Bishops differ on sexual relationships
The CofE's bishops appear to be at war after some distanced themselves from a statement reiterating a longstanding Christian teaching that sex is for male-female marriage only. The Bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek, said that she was ‘deeply frustrated and saddened’ by the way the statement was published. She continued, ‘I recognise that it has fanned into flame unnecessary pain and distress and I wish to acknowledge my part in that’. In the House of Bishops’ document responding to the introduction of mixed-sex civil partnerships, they wrote, ‘For Christians, marriage - that is, the lifelong union between a man and a woman, contracted with the making of vows - remains the proper context for sexual activity. Sexual relationships outside heterosexual marriage are regarded as falling short of God's purposes for human beings. The introduction of same sex marriage has not changed the church's teaching on marriage or same sex relationships.’
Salvation Army challenges Government
Thousands of Salvation Army members, officers and supporters are joining forces to warn the Government that, unless urgent action is taken, it is on course to break a manifesto pledge on rough sleeping. The pledge was to end rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament, but since 2010 there has been a 165% increase in people sleeping on the streets. The church and charity has called on its members, officers, employees and supporters in England to ask their local MP to lobby Government to prioritise funding to tackle homelessness. The campaign coincides with a recent poll which found that 68% of the public did not think the Government would deliver on its commitment to end rough sleeping. Anyone can take part in the campaign by going to the Salvation Army campaign page:
UK prayer survey
57% of UK adults say they never pray, and only 12% say they pray at least once a day. By contrast, 49% of Americans say they pray every day. Despite Britain’s concerns about the Brexit future, people are not responding in prayer. Global phenomena like secularisation, immigration, and technological development are overhauling the UK Church, and for every Anglican church in London that closed its doors between 2016 and 2020 more than three Pentecostal churches were launched. British churches are struggling to retain members, but churches with strong African and Asian immigrant bases are growing. As the demography of faith changes, prayer trends are changing too. The increase of prayer in London may point to growing Pentecostal and immigrant-operated churches, but a large share of British Muslims live there also. Muslims are Britain’s most prayerful faith community.
Franklin Graham deemed ‘unacceptable’
Franklin Graham is scheduled to preach the gospel in eight cities across the United Kingdom later this year, but one of those stops is now in jeopardy after the venue cancelled the 12 June booking over his biblical views on LGBTQ issues. ACC Liverpool, an arena and conference centre, said, ‘Over the past few days we have been made aware of a number of Graham’s statements which we consider to be incompatible with our values. In light of this we can no longer reconcile the balance between freedom of speech and the divisive impact this event is having in our city. We have informed the organisers of the event that the booking will no longer be fulfilled.’ Graham, though, said that everyone is welcome. ‘The Gospel is inclusive, I'm not coming out of hate, I'm coming out of love.’ A Change.org petition that labelled Graham a ‘homophobic hate preacher’ had gathered more than 350 signatures as of 28 January.
