15th Nov Police elections
10 Nov 2012Elections for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will take place next Thursday across England and Wales. They are described as the biggest policing shake-up for 50 years. For the first time ever an individual will be responsible for setting police budgets and strategic priorities. A Police and Crime panel sitting alongside the elected Commissioner would make sure that their decisions, including the sacking of a chief constable, were not taken ‘maliciously or capriciously’. New York famously managed to halve crime by adopting zero-tolerance policing when Mayor Rudy Giuliani asked his Police Chief to focus on small crimes, sending a message of order being restored. In the UK Ray Mallon, a former Police Officer, helped cut crime in Middlesbrough when he was Mayor.
Pray: for those elected to be free to work independent of political agendas in the communities that they will be responsible for. (Ps.37:37,38)
More: http://www.policeelections.com/
School children as young as eleven could be given lessons about rape, prostitution and pornography, but critics have warned that the lessons are ‘too explicit’ for youngsters. Charity Rape Crisis has released educational packs for secondary schools, which can be bought for £100, as part of a campaign to end violence against women. They will prompt pupils to debate issues surrounding rape, and will also encourage them to act out a role play, which includes obscene language, where a boy and girl recall a drunken encounter. But Nick Seaton, from the Campaign for Real Education, has criticised the scheme, saying: ‘It is irresponsible and certainly not suitable for young children and probably not for older children either. ‘Just because these things happen does not mean that children need to have them rammed in their faces. Sensible parents will be extremely perturbed that their children are being introduced to this sort of information at a young age.’ Pray: for a considered, sensitive and appropriate programme of sex and social education. (Ps.34:11) More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/11-year-olds-set-to-debate-rape-prostitution-and-porn/
11 and 12-year-olds on the pill
11 Aug 2010
Over 1,000 girls in the first year of secondary school were prescribed the contraceptive pill last year, according to new figures. This represents a fivefold increase in the past decade, and critics are concerned about the increasing sexualization of the nation’s children. The figures, from the General Practice Research Database, also revealed that 200 girls between the ages of 11 and 13 were prescribed long-term implanted or injectable contraceptives last year. Dr Trevor Stammers, a GP and chairman of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said: ‘These figures illustrate the fact that the UK is facilitating the sexualisation of young people at an ever younger age’. If sex education is introduced in primary schools in the way being proposed, we will see many more 11-year-olds seeking contraception and if we pay GPs to give out contraception without pointing out the risks we are going to make matters worse’. Pray: for our youngsters, and for guidance and support to resist the sexualisation of the young. (Ps.34:11) More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/more-than-1000-11-and-12-year-olds-are-on-the-pill/
Hunger and malnutrition in childhood will trap almost a billion young people in poverty by 2025, according to a major new campaign, launched last week by Britain's leading development charities and faith groups. 'Enough Food for Everyone IF' is the largest coalition of its kind in the UK since Make Poverty History in 2005. The group warns that in a world where there is enough food for everyone, the scandal of children growing up hungry also imposes a grave economic burden on the developing world, costing £78 billion over the next 15 years. The campaign, launched at Somerset House,London and across the UK, calls on Prime Minister David Cameron to use the UK's G8 presidency in 2013 to take action on the root causes of the hunger crisis in the poorest countries. The 'IF' movement challenges the Prime Minister to tackle 4 big IFs to help there be enough food for everyone.
Pray: that once again Britain will lead the world in tackling hunger in developing countries. (1Jn.3:17)
More: http://www.methodist.org.uk/news-and-events/news-releases/100-major-charities-launch-campaign-to-tackle-hunger-trap
The Bishop of London Dr Richard Chartres has delivered a challenging message to Christians about the need for the Church to be confident in living and speaking the gospel, and being compassionate in serving communities. He was delivering a lecture in Westminster hosted by Premier Christian Media Trust and titled 'Building Jerusalem in England's green and pleasant land'. ‘There is no Christian vision without a recovery of prayer,’ he said. ‘One of the weaknesses of the contemporary church is that it gives its members very little help in how to pray.’ In addition to the need for prayer, Dr Chartres also mentioned how ‘re-engaging with the Bible’ is also essential in creating a ‘fresh Christian vision’. ‘All renewal movements within the history of the Church have been associated with a fresh engagement with Scripture,’ he continued.
Pray: that the Church will take up the challenge and engage in prayer. (Ps.54:2)
Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, has urged Christians in the UK to be more public about their faith in Jesus Christ. Writing in the Telegraph, he also highlighted the reluctance of Western governments to acknowledge the suffering endured by Christians in many parts of the world and called upon the UK Government to take action. His encouragement to Christians came in the closing paragraphs of his Christmas article: ‘Closer to home, I admit I am worried about the future of faith in the West. Many Christians I meet say there is a pressure on them to be silent about their faith. Though there can be no question of a comparison with the powerlessness and weakness of the Church in the Middle East, there is an increasing timidity on the part of churchgoers in the West – about even admitting that they have a faith in the workplace’.
'Pay tax where it is earned'
19 May 2011
Tax avoidance strategies used by some multi-national companies working in the developing world have been described as ‘morally illegal’ said Malcolm Broad, treasurer of the Baptist Union, speaking at the Baptist Assembly in Blackpool. ‘About 60% of all multi-national companies use off-shore tax havens,’ he said. ‘It creates a world imbalance between the haves and the have-nots.’ The assembly overwhelmingly agreed with a resolution calling for tax to be paid where it has been earned. Malcolm Broad agreed reducing revenue demands by moving money to a more favourable tax regime is not illegal, but he says it can have devastating effects on those countries who don't receive their full quota. He told BBC Radio Lancashire: ‘Nobody wants to pay tax, but the taxes are used to pay for the likes of hospitals and education. If tax is avoided where that need is great, then all that does is keep those countries poorer than they are today.’ Pray: for a more morally positive attitude to tax payments by all companies. (Ro.13:6) More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-13360191
There is no place in British law for Christian beliefs, despite this country’s long history of religious observance and the traditions of the established Church, two High Court judges said on Monday. Lord Justice Munby and Mr Justice Beatson made the remarks when ruling on the case of a Christian couple who were told that they could not be foster carers because of their view that homosexuality is wrong. The judges underlined that, in the case of fostering arrangements at least, the right of homosexuals to equality ‘should take precedence’ over the right of Christians to manifest their beliefs and moral values. Eunice and Owen Johns went to court after a social worker expressed concerns when they said they could not tell a child a ‘homosexual lifestyle’ was acceptable. They asked judges to rule that their faith should not be a bar to them becoming carers, and that the law should protect their Christian values. The Johns said ‘the judges have suggested that our views might harm children’. Pray: for the Johns and all those who have to defend their faith's beliefs in an increasingly secular society. (Lk.21:13-15)