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Hate crime and public order (Scotland) update
We want to encourage engagement with this bill and would encourage you to contact your MSPs to raise any concerns. However, in a highly charged media and social media environment it is also important to be clear about the what the bill does and does not do, where the concerns are, and how to most…
Kieran Turner
Lockdown latest: Scottish Government September update
This last month has seen some significant opening up of activities that many churches undertake with guidance published for a variety of sectors including youth and children’s work, community learning and development (that incorporates education), outdoor events and running meetings for the…
Kieran Turner
Report proposes a new deal with faith communities
The report recognises the invaluable role of churches noting that, “before the welfare state, social support was provided by parishes, and by a patchwork of independent charities, foundations, friendly societies, mutuals, trades unions, cooperatives – and churches… Many of our public services – our…
Peter Lynas
Hope has a name, and its name is Jesus
The change in government guidelines and regulations that we’re seeing on a seemingly weekly basis exposes how vital hope is, and yet how easily we place our hope in the wrong things. We hope for a reduction in coronavirus cases to enable our lives to return to some semblance of normality. Better…
Danny Webster
People of prayer in places of pain
Since the shaking started in March, there have been many times due to personal family situations, listening to friends’ experiences, or trying to process the local, national, and global news, when I have only been able to pray as Paul describes in Romans 8:22-27: "We know that the whole creation…
Donna Jennings
How to run for Jesus in lockdown
It was a cold, dark, November evening, and I was charging downhill with my running club, when I drew alongside an older member who exclaimed, “Let there be light!” We quickly struck up a conversation about how his dad used to be in the church choir and would often take him to church as a boy, but…
Natalie Andrews
Understanding the politics of lockdown
The system of individual local lockdowns in England has now been replaced with a three-tier set of restrictions, with every local authority placed in one of the three categories. At present only the wider Liverpool City Region is in the highest tier of restrictions, which sees the closure of many…
Danny Webster
Speaking with and for the most vulnerable
On Wednesday, the Evangelical Alliance in Northern Ireland appeared at the Northern Ireland Education Committee alongside the National Autistic Society to advocate for some of the most vulnerable people in society. You can watch Donna, head of church and mission, giving evidence here and the BBC…
The UK church amid the pandemic: a journey of snakes and ladders
We wait to roll a 6. We plod forward, feeling like we’re ahead. We climb another ladder. 100, our desired destination, is in sight… restrictions lifted, new measures in place, the R number dropping, social connections rebuilding. Circumstances looked and felt better, hopeful even. In church,…
Donna Jennings
IDOP Online 2021
Our online prayer event marked International Day of Prayer (IDOP) for the persecuted church on Sunday, 7 November 2021. We joined our friends at Open Doors, CSW and Release International. This jointly-hosted webinar featured the latest news, testimonies and prayer requests from Nigeria, Eritrea and…
New government safeguarding guidance: Keeping Children Safe
Keeping Children Safe consolidates all legislation and best practice that has come before from the government and informs safeguarding in churches and other faith-based organisations. For this reason, Paul Harrison of Christian Safeguarding Services (CSS), states this guidance will be a…
Jo Evans
Government commits to appointing new envoy for religious freedom
This comes as welcome news for politicians and religious communities alike, as the report, produced in response to the persecution of religious minorities around the globe, revealed that a staggering 84 per cent of the world population live in areas where religious freedom is limited or banned, and…
A bond of common humanity
Old wounds of racial and ethnic hostilities have resurfaced in the industrialised north this year. The world watched and heard George Floyd utter his last words, “I can’t breathe,” which sparked protests and calls for racial justice for black and minority communities in the US and in other…
Dr Hephzibah Egede
Let's pray every step of the way
As I called out to God and asked for prayer backup, I realised afresh how much I needed my Father’s help and how easy I had become used to trusting others rather than in God alone. Fortunately, I was able to pick her up later that day. The doctors reassured me that the new medication should work…
Responding in recovery
However, as March came to an end and April moved us deeper into lockdown, it became more and more apparent that this was unlikely to happen. It was difficult and painful. My hopes and dreams for my wedding day were unravelling as quickly as new coronavirus cases were rising. We’ve all had our lives…
Rachel Arnold
