Displaying items by tag: Religion

‘Gay conversion therapies’ are to be banned as part of a government 75-point plan to improve the lives of gay and transgender people. A national survey of 108,000 LGBT people suggested that 2% have undergone the practice with another 5% having been offered it. A plan costing £4.5m, has been produced in response to the survey. A national LGBT health adviser will be recruited to tackle discrimination, improve the response to hate crime and improve diversity in education institutions. While the government did not offer a definition of conversion therapy, its report said it ranges from ‘pseudo’ psychological treatments to surgical interventions and 'corrective' rape. Faith organisations were the most likely to have carried out the therapy, according to the report. The NHS does not refer people for it and disagrees with the practice.

The Trumpet Call day was framed in worship to Jesus - The Lamb who has conquered - and included deep times of humbling, confession and repentance after RT Kendall spoke and again after Malcolm Duncan had spoken.  The promise contained in 2 Chronicles 7:14 invites us to continue to come to our heavenly Father on an ongoing basis for ourselves, for the Church and for our nations, in humility and confession in order that we might see a continuation of the turning from our wicked ways.  The WPC team have had many encouraging feedback comments. One Church leader said it had completely turned around his ministry, another said ‘awesome is an overused word but it truly was awesome’. The team has also been very encouraged by feedback on evangelistic events happening at the same time and the week after and by conversations about prayer and mission whilst recognising that there is a hard road ahead of us.

Lebanon is the only Arab state not officially Muslim and has the highest proportion of Christians of any Middle East country. Although politically segmented, the constitution attempts to distribute power equally. The president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim. Syrian refugees now comprise a quarter of Lebanon’s population. Some of Lebanon’s Christians can trace their origins as far back as the 5th century. For centuries, Christians have had a strong presence in the country, but a huge influx of Sunni Muslim refugees fleeing Syria is threatening the delicate political balance, bringing violence and complex political dynamics.  Shia militant Islamist group Hezbollah, provides protection for Christian communities against Sunni jihadi groups. Lebanese Christians are a minority group divided between opponents and supporters of Hezbollah and are more vulnerable than at any time in recent history; living in conflict, enduring poverty and facing aggressive Muslim attitudes moulded by years of sectarian divide.

Tawanda is a Global Mission Fellow for ‘Peace Mindanao’ in the Philippines, working for human rights, peace education and conflict resolution. He is from Zimbabwe with a Bachelor of Social Science degree and a master’s degree in public policy and governance. He says, ‘God has always been involved in my life and it is through his grace that I was lifted from the dust to become someone.’ In May he was detained for overstaying his visa after initiating the process for an extension. Miracle is also a Global Mission Fellow with a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the Catholic University of Malawi. She serves the indigenous people. The Bureau of Immigration withheld Miracle’s passport, restricting her ability to return to Malawi. The United Methodist Church is calling for both their passports to be returned and for swift departures home.

Poland’s Supreme Court ruled against a print-shop owner who refused to create a banner for a homosexual group. He believed it would be wrong to promote something that God calls sin. The matter began in 2015 when Adam J., turned down the project for the LGBT Business Forum. The matter went to the regional court which ruled against Adam. While Polish law allows refusal for a ‘justified cause,’ his religious convictions were not a sufficient argument. Poland’s minister of justice, Zbigniew Ziobro, filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, which upheld the ruling on 14 June. Ziobro said the ruling violates the freedom of conscience enshrined in the constitution. ‘It’s about principles not prejudice. If a service provider refuses to carry out a service, the customer may turn to their competitors.’ Alliance Defending Freedom International has now filed an intervention with the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland decrying the outcome of Poland’s high court.

The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC Spain) has fined UK’s Revelation TV 6,000 Euro. The Christian ministry has broadcast in Spain through satellite since 2012. The fine comes after an individual complained to CNMC about one of the two-hour programmes which discussed a homosexuality news item for 13 minutes. The licensing authority said the show’s comments could be considered 'threatening to the dignity of homosexual and transgender groups'. Revelation’s CEO said, ‘The programme was expressing a biblical view on the subject and homophobia had no part in it. We will take the matter through the courts if necessary. Our lawyers said that if they find us guilty they will have to find every Roman Catholic Church guilty also. Revelation TV is a Christian station, owned by a charity, dealing with issues form a Christian perspective. We look at the news, we have Bible study, worship, church services and everything you would expect of a Christian TV station.’

St Mildred’s in south London has created WOW Church to attract the 13-to-25 age group to faith through a virtual service. The online church runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Visitors can talk to twenty different chat-hosts taking turns answering questions and communicating with people through the website. People watch videos about faith and can submit a short prayer and light a virtual candle. An average of two to three conversations take place each day, and 100-150 people visit it weekly. St Mildred’s said they considered a youth Alpha but didn’t think anyone would come (saying they weren’t good with teens). Most of the people they chat to are lonely or have reservations about church. Pray for the ‘virtual’ community of lonely people to begin to want to actually meet physically in a Christian community. Meanwhile, The Church of England has launched an ‘Alexa skill’ to answer questions about faith and prayer, and help to find a church based on the user’s location. See

The Voices of the Silenced film reminds us that the Christian Gospel has influenced western civilisation to the point that secularists build on its legacy while failing to acknowledge Christian influences. The film suggests if we forget the foundations of our Judeo-Christian culture, new totalitarianisms will replace them. Filmed in over 50 locations, the documentary interviews 15 individuals who are emerging out of homosexual lifestyles and a further 18 commentators on the subject. The film’s trailer states that in the space of a few decades, sexual politics has become a dominant force re-shaping social relationships, reinventing our understanding of ‘equality’ and toppling beliefs that brought Europe and America into the modern era, adding that Christian values and the sexual ethics have been displaced by a new belief in schools, courtrooms and churches. In some UK Churches the film’s screening is causing violent reactions. See also

Rural Mission Sunday is fun, according to Revd Doreen Sparey-Delacassa, Superintendent Minister of the Camelford and Week St Mary Methodist Circuit in Cornwall. Last year they held a Rural Mission Sunday celebration called Fun, Frogs and Bishops; a community outreach event with a bouncy castle and games, Open the Book displays and Messy Church crafts. This year rural churches are celebrating Rural Mission Sunday on 15 July. Last year over 300 churches from across the denominations registered to take part. They had pet services, Bar B Qs, treasure hunts, reaching out to a ‘hard-to-reach’ by the local Dementia Action Alliance; and lots more that brought in people from within and outside their communities.  Click the ‘More’ link for a free resource pack.

‘It is a miracle that there have been no reported injuries caused by the massive fire which has been tearing through Saddleworth moorland in Greater Manchester’, said Rev Chris Viney from St James Millbrook. ‘We could see the fire coming down the hillside, towards the top end of the village. It must have been very, very scary for the people who live in the houses near to where the fire was.’ He believes God has been protecting his community, even though dozens of people needed to be evacuated from their homes. (They have now returned home). The associate minister said that the church gathered together to pray through the night. ‘God was at work because it could have been so much worse than it was.’ Sleeping bags, roll mats, food and drink are stockpiled at the church in the event displaced families or emergency service members need them.