Displaying items by tag: Politics

Between 8 May and 12 June those attending parliament’s weekly chapel services will be looking at the gospel of John and the different stories of ‘Encounters with Jesus’. Please pray for the speakers as they prepare. Pray for increasing numbers of parliamentarians and staff to attend regularly, be inspired to invite others and be strengthened in their faith. There are several Bible study groups meeting every week; pray that the members of all these groups will continue to grow in their love for Jesus and be better equipped to live out their faith in Parliament. Pray and thank God for the new Wednesday Bible study group, now firmly established with a committed core group attending regularly. Also please pray for the preparations for the national parliamentary prayer breakfast on 19 June, with the topic ‘What can Christianity offer our society in the 21st century?’

Sally, now 20, believes her mental distress should have been spotted years before she received treatment that helped her. She says she became ill when she first started secondary school. Teachers noticed, describing her as ‘an odd child’, but in the end Sally had to ask her doctor for help herself. She was 16 and on the edge of suicide before she got any effective treatment. The charity Young Minds says it is not uncommon for families to have to wait 18 months even to get an assessment for their child, let alone treatment. In December, the government announced plans to overhaul children's mental health care in England, with proposals limiting waiting time to four weeks and allowing children to access mental health support in schools. Now a report from MPs has branded the strategy ‘unambitious’, providing no help to most of the children who need it. But ministers reject this suggestion, saying their proposals will transform the system.

Spain acted on 9 May to stop pro-independence politicians in Catalonia voting in ex-leader Carles Puigdemont, now in Germany, as their regional head, with an important deadline looming. The constitutional court accepted a government appeal against a new Catalan law that would allow Puigdemont to be elected at a distance while he waits for German courts to rule on a Spanish request to extradite him. This means the law will be blocked until the court makes a final decision, which could take months. Catalan lawmakers must pick a leader to form a government by 22 May, to avert more elections and plot a path out of a seven-month standoff which has given Spain, the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy, its worst dose of instability in decades.

The Financial times recently asked what Sajid Javid’s becoming home secretary means for Brexit. Some suggest that his appointment on Monday, Tuesday’s Lords vote preventing a ‘no deal walk away’, and Wednesday’s customs union defeat (see next article) create additional challenges for our Prime Minister and her government at this strategic time. Pray for God to strengthen, clarify and bless every communication, written and spoken, between London, Ireland and Europe. May confusion in departments be replaced with precise fact finding, mistrust replaced with confident expectations, turmoil replaced with peace, and God to strengthen all who are weary from heavy workloads. Ask God to exchange blame strategies for honest appraisal where it’s due and inaccuracies for wise revisions, and inject integrity into current circumstances.

A crisis Cabinet meeting failed to back Theresa May's plan for a ‘customs partnership’ with Brussels. Key Brexit sub-committee members tried to thrash out a model for the UK's future trade links with Brussels in two hours of tense discussions that ended in deadlock. Insiders said that Sajid Javid had been instrumental in rejecting her plan. Mrs May ordered ministers and officials to carry out ‘further work’ on two options and return with revised proposals at a later date. Whitehall sources reported that six ministers oppose her option and want a looser customs arrangement with Brussels. Boris Johnson urged Mrs May to stick to the principles of her keynote speech at the Mansion House earlier this year which clearly stated that Britain would not form any customs union with the EU after Brexit. International trade secretary Liam Fox said the customs partnership was ‘not compatible’ with Brexit.

At the time of writing Brexit talks are continuing between the EU and British officials. Time is limited to solve the Irish border issue, with just four more rounds of meetings scheduled before the summit. Pray for David Davis and Olly Robbins leading the negotiations for the UK and Sabine Weyand, Michel Barnier’s deputy, negotiating for the EU. Brussels wants the whole withdrawal agreement, including citizens’ rights, the financial settlement, transition period, and Northern Ireland border to be agreed by the October meeting of the European Council, so that they can be scrutinised and approved by the European parliament. DUP leader Arlene Foster accused Mr Barnier of not understanding the Unionist position on the border.

Brunei is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coastline, the country is completely surrounded by Malaysia. In 2014 the government announced the phased introduction of a penal code based on Sharia law, which will eventually include hudud penalties such as amputation and death by stoning and potentially the death penalty for apostasy. It is about to implement the next stage of this process. The Islamic Religious Council and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah signed off the measure on 10 March. Implementation was delayed, but now appears to be going ahead, despite international pressure and criticism from Brunei citizens on social media. Christians comprise around ten percent of the population of the oil-rich state, where there are already tight restrictions on teaching Christianity. Pray for protection, spiritual maturity, and Biblical training for those leading the underground Church.

Fifty years ago corner shops advertised rooms to let with the warning, ‘No coloureds, no Irish, no pets’. The early Windrush migrants from the Caribbean faced enormous prejudice as they played a vital part in rebuilding Britain after the Blitz. The Home Office later destroyed their landing passes and other documents. Now, fifty years later, they have been issued with deportation orders. They believe they are still facing prejudice. Recently their situation was highlighted in the media, which led to parliamentary debates. Boris Johnson said there needed to be an immigration amnesty for longstanding Commonwealth immigrants to prevent others from getting caught up in the same situation. They should not have to produce overly onerous amounts of evidence to prove that they have been living here for years. Pray for attitudes to change, and that we will now value our Commonwealth brothers and sisters properly.

The following is part of a translation from a Russian political blogger: ‘A Syrian donor conference opened in Brussels under the guidance of the UN and EU. It included non-governmental organisations of Syria who are officially trying to distance themselves from Middle Eastern affairs, but at the same time retain a presence there.’ Their objectives were raising funds for the Syrian population and refugees and resuming Syria’s negotiations with UN help. The blogger said, ‘Syria has become an arena of global confrontation, where each of the external players is solving its own tasks in the region. In these conditions, there can be no question of any observance of the law of war. Hence - the use of poisonous substances, mercenaries, the use of the local population as hostages.’ He also said that these attempts to help refugees reflect idealism, and where there is idealism there is hope - hope for peace.

There are many Christian ministries in Tunisia but only one officially recognised Christian body, a training ministry called the Augustine Association, which managed to get registration during the upheaval of the Arab Spring. Christians mostly gather for worship in homes, but some are too fearful of persecution to attend such meetings. After many postponements, municipal elections will be held on 6 May. Tunisian Christians ask for God’s hand to be over these elections so that their country will once again become a blessing for the whole region, as it was in the days of the early Church. The media reported that over 75% of the registered candidates are under the age of 45, with over 50% under 35. The high number of young fresh politicians running for election for the first time came as a shock to the political parties and blocs, and indicates potential changes in the coming years. See