Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

After 62-year-old Brian Walker’s membership of the Scout Association was cancelled, he is taking legal action, claiming he was discriminated against on account of his Christian faith. Brian fears that the association is increasingly promoting Islam and moving away from its Christian roots. He accuses it of ‘making a mockery of what was once a respectable organisation’ by its emphasis on Islam, as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex issues. Mr Walker argues that the movement has contravened its own Equal Opportunities policy. Scouting was founded in 1907 and based on Christian principles, while welcoming those of all faiths and none. Brian said that parents need to be aware of what is happening at the centre of Scouting; the organisation is increasingly promoting political correctness and interfaith issues above Christian values. See also the next article.

Many believe religious freedom is being eroded in the UK, and want the Government to protect it in law. Affinity, a fellowship of evangelical churches, has joined forces with Barnabas Fund to call for a new law to protect freedoms that have taken centuries to establish in the UK. Religious freedom is being replaced with secular freedom. People are invited to sign a petition at OurReligiousFreedom.org; it asks the Government to clarify religious rights in law so that potential persecution is prevented in the future. Currently believers have many legal rights that are being tested in the courts. Clarifying the current law would end spurious cases to prosecute Christians for things like preaching in public and end the need for social workers, teachers and healthcare workers to take their employers to court after being sacked for rejecting a politically correct version of the Bible, for example sexual ethics.

See also and the previous article.

In November Prayer Alert drew attention to Oxfam dismissing 22 employees over sexual abuse allegations, and you prayed for all that is hidden to be revealed in its management of overseas networks. See In 2015/16 Oxfam, the fourth biggest fundraiser in the UK, saw £553,479 go missing to fraud and corruption. It is tackling problems of sex assaults and sexual exploitation among its workforce, and a number of investigations into deaths of people driving or struck by its delivery vehicles overseas. Pray that the current scandal will not mar the public’s confidence to give to needy causes, through established charities (during 2016/17 Oxfam provided emergency support for 8.6 million people hit by conflict and natural disaster).

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson delivered the first of a series of planned speeches by cabinet ministers on Brexit. He called upon pro-Leave figures to understand the concerns of those who wanted to remain in the EU. Johnson said he wanted to ‘reach out to those who still have anxieties’, and urges Remainers to recognise the benefits of leaving EU. Many believe that his call for unity in Westminster largely fell on deaf ears as Remain supporters accused Johnson of hypocrisy, labelling him one of the most divisive figures of the Brexit campaign. Business leaders and trade unionists also reacted coolly to Johnson’s speech. Pray for the media as they digest and comment on this and the coming wave of Brexit speeches by ministers. Pray for honest and wise communicating and reporting of their views. Pray for logical comments based on facts, and for any temptation to exaggerate to be moderated by integrity.

Pope Francis and the Church of England are encouraging us to give up plastic for Lent. 41 Conservative MPs have pledged to give up single-use plastics for Lent, and are urging others to do the same. Eight tonnes of plastic are dumped in the sea every minute, and plastics have reached every part of the world’s oceans. If we reduce our own use of plastic, we follow the fifth mark of mission, 'to safeguard the integrity of creation and to sustain the life of the earth'. The Church of England also quoted this fifth mark, saying that we can reflect on God’s purpose for our life and accept the challenge to give up single-use plastics, thus reducing the actions which damage God’s creation. Tory MPs signed up to the Lent challenge after watching Blue Planet II. Congregations are invited to share their Lent journey with others on

On 14 February another round of talks between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin ended without practical steps forward. Northern Ireland secretary of state Karen Bradley said she will consider ‘practical steps’ after the talks collapsed. She said that, while substantive progress has been made in recent weeks, this phase of talks had concluded. DUP leader Arlene Foster said there is no prospect of a restored, devolved government for Northern Ireland, while Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill said the DUP failed to close the deal after Foster pulled out of talks. Theresa May said she would continue to work with everyone to make sure there is legislation to enable an Executive to be formed, ‘We now need to consider practical steps. In the continued absence of an Executive, challenging decisions will have to be taken by the UK Government and I will update Parliament after recess.’

Christians hold back from getting involved in mission because of misconceptions, a survey has found. On 15 February, Church Mission Society (CMS) revealed that the top four mission myths are: ‘Mission means we have to save the world’, ‘Mission is mainly about doing things for people in need’, ‘Mission is primarily a Western thing’, and ‘Mission is only for extraordinary people’. Naomi Steinberg, CMS head of communications, said, ‘There are many myths about mission out there; we know that today mission is a little word with a lot of baggage. Having taken time to listen to people's impressions of mission, our task now is to clarify what mission is - and isn't. The goal is to make mission easier for people to understand, and ultimately, to be part of.’ CMS has produced a Bible study series and videos featuring interviews with a variety of people involved in mission to untangle fact from fiction.

On 6 February police arrested over 20 people across the UK in a huge operation to tackle a Kurdish gang smuggling hundreds of illegal immigrants into the UK for up to £10,000 a time. Over 300 officers coordinated by the National Crime Agency raided properties in Northumbria, Cleveland, Sussex and London to arrest suspected traffickers. Hundreds of Iraqi Kurds, men, women and children, are being brought into the UK in lorries and on ferries by the gang, paying up to £10,000 each. A number of car washes were also raided, in what is said to be a bid to shut down the gang's money laundering operation. Senior investigating officer Mark Spoors said all of the agency's targets had been arrested, and a significant trafficking network has been disrupted.

Sir Ed Davey put the ‘Homelessness End of Life Care Bill’ before Parliament on Wednesday, but it will need to win the support of MPs and ministers to move forward and end the current situation where people with cancer or long term illnesses are ‘dying on doorsteps’. The plan is to offer homeless people with terminal illnesses a right to housing. Under current laws, many who are sleeping rough, living in hostels or staying on friends’ sofas are not automatically eligible for long-term housing. The local authority deems they have other options. The number of people sleeping rough in England hit a record high of 4,751 last autumn, double the 2010 number. Those who are expected to die in the next twelve months need palliative care. They are cold and in pain, possibly in hostels with staff who have no medical training and no painkillers or drugs to manage people who are dying.

In the wake of an announcement that the UK is to clamp down on rich foreigners, a number of Russian oligarchs have reportedly asked the Kremlin if they can return to their country without being arrested. British security minister Ben Wallace is said to have sparked fear among some of London's wealthy foreign contingent when he announced tough measures to crack down on criminals and corrupt politicians, resembling those portrayed in the TV series McMafia. The High Court has started issuing unexplained wealth orders (UWO's), in which money of those who were unable to explain how they acquired British assets of more than £50,000 could be frozen. Last March the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project stated 500 wealthy and well-connected Russians were behind a ‘global laundromat' when their banking records were obtained.