M4Europe
M4Europe believe that church planting is God’s initiative and that it’s Christ himself who builds His church. Therefore the authority of the Bible is essential for the content and message of M4. They believe church planting has to be done through prayer, worship and discipleship to Jesus Christ and that God‘s presence and action in a Christian’s life and ministry is more important than strategies, plans and methods. They are church planting, training and coaching across Norway, the Czech Republic, Romania and Estonia and we can pray for the leadership team from these countries, Øivind Augland, Jirí Unger, Theo Bunescu and Craig Hamer. May they and their teams know God’s anointing as they walk His paths to multiply churches across the nations.
NHS and transgender fertility coverage
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) called on Britain’s NHS to update its policy regarding fertility service coverage, alleging ‘current policy discriminates against transgender people.’ The EHRC wrote a pre-action letter to the NHS pressuring Britain’s health care system to change ‘outdated’ fertility policies, saying that policies should cover the cost of egg-freezing procedures for transgenders because many become infertile as a result of hormone treatments. The transgender and LGBT communities applauded the EHRC objections, ‘We welcome this challenge from the EHRC,’ said Stonewall’s director of campaigns. ‘We know the government are committed to improving health and social care provision for all LGBT people, and addressing barriers to fertility support would be a positive step forward in this process.’ On August 1 Stonewall tweeted, ‘The government consultation on reforming the outdated Gender Recognition Act has launched. We want the voices of trans people and allies heard loud and clear. Find out more #ComeOutForTransEquality in the #GRA consultation
Defend burka like you defend the cross
Ruth Davidson - who is the leader of the Scottish Conservatives - has been speaking out following the comments by Boris Johnson about the Burka. The Christian MSP suggested we should defend the right of Muslim women to wear the burka in the same way we defend the right of Christians to wear a cross. She was speaking after the former foreign secretary compared the burka to a letter box and women who wear it to look like bank robbers. Theresa May asked him to apologise. With no apology forthcoming, founder and president of the Conservative Muslim Forum Lord Sheikh said the party should take ‘severe action’ against Mr Johnson. On the other hand, Christian, Jacob Rees-Mogg, said there was no need for Mr Johnson to apologise and an imam who has previously criticised the burka said Mr Johnson should not ‘apologise for telling the truth’. The debate continues.
School 'reputations put before abuse victims'
Pupils at two leading Roman Catholic schools, Ampleforth and Downside, were subjected to appalling sexual abuse over 40 years, a report says. The schools ‘prioritised monks and their own reputations over the protection of children’. Both institutions attempted to cover up the allegations but ten individuals, including monks, have been convicted or cautioned for abuse.
