Ann Clwyd MP's campaign for compassion in nursing
An MP who said her late husband died 'like a battery hen' in hospital says she will start a campaign for greater compassion and care in nursing. Ann Clwyd, Labour MP for Cynon Valley, has criticised the 'indifference and contempt' of some nurses who treated her late husband at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. She said she had received an 'amazing response' since speaking out. Mrs Clwyd will now meet campaign groups to see how best to raise standards. “There are some good nurses, but there are also some very bad nurses and people have talked about their own experiences. I've had hundreds and hundreds of emails from people from all over the country and the theme is the same. Mrs Clwyd said she intended to meet patient bodies and campaigning groups to see how the issues raised could be addressed.
Pray: for a society that cares more for everyone especially the vulnerable such as the sick and the elderly. (Php. 2:3-4)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20657747
One out of six charities say they may have to close in 2013
The UK's flatlining economy is having a devastating effect on charities, according to research that suggests that two out of five face closure, with many set to disappear as early as next year unless things improve. A poll commissioned by the Charities Aid Foundation confirms that public spending cutbacks and falling donations are conspiring to devastating effect. The foundation warns that as many as one in six charities believe they may close in the coming year, while nearly half say they are being forced to dip into reserves. One in three say they fear being forced to cut services. The figures will make gloomy reading in Downing Street, which believes the third sector has a vital role to play in delivering the prime minister's vision for his 'big society'. The funding crisis comes as charities report that there is more demand for their services.
Pray: for charities and their supporters that they may be able to continue to do their good work. (Ro.2:7)
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/09/one-in-six-charities-close
Today I'm writing you and begging you for some of your prayer collateral to be targeted towards our 2-year focus on the High Places of the earth. At the beginning of 2012, the Lord gave me a vision for an unprecedented visitation of His Sprit across the Hindu Kush, from Tibet over to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
One of the strategies, other then numerous on-site teams which are in and out right now across the territory, is to tug on the Body of Christ around the world to toss in a pinch or a pound of their prayer. Those of us who have worked in this area for over 20 years now have discovered that the prayer and church planting teams going in are like the tip of the arrow but the shaft (i.e. the driving power) is the Body of Christ rallying.
This has been made easy at the virtual prayer room we created at the clickable link below:
http://highplaces.prayerpatrol.net
Get the word out, rally your people, promote it to prayer groups/movements you have relationship with?
Press 'need to act' after Leveson
The press have been urged to take action over Leveson Inquiry recommendations to regulate the newspaper industry. Lord Justice Leveson called for a new independent watchdog - which he said should be underpinned by legislation. Culture Secretary Maria Miller told the BBC ‘the gauntlet has been thrown down’ to newspapers to outline how they would set up tough self-regulation instead. Lord Justice Leveson's 2,000-page report into press ethics, published last Thursday, found that press behaviour was ‘outrageous’ and ‘wreaked havoc with the lives of innocent people’. He said the press - having failed to regulate itself in the past - must create a new and tough regulator but it had to be backed by legislation to ensure it was effective. Following cross-party talks the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will begin the process of drawing up a draft bill implementing the Leveson recommendations.
Pray: that the press will take up the challenge by working together to fulfil the recommendations. (Ps.119:45)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20551634
Scouts consider removing 'God' from promise
The UK Scouts Association has launched a public consultation on whether an alternative non-religious pledge should be introduced for atheists. The existing Scout Promise reads: ‘On my honour, I promise that I will do my best, to do my duty to God and to the Queen, to help other people and to keep the Scout Law.’ But the National Secular Society wrote to the Scouts in March to say that atheist children and potential leaders were being excluded because of the reference to God. The Scouting movement is 105 years old but numbers of children joining are on the increase. Membership is up from 444,936 in 2005 to 525,364 this year. There are a further 35,000 young people on waiting lists. UK Scout Chief Commissioner Wayne Bulpitt said, ‘We are regularly seeking the views of our members and we will use the information gathered by the consultation to help shape the future of Scouting for the coming years.’
Pray: that pressure from a small atheist minority will not cause the movement to revise its founding principles. (1Cor.3:10)
More: http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/social/scouts-consider-removing-god-from-
Gagged - judge who dared to stick up for marriage
A judge was ordered to keep a ‘lower profile’ on Tuesday – after he spoke out in favour of marriage. Judicial watchdogs rebuked High Court family law judge Sir Paul Coleridge following protests about his involvement in a campaign to make marriage ‘the gold standard of relationships’. Sir Paul is listed as ‘founder and chairman’ of the Marriage Foundation think-tank and boosted its launch with a series of high-profile interviews and newspaper articles. But a barrister complained to the Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC), the disciplinary body for judges, that Sir Paul was breaking rules that prevent judges associating themselves with any ‘organisation, group or cause’. The disciplinary panel, led by Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling and a senior High Court judge, President of the Queen’s Bench Division Sir John Thomas, found there had been no judicial misconduct. The OJC said: ‘Mr Justice Coleridge has agreed to keep a lower profile role within the organisation.
Pray: that Sir Paul’s interviews will have raised the profile of marriage and may his influence continue to bear fruit. (Heb.13:4)
More: http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2012/12/05/gagged-judge-who-dared-to-stick-up-for-marriage/
NIGERIA: Inside the lion’s den
The following is a portion of a report from a British-Kenyan who visited Maiduguri: ‘Before the chaos took hold, I remembered Maiduguri as a surprisingly cosmopolitan and peaceful town, with an eclectic mix of people of different faiths, ethnicities, and subcultures; different types of food and music.- ordinary people, with a somewhat royal air, steeped in tradition with a somewhat modern and outward look. During my recent time there, I found a Maiduguri under siege by Boko Haram fighters and the Joint Task Force. The colour described above was replaced by a city enmeshed in road blocks, checkpoint and sandbags on every major road and intersection. The city was patrolled by heavily armed military personnel. We heard bombs exploding, and bullets being fired – followed by the screeching of JTF sirens that seemed to be coming from all directions every 2-3 hours. Father David Bridling, from St Patrick’s Catholic Church said half the Christian inhabitants of Borno State have left.’
Pray: for the tens of thousands who have fled from Maiduguri. May they know God’s provision and protection, especially over this Christmas period. (Ps.11)
More: http://www.informationnigeria.org/2012/12/inside-the-lions-den-of-nigerias-boko-haram.html
Nigeria: Still safe? Churches burn, 10 killed
Christians living and doing business were said to have been warned earlier in a letter to leave the area or risk being attacked. Then 10 Christians were killed in Kupwal village on Saturday in to be Syrian chemical weapons facilities. See: US intelligence detected signs that the Syrian regime was moving their chemical weapons components around various sites in recent days, according to a senior US defence official and a second US official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about intelligence matters. Last February Al-Jazeera television reported that gas masks were being distributed to Syrian refugees in camps located along the Turkish-Syrian border and humanitarian activists were worried about the possibility of the Syrian regime using unconventional weapons against Syrian refugees. See:
Pray: that the Syrian Government will not resort to chemical warfare. (Pr.29:7)
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/10555850
Afghanistan: Midwives
In March NGOs started withdrawing medical care in Afghanistan and we were asked to pray that medical advances would not be lost to people in rural areas that those delivering medical care would know God's provision. Today we hear that in some provinces the number of women dying during childbirth is dropping significantly because more local women are being trained as midwives and then returning to their villages to provide care before, during and after delivery. However there is still concern for some women with difficult cases requiring long journeys to hospital over very poor roads who are not surviving the trip. Please pray for more opportunities for similar organizations and trainers to develop in the country, and that existing programmes are implemented in more provinces; pray also that the midwives and the women they care for would be introduced to the One who is the Father of all Life.
Pray: that throughout Afghanistan all women and children would receive the care they need to live healthy, productive lives (Ps.95:7)
More: http://www.afghanrelief.org/aro-projects/midwife-project
Myanmar: Ethiopian-like starvation
It's a situation being ignored by the international media and governments around the world. In May 2012 violence broke out between Buddhists (Rakhine people) and Muslim (Rohingya people) Although the Myanmar government says the situation is normal, violence continues to occur and between 80,000 - 200,000 people have been displaced. The Rakhine people consider the Rohingya illegal immigrants living in their land, even though many of the Rohingya have lived there for many generations and have no other home. People have set up shelters along the road and the refugee population is swelling into a humanitarian crisis with small children and infants dying on a regular basis. A Christian organization called Partners Relief & Development (PRAD) reported that those needing care is growing every day and there is a need for more teams to go to Myanmar with aid and more world governments to speak loudly against what is happening.
Pray: for light in this very dark place, may the situation come to the attention of world governments and for relief to be released to the starving, dying and homeless. (Ps.4:1b)
More: http://www.mnnonline.org/article/17966