Parliamentary Prayer update February 2007

UCB Broadcast February 2007

Hello and welcome to the Parliamentary prayer update, my name is Jennifer Coton and I work in Westminster for the Evangelical Alliance Public Affairs Department.

Micah Challenge: Blow the Whistle Launch 15th March
The Evangelical Alliance is fully committed to Micah Challenge and is uniting with Church leaders and charities worldwide to speak out against the injustice of poverty.

Inspired by the prophet Micah's words, "And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God", Micah Challenge UK will focus on the Blow the Whistle campaign in 2007.

In 2000 world leaders committed to the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.

The year 2007 marks the half-way point to the fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals and it is time to Blow the Whistle to ensure our Government and others throughout the world honour their promises.

Blow the Whistle will be launched in the UK on 15th March as just one part of a series of campaigns that Micah Challenge will coordinate in the run up to the G8 summit in June, to be held in Germany.

Please consider sending a postcard to Tony Blair reminding him of his commitment to the Millennium Development Goals. Details of the Micah Challenge Blow the Whistle Campaign can be found on the Micah Challenge website.

Pray that politicians will take notice of this campaign and remembering their promises to eradicating extreme poverty, renew efforts to help the global poor.

Charities Act 2006
The Charities Act 2006 became law in November. The Evangelical Alliance has been working with its partners over several years together with Government to ensure the act is not detrimental to the interests of religious charities.

A seminar exploring in detail the rules on public benefit and their impact is being held by Anthony Collins Solicitors on 28th February.

Advice for charities and details of this seminar are available

The Alliance will continue to work with its partners and the Charity Commission during 2007 on this issue.

Pray that this legislation will make a positive contribution to the work of Christian charities as it prompts them to consider the public benefit of their service.

Casino Advisory Panel
The Casino Advisory Panel, commissioned by the government to recommend a site for Britain’s first ‘super casino’ announced on January 30th it had selected Manchester.

The Evangelical Alliance is concerned about this choice as we do not believe that casinos regenerate local areas and given that the proposed site is within a deprived area of Manchester it is not well enough equipped to deal with the social impacts of problem gambling.

The Manchester Local Evangelical alliance is addressing the issue of the super casino.

Pray that local efforts by church groups in Manchester will help reduce the effects of problem gambling once the casino is constructed.

Marriage Week
The tenth annual Marriage week was launched in the houses of parliament on 5th February.

Hosted by the author and broadcaster Anne Atkins, speakers included Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Chair of the Centre for Social Justice Iain Duncan Smith MP and head of family policy at think tank CIVITAS Anastasia de Waal.

Marriage week aims every year to communicate that marriage is important to British society. Iain Duncan Smith stressed the importance of marriage in preventing social deprivation, drug and alcohol abuse and violence.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams urged us to celebrate commitment. Give thanks to God that marriage week was able to highlight the importance of marriage in Westminster.

Pray that the government will take seriously the recommendations by Rowan Williams and others that they take marriage seriously and celebrate commitment.

Stop The Traffik
Stop the Traffik is campaign highlighting the evils of modern day slavery. When William Wilberforce, himself a committed evangelical, campaigned to abolish trans-Atlantic slavery in 1807 I’m sure he did not expect that today we would be campaigning to set people free from modern day slavery and exploitation.

Stop the Traffik encourages people to support anti-slavery projects in China, India, Cambodia, Estonia, Nepal and Nigeria through fundraising events, awareness campaigns and political advocacy.

Formed of coalition of over 300 charities including the Evangelical Alliance and its member organisations Tearfund and World Vision, Stop the Traffik is raising awareness of people trafficking. This will culminate on Sunday 25th March, Freedom Day.

Coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery, Freedom Day will be celebrated with local events worldwide.

Coalition members and supporters including non government organisations, local charities, schools, businesses clubs and faith groups are encouraged to mark Freedom day in the most locally appropriate way. The Stop the Traffik website  provides ideas for running local events and resources on human trafficking.

William Wilberforce is a clear example of Christian activism. Join in his legacy by taking part in the Stop the Traffik campaign.

Pray for women and children in countries worldwide who are forced into prostitution and labour.

Pray for the Stop the Traffik campaign as it seeks to highlight the injustices of modern day slavery.

Pray that governments will make laws which prevent people from being able to traffic other human beings.

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.