Displaying items by tag: Religion

Four people were arrested when an estimated 4,500 people marched through the streets of Glasgow on on 7 July as part of the annual Orange Walk. A priest was attacked outside St Alphonsus’ church on Stevenson Street as the congregation gathered for afternoon mass while the marchers passed by. A worshipper who saw the incident said, ‘The priest was spat at, verbally abused, and also assaulted by a baton. I was disgusted. I eventually got hold of an officer after screaming at her to get resources to protect him.’ It is not known if the priest reported the incident to the police, or if it was another member of the public. A police spokesperson said, ‘We can confirm we are investigating reports of an assault on a man outside a church in Glasgow at around 4.20 pm on Saturday’.

Rod Liddle, of the Spectator, spoke about gay conversion therapy and the Government proposals making it illegal saying, ‘This is all at the behest of campaigning bodies like Stonewall, and their insistence that an alternative opinion to theirs should be made illegal’. He added, ‘Gay conversion therapy has made the lives of thousands of people happier. I spoke to one chap who had considered himself gay for much of his twenties and thirties, was uncomfortable about it, and is now straight and happy. Nobody is suggesting that all gay people might benefit from it. Nobody is questioning the right of gay people to live happily, free from discrimination. Yet because some gay people are so intolerant of any views which differ from their own, they wish to make these views illegal.’

Adverts on buses promoting a church-run event in Blackpool featuring Franklin Graham are being removed after a number of complaints were made. Blackpool Transport, which oversees the buses, claimed the ads ‘resulted in heightened tension’. A number of people had taken to social media to claim that he would be preaching hate and homophobia at the event, due to take place at the city's Winter Gardens in September. Jane Cole of Blackpool Transport said, ‘The removal of these adverts is as a result of us listening to and acting on customer and public feedback, which we aim to do at all times. Blackpool Transport is a proud ongoing supporter of the Pride and LGBT+ communities, and in no way did we intend to cause any distress or upset.’ Graham said, ‘I'm not coming to preach hate, I'm here to preach about a Saviour - Jesus Christ.’

South Asia IJM are searching for two teenage girls being exploited by a private sex-trafficking network. IJM worked with police for weeks to rescue them, but at the last minute they were moved from the target location. Please pray for a new strategy to find the girls quickly, without tip-offs making the traffickers suspicious. Also, remember the Dominican Republic mother of two sex-trafficking survivors struggling to provide for her five children. The European expat perpetrator in this case is offering her increasingly large sums of money to drop accusations against him, but she refuses every time. May God strengthen her and provide for the family’s needs. Finally, thank God for Kevin Hyland, who leaves the role of UK independent anti-slavery commissioner at IJM this month. The role was created under the Modern Slavery Act of 2015, and his work has been groundbreaking in uniting forces from NGOs, the private sector, and the Government to fight modern slavery. Pray for wisdom in the selection of his replacement. See

It has been almost three years since the ‘refugee crisis’ was brought to the world’s attention. Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, came like a flood from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe, fleeing war, drought, terrorism and pain. Many Christians responded compassionately, with thousands volunteering across Europe to serve the refugees who had left everything behind. Many YWAM workers got involved through serving on the shores of Europe, along the migration route and in destination nations like Germany and Sweden. On the island of Lesvos alone, more than 1,000 YWAMers served in the camp, with a combined effort of approximately 20,000 days of work! While the number of volunteers has decreased, displaced people are still coming and helpers are still needed to meet practical needs and build relationships with the people in the camps. In 2018 refugees no longer live in camps. Host nations face the challenge of integrating thousands into their society.

Talks have begun to try to reach an amicable separation between members of four conservative evangelical churches and the Diocese of Christchurch. The congregations of the four churches voted by large majorities to disaffiliate following the decision in May by the General Synod of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia to permit churches in New Zealand to bless same-sex marriages. Archbishop Philip Richardson, one of the Primates of the ANZP, has now met with senior diocesan staff and archdeacons and the vicars and wardens of the four parishes to discuss how their members could disaffiliate ‘in a respectful manner’ while maintaining good communication and leaving doors open. ‘This is a broken and painful place to be,’ Archbishop Philip said, ‘but we need to find a way to walk through this uncharted land that is gracious, hospitable and realistic.’ They now enter a three month ‘resignation/exit process’ so that ‘logistics are managed sensitively’.

On 3 and 4 July, the BBC aired ten news topics promoting LGBTQ+ on their website. Twice last month BBC Radio Four Sunday programme interviewed a woman who had been an evangelical and then changed her beliefs to become a homosexual. LGBTQ+ people now make up a weighty percentage of BBC staff and their influence is seen more and more in programmes and reporting. Quiz shows, soaps, documentaries and entertainment programmes usually have a LGBTQ+ representative. A Christian lady who struggled with her sexuality told her story of how she was counselled by a liberal theologian who helped her to ‘read the Bible in a different way’ so she could become LGBTQ+. She said she had since talked with Archbishop Justin Welby who encouraged her to apply for ordination, saying she would be just the kind of clergy he wants to see in the Church of England. So the state broadcasting service and the state Church promote LGBTQ+ agendas. see

‘Gay conversion therapies’ are to be banned as part of a government 75-point plan to improve the lives of gay and transgender people. A national survey of 108,000 LGBT people suggested that 2% have undergone the practice with another 5% having been offered it. A plan costing £4.5m, has been produced in response to the survey. A national LGBT health adviser will be recruited to tackle discrimination, improve the response to hate crime and improve diversity in education institutions. While the government did not offer a definition of conversion therapy, its report said it ranges from ‘pseudo’ psychological treatments to surgical interventions and 'corrective' rape. Faith organisations were the most likely to have carried out the therapy, according to the report. The NHS does not refer people for it and disagrees with the practice.

The Trumpet Call day was framed in worship to Jesus - The Lamb who has conquered - and included deep times of humbling, confession and repentance after RT Kendall spoke and again after Malcolm Duncan had spoken.  The promise contained in 2 Chronicles 7:14 invites us to continue to come to our heavenly Father on an ongoing basis for ourselves, for the Church and for our nations, in humility and confession in order that we might see a continuation of the turning from our wicked ways.  The WPC team have had many encouraging feedback comments. One Church leader said it had completely turned around his ministry, another said ‘awesome is an overused word but it truly was awesome’. The team has also been very encouraged by feedback on evangelistic events happening at the same time and the week after and by conversations about prayer and mission whilst recognising that there is a hard road ahead of us.

Lebanon is the only Arab state not officially Muslim and has the highest proportion of Christians of any Middle East country. Although politically segmented, the constitution attempts to distribute power equally. The president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim. Syrian refugees now comprise a quarter of Lebanon’s population. Some of Lebanon’s Christians can trace their origins as far back as the 5th century. For centuries, Christians have had a strong presence in the country, but a huge influx of Sunni Muslim refugees fleeing Syria is threatening the delicate political balance, bringing violence and complex political dynamics.  Shia militant Islamist group Hezbollah, provides protection for Christian communities against Sunni jihadi groups. Lebanese Christians are a minority group divided between opponents and supporters of Hezbollah and are more vulnerable than at any time in recent history; living in conflict, enduring poverty and facing aggressive Muslim attitudes moulded by years of sectarian divide.