The Just Festival has launched its ambitious 2013 programme in Edinburgh, with a challenge to build bridges and break down barriers between communities, globally and locally. The festival, in August this year, will feature some 129 events in 450 performances across 28 venues, and will attract tens of thousands of visitors and participants. It is reckoned to be the largest inter-cultural event of its kind in Britain, with backing from civic, religious, secular, educational and charitable partners. It is supported and sponsored by the Scottish Government, St John's Church Edinburgh, the European Parliament, the University of Edinburgh, the Scottish Episcopal Church, Edinburgh City Centre Churches Together, Edinburgh Inter Faith Association, and the beliefs and values think-tank Ekklesia. 'We're not saying peacemaking is an easy process. Indeed, many of our events this year are about facing the reality of violence. But to make peace, it is important to know where you are starting," explained Just Festival director Katherine Newbigging.
Pray: for all those working hard to prepare this important event. (Heb.12.14)
More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18564
A Glasgow Kirk has become the first to split from the Church of Scotland over the issue of gay clergy. St George's Tron Church said it had taken the decision after more than 12 months of thought and prayer.The decision to formally secede from the Church of Scotland was taken by the congregation on Monday. Last year, the Kirk's General Assembly voted to accept gay clergy provided they had declared their sexuality and were ordained before 2009. The 500-strong St George's Tron congregation believes this decision ‘as marginalised the bible’. The decision to formally secede from the Church of Scotland was taken by the congregation on Monday. Rev Dr William Philip, minister of the church which is based in Buchanan Street, said: ‘Our decision to separate from the Church of Scotland is the culmination of careful thought, sincere discussion and prayer for over 12 months’.
Pray: that the decision by St Georges Tron would not lead to conflict or division amongst the churches. (1Cor.12:25)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-18441172
Giving vulnerable children a Home For Good
09 Jan 2014Home for Good is a church-based fostering and adoption campaign. A joint initiative of the Evangelical Alliance, Care for the Family, and CCPAS, the campaign is using a network of churches across the UK to encourage and support Christian families to consider adoption. There are currently 4,600 children waiting to be adopted in England alone, something the Evangelical Alliance's mission director Krish Kandiah calls a "scandal". Having fostered a total of 16 children, one of whom he and his wife eventually adopted, Krish is passionate about the Home for Good campaign and hopes that through it, more Christians will be encouraged to open up their homes to children who don't have a family of their own. "The Bible is really clear that God cares about vulnerable children. He describes himself many times as a Father to the fatherless and protector of widows and orphans," Krish notes. "That's what drives our campaign."
Give the Gift of Peace
13 Aug 2010
Christians are being encouraged to share a little peace with their neighbours, in the form of a new booklet from the Methodist Church. Lavishly illustrated, A Gift of Peace features encouraging words from the Bible as well as reflections on peace from a variety of authors including Lao Tzu, Benjamin Franklin and Mother Theresa of Calcutta. Rev Alison Tomlin, President of the Methodist Conference, said: ‘In the midst of an increasingly chaotic and unsettled world, we all need God’s peace more than ever. We hope that this booklet will enrich the way we think and pray about peace and will help people to make a little more space in their lives for reflection.’ Churches are encouraged to give the booklets away as well as using them for personal or small group reflection. A Gift of Peace is available from Methodist Publishing at £5 for 50 copies and can be purchased online. Pray: for all those who receive the booklet that they will take time to reflect and receive God’s peace. (Jude 2) More: http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentogod.newsDetail&newsid=457
Girls as young as 13 are facing pressure to appear in home-made porn movies, teachers warned yesterday. Young teenagers are also submitting to demands from boys for explicit photos which are often shared among friends and even placed on the internet for millions to view. A conference was told yesterday how easy access to depraved online content is destroying children’s innocence and changing how they perceive themselves and others. Delegates warned that lads’ mags, the surge in explicit ‘mummy porn’ novels, exposure to inappropriate movies and the depiction of women in computer games are also contributing to a dramatic moral decline among the young. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers’ annual conference in Liverpool warned that pornography and other depraved imagery was becoming part of everyday life. Delegates called for sex education classes to be used to explain to pupils that the behaviour they see online is not normal and the ‘perfect’ bodies they see are usually unattainable.
Pray: against those who are presurising the young to get involved in pornography. (Ps.140:4)
Schoolgirls as young as 13 are being given contraceptive injections and implants during lunch-breaks without their parents’ knowledge. School nurses have given implants or jabs to girls aged between 13 and 16 more than 900 times in the past two years, a survey by The Daily Telegraph has found. On more than 20 occasions this has been given to girls aged 13. A further 7,400 girls aged 15 and under have been given contraceptive injections or implants at family planning clinics. Under the patient confidentiality rules, nurses are banned from seeking the permission of parents beforehand, or even informing them afterwards, without the pupil’s permission. Dr Peter Saunders, Chief Executive of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said sex under the age of 16 is illegal and ‘to facilitate such behaviour behind parents’ backs is unprofessional, irresponsible and morally wrong’. Earlier this year, parents in Southampton were furious after discovering that implants were being offered to their daughters
Pray: for parents to be allowed to fulfil their responsibilities and moral guidance for their children and not have them covertly removed by government agencies. (Gal.5:19)
Girls go top of the class for cyber-bullying
21 Apr 2011
Teachers will today call for an investigation into rising levels of poor behaviour among girls in the classroom. The girls, they argue, are more likely to resort to cyber-bullying – the form of bullying utilising the internet and mobile phones that is worrying school leaders. A survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) reveals that half the teachers believed girls' behaviour had got worse during the past two years. One in five thought it was now more challenging than boys. Teachers interviewed for the survey accused girls of being ‘sneakier’ than boys in the way they misbehaved. They were also more adept at using modern social media such as Facebook to bully their fellow pupils. ‘Girls spread rumours and fallouts last a long time,’ a 34-year-old teacher from Reading told researchers. ‘Boys tend to sort it out fairly quickly.’ Pray: for our young people that they will take a stand against such bullying. (Ps.94:16)
Girl Guides considers dropping God
25 Nov 2011Girls wanting to become Guides, Brownies or Rainbows currently promise to ‘love’ God when signing up to the 101-year-old organisation. However, the association is considering reviewing the wording of its affirmation for new members, to remove religious references. The move comes after parents complained it was unfair to exclude children who had not received a Christian upbringing. The promise is optional but only girls who have taken it can be awarded the movement's highest badges. Christian campaigners yesterday warned that the 600,000-member association risks losing its values if it abandons the religious element of the oath. 'It would be terribly sad,' said Mike Judge, spokesman for The Christian Institute. ‘The Girl Guides has always embraced all people but has its roots in Christian values, which is what has made it so popular and successful. It will be very difficult for it to maintain its values if it removes the ethics from where those ideas spring.’
Pray: for the association to look at other options so that they can retain the promise to ‘love God’. (Mt.22:37)