UCB Broadcast June 2006
Hello and welcome to the Parliamentary prayer update, my name is Gareth Wallace and I work in Westminster for the Evangelical Alliance Public Affairs Department.
Week of prayer for Parliament and Whitehall
Christians in Parliament, the Whitehall Network and 24-7 Prayer have been holding an exciting week of prayer for Parliament and Whitehall from Tuesday 13 June to Tuesday 20 June.
An unprecedented number of prayer gatherings (large and small) have taken place across the Parliamentary estate and Whitehall departments.
Other activities have included daily prayer-walking and evening prayer and worship events in local churches. Churches nationwide and globally have been supporting the week in prayer.
Christians in Parliament have invited Christians to pray for: The Prime Minister and Government Departments: Including the responsibilities of office and having to make difficult political decisions.
Pray also for the opposition parties as they hold the Government to account.
Please remember in your prayers the Parliamentary Support Staff: These include: Researchers, Secretaries, librarians, police and security staff. Lawyers, cleaners, campaign group and charity lobbyists.
Please pray for MP’s and their Constituencies as well as Peers, the House of Lords and its work: Please pray in particular for heavy workloads, for family issues, and that MP’s and Peer’s Faith might be strengthened.
Gambling Concessions
39 local authorities heard on the 24th May whether they have reached the next stage of the bid for Casino licenses.
Christian groups are encouraging churches to play their full role in the consultation process for licensing new casinos.
The Evangelical Alliance has written to all its member churches in the affected local authority areas.
Please contact the Evangelical Alliance for advice on contacting the Casino Advisory Panel if your church is in one of the local authority areas bidding for a casino.
Even if your local authority is selected for one of the 17 new style casino developments there is the promise of greater accountability over the casino development for local groups such as churches.
The Evangelical Alliance’s recommendations for greater local accountability over potential casino developments have largely been reflected in guidance to local authorities issued by the Gambling Commission, the new gambling regulator.
This is a golden opportunity for churches and those who work with problem gamblers to ensure that if their local authority is selected for a casino they ensure that they are included on the list of those who have to be consulted by casino developers.
You can download a copy of the Evangelical Alliance guidance for churches responding to local casino applications, ‘Help, there is a casino coming’.
Please pray for wisdom and strength for those local churches and Christians who intend to lobby against the prospect of a casino in their area.
Equality Agenda
The Equality Act became Law in February 2006. This prevents discrimination on the grounds of religion and soon with regard to sexual orientation, which has been deferred to the Discrimination Law Review. The Equality act will set up a single Equality body called the Commission for Equality and Human Rights.
Some of the more controversial aspects of the original Equality Bill were deferred to the Discrimination Law Review. This could see some of the rights of Christians to preach the Gospel and proclaim Biblical truth seriously threatened.
The DLR extends equality law provisions to cover anything that could be described as “goods or services”. Therefore unless conscience safeguards are included, churches and religious groups may fall foul of the law if they sought to place restrictions (based on religious conscience) on the use of their facilities or services they may offer to the community.
The closing date for the consultation on this vital piece of legislation was the 6th June. The Evangelical Alliance has provided vital information to help churches respond.
Members can also make use of the Evangelical Alliance information as a basis to write or talk to their MP. This is available on the Evangelical Alliance website at www.eauk.org
Please pray: that the Government will be sympathetic to the concerns of Christian groups who want to continue working in the community but not have their religious convictions contradicted.
Assisted Dying - Thank you
Last month I told you about the positive outcome of the debate on the Assisted Dying Bill on the 12th May where the Bill was delayed for six months, which effectively killed it as the current Parliamentary session ends in July.
Lord Alton has written thanking those who supported the campaign against the Bill. He says “we are very thankful for the support we received in a battle which was extremely gruelling and I am sure that people will recognise how vital it is for everybody to continue in their efforts to prevent the legalisation of euthanasia.
” He also said that “we were extremely thankful for the support given by individuals and churches in collecting over 103,000 names for the Care Not Killing Petition that was delivered to 10 Downing Street”.
Give thanks that there was such an effective mobilisation of support for the campaign against the Bill.
Pray that any future campaigns by the Care Not Killing alliance will receive even more support.
Further Prayer and Action
The Evangelical Alliance Public Affairs department produces a monthly parliamentary magazine, PQ, and a monthly ‘Prayer and Campaigns’ action and prayer sheet. If you have any questions please e-mail the public affairs team at pub-aff@eauk.org
Thank you.
