Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

A survey to understand ‘the impact of religious belief on people’s understanding and acceptance of their sexual orientation’ by a charity promoting equality and religious diversity found that 20% of conversion therapy patients attempted suicide. The scale, severity and age at which children are exposed to therapy are worrying. Both the Church and the NHS offer conversion therapy to reduce people’s attraction to others of the same sex. On 4 February gay Christian David Bennet’s autobiography was advertised as a book to challenge the Church. David holds the tension of an orthodox reading of the Bible with passages highlighting that homosexual people of faith are also part of God’s divine conspiracy to reveal His love to humanity. In his opening acknowledgements, Bennet says he hopes the book will change the pressures and prejudices faced by LGBs. On 15 February Mike Davidson spoke to the BBC about the film ‘Once Gay’, which had caused demonstrations at its première. See

On 19 February CSW organised a protest outside Nigeria’s high commission in London, commemorating one year since the abduction of Leah Sharibu. 14-year-old Leah was the sole Christian among 110 girls abducted from their school in Dapchi by a Boko Haram offshoot. While all the other classmates were released the next month following government negotiations, Leah was denied her freedom as she refused to convert as a precondition for her freedom. She has been held in captivity ever since. In September 2018, Boko Haram issued a final ultimatum on her life after executing a fellow hostage. She was eventually spared, but only after the group executed another hostage and declared that Leah and an abducted humanitarian named Alice Ngaddah were to be their slaves for life.

Church leaders are being encouraged to join their peers for an overnight conference that seeks to help ministers of the gospel release and channel the power within their congregations. As the body of Christ in a country that is presently trying to break through a whole host of challenges, including those around uncertainty and division, Evangelical Alliance member Share Jesus International (SJI) has sensed that it is the right time to hold the Ekklesia conference. It is SJI’s first event of this kind, and it will bring together interdenominational leaders and speakers from many different churches for a programme of prayer, worship, teaching, storytelling, and more.

Rev Dr Clifford Hill wrote recently, ‘There is a better way to ensure our nation’s future blessing and prosperity. Politicians, bankers, big businessmen and journalists have all been making their pronouncements about whether we should leave the European Union or stay in it. There are exceptions**, but I’ve yet to hear any leader in church or state calling the nation to seek the guidance of God for the future well-being and prosperity of Britain. We can pray and ask God to prompt our Christian politicians to quote scripture in parliament as they did in Victorian times. God loves to work out His salvation with just a handful of people who are totally committed to him like Gideon’s 300. He is calling the faithful remnant in Britain to intercede to save the nation.’ ** Editorial comment: Justin Welby’s initiative ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is a clear cross-denominational exception to Dr Hill’s view.

Andy Milne will lead a new Missional Youth Church Network (MYCN), in partnership with Church Army and the Archbishop of York Youth Trust. Beginning in the North of England, the vision is to establish at least thirty MYC over the next five years, enabling 11- to 18-year-olds to build community and discover faith in Jesus Christ. Local schools and colleges, churches and community projects will work together in partnership to reimagine church for this generation. Youth leaders and volunteers will become part of a wider learning network accessing training, encouragement and support for one another as they build for the future. The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, said he has spoken to many young people who were not keen on attending Church but were fascinated by the love of God and wanted to know more about Jesus. He said, ‘This is a live issue for them. Young people have so much to learn.’

Church buildings are both an asset and a liability. There are far more church buildings per capita in rural areas than in urban ones. But there are fewer people in them, and many struggle to stay open, well-maintained and (at this time of year) warm. Yet some rural congregations have found creative new ways to use their buildings to reach out to their communities. Pray that for a right attitude to rural church buildings, that they may be houses of joyful prayer for all. Also, DEFRA reports that 16% of rural households were in relative income poverty in 2017. Low-income households in rural areas struggle with poorer access to low-cost supermarkets, higher transport and heating costs, and low-paid seasonal employment. 28% of foodbanks are located in rural areas. Pray for policy-makers in national and local government as they seek to address these issues.

Knife homicides in England and Wales hit a record high during the twelve months to March 2018. 285 killings destroyed lives and shattered communities. A report released by the Office of National Statistics shows that homicides caused by a knife or sharp instrument increased by 73 compared to the same period in 2016-2017. The highest increases occurred within the 16-to-24 and 25-to-34 male age groups. White victims of fatal stabbings made up around two thirds of the total, at 179, and 25% of those killed were black - the highest number and proportion of black victims since 1997. David Lammy, MP for Tottenham, blamed the government’s failed war on drugs, which has allowed international criminal gangs to ‘pimp out vulnerable black teenagers as drug runners.’ Many are ‘forced into desperate lives of crime.’

Newspapers reported in January that hospitals are allowing male patients to share female wards if they self-identify as women, even if they haven’t had gender reassignment surgery. Dr Nicola Williams of Fair Play for Women said, ‘In an attempt to accommodate a minority, the state is sacrificing the needs of the majority at their most vulnerable.’ Last year the Government ran a consultation on transsexualism, asking whether current safeguards on changing legal sex were necessary. Over 100,000 responded, but how they responded was not published. Recently changes to recording gender data in the Scottish 2021 census were denounced by MSPs. The plan is to change the sex question on the census to include a non-binary option for those who say they are neither male nor female. Another proposal is to allow people to select the gender they identify with, rather than their actual biological sex. See https://www.christian.org.uk/news/plans-to-let-scots-choose-sex-in-2021-scottish-census-seriously-flawed/

Mental health units and units with people with learning disability are often full, operating under massive strain, having to make use of agency staff, risking violence, using force and restrictive interventions and even seeing patient-on-patient assaults. Last summer, NHS England announced £76.5million of investment in the Transforming Care programme, to move people with learning disabilities out of hospital and into the community. Experts, however, warn that unless funding is properly pooled between local government and the NHS, problems will continue and thousands of people stuck in hospital settings will continue to be left without protection and without a voice. People with learning disabilities are being forgotten. It is a hidden problem. We have a responsibility to treat everyone as equal citizens. It is intolerable for people with special needs to be locked up, breaching their human rights, when they are capable of living with support in the community.

In November 2018 we prayed for the Government to take the dangers of child problem gamblers seriously and make changes. New rules will come into force from 1 April. However Bishop Alan Smith, who has brought up the gambling issue in the House of Lords, said, ‘They haven't changed any actual rules, these are simply new guidelines. So far the gambling industry has shown itself either to be unwilling or incapable of self-regulation. We need to ensure that there are proper sanctions for the existing rules. When you look at other industry regulators - such as Ofcom - they not only have very great powers but they are able to fine people who transgress.’ The Christian lobby group CARE recently helped to fight for a reduced maximum stake at fixed-odd betting terminals, something the Government decided to adopt last year.