Intercessor Focus: prayer and politics
Many are asking, ‘How can we pray for an orderly solution to Brexit when the leaders of our nations appear to be tirelessly holding opposing forceful opinions?’ Now is the time to ask God to replace confusion with order and replace chaos with clarity. Pray that the outworking of every emotion and frustration among MPs and in the EU will facilitate the fulfilling of God's purposes. God is Lord of Heaven and earth, He is righteous, just and merciful; nothing is impossible for Him. In faith we can ask Him to bring boundaries, borders, and the sovereignty of the UK into His intention for the future. You are also reminded of the National Call to Prayer for the UK during the week of 24–30 March. May God revive us with fresh revelations of the depth of His love and authority that comes from Heaven when we pray.
12,000+ charities accused of promoting religion
The National Secular Society (NSS) claims that 12,000+ charities exist solely to promote religion, with some using public money to promote extremism and harmful practices, and calls for the advancement of religion to be removed from the list of charitable purposes. Although benefits provided by most of the charitable purposes relieve poverty, promote good health, save lives and protect the environment, the NSS said the benefit to the public by advancing a religion is far more contestable and based on the outdated presumption that religion is inherently a good thing. It believes religious fundamentalism has demonstrated that religion can exacerbate tension, division, segregation and conflict in Britain, and ’as such there is a clear need to consider whether religion should be regarded as an inherent public good deserving the status of a charitable purpose’. The NSS has written to the charities minister, calling for the removal of the advancement of religion as a charitable purpose.
More Birmingham schools stop LGBT classes
Last week we prayed for sex education to be the responsibility of parents not schools. This week four more schools in Birmingham have stopped teaching about LGBT rights following complaints. The No Outsiders programme in Birmingham will now be suspended until an agreement with parents is reached. The debate began when Parkfield Community School suspended the lessons following parents’ protests. Campaigner Amir Ahmed said some Muslims felt ‘victimised’, but an LGBT group leader said No Outsiders helped pupils understand it is OK to be different. Leigh Trust said it was halting the lessons until after Ramadan, which finishes in June. Also, seven primary schools in Manchester, which have been contacted by parents unhappy over sex and relationships lessons that teach children about LGBT rights, have asked school management to discuss the inclusion of the lessons in the curriculum.
Pants rules for children
Children are taught about crossing the road safely. Talking to them about staying safe from sexual abuse is just as easy with the NSPCC’s new PANTS rules. With the help of a friendly dinosaur called Pantosaurus, talking PANTS is a simple way to teach a young child how to stay safe from abuse. The singing dinosaur video and fun activity pack can help parents teach the key messages without using any scary words. There are also PANTS teaching resources for schools and teachers that include lesson plans, class activities, and a catchy song ‘Not in My Pants’. It is not known exactly how many UK children experience abuse, because it is hidden from view. Adults may not recognise the signs, or the child may be too young, too scared or too ashamed to say what is happening. See
