There is an active community of Christians from both houses of parliament who regularly pray, worship and study the Bible together. A strong focus at the moment is Brexit. We can pray for the responsibilities of office and the difficulties of decision-making to be made clear through God’s anointing on individuals and their commitment to stand and state their convictions based on God’s Word. Pray for the wise use of money and resources, for the opposition parties in the task of constructively holding the government to account, and for Christian MPs’ faith to grow. Pray for policy issues abroad, asking God to create constructive relationships between nations and their representatives, and for grace, wisdom and discernment in their dealings with each other. Pray also for domestic policy issues, and for Government responsibilities towards those in education, health, police, the armed forces, social and welfare services. Pray for them to handle issues of terrorism, its threat and its causes, with great wisdom.

The Brussels summit, which brought together the leaders of all EU member states, did not particularly focus on the UK's Brexit. The official agenda was dominated by migration, trade and Russia. However, Brexit still loomed large, particularly at a working dinner last night, where Mrs May gave a brief ‘Brexit update’. Open discussion has been ruled out but Brexit will remain the red, white and blue elephant in the room during all the official discussions tabled at this summit. There is a distinct hardening of attitudes, even amongst Britain's closest EU allies like Germany. Leading Brexiteers boast confidently that Europe's most powerful nation is bound to push hard for a good EU deal for the UK. They cite German self-interest and a four-letter word - cars. The UK is Germany's third largest export market, while one in five German cars is sold in Britain. See:

The Archbishop of Canterbury met for the first time with His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, amid what Lambeth Palace acknowledged are ‘tensions’ between Russia and the UK. Earlier, Welby and the Bishop of London were present as the Queen hosted the Patriarch at Buckingham Palace. The relationship between the two churches has endured for more than three centuries. The two men discussed the persecution of Christians around the world, especially in the Middle East. In a statement they acknowledged that tensions currently exist between the governments of their two countries, but they agreed that the first loyalty of the Christian Church is to the Lord Jesus Christ, and they affirmed that reconciliation is the key ministry of the Church in situations of conflict.

Schools this week will be on their half term break. Their kitchens will be closed. Nearly two million children rely on free school meals as their only hot meal of the day. MakeLunch is a network of churches working to fill the holiday hunger gap. Volunteers based in churches, community centres or sometimes school buildings believe that one meal for one child makes a difference. Not daunted by the scale of the issue, they focus on providing what they can when they can, offering a free hot meal to children from low-income families, and seeking to ensure that the families that need it the most get invited. Just one example is St Mark’s Church in Milton Keynes which will provide 300 children with meals this half term, in three primary schools and a children’s centre. Rev’d Paul Oxley talks about how his church’s involvement in meals provision for children has grown over the last year. Listen to the story at:

For almost 75 years it has been a reassuring weekly fixture following an unchanged format, part of the fabric of the nation. But the pace and reach of social change appear to have left Desert Island Discs behind. A new poll suggests that only 31% of people in the UK would like a copy of the Bible to take to a desert island. The Radio 4 programme’s imaginary castaways are given a Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare, along with their choice of eight pieces of music, another book and one luxury item. With increasing secularity and diversity of British society, the poll found that 56% of respondents would not choose a Bible, and 13% were unsure. Fewer than one in three welcomed the inclusion of a Bible in their musical and literary accompaniments to a solitary existence. There was a noticeable generational difference: 18% of 18-to-24-year-olds would choose a Bible, compared with 39% of over-65s.

Migrants have had to leave the ‘Jungle’ camp as the French government is about to bulldoze the area. They were given free suitcases to pack up their belongings and leave. Some queued for food handouts, while one man was pictured receiving a haircut by another migrant. On the fringes of the camp a coach-load of refugee families, including young children, left Calais ready to start new lives in the south of France. Among the first to claim a seat were Naqeebullah Noorzada from Afghanistan, his three children (aged eight, six and ten), and his sister-in-law. He paid people-smugglers £24,000 to get his family out of his war-torn country via Iran and Turkey before reaching Europe by boat. Mr Noorzada said, ‘There are many problems here, particularly if you have children, so we are moving to the south near the Spanish border. We had to escape the Taliban. I want my children to have an education.’

Russia Today (RT) UK news channel has its offices in England and covers global, political, business, sport and current affairs. On Monday they were told that their bank accounts will be frozen. John Laughland, Director of Studies at the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation in Paris, believes this decision is politically inspired. He said, ‘My suspicion is that it's part of a coordinated and Europe-wide policy of harassment against organisations associated with Russia’, adding that a decision made six months ago at an EU summit to restrict ‘Russian propaganda and disinformation’ is being implemented. The EU has established a special unit specifically designed to combat Russian disinformation - particularly RT, which they say has irritated people in the West because of its strong editorial policies.

What began five years ago as a peaceful uprising by Syrians complaining about high unemployment, corruption, lack of political freedom and a state repression under President Bashar al-Assad has now left 250,000+ dead. A key factor in the escalation of violence has been intervention by regional and world powers. The military, financial and political support for government and opposition by Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, USA and the UK has contributed directly to the intensification and continuation of the fighting, which has turned Syria into a battleground. The UK has sent £100m through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund for non-humanitarian purposes, and heavily-armed members of the SAS have been photographed on patrol inside Syria. British special forces, operating from Jordan, have been working since the spring with the Syrian rebels to open a new southern front against IS. See:

As the attacks on Mosul intensify, concerns mount over the scale of potential civilian injuries or deaths. The Red Cross said that they are prepared for chemical weapons being used. 200,000 civilians are expected to be displaced in the early weeks of the campaign, possibly the largest humanitarian operation this year. A total of eleven camps, to provide shelter for 120,000, will be ready soon. On Wednesday, Iraqi forces advanced further and retook Qaraqosh, a majority-Christian town captured by IS in 2014: at that time the expulsion of its residents sparked concern over the future of Christianity in the region. The UN reported that thousands of Mosul residents were trafficked to Syria’s Al Hol refugee camp. Refugees will use Al Hol as a staging-post before moving back across the border to a safe Iraq location. Al Hol will eventually take up to 50,000 people. The camp currently has just 16 latrines and no clean water. See:

The high-end estimate for the number of Christians killed for their faith in the world every year, which comes from the Centre for the Study of Global Christianity, is around 100,000. The Global Council for Indian Christians, a largely Protestant body in India, estimates for the last decade that there has been an average of one violent assault on a Christian in their country every other day. It also condemned a recent attempt by radical Hindus to storm the United Theological College in Bangalore, and all other acts of violence against Christian institutions. In Indonesia on 18 October it was reported that a Muslim woman was flogged 23 times in the province of Aceh for standing too close to her boyfriend. She was one of 13 people flogged recently for breaking Sharia law in Aceh. Floggings have spiked in the province.