Saturday, 9 October 2010


Every Friday CCFON will bring to you stories of fundamental significance to Christians and our Nation. To equip you to pray and act. To put the hope of Christ at the centre of our Nation. Click on titles for full stories.

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Campaigns, Action Alert, Highlights, Abortion and Bioethics, End of Life, Family and Social, Sexual Orientation, Religious Freedom, Islam,Events

Campaigns

Not Ashamed – Increasing number of signatures

Momentum is gathering for our ‘Not Ashamed’ campaign!

Please help us increase the number of signatures on the ‘Declaration of Christian Hope for our Nation' by signing here.

Why not download a sheet here and collect signatures at church this Sunday? Please return it to us as soon as you can.

Watch what people are saying about Not Ashamed

Not Ashamed (1m 15s)

To visit the Not Ashamed website please click here.

Choose Life - Join us on 27 October

27 October 2010 is the anniversary of the Abortion Act 1967. Since then, over 7 million abortions have taken place in the UK.

As part of the CCFON 'Choose Life' campaign we are organising a demonstration (late morning) and a service of lament at 1pm on Wednesday 27th October in central London. We will also make a presentation to Downing Street that

afternoon. Please join us as we speak up for the unborn child. The day falls in half term so we hope that many students and families will be able to come.

Further details will be available soon.

Action Alert – Join us for a rally for church planning permissions!

Churches in London are frequently being denied appropriate planning permission to build and refurbish their church buildings in order to cater for growing demand.

On Monday 11 October there is a meeting at the Mayor’s office, City Hall, during which it will be decided whether the London planning guidance will be amended to allow congregations to use abandoned industrial space. This meeting is crucial as it could result in many more planning permissions being given to growing churches over the next ten years. Please Pray.

Please join CCFON and Tunji Adebayo of TA Property as we demonstrate from 9.30am outside City Hall.

Highlights

EU blocks CCFON request for information on Equal Treatment Directive

Following a public access request from CCFON, the EU Council has refused to allow the public to access documents concerning the highly controversial EU Equal Treatment Directive, which is currently being negotiated in secret between European Member States.

The Directive seeks to outlaw discrimination on several grounds, including sexual orientation and religion, in the provision of goods and services, and includes a controversial harassment provision which threatens free speech. Christians fear that the Directive will undermine freedom of religion and free speech and promote ‘homosexual rights’ above freedom of conscience.

To read more about this Directive, please click here.

Victory for conscientious objection to abortion in Europe

On Thursday 7 October an attack on the right of conscientious objection to abortion was defeated in the Council of Europe. Pro-abortion members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe had submitted a report recommending a crack-down on health

workers who refused to be complicit in the provision of abortion.

However, the report was successfully resisted by pro-life members of the assembly and amended so that it became a defence of conscientious objection, affirming the right of doctors to refuse to carry out abortions. Irish Senator Ronan Mullin pointed out that:

  • the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises the rights of unborn children; and
  • there is no human right to abortion, whereas conscientious objection is a basic principle of human rights.

You can read the original report here. Had it been passed, member states would have been under pressure to restrict or abolish conscientious objection within medicine.

See the final amended resolution here.

Abortion and Bioethics

CCFON: Nobel Prize awarded to IVF inventor.

BBC News: Bishops criticise holding of abortion seminar.

Peter Saunders (blog): Humiliating defeat for Council of Europe pro-abortion activists who attempted to criminalise conscientious objection to abortion.

Washington Post (Video): Safe alternatives to human embryonic stem cells.

Andrea Minichiello Williams, CCFON, in debate on abortion

BBC Radio 4 'Woman's Hour',

5 Oct 10 (9m 31s)

Peter Saunders (blog): American scientists' breakthrough in producing embryonic-like stem cells is not noticed by British media.

Daily Mail: 'My mother is going to kill me': Anti-abortion billboard with a straight-talking message is causing controversy... and confusion.

C-FAM News: Amnesty International demands abortion decriminalisation in Latin America.

End of Life

CCFON: Television agony aunt claims she would suffocate a child to end its suffering.

Daily Mail: Caring for our disabled daughter can be terrifying but she’s enriched our lives beyond measure.

Peter Saunders blog: New pro-euthanasia doctors group constitute a small vocal minority.

Joanna Jepson challenging agony aunt's astonishing claim that she would smother a suffering child

BBC 'Sunday Morning Live',

03 Oct 10 (18m 54s)

Family and Social

Daily Telegraph: Stay-at-home parents to lose out in child benefit reform.

Guardian: Kids have sex and porn available on mobile phones.

Daily Mail: Four boys aged nine suspended after being caught selling cannabis at primary school.

Daily Telegraph: Having faith 'helps patients live longer', study suggests.

Daily Telegraph: Young people have 'faded memory of Christianity', says Church book.

Sexual Orientation

The33TV (Video): US: Parents fume over sexuality questions at school.

Examiner: US: Homosexual 'marriages' prompt changes in Baptist by-laws.

Opposing Views: US: Sorry, bakery doesn't have to make pro-homosexual cupcakes.

Spero News: Homosexual adoption of children criticised.

Religious Freedom

CCFON: EU blocks British request for disclosure on controversial EU Directive.

CCFON: Equality Act 2010 comes into force.

CCFON: Druidry recognised as a religion in Britain.

Daily Mail: 'Christian' Easter eggs snubbed by stores claims Church Of England.

Peter Saunders blog: Nottingham hospital officials proposing Gideon Bible ban.

Catholic Herald: Adoption agency renews fight to stay open.

ICN News: Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world, say bishops.

Spero News: Hollywood and its obsession with Christianity.

Reuters: In the Holy Land, Christians are a community in decline.

Islam

CCFON: Dutch MP Geert Wilders in Court following comments on Islam.

Daily Telegraph: British schools where girls must wear the Islamic veil.

Daily Telegraph: West being 'out-manoeuvred' by Islamic extremism, Tony Blair warns.

Daily Mail: Waitrose forced to ditch halal lamb from Prince of Wales' Duchy range.

Press TV: Muslim preacher to sue Home Office.

Associated Press: Muslim law taking hold in parts of US, says politician.

Reuters: German president welcomes Islam during unity speech.

The Local (Germany): SPD, Greens demand equality for Islam in Germany.

Christian Post: Muslim extremists murder Christian Lawyer and his family in Pakistan.

Reuters: Malawi Muslims burn Bibles in protest.

Crosswalk News: Muslims force expat Christian teacher to flee Maldives.

Reuters: Iraqi Christians flee homeland even as war fades.

Bloomberg: Islamic finance: No sharia rules for breaking deals gets regulator review.

Events

Christian issues in the public life

Speaker: Andrea Minichiello Williams

Event organised by the Norwich Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship.

Date & time: Saturday 9 October, 9.30am – 1.30pm

Venue: St Luke’s Church, 61 Aylsham Road, Norwich, NR3 2HF.

Click here for more information.

State of the Nation

Speaker: Andrea Minichiello Williams

Date & time: Sunday 10 October at 10.30am

Venue: Wanstead Baptist Church, 29-31 Wellington Road, Wanstead, E11 2AS.

‘Does Britain Need a Moral Reformation?’ Wilberforce Dialogues 2010

Jonathan Bartley, Chair of Ekklesia and Andrea Minichiello Williams will engage in dialogue with each other and then with the audience.

Date & time: Tuesday 19 October

Venue: St, Mary's Church, Juntion of Chapel Road and St Mary's Street, Southampton SO14 1AQ.

Upcoming debate on Assisted Suicide

Held at the Royal Geographical Society (SW7) on 19 October at 6.45-8.30pm

Motion: Assisted suicide should be legalised

FOR: Emily Jackson, Debbie Purdy, Mary Warnock

AGAINST: Alex Carlile QC, Ilora Finlay, Richard Harries

A list of other upcoming events can be found here.



Andrea Minichiello Williams

Christian Concern for our Nation

http://www.ccfon.org



Andrea can be contacted at andrea@ccfon.org and 020 7935 1488


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CCFON Ltd : October 2009 Promotional Video : Long Version - 15min
CCFON Ltd : October 2009 Promotional Video : Short Version - 4min