Prayer Hub News
Friday, 14 July 2017 10:52

UK, Brexit and EU changes

Europe will tackle the deep problems that drove Britons to vote Leave. The European Commission’s chief strategists say they now realise that they must change fundamentally to remain relevant to people's lives. Jean-Claude Juncker’s top officials argue that the EU is becoming more open and democratic, and that the future ‘must not be fudged or decided behind closed doors’. They directed their message to the British people, after some member states signalled that the door is still open if the UK wishes to be a part of the new future. Steve Baker, UK’s minister negotiating Brexit, said he wants the EU torn down, adding, ‘They realise that disintegration, illiberal democracy and populism are profoundly dangerous to our democratic traditions - the freedom and tolerance painstakingly built over decades, which has at times been taken for granted.’ The Archbishop of Canterbury called for a cross-party Brexit commission, saying that working together could draw much of the poison from Brexit debates.

For ‘security reasons’, the Government has refused to publish a full report on the funding of UK Islamist extremist groups. Instead, the home secretary has issued a two-page summary which states that most such groups are funded via small, anonymous British-based donations. Opposition parties claimed that the internal review was suppressed to protect Saudi Arabia from being accused of funding extremism in the UK. The Home Office has been under pressure for months to publish its investigation into the nature, scale and origin of the funding, but because of sensitive information it cannot be made public. Some MPs will view it in private but not be allowed to reveal its contents. In future, charities will have to declare any overseas funding to the Charity Commission. Overseas support for institutions that teach deeply conservative forms of Islam and provide conservative literature and preachers will also be banned.

It is over two weeks since the Grenfell Tower fire disaster, and people are still very angry. Many believe that people need not have died that night. Successive governments presided over a progressive weakening of regulation and inspection systems that would one day lead to tragedy. They had been warned again and again, by fire officers, buildings inspectors, MPs, insurers - everyone who knew anything at all about fire safety. In Scotland, after a man died in a 1999 tower block fire, the rules on permissible building materials were changed and the inspection regime tightened. The same was not done in England. In 2013, after six people died in a London tower block fire, a coroner recommended a review of fire safety regulations ‘with particular regard to the spread of fire over the external envelope of a building’. The review was never carried out. May health and safety rules never again be mocked.

Friday, 14 July 2017 10:44

Turkey: march for justice

The march from Ankara to Istanbul, from 15 June to 9 July, is a response to spreading injustice and judicial system abuse by President Erdogan’s ruling party (AKP) after last year’s coup. The 450km march and rally by the opposition party CHP offered another way of engaging in politics, not filled with divisive and hate-filled rhetoric (the default mode of AKP). Not once did Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the CHP leader, and his supporters respond negatively to pro-government followers targeting them along the route. Instead, they responded with applause. Mr Kilicdaroglu said they had gathered to break down the ‘walls of fear’ erected by the ruling party.

Friday, 14 July 2017 10:42

Germany: staying alert

Last summer saw terrorist attacks. Do we still pray during holiday periods? We need recreation, but the enemy doesn’t take holidays - let’s stay alert, continuing to intercede during holidays. Recent events show how quickly alliances between nations can become uncertain. Nations often enter into alliances for economic reasons. Every agreement and negotiation with another nation comes with spiritual consequences. Much wisdom is required for alliances with Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Africa. Israel must be continually ‘watched over’ in prayer. Pray for Germany’s foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel as he settles into his new office.

Friday, 14 July 2017 10:40

The migratory crisis of Europe

The EU has taken legal action against the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland for not complying with the order to accept migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The infringement procedure authorises the EU to sue members breaching their obligations with economic sanctions. Across the EU only 20,000 migrants have been relocated to date. Of the 28 EU members, only Malta has accepted its full quota. However, many so-called asylum-seekers have refused to relocate in central and eastern Europe, where economic benefits are less than in France, Germany or Scandinavia. Also hundreds who were relocated to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have fled to richer countries.

Tim Farron’s resignation from UK politics indicates that it is increasingly difficult for a practising Christian to remain leader of a political party. But even more sadly, the church in the west is falling victim to the same anti-Christian pressures. Instead of being salt and light in a fallen world, boldly proclaiming scripture truths, the Church is increasingly drawing upon the beliefs and ways of the world for moral direction on issues like abortion, marriage and multi-faith services. As the world becomes more corrupt, we can pray for Christian leaders to remain faithful to God’s Word. Pray also for all Christians in the limelight. May the example of American Christian athlete Jaelene Hinkle, who jeopardised her career by choosing not to play in games when her team supported ‘LGBT Pride’, encourage those facing modern-day pressures to compromise their faith in the workplace. May God empower all Christians facing subtle attacks on lifestyles and value systems.

Friday, 14 July 2017 10:36

Syria / Iraq: children impacted by war

Children who have experienced the unspeakable horrors of war need long-term help coping with their experiences. Lives have been torn apart after years of IS rule and terrorist invasion. Since mid-2014, the people of Iraq have been caught up in a resurgence of violence that has exacerbated the already dire humanitarian situation stemming from Syria’s five-year civil conflict. 240,000 Syrian refugees are in the Kurdish region of Iraq, creating additional strain among host communities with limited resources of clean water, sanitation, food, shelter, essential items to help face winter, healthcare, education and emotional support. Pray for children now living in camps, struggling to express themselves, and in some cases too terrified to speak. Ask God to release more workers into this field of suffering to relieve physical and mental health resulting from brutal occupation. Many children have fled with only the clothes they wore - no toys, no comfort.

Nikki Haley, the new US ambassador to the UN, has described her first Security Council meeting, which was discussing the Middle East, as ‘very strange’. She expected to be addressing maintenance of international peace and security. However, the debate was not about Hezbollah’s illegal build-up of rockets in Lebanon, or about the money and weapons Iran provides to terrorists, or how to defeat IS. It was not about holding President Assad accountable for slaughtering hundreds of thousands of civilians. Instead it focused on criticising Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East. She said, ‘ I am new around here, but I understand that that’s how the council has operated month after month for decades. I am here to say that the US will not turn a blind eye to Israel’s needs any more.’

The Government has allocated $100 billion for post-IS reconstruction in Iraq following the recapture of Mosul and other devastated towns in the Nineveh plains. The worst-destroyed areas are in the historic heartland of Iraqi Christianity, but will Christians be welcomed back? Many  who fled the region in 2014 remain deeply sceptical that they will ever be able to return safely, recounting how their Muslim neighbours helped evict them and destroyed or commandeered their homes while IS militants deliberately destroyed churches. A member of the Nineveh Council told journalists that any plans for the future must be to eliminate ‘ideological extremism from the culture of the people of Mosul, who have been living for three years with IS inflammatory rhetoric, and to prevent the emergence of a new generation inspired by the culture of hate’.

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