A selection of the week's happenings for your prayers.
Society & Politics
- 2019 sees record number of anti-Semitic incidents in UK: The first six months of this year saw nearly 900 anti-Semitic incidents, according to the Community Security Trust – a 10% increase on the same period last year. Read more here.
- Street preacher compensated for wrongful arrest: The Met Police have paid £2,500 in compensation to Pastor Oluwole Ilensami, who was wrongfully arrested while street preaching in February. Read more here. This week, he helped to deliver a petition to the Home Office, signed by over 40,000, calling for better training for police officers on street preacher freedoms.
- Consultation confirms public opposition to smacking ban: A Government consultation in Wales has shown that two thirds of parents oppose the criminalisation of smacking. Read more here.
- Pro-life group to mount legal action over NI law: Precious Life says it is planning to challenge Westminster’s attempt to impose abortion on Northern Ireland in the absence of a functioning government at Stormont. Read more here.
- Parents launch court action over Christian assemblies: Two atheist parents in Oxfordshire are launching a legal bid to challenge collective worship in schools, claiming that their children were being ‘indoctrinated’ by Christian assemblies. Read more here.
Church Issues
- Crazy golf controversy in Rochester Cathedral: Joining a number of other cathedrals in exploring alternative means of bringing people inside, Rochester has divided opinion with its decision to bring a crazy golf course into the nave. Read more here.
- Christian inmate wins right to church services: A rapist who converted whilst in prison has won a legal battle to have a Christian Sunday service provided in his mental health unit, after he found that there was no such provision for Christian inmates despite there being Friday prayers for Muslims. Read more here.
World Scene
- UNWRA faces corruption investigation: An internal report from the end of 2018 charges senior officials at the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency with serious ethics violations, including sexual misconduct, nepotism and abuses of authority. Read more here. Also this week, the Information Commission has required DfID to disclose audit reports of British aid to Palestinians, following claims that some of the money has been used to pay salaries to terrorists and their families. Read more here.
- Georgia’s abortion rate drops sharply in last 25 years: The US state has seen abortion rates decline by some 20% in the last quarter of a century. Read more here. It is one of a number of states to have passed pro-life legislation in recent years.
- Muslims save Christians from terror attack in Kenya: In a show of solidarity, local Muslims warned 20 Christian construction workers in eastern Kenya of an impending attack from militant group al-Shabaab, helping them to escape. Read more here.
Israel & Middle East
- Israel hits Iranian targets in Iraq: In a first since the 1980s, Israel has conducted air strikes in Iraq targeting Iranian missile shipments. Read more here. Also this week, the IAF have reportedly conducted an airstrike on Iranian elements in Syria, not far from the Golan. Read more here.
Events / Job Opportunities
- Positions available at Right to Life: A number of permanent and part-time positions are available with the pro-life campaign group. Deadline for applications is 5pm, 6 August 2019. Find out more here.
- 'I Am John Wesley' performance, Saturday 31 August, Lincolnshire: A free Gospel-centred play by Sh'ma Kingdom Drama, using drama and dance to tell the story of the Wesley brothers. Broughton Village Hall. Click here to find out more.
Recommended Sources
At Prophecy Today UK we are aware that the world is moving very quickly and it is difficult to keep up with all the latest developments – especially when the material circulated by our mainstream media is increasingly far from reality and definitely not devoted to a biblical perspective!
Though we are not a news service, we want to help keep you informed by passing on updates and reports as we are led. This will be a selective, not an exhaustive, round-up, which we hope will be helpful for your prayers. Click here to browse our News archive.
We recommend the following news services for regular updates from a Christian perspective:
- Christian Concern (UK)
- Christian Institute (UK)
- JNN News (Barry and Batya Segal, Israel)
- Worthy News (Israel)
- Family Watch International
- Barnabas Fund
- Kehila News (Israel)
For regular news briefings about Israel, the Jewish News Syndicate is also recommended.
