UCB Broadcast May 2009

Money Let's Talk

The Evangelical Alliance is holding the 'Money, Let's Talk' Seminar as part of the Pentecost Festival. It's taking place on Saturday 30^th May from 2 until 5 in the afternoon.

In the midst of the current financial crisis it's absolutely crucial that this issue is spoken about in our churches. I think sometimes church leaders can shy away from the subject, either because they don't want to seem like they're asking for money, or, they feel that the whole subject of money and church has got a bad reputation.

Speaking at the seminar will be Chris Tapp from Credit Action and John Preston from the Church of England, and they're going to be addressing this point. Trying to encourage churches to see past the sensitivities and realise just how important it is for everyone one in church to know what the Bible has to say about their finances.

On top of this we want to encourage churches to take practical action, taking the message of the gospel to the poor and the marginalised and provide care in a critical time of need.

There are a number of different ways of doing this, and we'll explore a couple of these during the day. Whether this is opening a debt counselling centre, or campaigning for fairer laws, there are many Churches across the country who are already active in this arena and we want to encourage more to talk about money within their congregations and offer services to their community.

Current political situation

Over the past couple of weeks the Daily Telegraph have published the expenses claims for many Members of Parliament. A lot of these disclosures have shown quite extraordinary expenditure of the tax payer's money, and politicians seem now to have woken up to the fact that just because their expenses might have been claimed within the rules, and approved by the parliamentary authorities, doesn't make them right.

A few of the cases have been sufficiently serious for them to repay large sums of money, other have declared that they won't be standing at the next election and both David Cameron and Gordon Brown have had to sack ministers and shadow ministers.

What is missing from the current furore is that many MPs have not claimed for moats and floating duck islands. Most use the allowance exactly as it is intending, allowing them to carry out work both in their constituency and in Westminster. Yet even prior to the release of these claims it was already obvious that the system had to be reformed.

Interim plans are coming together to drastically restrict what the allowances can be used for, no longer can food or furniture be claimed for and the upper limit will be reduced.

The Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin announced his resignation earlier this week, as his position had became untenable after his repeated interventions to try and prevent the disclosure of MPs expense.

But the biggest causality so far it trust in politics. Many no longer consider that MPs are doing what is in the best interest of the country. With the European elections just two weeks away there is the real possibility that the British National Party will win seats in the European Parliament. It is more important than ever that Christians exercise their right to vote. We need people of integrity and honesty in our political system, so lets pray that the best people are elected next month. More information about the election and how you can get involved please visit www.eauk.org .

Equality Bill

The Equality Bill is currently making its way through Parliament. This very complex piece of legislation draws together all the previous Acts of Parliament dealing with equality issues over the past 10 years. Many provisions in the Bill ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect, whether in the work place or across society.

However, there are a number of provisions that are potentially worrying. The Bill seeks to narrow the exemptions that Christian organisations and churches can use to limit job applications to Christians.

As the Bill currently stands, the exemption would only apply to those who predominantly preach doctrine or celebrate worship. The notes specifically exclude church youth workers.

If you could pray for the members of the committee that are currently scrutinising the Bill and for the many Christian groups that are working with the Government on trying to alter these requirements.