Christian films in cinemas and online
The faith-based company Pure Flix Entertainment will release the film Samson in the UK on 2 March. It was filmed in South Africa, and its themes of showcase passion, betrayal, and redemption will inspire audiences to realise that life's failures need not define their future. As with Netflix, viewers will be offered streaming services with faith- and family-friendly content, like the film ‘God's Not Dead’ and its sequel ‘God's Not Dead 2.’ Also, they will be offered the first month of viewing free, giving them the option to see some of their favourite films without paying. To watch ‘God’s not Dead’ online, go to To view a trailer for ‘Samson’ go to:
Latin America: survivors of trafficking
The International Justice Mission (IJM) writes, ‘Praise God for a successful and restoring 2017! Our Latin America teams walked faithfully alongside seventy boys and girls who are survivors of sexual violence and sex trafficking, through the ups and downs of trauma-focused therapy. In this process, our social workers and psychologists consistently work with each survivor and their family, to address the trauma they have experienced and help create a safe and stable environment that will support their healing process.’ IJM invites us to pray for these boys and girls, their families, and their communities.
Intercessor Focus: Christianity in Westminster
Lunchtime services are held every Tuesday in a chapel at the Houses of Parliament. These are times created to give our politicians an opportunity for Christian reflection in the midst of a challenging and busy parliamentary life. We can pray for a powerful outpouring of God's Holy Spirit to envelop all who attend these meetings. May the guest speakers deliver timely, inspired encouragement in these days of political change and challenges. The next meeting, on 16 January, will have as its theme, ‘Who is welcome in the Kingdom of God?’ May many who are with or without faith hear this message and perceive God’s personal call on their lives. The theme on 23 January is ‘What is the key to intimacy with God?’ Pray for our parliamentarians to be freed up and enabled to create space to hear God’s whisper designed exclusively for them.
Pray for the NHS
The following is based on prayers originally written in 2011, as part of a visual prayer resource on the UK National Health Service. It is time to pray for our NHS, particularly concerns over the future of the service due to budget cuts and reforms, reports of insufficient funding, accommodation and care and respect for elderly and increasing hospital admissions resulting from alcohol-related illnesses. Pray for more recognition and support to be given to the huge numbers of health professionals making life-changing decisions for the sick and vulnerable who come into their care daily. Pray for God to give His wisdom to our government, health professionals, and advisers as they seek the right reforms. Ask that our health service managers may prosper our doctors and nurses to care, to excel, and to bring healing. May our nation understand, thank, and honour those who seek to bring us health.
Pray for isolated ministers
The Agricultural Christian Fellowship recently noted that we live in days of constant change, and uncertainty is the norm. They discussed reshaping British farming during exceptionally difficult times, and establishing sustainable farming to preserve this green and pleasant land for generations to come. In our cities and towns Railway Mission workers offer friendship and a listening ear to anyone connected with our nation’s railways. Their website states, ‘Hit a rough patch? Need someone to talk to? Railway Mission offers support on the whole of life’s journey, especially during the bumps in the road.’ On the canal systems of the United Kingdom we have the little-known Canal Ministries. These are people living on narrowboats and bringing the Gospel to the UK’s inland waterways. The Waterways Chaplaincy also offers support to the floating community. Pray for many divine appointments in the coming year. See also
Alpha targets Underground users
It is hoped that 1.2 million Underground passengers will notice new posters inviting them to find out more about Jesus by taking an Alpha course. The banners will appear for two weeks on staircases, escalators, and platforms at 400 different locations. Alpha’s marketing and communications officer said that the beginning of January is a ‘natural’ time of year to highlight the evangelistic programme.
‘Cleaner greener Britain’ campaign
Theresa May has pledged to eradicate all avoidable plastic waste in the UK by 2042. But green groups say the proposals will have no legal force. For new proposals to work, they need to be put into law. Under the government's plan, supermarkets will be urged to introduce plastic-free aisles while taxes and charges on single-use items such as takeaway containers will be considered. The amount of single-use plastic wasted every year would fill the Royal Albert Hall a thousand times. Environmentalists agree that the government's plan to restore nature - not just safeguard nature - is genuinely radical. It covers managing land sustainably, reducing pollution and waste, and protecting and improving the global environment. See also the next article, on fracking.
Scotland: battle over fracking
Petrochemicals giant Ineos is taking SNP ministers to court, to overturn their ‘unlawful’ fracking ban. The SNP faces a protracted legal fight, potentially spending millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money, to keep Scotland free of fracking. In England, there are currently ten more fracking applications. Global fracking is driven by the depletion of fossil fuels, leading to the exploitation of increasingly harder-to-extract resources that can have a damaging effect on communities. Evidence (increasingly hard to ignore) from the USA, Canada, and Australia, where tens of thousands of wells have already been drilled, is that fracking destroys water supplies, air quality, and people’s health. Beyond these issues lurk local and regional impacts like ‘orphaned wells’ (abandoned wells sending toxic pollutants into the environment). It is believed that financially successful UK fracking would require tens of thousands of wells to be drilled. See also the previous article, on Cleaner greener Britain, and
Many Christians ‘spiritually abused’
An online survey by Bournemouth University received 1,591 responses from Christians of all denominations. 1,002 said they had experienced spiritual abuse. Caution has been expressed about these figures, not least because existing work on spiritual abuse is in its infancy, even though it is a commonly-used term. Being spiritually abused was not a prerequisite for participation in the survey, but some may have taken the opportunity to share their story anonymously, possibly for the first time. 72% of those who responded to the survey said they knew what it meant, with key characteristics identified as coercion, manipulation, pressuring and control through the misuse of religious texts and scripture. Many respondents said that clearer policies were needed in churches and Christian organisations.
France: refugees still sleeping rough
President Macron said he wanted refugees ‘off the streets’ by 2018, but there are still a thousand of them sleeping rough on Paris streets. Solidarithé provide them with coffee, blankets, and information. A Solidarithé volunteer said that Macron wanted to make the problem invisible, but refugees are just hiding in smaller groups throughout north Paris and Calais. The police order them to move on, and even spray them with tear gas. Refugees’ tents are slashed and sleeping bags and blankets are stolen - anything to stop people sleeping on the streets. It is winter, and health problems are getting worse. Macron has said France is a terre d’accueil (land of welcome), but refugees have no toilets or blankets. If they sleep on the pavement they have to do so standing up. Also 700 migrants are living rough in Calais. See