Unmarried parents and broken homes
Nearly half of the children born today will be living in broken homes by the age of 16. The sharp increase in unmarried couples having children is to blame for the rise in parental separation rates, a study from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) claimed. The report calls for a major shift in policy to reassert the ‘vital’ importance of marriage as a more stable form of commitment than cohabitation. It followed concerns from Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, that society pays a 'heavy price' for separation, in terms of the cost of crimes committed by children from broken homes, lost taxes and rising benefit bills. In 1980 there were one million single parents, but this has now doubled. Mr Duncan Smith, who founded the CSJ, has suggested that the true cost of family breakdown to the UK economy, including benefits, lost taxes and crime, was up to £100 billion a year.
Pray: that the nation reasserts the bedrock of family to be in Christian marriage. (Job 21:19)
UK considering ban on US pastor
The American preacher who had planned a mass burning of the Koran on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks could be banned from entering Britain under incitement and national security laws. Theresa May, Home Office minister, said that she is ‘actively looking’ at the case. A previously obscure preacher, Jones gained infamy through his effort, later cancelled, to burn the Koran. Anti-racism campaigners deplore the idea of such a visit and say it will only breed hatred and violence. The US pastor said that he had been invited to address a rally in February in Luton, which has a significant Muslim minority, being organised by English Defence League (EDL), a far-right group, about ‘the evils and destructiveness of Islam’. The EDL has emerged in the past couple of years to oppose what it calls the spread of Islam, Sharia law and Islamic extremism in England. Its opponents say the group is racist and stages violent protests.
Pray: for wise counsels, inspired by the Lord, to prevail in this case. (Job 12:13)
More: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/12/20101212224043670608.html
Intolerance against Christians highlighted by report
A major new report into the increasing levels of discrimination faced by Christians in Europe has been launched in Vienna. The report, produced by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe highlights the growing trend towards marginalising Christians from the public square. The paper gives examples of attacks on freedom of religion and freedom of conscience, including moves in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to force doctors to perform abortions against their conscience. The launch coincided with a conference sponsored by The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on freedom of conscience and religion. The document also refers to attacks on freedom of expression, such as the Spanish Government imposing a €100,000 fine on a Christian TV network for running a series of advertisements in favour of the family and opposing the homosexual lifestyle.
Pray: that this report's findings will lead to understanding and acceptance of Christian values. (Ps.147:5)
Intolerance against Christians highlighted by report
A major new report into the increasing levels of discrimination faced by Christians in Europe has been launched in Vienna. The report, produced by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe highlights the growing trend towards marginalising Christians from the public square. The paper gives examples of attacks on freedom of religion and freedom of conscience, including moves in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to force doctors to perform abortions against their conscience. The launch coincided with a conference sponsored by The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on freedom of conscience and religion. The document also refers to attacks on freedom of expression, such as the Spanish Government imposing a €100,000 fine on a Christian TV network for running a series of advertisements in favour of the family and opposing the homosexual lifestyle.
Pray: that this report's findings will lead to understanding and acceptance of Christian values. (Ps.147:5)
British schools opt-out from Christian assemblies
A growing number of British schools are dropping traditional Christian assemblies in favour of multi-faith meetings and ‘moments of reflection’. More than 140 primary and secondary schools across Britain have won the right to opt out of the legal requirement to provide a daily act of worship which is ‘broadly Christian’ in character. (See also: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20101204/wrong-to-exclude-god-from-classroomsays-u-kthink-tank/) Some schools have adopted Islamic assemblies. The highest number of opt-outs from traditional assemblies is in Bradford where 47 schools have decided to introduce ‘new-style’ assemblies. Rt Rev Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali reminds us that: ‘The Judaeo-Christian tradition provides the connecting link to our island story. Without that tradition, it is impossible to understand the language, the literature, the art or even the science of our civilisation. It provides the grand themes of virtue and vice, atonement and repentance, resurrection and immortality. It undergirds and safeguards our constitutional and legal tradition’.
Pray: that the Gospel message will continue to be taught to our schoolchildren and sustain our shared heritage. (Mk.16:15)
Target for 1,000 ‘Mission Resolutions’
Church Mission Society is looking for 1,000 people to make Kingdom-minded resolutions this New Year. The ‘We Are Saying Yes’ campaign is being launched to inspire people to make resolutions that put a bit more of God’s mission into their everyday life. Some of the suggestions on the campaign website including praying for the person in front in the supermarket queue, joining a campaign, making friends with someone of another faith, and fasting from impulse buys. CMS web manager Jeremy Woodham said: ‘So many people have given up making resolutions because they think they’ll never keep them. We’re giving people the chance to make a resolution that matters – and providing a space for them to share tips, ask for prayer and tell their stories. We think the impact of 1,000 people taking a small step in mission could have a fantastic ripple effect.’
Pray: for many more than 1,000 people to commit to this original approach to mission. (Is.48:15)
‘Not Ashamed’ campaign gathers momentum
The Not Ashamed campaign was launched nationwide last week to encourage Christians to speak up about the value of Britain’s Christian heritage and the Christian faith. A copy of the campaign’s leaflet, written by Lord Carey, was delivered to 10 Downing Street and Buckingham Palace. The leaflet describes Christianity in Britain as being ‘under attack’ and warned of an attempt by the usual suspects of secularists and atheists to ‘air-brush’ the Christian faith out of public life. Lord Carey said: ‘It appears that flowing from a combination of well-meaning political correctness, multiculturalism and overt opposition to Christianity, a new climate, hostile to our country’s tradition and history, is developing’. Nearly 16,000 people have signed the Not Ashamed declaration, which states that Jesus Christ is good news for the nation.
Pray: for the continued growth of the Not Ashamed movement as an influential voice. (Ac.13:47)
More: http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/not.ashamed.campaign.hopes.for.christmas.chart.success. with.new.song/27198.htm
24/7 Prayer to become Fresh Expressions partner
The 24/7 Prayer movement has become a formal partner of the Fresh Expressions initiative. The announcement follows conversations between the head of Fresh Expressions, Bishop Graham Cray, and 24/7 leaders Andy Freeman and Pete Greig. ‘The result was that it felt like the right time, something that God wanted us to do,’ said Freeman, who sits on the 24/7 Council. 24/7 Prayer began as a single student-led prayer vigil in Chichester in 1999 and has since grown to become an international movement of prayer, mission and justice, spanning more than 100 countries. Freeman said the he was particularly interested to see how younger people could be involved in starting up fresh expressions of church and how prayer rooms could be used as part of the listening process for people interested in building mission communities and fresh expressions. Bishop Cray, Archbishops’ Missioner in the Church of England, said he was delighted that 24/7 Prayer was joining Fresh Expressions.
Pray: that God will bless and encourage this movement through His Holy Spirit. (2Co.9:12)
More: http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/247.prayer.becomes.fresh.expressions.partner/27186.htm
Soldiers killed on active service
The continuing loss of life of our Armed Forces in Afghanistan is distressing but when it is allegedly due to ‘friendly fire’ it becomes more poignant. Each soldier’s life is precious, but needless accidents, including for example road traffic accidents, are more difficult to comprehend. Most recently the Ministry of Defence has named a soldier killed in Afghanistan as Private John Howard, from 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment. The 23-year-old New Zealand-born soldier was serving with 16 Air Assault Brigade's Reconnaissance Force when he was killed last Sunday, 5 December. Our prayers thank him for his selfless giving and seek the Lord’s support for his grieving family.
Pray: for the safety of our troops deployed in Afghanistan and for the families of those killed and seriously injured. (Ps.29:10-11)
Teenagers search for family values
Young people want to learn about responsible parenting rather than sexual mechanics in sex education, a recent survey has revealed. Around three quarters of teenagers interviewed said that a relationship does not need to involve sex. The findings challenge the current emphasis in sex education on the mechanics of safe sex. The survey, conducted among over 2,000 13 to 16-year-olds from a range of schools and backgrounds, has surprised experts in the field. Researchers from Hull University said that they were surprised that the majority of those surveyed supported ‘moral’ ideas about having sex. The survey revealed that the single most important ‘fact of life’ for both boys and girls was parenting. Commenting on the findings, Norman Wells of the Family Education Trust, said: ‘Young people are clearly tiring of the negative messages they are receiving about pregnancy and parenthood from sex educators obsessed with contraception’.
Pray: that Christian morality supporting the ideals of marriage and family values is disseminated strongly to our young people. (Heb.13:4)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/teach-us-more-about-family-values-say-teenagers/