ITV: One hour of religion this year
ITV will broadcast just one hour of religious programming this year while Five will not show any, the channels have admitted to the Church of England. Adding to fears that Britain’s commercial television stations no longer see the value of traditional shows about faith, Channel 4 has scrapped the post of Commissioning Editor for Religion. The channels say audiences are no longer interested in programmes solely about religion, so they cannot afford to continue making them. It leaves the BBC as the main provider of religious documentaries and acts of worship on television whose public service licence requires BBC1 and BBC2 to broadcast 110 hours a year. However, BBC’s coverage of spiritual matters has been criticised by senior clergy who says it risks treating Christianity like a ‘rare species’. ITV and Channel 5 both cite economic pressures to target larger audiences as the reason to cut religious broadcasting that attracts smaller audiences. Pray: for ITV management to rethink their schedules and retain some religious broadcasting. (Gen.4:7)
Councils drop opening prayers
Leicester City Council, in addition to Enfield Council, has banned Christian prayers at the opening of council meetings. Colin Hall, Leicester’s new Lord Mayor and member of the National Secular Society (NSS) says: ‘I personally consider that religion, in whatever shape or form, has no role to play at all in the conduct of council business.’ Jayne Buckland, Mayor of Enfield, has chosen to replace the prayers with poetry readings in a bid to ‘support and encourage the arts'. Last month it was revealed (See Prayer Alert 1910) that the NSS was trying to use the courts to ban the North Devon Council of Bideford from starting its meetings with Christian prayers. London’s Mayor Boris Johnson slammed the NSS’s campaign, pointing out that Parliament has prayers before its meetings, and that it is helpful for both believers and non-believers. These examples reflect the growing influence of the NSS on our civil life. Pray: that Christian prayers will be reintroduced by future civic leaders where they have been banned. Pray about the anti-Christian influence of the National Secular Society. (Lk.18:7-8) More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/council-drops-prayers-for-poetry-readings/
Emergency budget
The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s emergency budget has met a lukewarm response from some Christians fearful that its impact will be felt by those least able to afford it. The Chancellor presented the severest budget for nearly 30 years outlining tax hikes and painful cuts to public spending. Paul Morrison, a member of the Methodist Church’s Joint Public Issues Team, said the taxation burden should be put on the people who could afford it rather than those least able. Chris Sheldon, Deputy Chief Executive of Kingdom Bank, welcomed the efforts to reduce the nation’s massive deficit. ‘I am pleased to see that the government is taking the issue of balancing the country’s income and expenditure so seriously,’ he said. ‘It is a strong biblical principle that we should not spend more than we can afford and that applies to the country in the same way that it applies to individuals’. Pray: for us to balance the collective responsibility we hold to address the national deficit whilst protecting the most vulnerable. (Pr.1:3) More:http://www.christiantoday.com/article/emergency.budget.draws.mixed.reaction.from.christians/26157-2.htm
Moldova: Proclaiming the Gospel through sports.
This office received news of ‘Sports Ministry’ that is evangelising young people in closed countries. ‘Let me share news from a Christian ministry we are doing in Moldova through a sports club. We have 32 instructors teaching annually over 1500 students in Moldova, Afghanistan, Pakistan and United Arab Emirates. The first hour of the ‘sports’ training is inductive bible study and during 13 years many accepted Christ and are active in their churches and in the ministry in their own countries. As the founder and president of the sports club I examine all the students when they take their tests. At a recent exam in Moldavia for 30 students and their parents, reported that they seriously studied the Word as well as developing in the sport.’ The BBC reported world football has a generation of players bringing God onto the pitch, such as the Brazilian player Kaka who celebrates victories by revealing a T-shirt saying, ‘I Belong to Jesus’. Fifa would rather religion stayed out of football. Praise: God for ‘hidden’ ministries in the world, and ask Him to send out more workers into the sports harvest fields. (Mt.9:37)
