International Day of Prayer for Peace
Each year on 21 September the World Council of Churches calls churches and parishes to observe the International Day of Prayer for Peace. 21 September is also the United Nations-sponsored International Day of Peace. As it approaches, the World Council of Churches invites people to offer prayers for peace. This year we would like to invite you to pray for the upcoming World Council of Churches 10th Assembly. The theme of the assembly is a prayer for peace: ‘God of Life, Lead Us to Justice and Peace’. Churches from all over the world will gather in Busan, South Korea, 30 October to 8 November 2013, for the event. We would like to ask you to pray the theme – pray it for the world, pray it for the church, pray it for the churches attending the WCC assembly, pray it with the assembly.
More: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/events/international-day-of-prayer-for-peace
‘Majority of British women want new laws to tackle web trolls’
The majority of British women (75%) support David Cameron’s proposal to make internet porn ‘opt-in’ and want new laws to tackle web trolls, according to a study. Despite relatively few people having actually been victim to trolling online, new research from Kantar, a global research firm, found that 85% of the British public think there needs to be new legislation to deal with the issue – with women feeling more strongly about this matter than men. 67% of women strongly back calls for new laws to police the activities of internet trolls, compared to 48% of men. Despite three quarters of British women supporting the new opt-in system to internet porn put forward by the Government, with 59% ‘strong in favour’, British men’s enthusiasm for the proposal is not as strong.
Pray: that the government would take steps to introduce new laws to deal with this problem. (Ps.119:39)
More: http://www.mediawatchuk.com/latest-news-september-2013/
Acid attacks on British girls in Zanzibar ‘linked to al-Qaida'
Some of the gang are believed to be members of the Islamic extremist group Al-Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaida. Brits Kirstie Trup and Katie Gee, both 18, suffered face and body scarring after acid was thrown at them from a moped. They were victims of one of five acid attacks in the area in less than a year – the latest of which was on a Catholic priest. The motive for the attacks was initially unclear, but reports now suggest it might have been the work of terrorists. Police also seized 29 litres of acid, which they fear was to be used in future attacks.
Pray: that the girls will recover and that the authorities will trace the perpetrators. (Pr.21:15)
More: http://europenews.dk/en/node/71788
Number of children sleeping rough on the rise
There has been an alarming rise in the number of children sleeping rough across Europe, which is why the system needs an overhaul, writes Kate Moss. The number of rough sleeping children across Europe is on the rise. These are young people who have mostly run away either from home or from sheltered accommodation. They may also include minors who have made border crossings in search of a better life and improved opportunities or for any number of other reasons. Financed by the EU Daphne programme, the pioneering two-year children rough sleepers research project which we at the University of Wolverhampton are currently leading has been tasked with conducting precisely this study, for which ongoing collaboration is currently underway among a team comprising ten partner countries from around Europe. There is very little information about children who sleep rough. Figures show that 100,000 children go missing every year in the UK.
Pray: against this trend and the dangers that sleeping rough brings to young people. (Pro.22:3)
More: http://www.theparliament.com/latest-news/article/newsarticle/number-of-children-rough-sleepers-on-the-riseaccording-to-new-study/#.UjcNu39kln4
