In Depth:  EN

Back in 1984, Mark Johnston was involved in starting a new work with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) of N. Ireland in the village of Richhill, Co. Armagh.

Although the village itself is not large, there is a population of around 50,000 within a five-mile radius and people began to find their way to this fledgling work. Mark was to serve as its minister for the next ten years.

A new initiative opposing the campaign to legalise euthanasia has been launched at Westminster.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dying Well – Dying Well, for short – says it wishes ‘to promote excellence in palliative care and stand against the legalisation of doctor-assisted suicide’.

The High Court will hear Heidi Crowter’s legal challenge to abortion laws on 6 July, it has been announced.

Crowter, 25, is bringing the case against the government with Máire Lea-Wilson, whose 23-month-old son Aidan has Down’s syndrome.

Almost 1,000 church leaders have urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson not to impose controversial vaccine passports on churches in England.

In an open letter published a few days ago, the pastors and ministers say they are ‘are wholly opposed to this suggestion’ and say that to ‘deny people entry to hear this life-giving message and to receive this life-giving ministry would be a fundamental betrayal of Christ and the gospel.’

James Greig (see photo), a practising lawyer, Biblical archaeology enthusiast and Deacon at Magdalen Road Church in Oxford, took the opportunity of Covid-19 to take one of his passions online.

No longer able to accept bookings for his Saturday tours of the British and Ashmolean Museums, he conducted a ten-week series of webinars via Zoom called Digging Deeper in Lockdown.

The Free Church of England (FCE) – a ‘Reformed and Protestant’ body set up by disillusioned Anglicans in the mid-19th century – is facing turmoil amid calls for its Primus, John Fenwick, to quit.

A letter calling for him to step down has been signed by half of the UK’s active FCE clergy, including former Church of England ministers Peter Sanlon and Steven Hanna. It says decisions made by Bishop Fenwick are ‘endangering the peace and future flourishing’ of the denomination.

A new chaplain has joined the Railway Mission – an organisation founded in 1881 to provide pastoral care and support for staff on trains and in stations.

Helen Lewis (see photo) is the new Railway and British Transport Police Chaplain for South and Mid-Wales. Helen came to faith in Christ at the age of 14 and re-committed her life to serving God while at university.

Publication of the long-awaited Thirty:one eight safeguarding report into evangelical minister Jonathan Fletcher’s time at Emmanuel Church, Wimbledon, was due on Tuesday 23 March – the day after this issue of en went to press.

It was expected there would be widespread coverage of its contents in the secular media. Reflections on what it says from a considered evangelical perspective will be published in the next issue of en.

Most evangelical churches in England and Wales will be worshipping in person by the start of April, according to an en survey.

Of 197 congregations in an online poll, 29% were planning to resume in March – but 39% had not stopped during the latest lockdown and had carried on meeting in their buildings throughout.

A Conservative MP has worked with religious and ‘LGBTQ+ advocacy groups’ to produce a definition of ‘conversion therapy’ which puts prayer in the same category as the ‘corrective rape’ of an individual.

Alongside producing legislation that bans ‘forced therapy’, as the government has suggested it is keen to do, the proposals include a requirement to report any of the practices defined as ‘conversion therapy’.

An evangelical minister in the Church in Wales (CiW) has told en he ‘won’t cave’ if same-sex marriage is ever imposed upon the denomination.

The CiW is considering introducing same-sex marriage blessings in its services, after bishops proposed radical changes to the Book of Common Prayer. Whilst proposing the change, the bishops of the CiW recognised that the Bible expresses all sexual activity outside of marriage as ‘unbridled lust’, and that the change is proposed due to ‘new understandings’ outside of the Bible. The Bible is to be ‘re-interrogated’. Those in ministry critical of the move noted that this path was laid from 2004 in a course which included a biased presentation of same-sex attraction. The Evangelical Fellowship of the Church in Wales (EFCW) made a statement upholding marriage, and lost many members (en contacted them for comment, and as yet, none has been forthcoming).

Evangelicals are facing a period of soul searching, heartache and challenge as three separate scandals unfolded.

The release of a review into lessons to be learnt from Jonathan Fletcher’s time as minister at Emmanuel Church, Wimbledon, was expected at any time.

Christian free-speech campaigners are hailing a victory after Cambridge University academics vetoed a proposed crackdown.

In a draft plan to alter its existing statement on freedom of speech, the university had said people must be ‘respectful’ of ‘differing opinions’ and ‘diverse identities’.

Parents are being given conflicting messages about whether they can access their children’s sex education curriculum, an en investigation reveals.

While the curriculum provider, Jigsaw, an independent education resource supplier, says parents can have a full view of it, schools are in fact denying them that right.

Evangelicals in the Church of England are urging Christians to think more deeply about racial issues.

The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) has launched a suite of video resources aimed at getting congregations to think biblically about how they can become more racially aware, sensitive and inclusive.

‘Keep trusting in our sovereign God.’ That’s the message from Free Church of Scotland Moderator Donnie MacDonald as the pandemic tightens its grip.

Mr MacDonald spoke after churches in Scotland were required to shut again, with many congregations in the rest of the UK also closing physical meetings voluntarily.

A British Christian family whose relative was murdered by Islamists in Nigeria have called his execution video ‘a grace’.

The terrorists killed the man on Christmas Day. He was in a group of 11 who were kidnapped, and was shot alongside four other Christians.

The companies behind controversial puberty blockers at the centre of a landmark transgender ruling have seen their share prices dip.

The firms, AbbVie Inc and Takeda, saw the value of their shares fall in the aftermath of the Kiera Bell case.

Evangelicals in the Church of England have been preparing to contend in the wake of the launch of Living in Love and Faith – while a new Anglican network has also been set up.

At the latest General Synod, a presentation was given on the new Living in Love and Faith (LLF) resources on issues of sexuality and gender.

Rico Tice (pictured) has launched the 2022 Passion for Life mission with 2 Timothy 1:10, reminding everyone that Jesus has destroyed death.

In a short video he says: ‘I know the pandemic has been brutal, but it has opened things up. [People] are looking for answers. We’ve all been rocked. How can we help people to go from hunger and spectating, to actively following Jesus? Let’s come together as we seek to answer that question.’ A Passion for Life took place nationwide in 2010 and 2014. Tice says the hope is that ‘life and immortality will be brought to light as we proclaim the gospel of Jesus to all corners of the UK. ‘So many are talking about this being a reset. Surely there’s no better time for us to gather together again and proclaim Christ … put March and April 2022 in the church diary, and begin praying and planning for a Passion for Life.’

A leading evangelical expert on ethical issues has said ‘each one of us must do what we feel is right’ when it comes to Covid vaccines.

Professor John Wyatt, Emeritus Professor of Neonatal Paediatrics at University College London and current President of the Christian Medical Fellowship, told en he thought there was ‘a duty of Christian love to be vaccinated … in order to protect my neighbour’.

An ‘Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer’ is planned for a site near Birmingham.

The wall will tell 1million stories of hope. The monument will be a Möbius strip, one of the only infinite – i.e. ‘eternal’ – shapes, looping back on itself endlessly, which will tower 50 metres into the skyline – 2.5 times the height of the Angel of the North, and 500,000 journeys will travel past it weekly.

At a recent ‘Evening with Christians Against Poverty and Friends’*, stories from the organisation were combined with music by Rend Collective and comedy interludes by Milton Jones.

Anthony, one of the people supported by CAP, gave a warm testimony of the way CAP had helped him become debt free. He had received a few surprise bills and swiftly moved into debt. Bailiffs were calling, he was contacted constantly by the creditors, and felt he was in a ‘very dark place’. As he tried numerous organisations for help, he was always seen as a statistic, not a person.

Evangelicals in the Church of England are anxiously awaiting the publication of Living in Love and Faith (LLF) in November.

LLF will provide resources on marriage, sexuality and identity. Dr Andrew Goddard, a member of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) who has contributed, says: ‘LLF materials will set out both current Anglican teaching – that marriage is between a man and a woman and the proper place for sex – and the views of those who reject this. Crucially, LLF will not make any recommendations. It seeks instead to resource the church for a theologically-informed period of reflection. It is expected these will be used to help the church make decisions, probably in 2022.’

Churches struggling with booking members into socially-distanced services have a new aid, thanks to a social media appeal by an FIEC pastor.

Cardiff pastor Dave Gobbett of Highfields Church took to Twitter and Facebook to ask what systems other church leaders were using. Within a few days, in direct response, web designer Jack Barber from Whitby Evangelical Church had come up with an innovative solution. His new system – viewable at churchserviceplanner.co.uk. – was described by Dave Gobbett as ‘incredible’.

A civil law student at the National University of Ireland Galway has questioned the introduction of a university Community Promise which could impede freedom of speech.

The student, Simeon Burke, is concerned the university could apply the regulations more widely in students’ lives. It asks students to follow behaviours that are not specified, as rules may ‘change regularly’.

A newly-discovered photograph dating from 1873 demonstrates that Victorian evangelicals knew what it meant to be a truly multi-racial church.

The picture was discovered on the prayer desk of the late David Ide, father-in-law of The Revd Tim Hastie-Smith, a Cotswold vicar. (David Ide’s obituary was carried in the September issue of en.)

Three evangelical church plants in differing networks have taken their first steps forward across the UK.

Grace Church Beckenham

Pastor of the new Grace Church Beckenham, Matt Dew-Jones, says people in this new congregation are passionate about both Beckenham itself, and God’s grace. ‘God is a giver (in so many ways), and ultimately at the cross. As we see a world marked by taking …we love that [God] gives forgiveness and the power to change.’ In statements on their website, the church is clear it wants to ‘become generous like Jesus. We want our lives, our time, energy and money to be used to serve Jesus and His world’ and they want to be a place where ‘people like me love people who are not like me in a committed church family’.

The publication date of an independent review commissioned by Emmanuel Church Wimbledon following safeguarding allegations concerning its former vicar Jonathan Fletcher, has been delayed. The Lessons Learned Review won’t be published before January 2021.

On the thirtyone:eight website a statement says: ‘Due to non-disclosure-related information emerging late within the scope of the review, the publication of the report is being postponed … [there has been a] review of a significant amount of information. [There has been a] need to take additional time to explore the information that has emerged late in the lessons learned process.

Former Evangelicals Now editor John Benton has warned UK churches not to ‘take their cue’ from overseas, and ‘be bamboozled’ into breaking government guidance over meeting together.

In a blog for the Pastor’s Academy, he laid out seven concerns he has with encouraging congregations to ‘defy the government’.

Covid vaccines developed using cell lines from an aborted baby raise vital ethical questions, the Christian Medical Fellowship says.

Most of the 100 potential vaccines being investigated across the world use a cell line derived originally from a child aborted in Holland in 1973. Known as HEK293, it has also been used in cancer research and in developing commonly accepted vaccinations such as rubella, hepatitis A and rabies. By contrast, a smaller number of possible Covid vaccines, including the one at Imperial College, London, are synthetically derived.

A much-anticipated ‘lessons-learnt’ review into the activities of former church minister, Jonathan Fletcher, will be published in September.

The independent Christian safeguarding charity, Thirtyone:eight, has been carrying out the review.

In yet another sign of concerning theological solidarity, Pope Francis took part in an online service on 31 May at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

He shared a prayer for Pentecost as part of Thy Kingdom Come, an annual global ecumenical prayer movement promoted by the Right Reverend Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Archbishop of York and other senior church leaders were involved in the event. In his message, the Pope called on all Christians to seek a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a world ‘experiencing a tragic famine of hope’.

God’s people know that He is King, no matter what the circumstances. In these strange times, en wants to encourage God’s people to that end. If you have a story with a coronavirus connection, no matter how big or small, tweet or mail en, or call and leave a message. Here is a great example:

Northern Ireland

A pastor from the Ark Church in Belfast, Lee McClelland, who had been isolated in hospital with C-19, shared a seven-minute clip online recounting God’s goodness that he had experienced first-hand while at his lowest and most lonely.

On 4 March, the BBC broadcast the first of its Lent Talks on Radio 4 in which opposition to transgenderism was compared with the temptation of Jesus. The talk was given by a male Church of England priest, who presents as a woman.

Rachel Mann began her talk by criticising an intolerant 1970’s generation who had assigned her a male at birth, and had then forced her to grow up as a normal little boy.

Heidi Crowter, a 24-year-old woman who has Down’s syndrome (DS), has launched a landmark case against the UK Government over abortion law which allows terminations up to birth for babies with Down’s syndrome and other disabilities.

The case is being brought jointly by Heidi and Cheryl Bilsborrow, whose two-year-old son Hector has DS. The aim is to stop babies with disabilities being singled out by the current law. A Crowd Justice Fund set up to raise money to bring the case to the government, reached the necessary £20,000 within a week. The target was increased to £50,000 to fund the next part of the case which involves appointing a barrister.

A report in the Highland Times at the end of January drew en’s attention to the content of the Scottish curriculum for sex education, which is explicit and teaches pornography in a positive way.

For children aged ten+, a cartoon about pornography includes an audible reference to watching bestiality. Whilst teaching about the objectification of women, the cartoons objectify women. Anal sex is normalised even though it carries a higher risk of STIs and causes physical damage.

There has been a proliferation of church planting in recent years amongst many and varied streams of the evangelical church, both in the UK and around the world. Much of the time that can certainly be seen as a very positive and exciting thing. However, along with the advances and successes there are also many struggling plants and, sadly, a good number which have failed despite initial high hopes.

A new study based in the UK, but engaging with a broad range of pastors and networks from all over the world, is seeking to listen to, and learn from, the stories of plants that have not gone as ‘hoped or expected’. Perhaps a plant has ended up having to shut down, or is just limping along, or maybe, after an extended period of significant struggle, is now thriving. The hope is that as these examples are considered, healthier churches will be planted with pastors being better equipped and, along with sending churches, having more realistic expectations of the process. Part of the research also seeks to understand how planters who have struggled have been cared for during what is often a very painful process.

In December, Emmanuel Church Wimbledon announced that it has commissioned an independent lessons learnt review concerning Jonathan Fletcher and Emmanuel Church.

The review, to be undertaken by safeguarding organisation thirtyone:eight, will take place over the next six months, with a report of the findings to be published by May 2020.

The first in a series of free publications was launched in November, aiming to support parents as they try to grapple with what schools are doing in the name of equality and human rights.

The Christian Institute are keen to make for clear that their publication, Equipped Equality, does not constitute legal advice. Rather, it contains simple explanations and helpful scenarios based upon real life school situations where competing rights are pitted against each other.

Ligonier Ministries hosted its first conference in London in late September. Close to 1,200 people registered for ‘The Light of the World’, held at Methodist Central Hall.

The Revd Mark Johnston, Bethel Presbyterian Church, began Friday evening remarking how controversial the title of the conference is. It wasn’t ‘A Light of the World’ or simply ‘Light of the World’. Rather, this conference was called ‘The Light of the World’, and in the midst of a postmodern culture, the definite article makes all the difference.

St Silas Church in the West End of Glasgow voted in June to discontinue its status as a licensed private chapel within the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC).

After a process of consultation and prayer, a members’ vote was held and an emphatic majority of 86% (132 people) voted to leave.

On 10 April, Israel Folau, a high-profile Australian rugby union player, posted a summary of 1 Corinthians 5:9-11 on social media. He added that: ‘hell awaits people who don’t repent.’

Folau also sent a Tweet criticising the Tasmanian parliament, which has become the first Australian state to make it legally optional to list gender on birth certificates.

A university Christian Union had its special outreach cancelled due to other students from the university protesting about trans-gender rights with respect to the event.

The guest speakers therefore went on to speak at another university where someone was saved. The university Christian Union and the organisation with which the speakers work were keen to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the situation. It is in mediation talks over the disruption caused to the event.

From 8-10 January around 100 church leaders gathered for the 47th Carey Conference.

The main speaker, Dr Bob Letham, Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Union School of Theology, delivered three lectures on the Trinity. He provided an overview of how the church developed the biblical texts to articulate the doctrine of the Trinity. He then explored ‘The Trinity, creation, and the world around us’, before finishing with an engaging session on ‘The Trinity and worship’. His lectures helpfully underscored the grave danger of minimising this doctrine today.

At the summer conference of Living Out (LO), a ten-point ‘church audit’ was launched with the intention of helping churches to examine how ‘biblically inclusive’ they are with regard to people who may present themselves as LGBT.

However, concerns have been raised that though well meant, this ‘audit’ could have detrimental effects on the churches.

The government consultation on changes to the Gender Recognition Act closes at 11pm on Friday 19 October (en September).

The Relationships Education consultation closes on 7 November (en October).

Over 300 church leaders and workers gathered at East London Tabernacle on 29 September to hear about the need to reach hard places in the UK.

Delegates heard that whilst evangelicalism had deep and historical working-class roots, many of the country’s deprived areas have since been woefully neglected and movements have failed to invest and to raise up indigenous leaders.

On 3 July George Verwer celebrated his 80th birthday and announced a tour of the UK to 20 or so train stations to give friends a chance to meet him and pray.

He said he needed a ‘sabbatical’ from big events after last year’s OM 60th celebration. George said he wanted to be able to have time to sit with people, and big parties don’t allow for that. So through July and August he plans to sit in coffee shops and train stations for a few hours so people can have a few minutes conversation, ‘maybe a prayer and for sure a photo – for me maybe a few tears’.

The government launched a consultation on 3 July seeking the nation’s views on how best to reform the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) 2004 and the process of changing one’s legal gender.

During the launch and in the time leading up to it, the government was keen to note that, due to the Equalities Act which they have no plans to change, men who say they are women will not automatically have the right to enter female-only spaces such as toilets and changing rooms. However, as commentators noted, this means nothing if someone presents themselves as female but are in fact male. Women and young girls have already experienced sharing changing spaces with men who are pre-surgery males (therefore still having a penis) who claim to be female.

A Christian was asked to step down from his role on a school governing body after leading an Easter assembly where parents subsequently complained about the Christian content of what was said.

Nigel Hoad had previously spoken at the new non-faith school’s Christmas Fayre. The invitation from the school to speak at the Easter assembly was warmly received. He had been asked to speak about the real meaning of Easter, not about Easter bunnies or chocolate eggs, to children aged 4 to 7. Around 50 parents also attended the assembly.

Barnabas Fund, a UK based organisation that reports on Christian persecution around the world, issued a statement on 12 June in response to the meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un held in Singapore.

‘President Trump hailed the summit as ‘great progress’ towards the stated US aims of nuclear disarmament. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the news [of a] commitment to denuclearisation ‘came like a miracle’.

With a headline like that, you might be expecting the worst.

Southwark Diocese has had its fair share of recent controversy, for example back in May, when St Andrew’s Waterloo hosted a Ramadan Iftar (evening meal) to bring together the LGBT and Islamic communities during the Pride in London festival; or in July, when the cathedral hosted a service of Holy Communion to bless the civil partnership between the Diocesan Director of Ordinands and a local vicar.

The Government seems to have shelved plans for controversial new laws against ‘non-violent’ extremism.

This is the conclusion that Colin Hart, Director of The Christian Institute, has reached with regard to three initiatives previously announced by the Government: the state registration and Ofsted inspection of youth work; an equality oath for public sector employees and extremism disruption orders.

Chris Durrant was ordained and inducted into the pastorate of Howeth Road Evangelical Church on 9 September.

Chris had attended the Cornhill Training Course whilst working alongside the elders at Hailsham Free Church.

On 23 September it was reported that a psychotherapist had a university research proposal approved and then turned down with the claim that it ‘would be politically incorrect’ to publish results concerning people reversing their ‘gender reassignment operations’.

James Caspian, a psychotherapist who has worked with transgender and transsexual people for over ten years, wanted to conduct research for a Master’s degree in counselling and psychotherapy at Bath Spa University. His research proposal was influenced by a conversation with Dr Miro Djordjevic of the Belgrade Centre for Genital Reconstructive Surgery who in 2014 conducted an unprecedented seven reversals at his clinic.

On 6 August, the National Trust reversed a decision to enforce the wearing of gay pride badges for all its volunteers at a Norfolk property after 10% of them resigned.

The ‘outing’ of Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer, the last owner of Felbrigg Hall, was a questionable act. Surviving family members were not supportive of the Trust outing him, as they question whether the unmarried man was gay and say his private life is of no concern to the public.

On 3–8 July, Professor Stuart Burgess exhibited his Olympic bike work at the headquarters of the Royal Society in London near Buckingham Palace.

His team’s chain drive engineering was used on all the Team GB 2016 track bikes. Every part of the bike, which travels at up to 50 miles an hour, had to work as efficiently as possible. The best combination of chain and sprockets was required, but current test rigs using a turbo trainer were found not to be accurate enough. A pendulum system and a laser to measure its movement was devised to measure efficiency by monitoring how slowly the pendulum came to rest.

Days before the Manchester and London attacks on 22 May and 3 June, reports made about suspected extremist activity emanating from a property in Ilford were met with ‘apathy and disbelief’ according to a Christian who spoke to the police.

Muslims had shared information with the Christian about possible extremism being linked to a building in the north-east London area. When this was reported to SO15, Counter Terrorism Command within the Metropolitan Police, a ‘feeling of deflation’ followed, due to their ‘apathetic response’.

On 14 June Tim Farron announced his decision to step down as leader of the Liberal Democrats.

He said he wished he could have been better able to, ‘remain faithful to Christ while leading a political party in the current environment’.

In early February, abuse allegations from the 1970s came to light about a leader at the Iwerne camps, now run by The Titus Trust.

Children from certain public and independent schools were invited to attend Christian camps as they were seen to be the most likely people to take up positions of power within British society. But some were, it has been alleged, exposed to extreme beatings at the hand of a camp leader, John Smyth.

The Revd Gavin Ashenden resigned from his role as one of the Queen’s Honorary Chaplains due to his opposition to and desire to comment freely on matters such as the reading of the Qu’ran at St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow in January.

He commented: ‘When I was confronted with attempts to silence me, my reaction was to ask “in what way is a priest defending the faith on behalf of a monarch who was Defender of the Faith, incongruous or improper?” Because I think it a [more] compelling duty to speak out on behalf of the faith, than to retain a public honour which precludes me doing so at this time, I resigned my post.’

A report from the House of Bishops to be discussed by the Church’s General Synod on 15 February upheld the teaching, recognised by canon law, that marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman.

But it also concluded that the current advice on pastoral provision for same sex couples – which allows clergy to provide informal prayers for those marrying or forming a civil partnership – is not clear enough and should be revisited.

Recommendation 11 from the December Casey Review on integration in the UK has called for the registration of home schooled children and standards against which home education should be judged.

The report states: ‘It is extremely concerning that children can be excluded from mainstream education without sufficient checks on their wellbeing and integration. The Government should step up the safeguarding arrangements for children who are removed from mainstream education, and in particular those who do not commence mainstream schooling at all.

Demonstrating that the UK has accelerated its gradual slide away from biblical truth into a parachuteless cliff-edge plummet, was the news that a Christian couple have been denied the right to adopt the children they were fostering due to their views on same sex parenting, it was reported on 6 November.

The couple had always wanted to adopt the children and wrote to the council to appeal against the decision to block them adopting due to ‘some opinions and views’ they had expressed.

From 16 July – 5 August the Keswick Convention took ‘packed out’ to a new level, with around 15,000 people attending across the weeks alongside youth work catering for 2,500 where the 3–11’s programme alone increased by 50% from last year.

An additional fourth relay venue was added this year and live streaming of events was also possible on YouTube. This saw people as far as Canada and Australia tuning in.

The Supreme Court vindicated a judicial review of the Scottish Government’s controversial Named Person scheme on 28 July, ruling the plans unlawful.

The five judges, including two from Scotland, unanimously struck down the central provisions of the scheme and the Scottish Government has no opportunity to appeal.

In 2005 the then Bishop of Chichester initiated a ‘fresh expression of church’ in Brighton.

It was lead by the Revd Carl Chambers who was just finishing a curacy with Bishop Hannington Church of England in Hove.

On 1 August, The Christian Institute, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, marked 25 years as a charity.

Founded by Colin Hart, they have sought to remain faithful to being a Christian influence in an increasingly secular world. Recently they have been instrumental in getting the government to consult over its rather blanket approach to ‘extremism’.

David Burrowes MP described the 9 March Commons vote on the Sunday Trading Bill as ‘a relief ’. The result of 317 to 286 saw the plans to open up shops for longer on Sundays defeated as he led a cross-party ‘unholy alliance’ who united around a concern to keep Sunday special.

David Burrowes said to en: ‘One of the key concerns in the debate was the way the Government tried to introduce the law change. It was tacked onto the Enterprise Bill at a late stage of the Commons proceedings. The impact assessment and significantly the family impact (which was largely negative) was only published hours before the debate. The Government tried to broker a late concession by proposing a pilot scheme but their amendment was not allowed.

The Tron congregation, who were evicted from their church building by the Glasgow Presbytery of the Church of Scotland in October 2012, continues to see God’s blessing.

Over 100 Iranians have been attending the church and hearing the ministry of William Philip through translation into the Farsi language. At the end of January it was reported that 33 were baptised.

The International Development Committee report at the end of January found that 90% of Syrian refugees are not in camps, including some of the most vulnerable people such as religious minorities.

David Burrowes MP called on the Government to respond concerning unaccompanied minors. ‘Many people, particularly Christians, will not go to the camps, because they fear double persecution there. They seek refuge through churches and other communities and are dispersed. They are not being registered and we need to recognise that they are among the most vulnerable groups. We need to ensure that the relocation programme involves Christians as well as others.’

en was informed in early November that the Cornerstone Christian school in Epsom Surrey will be closing at Christmas after it experienced what has been judged to be an unfair Ofsted inspection.

At its last inspection, Cornerstone was shown to be doing well. Data on the school showed that around 60% of A level students were achieving A* or A grades. There were no areas of real concern and the school had been praised for many aspects of its work, including its Christian ethos.

Due to the increases in costs of production and postage over the past eight years, the decision has reluctantly been made to increase the price of en.

With the January issue, the cover price will rise to £1.25, an annual UK postal subscription will be £18 and the cost through a church agency will be £15. However an online only subscription will remain at £10.

On 30 September David Robertson participated in a debate with the Revd Scott McKenna, in his Mayfield /Salisbury Church of Scotland in Edinburgh.

This debate had arisen because of Mr McKenna’s sermon on YouTube in which he declared that Christ dying for our sins is ‘ghastly theology’. David Robertson, who is Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland, wrote a response to which McKenna objected. The two men met and had a good conversation and decided to hold that conversation in public.

The trustees of Inter Varsity Press (IVP) and the trustees of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) announced in early October a major new agreement that they say will secure the future of IVP as the UK’s leading evangelical publisher.

IVP are now under the management of SPCK, who have agreed with the current IVP trustees on a comprehensive plan to refinance IVP and ensure it is fully resourced to thrive as an evangelical Christian publisher in the digital era.

A summer edition of BBC’s Songs of Praise remembered the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation with God, despite a lifetime of pain due to the horror of war.

PO George Hinkins was on HMS Formidable from 6 January 1942 and was killed by a kamikaze on 9 May 1945. At a reunion of crew and family his son, David, who was only five months at the time of his father’s death, was told the full story of that day on the boat and how he had saved a number of young sailors lives by sending them away from the gun and into shelter. Unfortunately the kamikaze hit the ship and killed George who had continued to fire the gun single handed until the plane hit.

Three invitations were given over the weekend of 4 –6 July 2015, when the 68th Bible ministry weekend sponsored by Longhorsley Free Church took place.

Meeting in Longframlington, Northumberland, Andrew Lucas (Omagh Evangelical Presbyterian Church) opened the convention by asking all who had gathered from across the North East to take a trip with him up a ravine and into a garden. He took his hearers to Gethsemane. In three masterly expositions he ably demonstrated from all four Gospel writers that Christ was in control, he submitted to his Father and he demonstrated profound love for us, as he prepared to drink the cup of God’s wrath in our place.

Many men like to join in the Fantasy Football competition run by The Daily Telegraph each year.

This year, the 2014/15 season, it was won by Jonathan Worsley, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Kew, south-west London. The prize for winning was £35,000 and Jonathan told The Daily Telegraph that part of this would be put towards his two young children’s future and also some would be given to the outreach work of the church.

Evidence for the Bible is a relevant subject for today’s cynical and confused society.

But a fast-moving PowerPoint presentation was heard by over 100 students in Durham University on 8 May. Assuming no prior knowledge of archaeology or the Bible, Brian Edwards showed how the Bible can be authenticated time and again through the evidence of archaeology. His declared aim was to show that the Bible records history accurately.

There was a glossy feel to the annual meetings of the Grace Baptist Mission on Saturday 27 October.

First of all, the venue, the Friends Meeting House in Euston, London had been refurbished – new seats, new stage, flashy data projector equipment and perhaps best of all new loos!

On Thursday September 18 the Scottish people voted ‘No’ to independence, 55% to 45%. In doing so the United Kingdom still holds together.

For many the breaking of the union which has lasted for over 300 years and has been hugely beneficial to these islands would have been an enormous sadness.

In June, Evangelicals Now launched brand-new, fully mobile-device-compliant website.

It is a major step forward with an online version of the newspaper, known as en-online and the ability to subscribe to either version on the website by auto-renewing payments made by card or direct debit.

For the two weeks running up to Easter, the Pontins holiday site in Prestatyn, North Wales, was the venue for the Word Alive Christian family conference.

Now in its seventh year, the event has matured. It is no longer new and has shed that prefix from its name. It continues to be a winning formula with around 3000 attending each week. Fabulous children’s work sits alongside world-class Bible teaching.

Churches in Essex, including FIEC and Grace Baptist churches, received curt letters from their local register office on April 22 demanding they register to conduct same sex ‘marriages’.

The demand came with the usual quarterly letter requesting details of marriages carried out, or a nil return for the previous three months, and was unsigned.

‘Why would you want to start an evening service? You’ve got your hands full as it is, haven’t you? Everyone else is closing down their Sunday evening works!’

That was the gist of the advice offered to the Christ Church Southampton elders from more than one source when they floated the idea of getting something going on a Sunday evening!

Despite that, as the ‘storm of the century’ gathered pace outside in October, with a local hotel in Portswood Southampton as its home, ‘The Six O’Clock’ was born.

This year was the turn of the Renewal Centre in Solihull to play host to the Grace Baptist Mission (GBM) annual meetings.

On October 26, the venue was full with 750 or more Christians from across the country. The theme was ‘A heart for mission’. One of the highlights of the day was the introduction of new missionaries who have come into the work.

I was present in the House of Lords on Monday and Tuesday, June 3 and 4. Predictably, to listen to the whole debate on the same-sex marriage bill gave a very different picture to that presented by the media afterwards.

A long series of devastating criticisms were made of the bill, including the principle of the bill, the process by which it has been pushed through Parliament so far, and the many unintended consequences that might follow.