According to the National Secular Society, Prince Charles’s accession to the throne could trigger a national debate about the relationship between the Church of England and the state, providing an ‘opportune moment’ to make the case for disestablishment. Debate about whether an established, privileged ‘state church’ is appropriate in an increasingly multi-faith and secular society is seen by many as off-limits while the Queen remains monarch. But the society’s report says Charles’s coronation is likely to throw up pressing questions about the institutional links between church, monarchy and parliament, claiming that the disestablishment of the church is now necessary and inevitable. Only two countries in the world, Britain and Iran, have religious leaders in their legislatures by right. Pray for the continuation of a monarchy crowned and anointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Westminster Abbey.

More people are reporting consistent unhappiness, with women more likely to do so, an NHS survey has found. The Royal College of Psychiatrists said women are more likely to bear the brunt of domestic and caring responsibilities. Almost a quarter of 45- to 54-year-olds are mentally ill, but numbers drop as women get older. 16% have severe problems past 65, and 14% at 85. Christians are recognising the need to reach those with mental health diagnoses, but often those in the church with these diagnoses suffer in silence. Having heard that the joy of the Lord is their strength or that they need only pray more to be healed or that happiness will accompany the faithful, many who suffer from mental illness keep their diagnosis a secret. Pray for all those in need of counselling and pastoral care, and for Christian counselling services to be known about more widely. See also

In November you prayed for Joshua Sutcliffe, the Christian maths teacher facing discipline for 'misgendering' a school student. See: He is now taking his employer to court after being dismissed for gross misconduct. The child had self-declared as ‘male’, but Sutcliffe had been given no formal instruction on how he was to refer to the pupil. When the pupil became irate Sutcliffe apologised. However, an investigation began. Sutcliffe’s claim of discrimination also stems from his school Bible club being shut down 18 months after it began. Sutcliffe said he was more than willing to answer all the unjustified allegations against him, and detail his grievances about 'equality' policies and practices, but would do so before an independent tribunal not school governors. The Christian Legal Centre said cases like these have become common as children are making decisions against their natural born biological sex.

EU officials supervise and fund the Palestinian Authority (PA) education system. A series of Helsinki talks examined the new PA curriculum and agreed that the new textbooks stir up further radicalisation and hatred. They concluded that radicalisation is persistent throughout the curriculum, grooming children for martyrdom and jihad war, with a fundamentalist worldview. ‘This curriculum is not only a catastrophe for Palestinian youth but also for the reputation of the Finnish education system, as the curriculum was reviewed under the supervision of Finnish experts and officials,’ said the spokesperson for the EU consultations. An elementary mathematics book asks, ‘If the number of martyrs from the first intifada is X and the number of martyrs from the second intifada is Y, what is the total number of martyrs?’ In basic physics, Newton’s law of gravity is explained by a picture of a young Palestinian aiming a slingshot at an Israeli officer. See

The European Commission president’s informal manner at EU meetings has been criticised. He denies accusations that he has a drink problem. Now he must now take urgent steps to explain his role in an illegal wiretap scandal. In 2013 Jean-Claude Juncker resigned as Luxembourg prime minister after his intelligence chiefs were accused of tapping phones, bugging politicians and keeping 13,000 secret files. He denied any involvement, but was dragged back into the scandal after fresh claims that members of his staff had tampered with crucial evidence. Now a secretly recorded telephone conversation between him and his intelligence chief in 2007 shows them discussing an interference that he denies ever authorising.

Six weeks after blowing up a Palestinian jihad tunnel, the Israeli army demolished a second, 'substantial' attack tunnel that began at the southern Gaza Strip and finished 0.6 miles away in agriculture fields near Kibbutz Nirim in Israel. In the 10 December blast, no Palestinians were killed. The military is currently constructing underground barriers around the Gaza Strip that are meant to prevent future attack tunnels and discover ones already constructed. The military’s ‘toolbox’ for underground warfare is improving. Pray that future tunnels do not become death traps for the terrorists digging them. Hamas is responsible for everything that happens in Gaza, in the air, on land and underground. Meanwhile the Anglican archbishop in Jerusalem has called for tolerance, harmony and mutual respect for all, as sporadic fighting continues after President Trump decided to move America’s embassy there. See

The 'Hope for the Middle East' petition, signed by over 800,0000 people, was presented at the United Nations on 12 December, urging the protection of Christians and other persecuted minorities in Iraq and Syria post-IS. It calls on the UN to work with religious leaders to maintain peace and rebuild Iraq and Syria.

As 2017 closes, Syrian warring parties are moving towards reconciliation - but America is not among them. IS is all but defeated: the Syrian army and its allies are closing in on the few remaining pockets occupied by other extremists. Donald Trump may have hinted at changes, but he’s treading the same path as Obama on Syria. Determined to oust Syria’s President Assad as a means to weaken Iran and re-establish American regional control, Barack Obama gambled on two pathways to this goal: 1) military strategy to snatch control over Syria from the regime; 2) UN/American mediation in Geneva to remove Assad. Washington lost its military venture when the Russian air force entered the battle; next it resuscitated a limp Geneva peace process for political settlement without Assad. It failed. But a fresh process is being established in Sochi, not Geneva, with Iranians, Russians and Turks carving out ceasefire zones and negotiating peace.

In Bali huge plumes of smoke continue to stretch 1,500m above Mount Agung as eruptions and low frequency earthquakes continue. The eruption threat remains at its highest level but it is not known when a major eruption will occur; so 70,000+ evacuees remain banished from their homes. In California wildfires have destroyed 1,000 structures to date, and six major fires still roar. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes. Smoke continues to obscure the sun in both places. Hundreds of people were forced to leave their homes in the Solomon Islands after several rivers overflowed on 5 December. After torrential rainfall on 1 December in Albania, 5,000 households suffered flood damage and 600 families are still homeless. In all of these instances people comfort each other after losing livestock, livelihoods, homes and possessions. Many are still living in fear. See

Leaders of over fifty countries condemned US president Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and called on the world to respond by recognising East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine at an Istanbul summit. They added, ‘We invite the Trump administration to reconsider its unlawful decision that might trigger chaos in the region, and to rescind its mistaken step’. Turkish President Erdogan also said, ‘It is out of the question for a biased US to mediate between Israel and Palestine; that period is over. We need to discuss who will be a mediator from now on.’ There have been riots and protests by Palestinians ever since Trump’s decision. On 14 December undercover police officers arrested rioters outside Ramallah. See