Religious people experiencing 'unfair treatment' in Britain
The early findings into a study on perceptions of religious equality in Britain has identified ‘substantial reporting of unfair treatment on the basis of religion’. The team is surveying religious organisations in England and Wales and has so far carried out interviews with individuals in Cardiff, Blackburn, Newham and Norwich. Recent legal cases will also be reviewed by the team. Preliminary findings are being presented at a series of 'knowledge exchange workshops' taking place in Derby, Oxford, Cardiff, Manchester and London between now and November. The University of Manchester, which is taking part in the research project, said in a press release that the project's initial findings had identified ‘substantial reporting of unfair treatment on the basis of religion or belief continuing across key areas of people’s lives’. New examples of unfair treatment are being reported by Christians, it said, with evidence pointing to an increase in issues relating to Sunday working.
Pray: that the results of this survey and others showing that Christians are being sidelined will lead to an acceptance of the truth. (2Co.12:10)
Belfast riots and the peace process
The recent outbreak of rioting in North Belfast was an indication that the political peace process had not yet completed the transformation of society in the area, according to Methodist minister the Rev Dr Gary Mason. In an article for last week’s Methodist Recorder (‘Displaying grace and building community’, September 7) Dr Mason had written presciently that peacemakers were ‘haunted’ by the notion that the peace process ‘could simply result in a form of benign apartheid, with segregation now worse than it was when the conflict began in 1968. The reality is that on the ground in the inner city that is pretty much the picture.’ He also said that many ‘peace walls’ had been built separating communities since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
Pray: that the peace process will not cease but continue to move forward to complete its transformation. (Ro.12:2)
More: http://www.methodistrecorder.co.uk/mrhlines.htm
Home Secretary condemns 'savage' PC killings
The deaths of two unarmed police officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has ‘devastated’ the force, Home Secretary Theresa May has said. Mrs May condemned the ‘savage acts of pure brutality’ that led to the deaths of PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes. They suffered fatal injuries in a gun and grenade attack on Tuesday morning. Mrs May cut short her holiday to travel back to the UK to visit GMP's headquarters. Speaking on Wednesday evening, Mrs May said: ‘(The attacks) have left grieving families, they have devastated Greater Manchester police force. They were incredibly brave and their deaths remind us what police officers can face every day.’ Eyewitnesses said a hail of bullets was fired and then a grenade was used during the attack. Police have been given more time to question 29-year-old Dale Cregan on suspicion of their murders. He had been the subject of a huge manhunt following two murders earlier this year of a father and son in separate attacks in the area. A 28-year-old man is also being held on conspiracy to commit murder.
Pray: especially for the families of the two police officers at this time. Pray for the authorities that they make wise decisions as the seek ways of combating such crimes.
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-19657784
Muslims clash with police in Europe
The rage over a US-made anti-Islamic video spread to Europe over the weekend, when clashes took place between protesters and police in several cities even as mainstream Muslim community leaders joined European governments in condemning violence sparked by the film. French police arrested 150 demonstrators who gathered outside the US embassy in Paris on Saturday, and 250 protesters were detained in Belgium over the weekend after confrontations in the country’s second city, Antwerp. Around 300 people chanted anti-US slogans outside the American Embassy in London on Sunday. Muslim leaders in France and Belgium were quick to condemn the violence despite their outrage over the video, which mocks the Prophet Muhammad. ‘Don’t associate French Muslims with these marginalized events,’ said Mohamed Moussaoui, President of the French Council of the Muslim Religion. ‘Muslims should use legal and just means to defend their religion.’
Pray: for all those who speak out the message of peace and reconciliation that their message will be believed and accepted. (Ps.133:1-3)
More: http://europenews.dk/en/node/58708
Muslims clash with police in Europe
The rage over a US-made anti-Islamic video spread to Europe over the weekend, when clashes took place between protesters and police in several cities even as mainstream Muslim community leaders joined European governments in condemning violence sparked by the film. French police arrested 150 demonstrators who gathered outside the US embassy in Paris on Saturday, and 250 protesters were detained in Belgium over the weekend after confrontations in the country’s second city, Antwerp. Around 300 people chanted anti-US slogans outside the American Embassy in London on Sunday. Muslim leaders in France and Belgium were quick to condemn the violence despite their outrage over the video, which mocks the Prophet Muhammad. ‘Don’t associate French Muslims with these marginalized events,’ said Mohamed Moussaoui, President of the French Council of the Muslim Religion. ‘Muslims should use legal and just means to defend their religion.’
Pray: for all those who speak out the message of peace and reconciliation that their message will be believed and accepted. (Ps.133:1-3)
More: http://europenews.dk/en/node/58708
European Parliament criticises failure to investigate CIA torture and renditions
The European Parliament has adopted, by an overwhelming majority, a new resolution condemning the role of European states in the CIA's secret detention and torture programme. The Parliament criticises member states for failing to fulfil their obligation to investigate serious human rights violations connected with the CIA programme, pointing out that previous investigations have been hampered by lack of transparency, prevalence of political interests, restriction of victims' right to effective participation, and lack of rigorous investigative techniques. The Parliament calls on Romania and Lithuania, in particular, to reopen investigations in the light of new evidence produced by Reprieve. In Poland, where a prosecutorial investigation is still ongoing after several years, the Parliament has deplored the lack of official communication on the scope, conduct and state of play of the investigation.
Pray: that this new resolution will result in the member states investigating any human rights violations and not hold back. (Pr.31:9)
More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17046
European Parliament criticises failure to investigate CIA torture and renditions
The European Parliament has adopted, by an overwhelming majority, a new resolution condemning the role of European states in the CIA's secret detention and torture programme. The Parliament criticises member states for failing to fulfil their obligation to investigate serious human rights violations connected with the CIA programme, pointing out that previous investigations have been hampered by lack of transparency, prevalence of political interests, restriction of victims' right to effective participation, and lack of rigorous investigative techniques. The Parliament calls on Romania and Lithuania, in particular, to reopen investigations in the light of new evidence produced by Reprieve. In Poland, where a prosecutorial investigation is still ongoing after several years, the Parliament has deplored the lack of official communication on the scope, conduct and state of play of the investigation.
Pray: that this new resolution will result in the member states investigating any human rights violations and not hold back. (Pr.31:9)
More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17046
USA: Kirk Cameron longs for a return to values of Founding Fathers
Actor and producer Kirk Cameron said America can get out of the ‘mess’ it's in by returning to the ‘original factory settings’, which involves listening to the Founding Fathers who relied on wisdom that comes from faith in God and His Word. Speaking at the 2012 Values Voter Summit in Washington DC last week, the evangelical Christian said he was concerned about the future of the nation as he is a father of six children. He said he is particularly concerned about the November election due to the nation's gigantic debt and issues like crumbling values, unwanted pregnancies, teenage suicides, breaking families, drugs and alcoholism. Cameron added that he finds most people merely playing the blame game, while there's a need for a clear voice to help the nation get out of the mess. ‘Perhaps we have forgotten what made us such a great nation in the first place,’ he said.
Pray: for a revival and a return to Biblical Christian values in the USA. (Rev.2:4-5)
Lebanon: The Pope calls for 'peace and reconciliation'
Pope Benedict urges Christians in the Middle East to be peacemakers at an open-air mass in Beirut attended by hundreds of thousands of people. He urged Christians in the Middle East to work for peace to counter ‘the grim trail of death and destruction’ in the world, in a sermon delivered in Lebanon as civil war raged in neighbouring Syria. The open-air mass was held on Beirut's Mediterranean seafront and attended by 350,000 worshippers and leaders of Lebanon's Christian and Muslim communities. Peace between warring factions and among the many religious groups in the Middle East has been a central theme of the Pope's visit to Lebanon, along with his call to Christians not to leave the region despite war and growing pressure from radical Islamists.
Pray: for the volatile situation in the Middle East and for the Christians who live and work there. (Ps.85:8)
Syria: Christians fear violent backlash from uprising
In a walled churchyard in the old city of Damascus, a small group of Syrians debate whether the time has come to flee one of Christianity's ancient heartlands. Members of a Christian community which stretches back almost 2,000 years, they worry that Syria's civil war can have no happy outcome and they face an upheaval that fellow believers have already suffered elsewhere in the Middle East. ‘The future is full of fear,’ said one man who gave only his first name, Rami. ‘We hope our fate will not be that of the Christians of Iraq, but nothing is guaranteed. Now we meet in church rather than cafes because we're afraid of being bombed.’ As evening shadows lengthened after a Sunday service, the young men and women found temporary sanctuary in the churchyard from the civil war which has already displaced many of them.
Pray: for our Christian brothers and sisters as they face the problems of civil war. (Ps.140:1-2)
More: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/12/pope-lebanon-syria-idINL5E8KAKT120120912