The Archbishop of Canterbury has paid tribute to the Queen’s selfless dedication to the nation during her 60 years on the throne. During a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral, Dr Rowan Williams praised the Queen for enduring the ups and downs of the last six decades ‘faithfully, calmly and generously’. The Archbishop encouraged people not to think of their own individual good as he reflected that the lasting memorial of the celebrations would be the ‘rebirth of an energetic, generous spirit of dedication to the common good and the public service’. Reflecting on the celebrations of the last four days, the Archbishop said that a whole community is rejoicingtogether to honour the simple statement of commitment made by a very young woman, away from home, suddenly and devastatingly bereaved, a statement that she would be there for those she governed, that she was dedicating herself to them.’

Pray: for the Queen, giving thanks for her dedication and faith, an example to us all. (Ps.45:9a)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/archbishop.praises.queen.for.dedication.to.nation/29999.htm

The Archbishop of Westminster has affirmed marriage as providing the ‘best place’ for raising children, commenting that marriage gives children an opportunity to develop a sense of identity and experience the nurture and love of both their natural mother and father. Speaking at an annual mass for married couples in Westminster Cathedral on 26 May, the Most Revd Vincent Nichols criticised the increasing trend towards defining marriage ‘without any reference to children’, and warned that severing the vital bond between marriage and child-rearing could have ‘damaging consequences’ for society. He stated: ‘We know that the context of a marriage is the best place for children to be reared, providing them with a framework of love, within which they are sure of their biological heritage and not deprived, without grave reason, of the experience of being loved and raised by their natural mother and father.’

Pray: for the clear Biblical message emphasised by the Archbishop and the Church to be accepted more widely. (Pr.20:7)

More: http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/family/children-should-be-central-to-marriage-says-archbishop

The postbags of MPs are dominated by correspondence over same sex marriage from constituents asking them to oppose David Cameron’s plan to redefine marriage. According to the findings by ComRes, same-sex ‘marriage’ is one of the primary concerns mentioned in both letters and emails to MPs. Among Tories, 45 per cent say that letters and emails opposing same-sex marriage are the number one item in their postbag and email accounts. MPs from all parties revealed that constituents were ‘overwhelmingly’ against the measure, with 19 per cent generally opposed and 55 per cent strongly opposed to the measure. Just 16 per cent of those who are in touch with their MPs support the plans. The poll also found that only 4 per cent of MPs believe that redefining marriage is a main priority for the general public. Andrew Hawkins, Chief Executive of ComRes, said: ‘Clearly this issue has touched a raw nerve with the public, and not in a positive way.’

Pray: that the message opposing same-sex marriage will reach our Government loud and clear. (Jer.29:6)

More: http://www.theway.co.uk/feature.php?id=8841&this=Voters_bombard_MPs_over_same_sex_marriage_

An online quiz that started a year ago examined how consistently Christians are living out the teachings of Jesus Christ and has found an increase in the number of believers who are ‘Christians in name only’. ‘The results are disturbing, as 1 in 3 self-proclaimed Christians admit they rarely live out the teachings of Jesus Christ,’ said R. Brad White, the founder of Changing the Face of Christianity, which created the test. ‘Our mission is to reverse negative Christian stereotypes by helping Christians become more like Jesus Christ. And so, our goal is to work with local churches and to help transform these un-Christians into spiritually mature Christians who walk the walk, and better represent our faith to the world.’ More than 1,500 people have responded to the quiz, which was started in Sept 2011 and collected results up to April 2012. In the three other categories, only 2.9 per-cent ranked in the ‘Far from Christ’ section, 38.5 per-cent were ‘Good Christians,’ while 27.8 per-cent were ‘Spiritually Mature Christians.’

Pray: that all Christians will walk so close to Jesus that others will see Him in them. (Is.43:1)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/poll.finds.many.christians.by.name.only/29996.htm