remains the proper context for sexual activity. Sexual relationships outside heterosexual marriage are regarded as falling short of God's purposes for human beings. The introduction of same sex marriage has not changed the church's teaching on marriage or same sex relationships.’

Thousands of Salvation Army members, officers and supporters are joining forces to warn the Government that, unless urgent action is taken, it is on course to break a manifesto pledge on rough sleeping. The pledge was to end rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament, but since 2010 there has been a 165% increase in people sleeping on the streets. The church and charity has called on its members, officers, employees and supporters in England to ask their local MP to lobby Government to prioritise funding to tackle homelessness. The campaign coincides with a recent poll which found that 68% of the public did not think the Government would deliver on its commitment to end rough sleeping. Anyone can take part in the campaign by going to the Salvation Army campaign page:

57% of UK adults say they never pray, and only 12%  say they pray at least once a day. By contrast, 49% of Americans say they pray every day. Despite Britain’s concerns about the Brexit future, people are not responding in prayer. Global phenomena like secularisation, immigration, and technological development are overhauling the UK Church, and for every Anglican church in London that closed its doors between 2016 and 2020 more than three Pentecostal churches were launched. British churches are struggling to retain members, but churches with strong African and Asian immigrant bases are growing. As the demography of faith changes, prayer trends are changing too. The increase of prayer in London may point to growing Pentecostal and immigrant-operated churches, but a large share of British Muslims live there also. Muslims are Britain’s most prayerful faith community.

Franklin Graham is scheduled to preach the gospel in eight cities across the United Kingdom later this year, but one of those stops is now in jeopardy after the venue cancelled the 12 June booking over his biblical views on LGBTQ issues. ACC Liverpool, an arena and conference centre, said, ‘Over the past few days we have been made aware of a number of Graham’s statements which we consider to be incompatible with our values. In light of this we can no longer reconcile the balance between freedom of speech and the divisive impact this event is having in our city. We have informed the organisers of the event that the booking will no longer be fulfilled.’ Graham, though, said that everyone is welcome. ‘The Gospel is inclusive, I'm not coming out of hate, I'm coming out of love.’ A Change.org petition that labelled Graham a ‘homophobic hate preacher’ had gathered more than 350 signatures as of 28 January.

British Airways has cancelled all flights in and out of China. Thousands of UK citizens on holiday, work visits, or school trips there could struggle to get home. A government-chartered plane with a doctor on board will leave Wuhan early on 31 January. Returnees will undergo health checks and be denied boarding if they display coronavirus symptoms. They must also agree to two weeks’ isolation in the UK to be able to fly. A government source said, ‘We are working hard to get British nationals back from Wuhan, but public safety is our top priority and we are not taking any chances’. 250 Britons are believed to be in Hubei province. The Government faces the challenge of repatriating British citizens if more routes out of China are shut and there is a surge of foreigners seeking to get out. 1,400 returnees from Wuhan since January 10 were told to self-isolate themselves for fourteen days.

The Duke of Cambridge has been made the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland by the Queen, while the Duke of Sussex begins his search for freedom away from the monarchy. The high commissioner role was established in the 1707 Act of Union between England and Scotland, and the Queen pledged to continue it during the first Privy Council meeting of her reign. William will make the opening and closing addresses to the Assembly, and will carry out official visits across Scotland. The Church of Scotland is Presbyterian and recognises only Jesus Christ as ‘King and Head of the Church’, so the Queen attends services as an ordinary member, and appoints someone to represent the role every year.