Half of teenagers sleep deprived, say experts
26 Aug 2013A combination of natural hormone changes and greater use of screen-based technology means many teenagers are not getting enough sleep. Research has suggested teenagers need nine hours' sleep to function properly. "Sleep is fundamentally important but despite this it's been largely ignored as part of our biology," said Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at Oxford University. "Within the context of teenagers, here we have a classic example where sleep could enhance enormously the quality of life and, indeed, the educational performance of our young people. Yet they're given no instruction about the importance of sleep and sleep is a victim to the many other demands that are being made of them. The great problem with teenagers is that you're not only biologically programmed to go to bed late and get up late, but there's also many attractions like gaming and social media and many teenagers are doing this into the early hours of the morning and delaying sleep even further."
Pray: for a greater appreciation by teenagers of the need for quality sleep. Pray also for better information to be given to them about sleep. ( Pr.3:24)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-23811690
Thanks to the generosity of parishioners up and down the country, the Catholic Archbishops of England and Wales were able to distribute over £500,000 in grants in support of life over the last two years. The annual Day for Life is dedicated to celebrating the dignity of life from conception to natural death and the annual collection taken up in Roman Catholic parishes on the last Sunday in July each year is used to give grants to life-related activities supported by the Catholic Church. The Archbishop for Day for Life, Archbishop Bernard Longley said: ‘I wish to extend my thanks to the generosity of parishioners up and down the country who give so generously to the Day for Life collection each year. Your generous giving enables us to support so many worthy projects and organisations – all working in different ways to promote the dignity of life from conception to natural death.’ Pray: for the generosity of parishioners this Sunday and that their donations will be powerfully used. (Dt.15:10)
Halal-only menu for London primary schools
13 Aug 2010
Harrow Council in London has provoked a storm of protest after announcing plans to prefer Islamic halal-only menus in the borough’s state primary schools. Parents are outraged that meat prepared according to Islamic Sharia law is being pushed on non-Muslim children. Contracts signed with the Council’s preferred catering company, Harrison’s, stipulate that only halal meat is served. The Council claims the plan is needed to overcome difficulties in keeping halal meat separate from non-halal meat. It has since said it will postpone the move because of, in part, ‘the level of interest from parents’ and revisit the issue in the autumn. According to the 2001 census, the religious affiliation of Harrow’s population is just seven per cent Muslim. Harrow resident, Sheila Murphy, blasted the Council’s plan as ‘appalling’. She said it is ‘taking away the choice of children and their parents over what meat they eat and I urge residents to make their views known to Harrow Council’. Pray: for the council to reflect the views of the vast majority of their residents. (Ac.10:14-15) More: http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2010/08/10/halal-only-menu-for-london-primary-schools-sparks-row/
Girlguiding UK is backing a campaign to remove pictures of topless women from page 3 of The Sun newspaper. An online poll of more than 2,000 guides aged between 16 and 25 showed 88 per cent believed the editor of The Sun, Dominic Mohan, should end page 3. Girlguiding Advocate!, a group within the movement which is involved with public affairs, emailed Mr Mohan last week. It said of The Sun: ‘Anyone can pick it up and turn to page three and think that it is normal for young women to be treated as objects. We feel that this is just wrong and has to stop.’ Girlguide Katie Wormald, 17, came up with the idea of taking the poll. She said: ‘Children shouldn’t grow up thinking that this is the norm and that it is right.’ She added: ‘Young girls shouldn’t grow up thinking that they will achieve more by being sexually objectified’.
Pray: that this campaign will succeed in removing such pictures.
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/guides-join-campaign-to-end-topless-pictures-in-the-sun/
An assistant editor at The Guardian and the Labour MP Chris Bryant have both hit out at a secularist pressure group’s attempt to ban a local council from saying prayers. Last week the National Secular Society (NSS) went to the High Court in an attempt to end Bideford Town Council’s practice of saying prayers at the start of its meetings. Commenting on the case Michael White an assistant editor at The Guardian, warned that the case raised a wider question ‘about the intolerant impulse many people have to inflict their views on others’. He said that ‘communities should surely be allowed to sort out their own arrangements’ without interference from the NSS. And Chris Bryant, the Labour MP for Rhondda, questioned why the case had even gone to court. Mr Bryant said ‘surely the 16 members of Bideford Council, who have already voted on this twice, should be allowed to pray, if they want to.’
Pray: for the Bideford Council to be empowered in their stand and for the NSS to recognise that a period of reflection is helpful before meetings. (Job.33:26)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/guardian-editor-and-mp-criticise-nss-prayer-case/
Grim predictions for UK family finances
12 Jan 2012Grim predictions for UK family finances up to 2015 are revealed in new evidence produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) for the Family and Parenting Institute (FPI), published yesterday. The report says the median income among families with children is projected to fall between 2010 and 2015 by 4.2 per cent. For a couple with two children this equates to £1,250 less a year by 2015. Families with children aged under five, families with more than two children, and lone parent families not in paid work will bear the biggest financial pain in years ahead, says the research. The report, is the first to reveal the prospects for poverty rates and income for different family types up to the year 2015. Dr Katherine Rake, Chief Executive of the FPI, commented: ‘These figures reveal the full extent to which families with children are shouldering the burden of austerity.
Pray: for the Government to ensure there are proper safeguards to protect the most vulnerable from the more serious effects of the austerity measures. (Ps.83:3)
Green council accused of 'vilifying' Christian
03 Aug 2012Britain’s only Green Party council has been accused of ‘violent prejudice’ against Christians as it considers expelling a member who spoke out against same-sex marriage. Christina Summers, a member of Brighton and Hove City Council in Sussex, has been ordered to face a party disciplinary panel after voicing dissent over the issue. She was the only member of the council who at a meeting last week voted against a motion in support of the Government’s plans to allow homosexual couples to marry. Miss Summers, a devout Christian, says that she strongly supports gay rights and the introduction of civil partnerships but could not back the change to marriage laws on religious grounds. She argued that equality did not require changing the traditional definition of marriage and told colleagues it was a matter of ‘freedom of speech’ for her. However, fellow Green councillors voted to launch an ‘official inquiry process’ into her stance, accusing her of bringing the party into disrepute.
Pray: for Christina’s right to express her own belief to be upheld, and may the Green Party respect the principles of free speech. (Ps.19:8)
Graham Kendrick is calling Christian men in the UK to stand together in prayer and praise this month. He will be leading CVM's Prayer and Praise day in Market Harborough Evangelical Church on February 25. He said: ‘This will be a key day for every man who wants to see men come to faith in Jesus. Prayer and praise is so often the missing jewel in our strategy. It’s an event for Christian men to put in their diaries.’ Hundreds of men are expected to attend the day, which will provide them with the opportunity to pray for their friends and family. CVM's general director, Carl Beech, wants to see more men dedicate their Christian witness and evangelism to God this year. He said: ‘Anyone interested in seeing more men coming to faith should take this opportunity to stand with their brothers in prayer and praise. It’s about drawing a line in the sand and starting this year the right way.
Pray: that many men will respond to this event motivated by the power of The Spirit. (Isa.2:3)
More: http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/graham.kendrick.to.lead.prayer.and.praise.event.for.men/29255.htm