New Bible for Cornish speakers
Cornish speakers can now read the complete Bible - An Beybel Sans - in their chosen language. The New Testament was translated into Cornish by Prof Nicholas Williams and published in 2002. It has taken him about six years to translate all the books of the Old Testament, using a variety of versions, including Hebrew and Greek texts. An Beybel Sans is written in standard Cornish and its 10 maps also have place names in Cornish. The 69-year-old professor from London, who is considered to be one of the leading experts on Celtic languages, taught himself Cornish at the age of 15 because it seemed ‘a bit odd and a bit bizarre’. He told BBC Radio Cornwall: ‘One of the reasons we lost the language was because there was no Bible in Cornish. ‘Once you have the Bible you have created your literary heritage and I hope this book will be influential in the Cornish revival.’
Pray: for this new version of the Word of God to raise interest and reach new audiences. (Acts12:24)
More: http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/new.bible.for.cornish.speakers/28768.htm
Archbishop celebrates 200 years of church schools
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, preached last Friday at Westminster Abbey in a service to celebrate 200 years of church schools. He spoke of the importance of church schools in providing an environment for children to become good citizens. Preaching to a packed Westminster Abbey congregation of school children, teachers and church and education leaders, the Archbishop said that whether pupils were of the Christian faith or not church schools provided a vision for them ‘to see the biggest possible picture of humanity and the world they live in.’ Church school children from across England and Wales carried specially-made banners to celebrate the founding of the Church of England's National Society in 1811 offering education to the poor in every parish - 50 years before the state joined in. The Revd Jan Ainsworth, Chief Education Officer for the Church of England, said ‘Our task is to make sure our church schools find a place within the new system and to bring other schools into relationship with us.’
Pray: Thank God for the work of the National Society and pray for the future of our Church schools in an increasingly secular society. (Col.3:17)
Bishop of London attacks top public school after it demolishes its chapel
St Paul's has become the first of Britain's top public schools to pull down its chapel and do without a place of worship. It is one of Britain's oldest and most prestigious public schools, founded 500 years ago by the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral. St Paul's School has knocked down its chapel to make way for new science classrooms, becoming the first of the country's leading public schools to do without a place of worship. The decision has upset the Church of England and brought complaints that the institution is turning its back on its Christian heritage in favour of a more secular approach to education. The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, has expressed his dismay in a letter to the school and the Rev Robert Stanier, an Anglican chaplain and former pupil said he was appalled, ‘This is a school with a Christian foundation. They're spending nearly £80 million and yet they can't find any space for a chapel.’
Pray: for the school authorities to reconsider their decision and also that this does not mark the start of a new trend. (2Ki.17:37)
Judge slates same-sex couples’ fight over girls
A High Court judge has criticised a lesbian couple and a male homosexual couple who are fighting over parenting rights for two little sisters they had by IVF. Mr Justice Hedley said: ‘The four adults in this case regard the price paid by these two children as an acceptable price for the pursuit of their own adult disputes.’ The judge also said: ‘The case provides a vivid illustration of just how wrong these arrangements can go.’ A social worker informed the court that the older girl has suffered serious emotional harm. The couples met after the women placed an advert in a homosexual publication in 1999 asking for ‘a gay man or couple who would like to start a family with a lesbian couple’. The men replied, saying, ‘We would love to be father and stepfather’. But relations broke down in 2008 when they fell into a dispute over the girls.
Pray: for the children in this case and for society to recognise the serious problems that may emerge in such flawed arrangements. (Pr.11:3)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/judge-slates-same-sex-couples%e2%80%99-fight-over-girls/
A beautifully organized conference of up to 9000 Pentecostals from 50 nations met just outside Jakarta, October 25-29. Enthusiastic worship and powerful presentations called participants to a renewed experience and sharing of the Azusa Street revival experience. Other regional gatherings and initiatives are planned through a global council of ministry leaders.
Warm support was given to the World Prayer Assembly by the event organizers and they arranged for a presentation of the WPA. A strong link and rich synergy between the two events was established. Praise the Lord.
Leaders involved in the prayer movement of Thailand gathered October 15-16 to pray for their nation besieged by the worst floods in half a century. Up to 10 million have been affected, many losing all their possessions and hundreds have lost their lives. Please pray for the floods to go down, for effective relief efforts, and that many will come to Christ through this tragedy.
Tory minister uncomfortable with Cameron’s gay marriage proposal
Junior defence minister, Gerald Howarth, has distanced himself from David Cameron’s plan to legalise marriage for samesex couples, and told The Telegraph that Tory MPs should not be forced to vote in support of changing the legal definition of marriage if the issue is put before Parliament. According to the newspaper, Mr. Howarth believed many Christians would be ‘very concerned’ by the proposal. At present, homosexual couples are allowed to enter into civil partnerships which give them similar legal protection to married couples, but the term ‘marriage’ is used to define heterosexual unions only. Mr Howarth, MP for Aldershot, said that MPs should be given a free vote on the issue as it is a matter of ‘conscience. Equality Minister Lynne Featherstone announced last month that a public consultation would be launched in March 2012.
Pray: for the Government to seek to protect marriage and not redefine it; may Christians in Parliament speak out boldly and clearly. (Gen.2:24)
Asylum-seeker's plight
Sara is from Ethiopia. Her mother died when she was young, and her father mysteriously ‘disappeared’ after the government was overthrown. Both Sara and her brother were arrested and thrown into prison where she was abused. When eventually set free she escaped to Sudan with the help of her father’s friends. From there she flew to England seeking asylum. Her experiences in England have been dreadful, living off handouts, working in a pizza parlour to make ends meet (but asylum seekers are forbidden to work and she was sentenced to four months in Styal prison). She was hospitalised in prison after trying to end her life. She is without hope. If she returns home, she faces imprisonment and torture. If she stays here she will be in ‘limbo-land’ stripped of her dignity, prevented from living a normal life.
Pray: for asylum-seekers in the UK to experience changes for improvement in the asylum system. (Lev.19:10 &Lev.24:22)
More: http://boaztrust.org.uk/
Choose Life Day of Prayer
An annual National Day of Prayer about abortion is to be held on October 27th. In the last 44 years over seven million babies have been aborted in the UK. It is hoped many will take a stand on the abortion issue next Thursday and pray that our nation would understand the horror of these statistics. Having a disabled child is often a difficult burden to undertake.We can pray for parents who have to make the choice between bringing up a disabled child or ending its life. Pray that the parents of disabled children will receive the support that they need, and thank God for the many people with physical or mental disability who live happy and fulfilled lives. Also on the 27th there will be a rally outside parliament between 1pm and 2 pm, with the intention of putting abortion back in the news and back on the agenda for public debate.
Pray: for those considering an abortion to receive advice independent of those who carry out abortions; and for many to
work and pray towards making abortion history in the U.K. (Ps.139:13)
Republic of Ireland: Rejects UN proposals for abortions
The Irish Government rejected recommendations from six European countries that it should legislate for abortion, but pledged to act on a wide range of UN suggestions to improve human rights in other areas. In a report published on 11th Oct by the UN Human Rights council 126 recommendations were made for Ireland to improve its adherence to human rights norms, the Government accepted 62 and would ‘study carefully’ a further 49. Of the 15 recommendations it rejected, six related to abortion. They included a call from the United Kingdom to introduce legislation to implement the European Court of Human Rights judgment in the A, B and C v Ireland case and a request from Slovenia to allow abortion ‘at least when pregnancy poses a risk to the health of the pregnant woman’. Recommendations on abortion from Norway, Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands were also rejected.
Pray: for the UN to recognise that foetal life has the same degree of value as born human life, and for Ireland’s stand in this issue to be honoured. (Is.51:4)
More: http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2011/10/11/ireland-rejects-un-recommendations/