Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

Prince William’s visit to Israel will be an historic and extremely important event for the UK, as he will be the first member of the British royal family to visit Israel in an official capacity. It will take place this summer as Israel celebrates 70 years since independence and as America recognises Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The royal visit signals a significant change of policy at the Foreign Office (which advises about official visits). The Queen has visited 129 different countries, including many of Israel’s neighbours, but never Israel. This royal visit is seen as Britain’s most significant action regarding Israel since Balfour. In the past a few royals have visited Israel, but only on a private basis, never officially.

A message from Christian Concern and Christian Legal Centre: ‘Voices of the Silenced tells the story of fifteen people who have moved away from homosexual behaviour, showing that people don’t have to be defined by same-sex attraction. The film was to premiere at a West End cinema on 8 February. But pressure from opponents caused its cancellation - and publicity that opponents hadn’t intended. We issued a press release so that the media knew our side of the story, and filmed a peaceful protest outside the cinema at the time the film was due to be shown, which then received thousands of views on social media. Soon we received media requests. Our team appeared on the BBC and radio stations, and was quoted in newspapers and news websites globally. Finally the film was premiered at an alternative venue. So in God’s providence, the film was shown and received far more attention than we could have expected.’

The Just Finance Foundation published a report on the impact of its LifeSavers programme in 30 primary schools across England. It said, ‘Primary school pupils should receive compulsory lessons on how to manage money in response to growing levels of financial insecurity and problem debt in the UK. Learning where money comes from, when to spend, and how to save is vital to children’s ability to navigate adult life and should be a mandatory part of personal, social, health, and economic education in primary schools.’ Currently 40% of UK adults have less than £100 in savings. Difficulties managing money are becoming a mainstream issue. LifeSavers equips children to manage money wisely now and in the future, providing training, support and resources which aid teachers to deliver financial education to all year-groups. It helps set up and manage school savings clubs, and encourages parental and wider community engagement. It says today’s children face the most challenging and complex financial landscape of a generation.

Counterterrorism detectives have taken charge of an inquiry into the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a Russian double agent, and his daughter Yulia. They collapsed in Salisbury, and remain in a critical condition in intensive care. Many fear it is a Kremlin-sponsored assassination attempt. On 7 March Boris Johnson said that Britain would respond ‘robustly’ if evidence of Russian state responsibility emerged. Meanwhile theories across the internet range from a vote-winning ploy two weeks before the Russian presidential elections to warning other Russian operatives of the risks when working with foreign intelligence agencies. Conspirators and traitors are rife in Russia. Last January, two Russian cybersecurity officials were arrested for aiding the CIA. Modern Russian spies are no longer lured by ideological reasons; it is more a case of western agencies providing financial incentives.

Tim Dieppe of Christian Concern has written an in-depth article defining ‘multiculturalism’ and explaining how it is opposed to missionary activity or attempts to morally reform cultures, and therefore opposed to Christianity. He states, ‘From a Christian perspective we can reject the idea that “all cultures are equal”. Every culture proclaims certain values and ethical norms which are in direct conflict with another culture. It makes no sense to say that they are all equal. Is a culture that values free speech equal to one that does not? Is a culture that values women’s rights equal to one that does not? Is a culture that promotes promiscuity and homosexuality equal to one that does not? What about slavery, racism, polygamy, FGM, etc? All these are cultural practices, and they are clearly not equal.’ His article reminds us that our Christian faith glorifies God as superior to any idol or idea, so Christianity is directly opposed to multiculturalism. See also the Europe article below.

In February the BBC reported that some schools are persuading parents to home-school troubled children so that their exam results do not count against the school. They are worried about poor Ofsted inspections, league table positions, and even losing their jobs because of academy takeovers. On 4 March the Times reported that religious extremists are exploiting lax home education laws to expose children to hate-filled material at scores of unregistered schools. Extremist texts seized from the schools allege that boys and girls can marry once they reach puberty, and one blames rapes on the way women dress. At least 350 unregistered schools have been set up across Britain, according to Ofsted, and over 50,000 children in the UK are currently being home-schooled.

Further to last week’s article in the World section about Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre being closed, this week Archbishop Justin Welby and Cardinal Vincent Nichols called on the Israeli government to protect Jerusalem’s holy sites. A joint letter to the Israeli ambassador expressed their ‘deep concern at the discriminatory taxation of churches in Jerusalem’. Their letter said that the proposed taxes might seriously damage the Christian presence in Jerusalem, Christian families, and the Christian institutions, including hospitals and schools, which serve many of the poorest people, regardless of their background. Their letter continues, ‘These violations of historic agreements risk undermining prospects for peaceful coexistence between communities, at a time of already heightened tensions.’

The Trussell Trust runs a network of over 400 foodbanks across the UK, giving emergency food and support to people in crisis. Already this year they have given 586,907 three-day emergency food supplies to people in financial emergencies. Thousands of vulnerable people are finding that they cannot manage their budget when an unexpected extra expense occurs. They are barely surviving. On 7 March Trussell Trust’s Welsh branches called on Christians with knowledge of the welfare system to volunteer to help people, following a new Joseph Rowntree report revealing that a quarter of Welsh people are in poverty. Although overall poverty in Wales has gone down, specific groups, such as pensioners and single parents, have not seen any improvement.

Meghan Markle was baptised and confirmed by Justin Welby at a private ceremony at the Chapel Royal on the evening of 6 March. Meghan was raised a Protestant, went to a Catholic school, and previously married a Jewish man. She will marry Prince Harry at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on 19 May. The decision for her to be baptised and confirmed before the wedding will be seen as a nod to the Queen's strong faith and traditions within the monarchy.

With a chronic shortage of qualified RE teachers in schools, greater incentives are needed to attract new recruits. Without such teachers, pupils in later life will fail to filter out the stereotypes that contribute to religious discrimination. The Religious Education Council (REC) believes that high-quality specialist teaching about all faiths, beliefs, and worldviews is essential for all school children, and is leading a consortium to relaunch the Beyond the Ordinary campaign, designed to attract career-changers and graduates to train as RE teachers. For entry into initial teacher training in 2017, 405 places were filled, well below the Government target of 643. To reach that figure requires 1 in 20 graduates with a relevant degree to elect to train as RE teachers. Currently 55% of staff teaching RE in schools have no post-A level qualification in the subject. The REC is pressing the Department for Education for higher bursaries for RE teachers.