School apology to Christian teacher
09 Dec 2016
A Christian teaching assistant has won an apology from a school which disciplined her for telling a pupil that she did not believe in gay marriage. Vicky Allen took legal action after she received a formal written warning from Brannel School, in St Austell, Cornwall, which she said made her feel ‘like a criminal’. They accused her of opposing their ‘equal opportunities’ policy when she told a 14-year-old autistic boy that she disapproved of gay ceremonies. The widow, who has three children, also told the pupil she did not like the way the biblical rainbow symbol had been adopted as an emblem of gay pride. Disciplinary action was launched after the teenager’s mother complained to the school. Mrs Allen said she had done nothing wrong. ‘I was asked a question and gave my answer based on my beliefs and I was disciplined for it.’ The headteacher has now apologised to Vicky.
A prayer for the Church
09 Dec 2016
‘And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.’ (Gen.1:3) Lord, we know Your Spirit is brooding over our nation, and we thank You for every purpose, ministry and strategy of your Kingdom in this season of Advent. We pray for Your people to continue to enter Your presence and to stand upon their watch. As You spoke and there was light, may Your people be so connected to your heart and Your words that every purpose of heaven will be achieved in this season in our land. As Your Church opens its doors in unusual ways and your message of hope and salvation goes out with clarity and creativity, we pray for those who are spiritually open and hungry from every age group and community to hear and understand your message of truth and to experience your presence.
Lack of confidence in church youth work
09 Dec 2016
A new study by Youthscape revealed ‘churches are losing confidence in their ability to deliver quality youth work.’ The report, launched at Lambeth Palace on Wednesday, shows that many churches across the country are failing even to offer a youth work service, and those who do are concerned about its effectiveness. Common answers to the question ‘what's going well in your youth work?’ were ‘not a lot’, ‘nothing’, and ‘it does not do so well’. There is a disparity between what young people want to engage with and what the church is actually doing. Two-thirds of churches never discuss pornography or sexuality, while over half never discuss mental health, even though a separate survey of teenagers suggests that these are topics which they are highly interested in talking about. Pray for the fear to be removed from looking at issues around sex and sexuality.
Britain’s influence on vulnerable Yemen
09 Dec 2016
The Government has said it is 'deeply concerned' about Saudi Arabia’s use of UK weapons against civilians in Yemen, yet ministers will not halt the ongoing weapons sales to the Saudis. Boris Johnson does not believe the threshold has been crossed which would demand the suspension of arms sales to the Middle East country, even though it has been proved that an October airstrike, killing 140 Yemeni mourners at a funeral, was carried out by Saudi Arabia, using UK-built weapons and technology. The UN released a report earlier this year detailing ‘widespread and systematic’ attacks on civilian targets, which are in violation of international humanitarian law. Pray for renewed scrutiny of international export licence applications that could violate such laws. Pray also for the UK export licensing rules to be tightened. See also ‘Yemen’s starving millions’ in Prayer Alert World section.
Supreme Court and Brexit powers
09 Dec 2016
The UK's biggest constitutional case in decades, how we begin the process of leaving the EU, was discussed at the Supreme Court this week. Judgement is expected in January. The Government says it doesn't need MPs' approval to trigger Brexit, whereas Labour called for a Brexit plan to be outlined before Article 50 is triggered. There was a vote to ‘respect’ the Government's timetable for leaving. Although the result could complicate the Government's triggering of the process for the UK leaving the EU, it is not expected to stop Brexit happening. MPs also supported a Labour motion calling for Parliament to ‘properly scrutinise’ the Government in its proposals for leaving the EU. The votes followed a compromise between Labour and the Conservatives, who had argued over the questions to be put. See
Christians in parliament
09 Dec 2016
A recent ‘Investigating Faith’ event with David Suchet was attended by over a hundred parliamentarians, staff and guests. Dame Caroline Spelman MP interviewed David about his life, work & faith and the significance of the Bible in his life. It was highly thought-provoking, with many leaving inspired to read the Bible more. The first full term of Tuesday chapel services has a growing number of regular attendees. Please continue to pray for further growth here, and pray for Rev Jason Roach, Rev Nigel Beynon and Sue Algeo, as they teach from the Psalms and Matthew’s Gospel. Also remember the two groups of MPs meeting weekly for Bible study, and give thanks for new joiners and the return of a few members; may there be continued spiritual growth for all. Pray for the Parliament carol services next Monday and Tuesday, which members and staff from both Houses have signed up to attend.
Boris’s ‘awkward comments'
09 Dec 2016
Boris Johnson accused Saudi Arabia of engaging in ‘proxy wars’ in the Middle East, and Middle East politicians of ‘twisting and abusing religion for political gain’, adding that Iran and Saudi Arabia were ‘puppeteering’ because of a lack of strong leadership in the region. Our foreign secretary said, ‘There are politicians who are twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same religion in order to further their own political objectives. That's one of the biggest political problems in the whole region. That's why you have these proxy wars being fought in that area. There is not strong enough leadership in the countries themselves.’ He added that there was a lack of ‘big characters’ in the Middle East who are willing to reach out beyond their Sunni or Shi’a group and bring people together.
Bishops call for rail strikes to end
09 Dec 2016
Sussex bishops have urged for an end to the ‘cycle of blame’ and ‘misery’ that is impacting Southern Rail commuters. In a letter addressed to bodies from all sides of the Southern Rail dispute, the bishops' letter said that those involved had a ‘moral obligation’ to provide public transport and that the ongoing row was causing damage to the communities reliant on the service. Strikes are scheduled for this month and January, in a long-running dispute over changes to the role of conductors. The bishops say that, as Christian leaders, their task is ‘to promote those processes which lead to human flourishing in a just and free society’.