Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

57% of UK adults say they never pray, and only 12%  say they pray at least once a day. By contrast, 49% of Americans say they pray every day. Despite Britain’s concerns about the Brexit future, people are not responding in prayer. Global phenomena like secularisation, immigration, and technological development are overhauling the UK Church, and for every Anglican church in London that closed its doors between 2016 and 2020 more than three Pentecostal churches were launched. British churches are struggling to retain members, but churches with strong African and Asian immigrant bases are growing. As the demography of faith changes, prayer trends are changing too. The increase of prayer in London may point to growing Pentecostal and immigrant-operated churches, but a large share of British Muslims live there also. Muslims are Britain’s most prayerful faith community.

Franklin Graham is scheduled to preach the gospel in eight cities across the United Kingdom later this year, but one of those stops is now in jeopardy after the venue cancelled the 12 June booking over his biblical views on LGBTQ issues. ACC Liverpool, an arena and conference centre, said, ‘Over the past few days we have been made aware of a number of Graham’s statements which we consider to be incompatible with our values. In light of this we can no longer reconcile the balance between freedom of speech and the divisive impact this event is having in our city. We have informed the organisers of the event that the booking will no longer be fulfilled.’ Graham, though, said that everyone is welcome. ‘The Gospel is inclusive, I'm not coming out of hate, I'm coming out of love.’ A Change.org petition that labelled Graham a ‘homophobic hate preacher’ had gathered more than 350 signatures as of 28 January.

British Airways has cancelled all flights in and out of China. Thousands of UK citizens on holiday, work visits, or school trips there could struggle to get home. A government-chartered plane with a doctor on board will leave Wuhan early on 31 January. Returnees will undergo health checks and be denied boarding if they display coronavirus symptoms. They must also agree to two weeks’ isolation in the UK to be able to fly. A government source said, ‘We are working hard to get British nationals back from Wuhan, but public safety is our top priority and we are not taking any chances’. 250 Britons are believed to be in Hubei province. The Government faces the challenge of repatriating British citizens if more routes out of China are shut and there is a surge of foreigners seeking to get out. 1,400 returnees from Wuhan since January 10 were told to self-isolate themselves for fourteen days.

The Duke of Cambridge has been made the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland by the Queen, while the Duke of Sussex begins his search for freedom away from the monarchy. The high commissioner role was established in the 1707 Act of Union between England and Scotland, and the Queen pledged to continue it during the first Privy Council meeting of her reign. William will make the opening and closing addresses to the Assembly, and will carry out official visits across Scotland. The Church of Scotland is Presbyterian and recognises only Jesus Christ as ‘King and Head of the Church’, so the Queen attends services as an ordinary member, and appoints someone to represent the role every year.

The owner of a wedding venue in Gloucestershire has said he is 'deeply sorry' after revoking a provisional booking for a same-sex couple's marriage reception. Kevin Chaffe and Ken Silvey had expressed an interest in booking Priors Court Barn in Brockworth, but Tim Wiltshire, the venue’s co-owner, contacted their wedding planner to cancel after finding out that the enquiry had been made by a same-sex couple. Chaffe took to Facebook to express outrage at this ‘disgusting, homophobic’ action. A social media backlash led to a barrage of negative reviews for the business. Wiltshire released a statement of apology that ended, ‘Of course everyone has the right to their own beliefs, and I now realise that my initial reaction was inappropriate in modern society. I am truly sorry’.

Three million newly-minted 50p coins celebrating the UK leaving the European Union on 31 January have entered circulation. They bear the inscription ‘Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations’. Chancellor Sajid Javid said ‘This coin marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in British history. Let us look forward with confidence and unleash the enormous potential of our great country.’ Seven million more coins will follow in the coming months. Meanwhile Finland’s foreign minister, Pekko Haavisto, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said that other countries have seen the issues faced by the UK: ‘What Brexit actually triggered was a lot of support of EU members. Seeing how difficult it is to leave and how many agreements they have to make to leave, so maybe it is better to stay.’ See. The World Prayer Centre, Birmingham have instigated a Call to Prayer at 11pm on Friday 31st January, the time that the UK officially leaves the EU: https://www.worldprayer.org.uk/Event/call-to-prayer-brexit-31-january. 

Last year we prayed for Christian doctor Richard Scott to be vindicated after a concerted and targeted attack against him by a secularist campaign group was thrown out by the General Medical Council (GMC). In June the National Secular Society registered ‘concern’ with the GMC that the GP was ‘continuing to pray and promote Christianity during consultations in an attempt to convert patients’. However, the GMC has ruled that there was no evidence and that he had done nothing wrong.

MPs said that many thousands of people in Northern Ireland had been ignored last year when Westminster politicians voted to repeal Northern Ireland’s strong protections for women and unborn. In her maiden speech in the House of Commons, Carla Lockhart MP said, ‘I want a society in Northern Ireland that values life, and I want to see services that will help women choose life.’ Rebecca Long-Bailey, a Labour leadership candidate and practising Christian, said that she agreed with the words of the Disability Rights Commission that ‘the context in which parents choose whether to have a child should be one in which disability and non-disability are valued equally.’ The Equality and Human Rights Commission consistently criticises laws which differentiate between unborn babies on grounds of disability. See

American bishop Michael Curry, who delivered a memorable sermon on the 'power of love' at Harry and Meghan's wedding in 2018, has reached out to the couple after they announced they will no longer be working members of the royal family as of spring this year. The head of the Episcopal Church is offering ‘pastoral care’ to the couple ‘as they forge lives across the pond’, according to The Sunday Times. Bishop Michael’s sermon included these words: ‘We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love and when we discover that, we will be able to make of this old world a new world, for love is the only way. When love is the way, we actually treat each other well, like we are actually family.’ Prophetic sentiments now, as the couple step away from royal life.

A new virus is mutating and spreading, having already produced over 500 confirmed cases in China. Britain is monitoring flights arriving from China, with a ‘separate area’ being set up at Heathrow to screen travellers arriving from affected regions amid fears of a pandemic. Pray for UK and global public health officials to stay ahead of the issue as they watch its progress. The Chinese lunar New Year is on 25 January, so currently millions of Chinese people are preparing to travel domestically and abroad for the celebrations. See also the China article in world section.