Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

Ofcom reported, ‘the BBC is too white, middle class, and London-centric’ and the new BBC director-general believes ‘comedy output has left-wing partiality and needs a radical overhaul as TV and radio comedy are unfairly biased against Tories, Donald Trump and Brexit. He wants to restore ‘trust and confidence’ by reflecting all sides of the political divide. Tory MP Ben Bradley said that BBC comedy is Left-wing Tories and Brexit rants. ‘If they truly represent all licence-fee payers, that needs to change.’ Meanwhile, a new news channel is to be launched that will be ‘distinctly different from the out-of-touch incumbents’ and has already been awarded a licence to broadcast by Ofcom, under the name GB News. Its founder has said the BBC is a ‘disgrace’ that ‘is bad for Britain on so many levels’ and ‘needs to be broken up’. A rival project is also being devised by Rupert Murdoch’s British media empire. See

The following is based on ‘Reflections on Doing Church Online’ by a researcher in digital religion who points out that people are realising that online church can spiritually interconnect us when we are physically separated. Technological social interaction is growing with weekly congregational  rhythms of regular online morning and evening prayers, musical worship (streamed or interactive) throughout the week; there are daily activities for children, regular ‘Sabbath’ breaks from news and digital media; eating meals together as a family, prayer and contemplation connections; assistance for working from home, shared Bible reading, the encouragement of responsible contact with neighbours, and recruiting for all manner of community support. We can pray that pandemic lockdown re-awakens the church to her mission and calling through fresh expressions of church. Many are saying building-centred churches may never recover from low attendance, and thus low collections, compounded by pandemic-related recession. 

A petition launched by evangelist David Hathaway calls on the Prime Minister to hold a national day of prayer in response to the pandemic. For details, see David said, ‘Historically, only prayer has delivered this nation in a time of crisis, as seen both in WW1 in 1918 and even more so in WW2. When we have no human answer to the coronavirus which has devastated both health and our economy, we must seek God’s answer.’ The petition’s opening statement asks for churches to be open for prayer and worship without restriction for the day: ‘We ask you to remember and recognise the strong Christian heritage of this nation and the power of prayer, which is greater than any other power on earth.’ A separate petition, launched by Susan Hawkes in March and also calling for a national day of prayer, has received over 65,600 signatures.

As schools across the UK reopen, teachers could face an influx of children facing an emotional and mental health crisis. Pray for teachers, parents, churches, and agencies who will be working to alleviate an expected emotional health crisis. Pray for the teachers, who will already be aware of the specific challenges that their community faces. May God anoint each one as they draw on their skills to provide emotional and academic guidance. Some children may not have held a pen or got up at 7am since March; consequently different pupils in the same class will have had different experiences of the lockdown period. They will also have varying levels of coping skills and resilience in dealing with those experiences. Teachers attempting to help these children may feel overwhelmed themselves. Pray that they are wisely supported by outside agencies and community groups. Pray for children displaying challenging behaviour to receive appropriate extra mental health support.

Most crops will get harvested. But yields are low, and many farmers will feel they have ‘sown much, but reaped little’ (Haggai 1:6). Yet, given the weather conditions earlier this year, farmers are glad to have a crop at all, while many fruit trees have yielded well. Give thanks for this sign of the Lord’s continuing mercy and faithfulness. Pray for better conditions this autumn and next spring, so that crops can make a good start and yield well next year. Pray for farmers to recognise their dependence on the One who causes the crops to grow (Psalm 104:14 and 64:9-13) and reach out to seek and know Him as their Saviour and Lord. The Agriculture Bill will continue its progress towards royal assent. Pray for the Government, the NFU, and for all involved in shaping the future of farming and food production (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Data from the Bank of England released on 1 September show an increase in mortgage and household borrowing. StepChange debt charity says this may point to the financial pressures many households face, which will crystallise into serious debt problems when unemployment support and payment holidays end. Since May, StepChange has published a monthly breakdown of trends to understand how the pandemic is affecting household debt, and to focus on the best ways of helping people. In July it gave advice to 14,000 clients, but this number is artificially suppressed by government support mechanisms still in place. However, a notable feature in July is the trend toward greater unemployment worries. Not only has the proportion of unemployed clients increased, but searches about redundancy on the charity's website saw a massive 1,800% increase in July compared with June. StepChange said, ‘It’s absolutely vital that we see ongoing support to help people get through the next period, whether they are in employment or not, if we are to avoid entrenching problem debt as a long-term legacy of the pandemic.’

Dr Rowan Williams joined with Extinction Rebellion for their 'September Uprising' climate change protests. The march resulted in the arrest of several Christians including Friar Martin Newell. Dr Williams said, ‘People of faith should be here because they can make a difference. We are at a moment of opportunity. People are talking about building back better., not just recovering what’s been lost but building again something that is genuinely more sustainable. Recently we have seen alternatives that might work and I think people of faith ought to be on board with making those alternatives work, taking that moment of opportunity.’ Bishops Olivia Graham and Paul Hendricks also joined the Christian Climate Action group. Dr Willams held a banner declaring ‘CREATION CRIES OUT’, and before his arrest Friar Newell said, ‘The Christian faith is not an easy one; we are constantly called to step outside our comfort zone.’

MPs are returning to Westminster with very full inboxes. Coronavirus challenges will be at the forefront of ministers' minds. Jeremy Hunt warned, ‘The situation coming into winter is potentially very perilous’. Pray for the Government to succeed in encouraging a return to something approaching normal while keeping the virus under control. The UK and EU must reach a Brexit agreement by 31 December 2020. But at the end of every round of negotiations, the messages are ‘little progress’ and ‘considerable gaps remain’. Pray for God’s resolution to come to the surface. The furlough programme is winding down, but opposition parties want the scheme to be extended. While furlough was one of the largest schemes, others are also due to come to an end soon, with disagreement between the parties over their ongoing value. Pray for parliament to agree on wise provisions for the 9.6 million who were furloughed.

On 3 September Nicola Sturgeon said there were 101 new positive cases, 53 in the Greater Glasgow area. Also the R number is probably now above one, and could be as high as 1.4. Health officials have found evidence of coronavirus spreading in Glasgow schools, but it is not affecting very young children. Most affected are families and young adults, generally mixed households by gender and mixed age groups. Meanwhile Home Farm care home on Skye had 10 residents die from Covid-19 and it will now be taken into NHS ownership. A reporter asked for more detail on the targeted restrictions brought in for the Glasgow area. The first minister said the outbreak is still ongoing and the Test and Protect work continues. The government will try to give people a fuller picture as it develops; the outbreak is more desperate than they have seen, which requires targeted measures.

Three thousand police will be in London over the bank holiday weekend amid fears of public disorder from Extinction Rebellion (XR) which plans a 'civilly disobedient long weekend'. XR urges its supporters to join a ‘Million People March’ by Black Lives Matter, calling for the defunding of the police. There will be 60 police units of 25 officers, 8 armed response teams and 46 officers with firearms intervention training. Also police will close premises holding unlicensed events and use teams to remove sound systems and barricades. XR is urging local chapters to cause 'high-impact disruption' this weekend before a nationwide 'rebellion' on 1 September. Its website states, ‘Countdown to Rebellion will be creative and nonviolent, and draw attention to the greatest existential threat we face - climate and ecological emergency. People up and down the country will come together in their communities to tell the Government that, frankly, we’ve had enough of them putting us all at risk.’ See