The Christian Legal Centre is supporting a man who was arrested on Monday (1st July) for using ‘homophobic’ speech whilst preaching on a London high street. Tony Miano was preaching from 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 on sexual immorality and the need to abstain from it. Mr Miano was arrested and taken to the local police station where he was photographed, fingerprinted and had a DNA sample taken. Mr Miano commented: ‘It surprised me that here in the country that produced the Magna Carta that an otherwise law abiding person could lose his freedom because one person was offended by the content of my speech.’ Although a US citizen, he plans to send a letter to every member of both Houses of Parliament, expressing his concerns about diminishing free speech in the UK and his fears that the proposed legislation redefining marriage will lead to an increasing number of cases like his.
Pray: that those who preach God’s Word will be protected. (Ps.5:11)
More: http://www.christianconcern.com/media/interview-with-tony-miano-and-footage-of-his-arrest
Street Pastors head to the seaside
20 Jul 2012Street Pastors are taking to the beach this summer to lend their assistance to night time revellers enjoying the sand and sea. The volunteer network will be walking around the beaches of Whitstable in Kent on Friday nights offering help to anyone who needs it. This may be handing out bottles of water or pairs of flip flops, helping people get a taxi home, or offering a listening ear to someone in distress. The arrival of Street Pastors in the pretty seaside town was the idea of the local police and Tankerton Evangelical Church. The Street Pastors have been invited in amid concern for the safety of young people drinking on the beaches at night. Local Christians have given the project their overwhelming support, with 14 area churches now collaborating in the effort. See also: :http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9408838/On-patrol-the-seaside-God-squad.html
Pray: for God’s wisdom and guidance to all those involved in combating drink and drugs on the beaches. (Eph.4:11)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/street.pastors.head.to.the.seaside/30286.htm
Many will have seen and read that there is a planned demonstration by the right-wing English Defence League in Birmingham on Saturday and a counter demonstration by those opposed to their views. At Trumpet Call 2013 we prayed for the Midnight Oil conference (www.midnightoilsummit.org) which is happening in Birmingham in the same part of the city centre from today until late on Saturday. The team at World Prayer Centre invite you to pray both for Birmingham and for Midnight Oil in the next days: for peace in the city over this weekend and particularly on Saturday - for the West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council - for the Midnight Oil Summit: That God’s will be done as they gather and that God’s plans are not hindered - for the Prayer gathering planned to take place in Centenary Square during the demonstrations.
More: http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/latest-news/press-release.asp?ID=4932
STI increase - questions sex education
27 Aug 2010
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) reported 482,696 cases of sexually transmitted infections in UK health clinics in 2009, a 3% increase on 2008, with teenagers and young adults accounting for the majority. According to HPA young women aged 19 and men aged between 20 and 23 are at the greatest risk and of the 12,000 additional cases reported last year over two thirds were women under 25. The figures also revealed that re-infection is a serious issue, with at least 11% of women and 12% of men aged 16 to 19 becoming re-infected with an STI within one year of being treated for a previous one. Despite the increase in infections, which many attribute to an increase in sex education, there have still been calls to increase sex education in schools. Helen Jenkins from Marie Stopes International, stated: ‘We fear that STI rates may continue to rise without increasing access to comprehensive sex and relationships education in all British schools’. Pray: for our young to be strengthened morally by the examples of parents and respected teachers. (Mt.19:16)
Stephen Hawking again
07 Sep 2010
In his new book, The Grand Design, Professor Hawking challenges traditional religious beliefs. He asserts that the laws of physics were behind the Big Bang instead of God. The professor is maintaining his well-known atheistic views and earning a good living from publishing material such as his The Grand Design. He concludes: 'Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.' He sets out to contest Sir Isaac Newton's belief that the universe must have been designed by God as it could not have been created out of chaos. Hawking’s sophism deliberately ignores both the source of ‘laws’ that he references and simple historic and revealed human experience. Pray: that the Holy Spirit would bring true revelation to Stephen Hawking. (Ac.10:38)
The BBC is facing a backlash from leading presenters over suggestions that they should use ‘religiously neutral’ terms instead of ‘BC’ or ‘AD’ to avoid causing non-Christians offence. Guidance from the broadcaster’s ethics specialists suggested that the modern phrases ‘common era’ and ‘before common era’ should be considered as potential replacements for Anno Domini and Before Christ. The proposal caused consternation among Christian traditionalists and some of the corporation’s most famous names, who promised to ignore the idea. James Naughtie, the presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, said: ‘Nobody has suggested this to me, and if they do, they will get a pithy answer. His fellow Today presenter, John Humphrys, said he did not see ‘a problem’ with using BC and AD, as the terms were ‘clearly understood’ by most audiences. During his Sunday morning political programme on BBC1, Andrew Marr said that he would also continue to use the traditional date descriptions
Pray: for the BBC to concentrate on broadcasting rather than to try and undermine internationally held convention. (Ec.3:11)
Starbucks in row over Internet porn free-for-all
23 Nov 2012Coffee giant Starbucks is failing to filter out pornography from its free in-store wi-fi, leading to concerns about children accessing inappropriate material. The coffee chain was warned over a year ago about the problem but still has not rectified the situation. Baroness Massey, a former chairman of the Family Planning Association, highlighted the issue in the House of Lords and called on the Government to remind ‘high street companies of their duties to protect our children’. She cautioned: ‘In Starbucks anyone can have full access to anything the Internet has to offer including the most obscene websites.’ Baroness Massey said that McDonald’s had ‘told its wi-fi supplier that it did not want customers coming in to bring up pornographic images that people sitting on nearby tables may see’. Speaking for the Government, Viscount Younger of Leckie said he was ‘alarmed’. He said the issue would ‘certainly’ be followed up to ‘find out what can be done to resolve it’.
Pray: that pressure on Starbucks to change its policy over access would succeed. (Ps.12:7)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/starbucks-in-row-over-internet-porn-free-for-all/
Staggering abortion rate among UK's teenagers
02 Jan 2012Data released by a European research group has revealed how European countries compare with respect to teen abortion rates and the findings have placed the UK under fire. The UK had the second highest teen abortion rates at a rate of 22.1 per cent, and it has also been reported that a quarter of all abortions in the UK are from teenagers, according to Mail Online. Interestingly, Greece, which shares similar abortion laws to the UK, had the lowest teen abortion rates with a rate of only 4.1 per cent. Trevor Stammers, a lecturer in medical ethics and former chairman of the Christian Medical Fellowship, slammed the UK for its high teen abortion rates. He said that the privatisation of abortion surgery has become a large moneymaking industry, and suggested that some teens are often encouraged to opt for the controversial elective surgery to generate revenue.
Pray: for God’s guidance as we seek solutions to the alarmingly high rate of teenage abortions. (Je.42:3)
More: http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/staggering.abortion.rate.among.uks.teenagers/29111.htm