Just 20 years ago, Islam was a little known religion to most people in Western nations. At that time there were about 1.1 billion Muslims and efforts on the part of Christians to share their faith with them were scarce. Today, the number of Muslim people is estimated at 2.1 billion and endeavours to reach Muslims have increased ten-fold. From 28 June till 27July, Muslims all around the world will set aside thirty days to intentionally seek their god by abstaining from earthly pleasures. During this month of Ramadan, they will seek Allah, pursuing forgiveness and cleansing of their souls while fasting from sunrise to sunset and refraining from bad habits and spiritual distractions. Ramadan presents a unique opportunity for God to speak and move in the lives of millions of Muslims, introducing His son Jesus, their Saviour. Theological arguments or political manipulation may not impact Muslims, but we know prayer will.  See the thirty day prayer guide and other resources at http://www.30-days.net/ and the more link.

A Christian-run bakery in Northern Ireland is facing legal action after it declined to produce a pro-gay marriage campaign cake.   The McArthur family, who own Ashers Baking Company in Belfast, said they could not fulfil the order because it conflicts with their Christian beliefs about marriage being between a man and a woman.   Although the Northern Ireland Assembly has voted three times in recent years against redefining marriage, the taxpayer-funded Equality Commission for Northern Ireland claimed that the bakery had breached equality laws.  The bakery’s manager, Daniel McArthur, said: ‘We thought that this order was at odds with our beliefs, and contradicts what the Bible teaches.’  Colin Hart, director of the Christian Institute, which is supporting the company, said ‘This claim, if supported, would establish a dangerous precedent about the power of the state over an individual or business to force them to go against their deeply held beliefs.’

Peter Wanless, chief executive of the child protection charity NSPCC, has said people who cover up child sex abuse should be prosecuted, and there should be a duty on institutions like hospitals, children's homes and boarding schools to report abuse. He said, ‘If someone consciously knows that there is a crime committed against a child, and does nothing about it because they put the reputation of the organisation above the safety of that child, that should be a criminal offence.’ Until now the charity has opposed all forms of so-called mandatory reporting, but Mr Wanless said the NSPCC would be open to discussions about what form a new law should take. He is currently heading an inquiry about whether the Home Office failed to act on allegations of child sex abuse handed over in the 1980s by former Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens. Another independent inquiry, looking at historical sexual abuse and institutions' protection of children, will be led by retired senior judge Elizabeth Butler-Sloss.

The mother of a seven-year-old girl with Down’s Syndrome, who hit the headlines for appearing in Sainsbury’s clothing adverts, has said there had been an ‘assumption’ she would abort her daughter. Hayley Goleniowska, 43, and her husband Bob, 59, told the Daily Telegraph they have no limits on their expectations for their daughter Natalia (Natty), who swims, rides horses and is in mainstream school. Hayley said there is a ‘conditioning to fear Down’s syndrome’ and an ‘assumption’ that if the baby tests positive for the condition, you will ‘automatically’ have an abortion. But, she said, ‘we knew who she was - our daughter, not a set of symptoms or predictions for the future’. Hayley has started a blog offering advice and support for parents of children with Down’s Syndrome, which gets 30,000 hits a month. She said, ‘when a family or a mum tells us ‘Your blog has thrown me a lifeline; now I can see what the future could hold’, then we know we’re doing the right thing’.