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.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill
On Wednesday the 12th of March, just before Alistair Darling’s first Budget, David Cameron asked three Questions of the Prime Minister about why there was not a free vote on the conscience aspects of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. Gordon Brown confirmed that the abortion amendment will be subject to a free vote in the House of Commons.
Give thanks that the Prime Minster has allowed a free vote on the Abortion clauses. Pray that he would also allow free conscience votes on saviour siblings and the need for a father.
Thank you, for signing the Downing Street petition calling for a free vote that I mentioned last month.
This month the Alive and Kicking Campaign have launched an on-line petition specifically on the abortion amendments to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
The petition says:
We believe that 200,000 abortions a year in Britain is far too many. We urge Parliament to support amendments to the Abortion Act which will reduce substantially the 24 week upper time limit, end discriminatory abortion of the disabled up until birth. Click here to sign the petition.
Please pray that as many people as petitioned the Prime Minster asking for a free vote will sign the alive and kicking petition. Please continue to write to your MP so that they might be flooded with polite letters and postcards defending the right to life.
Centre for Social Justice Awards 2008
The Centre for Social Justice, the think tank set up by Former Conservative Party Leader Iain Duncan Smith is currently running its annual award scheme. There is a £50,000 prize pot for small grass roots charities, voluntary groups and community groups who are tackling poverty in your local area.
If your project is people focused, tackling causes as well as symptoms, driven by conviction and motivated by compassion then CSJ want to hear from you.
There is no application form. Simply describe in 500 words or less how your organisation makes an exceptional contribution to tackling poverty.
For more information please see the CSJ website. The deadline for Applications is the 14th of April 2008.
Gweini Launch
Work undertaken by faith groups in Wales contributes the equivalent of over £100 million* to the Welsh economy, according a report launched today. This figure if projected upwards on a proportional basis for the UK as a whole would mean faith community congregations are contributing at least £2.1 billion to the UK and making an incalculable difference to peoples lives.
The report, Faith in Wales: Counting for Communities is the first of its kind in Wales and was carried out by Christian group Gweini, working in partnership with the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA).
First Minister for Wales Rhodri Morgan said in a forward to the report that he welcomes the “groundbreaking research” and expects it will be of “great importance” for fostering better understanding and awareness of faiths and cultures in Wales.
Rev Elfed Godding, the National Director of the Evangelical Alliance Wales, a founding member of Gweini, said:
“One of the messages we want to get across in this report is that faith communities want to work with government to tackle problems in Wales. Faith communities are well placed to provide public services, especially as they are often in touch with hard-to-reach people. We believe the information in this report reveals that faith communities are leading the way within certain fields.”
Click here for full details of the report.
Please give thanks for all the excellent work that churches in Wales and across the UK are doing to make an impact in their communities.
Please pray that Government will increasingly recognise the superb contribution to society that churches and Christian Charities make.
LondonElections
The London Mayoral election is taking place on Thursday 1st May.
The Evangelical Alliance is once again planning a Hustings event for the London Mayoral Candidates.
This question and answer hustings event is taking place in St Martin in the Fields Church from 6pm to 8pm on the evening of Wednesday 23rd April.
This is a hugely exciting opportunity that won’t come around again for another four years. If you are a living in London please put the 23rd April in your diary.
More details will soon be published on the Evangelical Alliance website,
Further Prayer and Action
For further insights on these and other issues The Evangelical Alliance Public Affairs department produces a monthly parliamentary magazine, PQ, and a monthly ‘Prayer and Campaigns’ action and prayer sheet. Both of these are available on our website along with topical political briefing material. If you have any questions please e-mail the public affairs team at: pub-aff@eauk.org.
