Churches offer homeless rolling night shelter
Twelve churches in Tower Hamlets have clubbed together to open a rolling night shelter for homeless people in the East London borough. The GrowTH project is offering homeless people a safe and warm place to sleep seven days a week until the end of February. Participating churches are taking it in turns to open their doors to guests from 7.30pm and provide a hot dinner in the evening and breakfast the following morning. Tony Uddin, of Tower Hamlets Community Church, is one of the project organisers. He said the churches were inspired to set up GrowTH because of the gap in service provision for local homeless people in their area. ‘Our volunteers’ generosity means that we can make a real difference this Christmas and throughout the winter,’ he said. ‘It is important for churches to be involved in the local community and our initiative is proof that we can make a real difference and implement the much publicised Big Society ethos.’
Pray: for this and similar initiatives across the country and that the Gospel message will be lived out in practice. (Pr.28:27)
Boris Johnson launches FareShare depot
On Tuesday the Mayor of London Boris Johnson opened a new food depot in London that will distribute more than 300 tonnes of surplus food a year - the equivalent of 800,000 meals - to charities, instead of clogging up landfill sites. The FareShare depot was made possible by a £362,000 grant from the London Waste and Recycling Board. It will focus on rescuing surplus and still perfectly edible food from organisations within London and redistributing it to support some of city’s most disadvantaged people, helping to reduce the amount of food being sent to landfill. The Mayor Boris Johnson said: This inspiring project will have a genuine impact helping vulnerable people.
Pray: that the Government will adopt policies that will not lead to people losing their homes. (Mt.25:37)
Christmas omitted on EU school diary
The European Commission has come under fire for producing more than three million copies of an EU diary for secondary schools which contains no reference to Christmas. More than 330,000 copies of the diaries, accompanied by 51 pages of glossy information about the EU, have been delivered to British schools as a ‘sought after’ Christmas gift to pupils from the commission. But Christians have been angered because the diary section for December 25 is blank and the bottom of the page with Christmas Day is marked only with the secular message. While the euro calendar marks Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish and Chinese festivities as well as Europe Day and other key EU anniversaries, there are no Christian festivals marked. If the commission does not mark Christmas as a feast in its diaries then it should be working as normal on December 25.
Pray: against the authorities that keep undermining the Christian faith. (Ps.28:18)
Christmas omitted on EU school diary
The European Commission has come under fire for producing more than three million copies of an EU diary for secondary schools which contains no reference to Christmas. More than 330,000 copies of the diaries, accompanied by 51 pages of glossy information about the EU, have been delivered to British schools as a ‘sought after’ Christmas gift to pupils from the commission. But Christians have been angered because the diary section for December 25 is blank and the bottom of the page with Christmas Day is marked only with the secular message. While the euro calendar marks Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish and Chinese festivities as well as Europe Day and other key EU anniversaries, there are no Christian festivals marked. If the commission does not mark Christmas as a feast in its diaries then it should be working as normal on December 25.
Pray: against the authorities that keep undermining the Christian faith. (Ps.28:18)
Marginalisation of Christians in Europe
A new report has voiced concern over the ability of Christians in Europe to publicly express their faith. It warned that discriminatory laws were preventing the equal exercise of freedom in the areas of speech, conscience and religion, while the introduction of equality legislation was leading to ‘side-effect discrimination’ against Christians. The report raised concern over recent threats to freedom of conscience. They included the UK Supreme Court’s refusal to grant an appeal to a Christian registrar who was disciplined because she refused to perform ceremonies for same-sex couples. The report pointed to the arrest of Christian street preachers in the UK and an ongoing case against Christians in Turkey for supposedly slandering Islam as evidence that freedom of expression is coming under threat in Europe. Many of the incidents of discrimination highlighted by the report related to the experiences of Christians in the UK.
Pray: that this report will be widely read and seriously considered. (Ps.37:18)
Marginalisation of Christians in Europe
A new report has voiced concern over the ability of Christians in Europe to publicly express their faith. It warned that discriminatory laws were preventing the equal exercise of freedom in the areas of speech, conscience and religion, while the introduction of equality legislation was leading to ‘side-effect discrimination’ against Christians. The report raised concern over recent threats to freedom of conscience. They included the UK Supreme Court’s refusal to grant an appeal to a Christian registrar who was disciplined because she refused to perform ceremonies for same-sex couples. The report pointed to the arrest of Christian street preachers in the UK and an ongoing case against Christians in Turkey for supposedly slandering Islam as evidence that freedom of expression is coming under threat in Europe. Many of the incidents of discrimination highlighted by the report related to the experiences of Christians in the UK.
Pray: that this report will be widely read and seriously considered. (Ps.37:18)
B&B owners sued
The Christian owners of a seaside Bed & Breakfast are being sued for refusing to allow two homosexuals to share a double bed because it would be contrary to their Christian faith. The B&B they own operates a policy which allows only married heterosexual couples to share a double bed. The homosexual couple are claiming that the refusal to allow them to share a bed was a ‘direct discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation’. They are relying on Equality Act regulations and are claiming up to £5,000 in damages against the hotel owners. At Bristol County Court Bernie Quinn, who works at the hotel, hinted that Mr Preddy and Mr Hall's booking was a set-up. He told the court that hours before Mr Preddy had made a telephone booking he spoke to a ‘Mrs Preddy’ regarding a double room. ‘We were very surprised when the two gentlemen turned up the next day’, said Mrs Bull, the owner.
More: http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/sexual-orientation/christian-bb-owners-sued
Secularists attack day of Bible readings
The BBC will devote nearly a whole day of Radio 4 to readings from the King James Bible to mark the 400th anniversary of its publication. (See Prayer Alert 5010) While the move has been welcomed by the Church, it has prompted secularists to complain to the BBC at what they believe is ‘excessive’ coverage. The 28 Bible passages, each 15-minutes long, will be introduced by the Archbishop Rowan Williams, Simon Schama and Will Self, and recorded by actors including Samuel West, Emilia Fox and Hugh Bonneville. The Rt Rev Graham James, Bishop of Norwich, said the BBC's coverage was an encouraging sign that it recognised the significance of the King James Bible. ‘The BBC is not being kind to Christians, but recognising the place of the Bible in the nation. It has had an impact on our culture, our history and our language and it has helped to create our sense of who we are as a people.’
Pray: that this event will go ahead and will be heard by as wide an audience as possible. (1Ti.4:13)
Concern over NHS-backed sex text messaging
Children are receiving text messages with advice on sex from a taxpayer-funded service, in a scheme which has been accused of sidelining parents and undermining the age of consent. The free service is aimed at 13 to 25-year-olds, according to a national newspaper, and works by replying to messages young people send in. Norman Wells, Director of Family Education Trust, said: ‘Not only does it undermine parents by presenting itself as an authoritative source of advice on sex, relationships and sexual health, but it also fails to respect the age of consent by offering a service to children under 16.’ Mr Wells added: ‘the information provided is not even accurate. The website fails to tell visitors that condoms provide
much less protection against sexually transmitted infections than they do against pregnancy, and says nothing about the health benefits of keeping sex within a lifelong, mutually faithful relationship with an uninfected partner’.
Pray: for a more tightly regulated and sensitive service providing better quality care and advice. (Ps.103:18)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/concern-over-nhs-backed-sex-text-message-service/
Charity warns of rising homelessness
The UK housing charity Shelter has today (14 December 2010) warned of a rise in homelessness as new research reveals the number of households in rent or mortgage arrears has more than doubled in the past year. Worryingly, households with children are most at risk (five per cent). Shelter estimates that more than 480,000 children are currently living in families that are falling behind with their basic housing costs. With recent government figures showing the first sustained increase in homelessness since 2003, Shelter is warning that homelessness could be set to soar in 2011 as Government cuts to housing benefit and support for homeowners, along with predicted job losses and increases in living costs, push thousands of struggling households over the edge. Shelter’s Chief Executive Campbell Robb said: 'We urge the Government to think again about the cumulative effects of its policies on people who are at real risk of losing their homes'.
Pray: that the Government will adopt policies that will prevent people from losing their homes. (Isa.32:18)