Displaying items by tag: christian marriage

On 11 July the UN approved a new round of cross-border aid to Syria through the Turkish border into militant-controlled Idlib province - providing one year of foreign aid to the northwest region of Syria and critical supplies to over one million Syrians. Millions more civilians within opposition-controlled areas rely heavily on such aid to survive. Throughout the war Syrian Christians have played a vital role within their communities, providing a lifeline to those in need. Many of them are within government-controlled areas, which are more heavily impacted by sanctions. If foreign aid to these areas was abolished, it would limit the resources used by Christians to provide hope to their communities. Pray for the international Christian community to seek new ways to bring about resolution and peace in this war-weary nation.

Month of Prayer & Fasting to Protect Marriage

Australia is in the middle of a government mandated postal survey to decide the future of marriage between a man and a woman. The polls are predicting a defeat for those who believe in the biblical definition of marriage. Australian Christians are asking for prayer from all over the world for a “miracle for marriage” in Australia.  The ballots must be posted back by the end of October. The Catholic Church has called for a month of ‘Prayer and Fasting for Marriage and Families’ through the month of October 2017. See the Catholic Promo Video Here. The broad Australian church is also supporting this historic call for prayer and fasting.

James Condon, a Commissioner with the Salvation Army, and the head of Strategic Church Relations for the National Day of Prayer & Fasting said, “Support for this historic initiative by the Catholic Church is gathering momentum. Key Aboriginal Christian leaders are also supporting this call for prayer and fasting to protect marriage from redefinition. In fact, three Indigenous leaders will feature in the digital devotions that will be released daily, during the month of October. Marriage between a man and a woman is sacred in Indigenous culture.” For more information regarding the Indigenous perspective on the sacredness of marriage go to: www.ulurubarkpetition.com

Ps Peter Walker, an Indigenous leader from the Uluru Bark Petition said, “I congratulate the Catholic Church, together with all these leaders, for showing leadership and taking the initiative to launch a call for a Month of Prayer and Fasting for Marriage and Families. In our indigenous culture, which has continued for thousands of years, marriage and family are paramount. Marriage is between one man and one woman.”

Warwick Marsh, spokesman for the Canberra Declaration and a coordinator of the National Day of Prayer & Fasting said, “For this period of prayer and fasting we ask that you only fast as you are able. See our Promo Video Here. To inspire you in your prayers the team at the Canberra Declaration, in collaboration with Christian leaders from all over Australia, will provide a daily email devotion. The National Day of Prayer & Fasting is also going to help get the word out. To get the free daily devotional delivered to your inbox throughout the month of October click here.”

Marsh continued, “We also invite those in other countries to join with us, if they are able, on our National Zoom Prayer Conference Call three times a day. The hourly sessions will occur at 7AM, 1PM and 8PM Eastern Australian Daylight time. (NSW Time) These video prayer calls will go daily for the full 31 days of October.

To register and get log in details for the Zoom conference call go to www.prayercall.com.au

David Rowsome, prayer coordinator and co-writer for the Canberra Declaration said, “We as believers must approach these issues with great humility as marriage has been greatly damaged under our watch. Collectively, we as nation must ask God for forgiveness for our failure and truly repent.  At the same time, we need to pray for God’s grace to be shown to marriages and families in distress. The good news is that we all gain great hope from the scriptural promise found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 

Canberra Declaration: http://www.canberradeclaration.org.au

National Day of Prayer & Fasting:  http://www.nationaldayofprayer.com.au

A new report by the House of Bishops has said that the Church of England should adopt a ‘fresh tone and culture of welcome and support’ for gay people, but that there was little support for changing the Church's teaching that marriage was between one man and one woman. The report said the Church needed to repent of homophobic attitudes. It also said all potential clergy - straight and gay - will be asked about their sexual conduct and lifestyle., The Bishop of Norwich, Graham Jones, felt that present arrangements for asking ordinands and clergy about their relationships and lifestyle are not really working very well. He said, ‘All clergy are asked at their ordination whether they will fashion their lives after the way of Christ. We believe we should revisit how this is explored beforehand, so the same questions are addressed to everyone without distinction.’ But Andrew Foreshaw-Cain, a parish priest in north London who is in a same-sex marriage, told the BBC that the report was ‘a failure of leadership’. He added: ‘The LGBT community is going to be extremely hurt by this. We were asked to trust our leaders. Many of us made ourselves vulnerable during the shared conversations, and none of that has been heard. The bishops have gone ahead and talked as if we didn't take part in it and as if we are not there.’