These articles were first published in our September edition of the newspaper, click here for more.
Freedom of religion is less important than homosexual and transsexual rights, House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said in early July.
He made the statement while hosting an event for a homosexual website. He said: ‘I respect people’s rights to adhere to and profess their faith, but for me, where there is a clash between somebody’s adherence to faith on the one hand and the acknowledgment of and demonstration of respect for human rights, the latter has to trump the former.’
The Christian charity HOPE is coordinating a season of prayers for peace, which started in August.
Church leaders, Christian ministries, charities and Armed Forces members from Britain and the Commonwealth have provided prayers and suggestions for peace-making activities. These 100 Days of Peace and Hope have been collated online. They are freely available for individuals, churches and schools across the UK to reflect on the losses of war, and to work and pray for peace.
The permission of children is now required before parents can view their medical records, the Family Education Trust asserted in July.
Following the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) at the end of May, many GP surgeries have reviewed their data protection policies and are insisting on securing the consent of children as young as 11 or 12 before they will allow their parents to view their records.
On 31 July, Dr Patrick Sookhdeo was found not guilty of an indecent assault alleged to have taken place in 1977. The jury of twelve at Snaresbrook Crown Court, after deliberating for less than two hours, unanimously found him not guilty.
Dr Sookhdeo is the founder of Barnabas Fund, and has served the persecuted Church for more than 25 years. He resigned as a trustee in 2015 and he and his family ask for our prayers as they continue to challenge an earlier verdict of a separate case in which he was convicted. He is seeking leave to appeal and has always maintained his innocence.
Government plans released in July confirmed that parents of primary school children will not be allowed to withdraw youngsters from Relationships Education.
However Sex Education will not be compulsory, the new 38-page draft guidance revealed. The guidance says schools will decide what is taught about LGBT issues, but must be respectful of religious views. In response, The Christian Institute called for a reinstatement of the right of withdrawal across all Relationship and Sex Education.
A Gloucester city preacher has reported about a successful outreach at Gloucester Carnival in July.
This was the 35th year that the ‘Bible Verse Reading’ and ‘Bible Text Display’ has been done in front of approximately 30,000 spectators. During one and a half hours of ministry the 24 Christians taking part in the outreach distributed over 3,000 ‘Salvation Message Gospel Tracts’.
New research from the Home Office revealed in July that the cost of modern slavery in the UK could be as high as £4.3billion annually, an average of just under £330,000 per victim.
This estimate is contained in an analysis of three forms of modern slavery – labour exploitation, domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. The Home Office announced in late July a major review into the Modern Slavery Act, as the research also showed criminal gangs are finding new ways to exploit victims.
Government guidance that would silence is schools on biblical marriage church ‘legally flawed’, said a human rights lawyer in July.
Professor Christopher McCrudden warned that draft guidance by the Department for Education (DfE) is inconsistent with equality and human rights laws. McCrudden said the DfE has failed in its duty to have due regard to the rights of Christians.
Railway Mission Chaplains won the British Transport Police’s ‘Community Volunteers of the Year’ award in June.
The British Transport Police (BTP) gave the award in recognition of the care and support the chaplains give to officers, staff and the general public. The BTP was particularly the in support provided the for grateful aftermath of terrorist attacks in Manchester and London Bridge last year.