UCB Broadcast February 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.
Racial and Religious Hatred Bill
We wish to thank all of you who wrote, rang or visited your MP or wrote to a Lord regarding the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill. Your letters, phone calls and visits made a definite impact on the outcome of the Bill, as the second crucial amendment was voted against and was defeated by one vote, in the House of Commons on Tuesday 31st January.
The Government’s defeat ensures that the offence of inciting religious hatred has to be intentional and specifies that proselytising, discussion, criticism, insult, abuse and ridicule of religious belief or religious practice will not be an offence.
Please follow this link to see whether your MP voted for or against the second crucial amendment to the bill which ensured that proselytising would not become an offence in this country. http://www.eauk.org/public-affairs/religiousliberty
You may wish to consider writing to your MP to thank them for listening to their constituency and voting accordingly. Similarly you may wish to write to your MP to express concern if they did not take into account the opinions of their constituents and voted for the amendment.
Give thanks that the Government was defeated, perhaps the fact that it was by only one vote demonstrates that it could have gone either way and without our members or God’s provision the vote could have been lost.
The Agenda Tour
The Agenda Tour took place from the 1st until the 20th February 2006. Following the publication of Rob Frost's book 'Freedom Fighters', this tour is designed to inform Church Leaders and Christians of the implications of the proposed new religious hatred legislation.
Speakers will include Andrea Minichello Williams from the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, and Don Horrocks, Head of Public Affairs at the Evangelical Alliance.
For more information on the tour please check Don’s Tour Diary.
Please also visit the Lawyers Christian Fellowship website and the Share Jesus International website for more information.
www.lawcf.org
www.sharejesusinternational.com
The tour travelled to over 20 destinations across the UK over the last three weeks including Stoke on Trent where the team made an appearance on UCB radio!
Please pray that this tour will have helped inform local churches up and down the country about how to better engage and stay informed on important political and legal changes that will affect every church in the nation.
Assisted Dying Bill
The Evangelical Alliance is a key member of the ‘Care Not Killing’ alliance which seeks to bring together a broad range of faith based and secular organisations in opposition to the Bill. Please visit the campaign website www.carenotkilling.org.uk
It is not too soon to be expressing your concerns to your local MP. A major campaign against the Bill was announced on the 31st of January. A provisional date for the Second Reading of the Bill has not been set yet but is expected soon.
Please pray that ‘Care Not Killing’ will be given fair coverage in the intense media and Parliamentary debate that has already begun.
Ministers from Overseas
The Home Office are introducing a new immigration category for religious workers. This category will enable those whose religious duties do not include preaching or pastoral work to come to the UK for up to two years.
They will be exempt from the English language test, and they will be exempt from the citizenship test (unless after the two years they decide to apply for leave to stay here permanently.) This should make it much easier to employ foreign nationals on a short term or year-out basis. As the Church in the United Kingdom increasingly benefits from the contribution of our International brothers and sisters this new initiative is to be welcomed, especially as some have experienced great difficultly with the authorities in their attempts to move to the UK to work with Churches and Christian organisations here.
The Home Office have commissioned a study on the pre-entry qualification ministers who wish to be here for longer periods of time will need to have in future before entering the country.
Give thanks for these new rules that will enable churches to employ people from other countries more easily.
Please pray that the Home Office will listen to Christian groups concerns regarding the employment of long-term Christian workers from overseas.
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 new look website www.eauk.org along with topical political briefing material. If you have any questions please e-mail the public affairs team at pub-aff@eauk.org
Thank you.
