Homosexual activist targets Christian
On 20 January a Christian counsellor will be summoned before a Professional Conduct Panel for giving therapy to a homosexual man who pretended to be a Christian. Lesley Pilkington, a counsellor with over 20 years of experience, is defending herself against a formal complaint by Patrick Strudwick, a homosexual journalist who secretly recorded two therapy sessions with her. He published an account of the sessions in The Independent and has since received the award of journalist of the year by the homosexual-rights organisation Stonewall. Those offering such counselling have been increasingly targeted by the homosexual lobby, many of whom do not accept that people can change their behaviour. But in 2006, the homosexual rights activist Peter Tatchell wrote in the Guardian: ‘Much as I would love to go along with the fashionable ‘born gay’ consensus (it would be very politically convenient), I can't. The evidence does not support the idea’.
Pray: that the charge will be dismissed on the basis of entrapment and natural justice. (Ac. 24:1)
Divided church is poor witness
In a sermon to mark the start of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on Tuesday, the Rev Bob Fyffe said the movement for unity had ‘transformed things for the better’. ‘It is this movement that has helped to overcome some deep-rooted enmities that have scared communities, transforming churches to be more open to each other.’ The task before believers, he said, was to be recognised as Christians by how well they had loved others. ‘To be divided as Christians is to offer poor witness to the world,’ he said. The call to Christian unity must be more than a dream. It is the living out of these high ideals that helps others see that faith can be a source of hope. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is held each year by the church worldwide from January 18 to 25. This year’s theme is ‘All things in common’.
Pray: for unity between denominations and that differences can be overcome for the sake of the Gospel. (1Co.1:10)
DIY abortions at home?
Britain’s largest abortion provider is set to go to the High Court in a bid to allow women to abort their pregnancies whilst at home. BPAS, formerly the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, is seeking to change the interpretation of the law so that women in the first nine weeks of their pregnancy can take the second set of drugs necessary to induce an early medical abortion whilst at home, rather than under clinical supervision. The proposal has alarmed critics who believe that this would trivialise the procedure and ignore the dangers. A spokesman for the pro-life charity Life said: ‘Clearly BPAS’ intention is to increase access to abortion yet further, by making it little more than a pill-popping exercise'. Paul Tully, general secretary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said: ‘Abortion is an appalling ordeal for women, as well as the killing of an unborn child. BPAS is trivialising abortion and jeopardising women’s welfare.’
Pray: that the High Court will recognise the importance of counselling at each stage in the path towards an abortion. (Ps.32:8)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/abortion-provider-wants-to-allow-diy-abortions-at-home/
Judge rules against guest house owners
A judge has sided with a homosexual couple who were refused a double room at a Christian guest house. (see Prayer Alert 02-2011) Owners Peter and Hazelmary Bull implemented a policy of allowing only heterosexual married couples to stay in their double rooms when they opened the guest house, also their family home, in 1986. Their website gives notice of the policy on its booking page. They were sued by civil partners Steven Preddy and Martyn Hall for £5,000 in damages on the grounds that the policy discriminated against them under the Equality Act. Judge Andrew Rutherford ruled that the Bulls’ policy was unlawful and that the Equality Act requires that civil partnerships are treated in the same way as marriage. The Bulls must now pay Preddy and Hall £3,600 in damages. Responding to the ruling, Mrs Bull said: ‘Our double-bed policy was based on our sincere beliefs about marriage, not hostility to anybody’.
Pray: that the Equality Act be amended to distinguish between legal and behavioural rights. (Jas.1:21)
More:http://www.christiantoday.com/article/judge.rules.against.christian.guesthouse.owners.who.refused.civil.partners/27378.htm
