Rishi Sunak backs off endorsing marriage
Marriages between men and women were ‘the only possible basis for a safe and successful society’, said Christian MP Danny Kruger at the National Conservatism Conference in Westminster. In his speech, he emphasised the Christian notion of marriage as ‘a public act that wider society should recognise and reward’. But Mr Sunak's spokesman said although some ministers chose to speak at the event, that did not mean the Government endorsed its agenda. The remarks causing concern to Downing Street saw Mr Kruger making a bold defence of a traditional theological understanding of matrimony: ‘The normative family - held together by marriage, by mother and father sticking together for the sake of the children and the sake of their own parents and for the sake of themselves - this is the only possible basis for a safe and successful society.’
Doncaster church foodbank broken into again
Thieves have smashed ‘irreplaceable’ 150-year-old stained glass windows to break into St John the Evangelist Church to steal foodbank products once again. The foodbank has been targeted repeatedly in recent months and organisers have warned that the project could be forced to close, impacting on needy members of the community, if the break-ins continue. Revd Derek Pammett said he was praying for the perpetrators and offered to help them. He said, ‘They are stealing from and harming the community; this must stop or the church authorities will close it all down. If you don't want to involve the police then perhaps someone could ask the culprit nicely to stop. This will harm the needy in our community if it's all shut down.’ Another person said, ‘Someone knows who the perpetrators are. The rumour is that our food is being offered for sale. We give it away free to an ever-growing number of people.’
Liz Truss’s trip a ‘dangerous stunt’
London’s Chinese embassy called Liz Truss’s trip to Taiwan a ‘dangerous political stunt’ which will bring nothing but harm to the UK. In a pre-briefed extract of her speech to the Prospect Foundation, Truss was expected to say, ‘Last summer Rishi Sunak described China as the biggest long-term threat to Britain, and he promised to close all thirty of UK’s Confucius Institutes, which promote Chinese culture on campus in higher education and in some British schools. Sunak was right; we need to see those policies enacted urgently. Confucius Institutes must close, and the service supplied by Hong Kong and Taiwanese nationals in the UK on a free basis.’ The embassy urged Truss to stop supporting ‘Taiwan independence’. Taiwan has been separate from the People’s Republic of China since 1949, but Beijing insists on reuniting Taiwan with the mainland, by force if necessary.
Bosnia: millions have never heard the gospel
Zenica city in central Bosnia has a small growing community of believers among the 115,000 Bosniak Muslims. Zenica’s large iron factory provides work for thousands, and the university and other businesses attract people from the surrounding communities. Praise God for both foreign and national Christian workers, who are spreading the good news there. In a city known for iron works, we pray for God’s truth shared through believers to remain sharp as iron and penetrate the hearts of many. Some smaller villages are isolated with zero witness among them. Pray that as the community gathers in Zenica, those who are believers would be put into contact with those open and ready to hear the good news. Proverbs 27:17 says iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another. Father, we ask that believers sharpen one another in spirit and truth and are in such unity that Bosnians will know that it is by Your power they live, move, and find their being.
