Humanist Hospital Chaplains
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has appointed a team of atheist priests after demand for pastoral support from patients with no religion. These ‘Clerics’ will be working under a non-religious chaplain for the first time in NHS history. Humanist Lindsay van Dijk was appointed head chaplain at Stoke Mandeville Hospital after a British Social Attitudes survey found 53% of Britons had no religion. Ms van Dijk told a meeting at Stoke Mandeville Hospital that the chaplaincy team will visit patients to lend a listening ear, provide ‘spiritual’ and emotional support and won’t specifically say ‘I’m from this faith’. She said that in her new role she has experienced 'mostly curiosity' rather than objections. Pray for the church to declare more loudly that Christian Chaplains support for hospital patients is for those of all faiths and none and that putting a humanist in charge of a chaplaincy team takes us further away from the NHS’s Christian roots.
Scotland: Celebration and Clerics
In June, Falkirk hosts the Celebration of Hope. Thousands will gather in football stadia or be out on the streets talking about Jesus. Some will not be directly involved, but everyone can intercede and ask for God’s blessings for abundant harvest. Scotland desperately needs a fresh move of God, a breakthrough, a turning of direction, another Pentecost. What would have happened to past revivals if Christians had not prayed? Would they have happened? How many potential harvests have been lost because the church did not appreciate and use the power of prayer? Also the Church of Scotland may start training people over 55 to be ministers for the first time to shore up dwindling cleric numbers. They are considering overhauling the rules that prevent men or women being ordained unless all aspects of their training are completed by the time they reach 55. see https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/older-clerics-are-answer-to-kirk-s-prayer-57tqnr336
Smuggling migrants from Spain to the UK
Investigations are ongoing to identify, tackle and dismantle organised crime groups involved in movements of migrants entering Europe via the Western Mediterranean Route to the UK. Recently, Europol supported Spanish Guardia Civil in dismantling a criminal group smuggling Spanish migrants and refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria into the UK. The gang used regular ferries from the northern Spanish ports of Santander and Santurtzi to carry out their criminal activities. Their modus operandi was to smuggle the migrants through restricted areas at the ports and hide them in trailers, containers, caravans and lorries waiting to board the ferries in restricted parking bays.
Portion of a reflection on today’s Church
Jesus, Paul and John warned of counterfeit spiritual activity and false doctrine in the last days - Christians will fall away. The following are observations from David Noakes - It is of vital importance in these days that we are alert to the dangers of false teaching. Those of us who teach must be diligent to declare the whole counsel of God; it was only on that basis that Paul was able to declare ‘I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God’ (Acts 20:27). He was warning the Ephesian church elders to be equally diligent saying that we in the church need to re-examine our diet of the seemingly-endless flow of books and magazines, and to ensure that above all we are fully acquainted and familiar with the whole of the Bible. Only by knowing what is in God's word can we walk in safety.
