Anglican Mainstream

You may remember that in January around a million people – including many thousands of students and young people – demonstrated on the streets of Paris against their government's proposals to redefine traditional marriage to include same sex couples. Hundreds of the demonstrators were UK-based French residents who boarded the Eurostar to Paris to join their compatriots.

What is less well known is that on the same day a further 600 French residents refrained from travelling to Paris but demonstrated instead outside the French Embassy in west London.

These UK-based French protesters are now organising another London demonstration, but this time in Trafalgar Square. As before, they are planning this to take place on the same day as the next Paris demonstration, Sunday 24th March, at which 2 million protesters are expected to march along the Champs-Elysees!

The UK-based protesters have invited other non-French UK residents to join them in Trafalgar Square, and to make this a joint protest against both the UK and the French governments' plans to redefine marriage.

We think this is a great idea and, along with other UK organisations such as Christian Concern, Anglican Mainstream fully supports it and plans to be there.

Please encourage your churches, families, friends and contacts to join us and make a loud statement to the UK and French governments. Anglican Mainstream will supply the posters. Just turn up. If you can, bring young children for a family-friendly outing and as a visible sign against the sterile adult-centred nature of same sex marriage.

There is a poster for the demonstration enclosed and details on this website.

The French government intends to legislate in order to allow same sex marriages. This will enable adoption by two persons of the same sex. The intended statute will get rid of the words "husband", "wife", "father" and "husband" from the French civil code, the statute governing the laws of marriage in France. Through full adoption by two parents of the same sex, a child will by law be treated as being 'born' from them and thereby deprived of a mother and a father. The French have not been consulted on this issue. However, a large number of them (70 percent according to official polls) would like to see a referendum organised on this issue. There will be a large demonstration taking place in Paris next Sunday, whose purpose is to request a full debate on this issue. In support of this, French Londoners will gather in front of the French embassy (58 Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7JT) in London. Other Londoners wishing to support this initiative are welcome to join. This is meant to be a peaceful gathering which rejects any form of homophobia.

Placards may be downloaded here (pdf) (33 to choose from!)

From Family Watch International

• Encourages Member States to criminalize and characterize opinions against homosexuality as “hate speech” and calls for an inappropriate expansion of criminal offences to include expressions based on “homophobic or transphobic intent.”
   
• Promotes the legalization of same-sex marriage and abortions where not already legal. (Abortion is a competency of Member States, not European Union (EU) law, and thus not the European Parliament.

• Encourages liberalizing laws regulating comprehensive sexuality education. (Click here to see the serious problems with this kind of education.)

• Calls on Member States to protect “the freedom of those without a religion not to suffer discrimination as a result of excessive exemptions for religions from laws on equality and non-discrimination.” Read the rest of this entry »

Ideological decisions to refuse adult individuals seeking professional psychotherapeutic help to reduce unwanted same-sex attractions, are a violation of personal autonomy and personal rights. No credible, incontrovertible evidence exists to prove that homosexuality is inborn, and is unchangeable in all cases. Married men, who wish to stay in their married relationships with a woman, should not be denied the opportunity to reduce homosexual feelings, if that is their desire. Professionals should not be penalised for assisting them, when this is the genuine desire of their client and a reasonable personal goal.

Sign petition here

A second petition concerning the Terrence Higgins Trust has been removed from the site after anonymous complaints to the Department that operates the petitions.  The only petition which remains is US based.  Read below why you should sign this petition.

SIGN PETITION HERE

NB: SINCE THIS PETITION WAS LAUNCHED THT HAS BEEN AWARDED YET MORE STATE FUNDING. Read the rest of this entry »

We are urging customers across the globe to 'Dump Starbucks' because it has taken a corporate-wide position that the definition of marriage between one man and one woman should be eliminated and that same-sex marriage should become equally 'normal'. As such, Starbucks has deeply offended at least half its US customers, and the vast majority of its international customers.

• SIGN THE PETITION
• USE YOUR VOICE
• TELL YOUR FRIENDS (See here)

After a promising start, this poll appears to have become skewed!  Redress the balance and vote! 

Vote here  (Scroll down)

Barnabas Fund last week launched a petition as part of our 2012 Proclaim Freedom campaign, which seeks to put pressure on governments to take resolute action on behalf of persecuted Christians around the world.

Christians are one of the largest and most persecuted groups in the world, yet they are often neglected in Western governments’ foreign policy.

The Proclaim Freedom petition, which was launched at the Christian Resources Exhibition in Exeter, England, last Wednesday (25 January), calls on governments to pursue decisive policies aimed at putting pressure on states that persecute or condone the persecution of Christians, and assist other countries to improve conditions for all minority groups – especially Christians – within their borders.

Today, we are launching the online version. It can be signed online or downloaded and printed. Please promote this petition within your church and community.

Read the rest of this entry »

From Christian Concern

•   Oppose any amendments which force sex education onto primary schools.
•   Protect children from graphic material in the classroom.
•   Protect the right of head teachers and governors to decide what is best for children at their schools.

The latest scandal – Abuse of Parliamentary Process

by Rev Lynda Rose

Yesterday in Parliament saw the debate of the much-hyped amendment by Nadine Dorries to the Health Bill, calling for it to be a legal requirement that all women seeking abortion be offered counselling.  At the beginning of last week, prospects for the amendment were looking distinctly hopeful, after Ms Dorries had a meeting with David Cameron – a supporter of abortion, but who admitted to being scandalised at the abuse of women under current practice.  Ms Dorries reported that he was so supportive, he actually suggested inclusion of the word independent, before counselling, in order to protect women from what might be seen as manipulative pressure by abortion providers, who might be thought to have a vested interest in the procedure going ahead.

A couple of days after that meeting, however, Mr Cameron apparently did a complete volte face, writing to Ms Dorries withdrawing all support.  On top of that, he then wrote to all Conservative MPs, telling them the government did not support the amendment, and urging them to vote against it; what has been described as tantamount to the imposition of a three line whip.

Why should he have done this, when only days before he had reportedly been so enthusiastic? 

The answer emerged the following day, in an exuberant tweet by former LibDem MP, Dr Evan Harris.  A long time proponent of abortion and campaigner against any right to real choice, Dr Evans crowed that he had been so incensed at news of the Prime Minister’s support that he had immediately gone to see Nick Clegg.  There, in words we can only imagine, he apparently pressured the leader of his party into withdrawing all LibDem support for the Health Bill, unless Mr Cameron in turn withdrew support for the amendment.  On the strength of that – again according to Dr Harris himself – Mr Clegg then went to see David Cameron … who in the interests of coalition solidarity, we are told, deemed it politic figuratively to withdraw the rug from under Ms Dorries’ feet.

What on earth was going on here?  How, in a democratic society such as our own, can an unelected individual apparently wield such immense influence that he can in a matter of hours reverse Government policy?  How can this be right? How can a private individual, who represents no one (indeed, one whom the voters have so recently positively disclaimed), be able to force a change, not just on the party which defeated him, but on Government policy overall?  

The answer would seem to lie with Lib Dem organization, which appears to vest the formation of party policy in non-elected party members.  In other words, it would seem the leader, along with all the party faithful, has to tow the party line!  This is scandalous.  No one unelected to represent us should be able to influence or dictate policy –  and especially not someone who was voted out of office because of the very same views that so appalled his constituents.

So please, if you feel similar concern at this patent abuse of democracy, write to your MP today, asking him or her to raise the matter in Parliament.  A specimen letter is included below, and please feel free to personalise and amend it as you see fit, if you would like to use it as a model.  But whatever, please do write, and ask others to write too.

Read the rest of this entry »

From Christian Concern

By Bryan Brown, National Organisation for Marriage

From CARE

From Safermedia

From Christian Concern

Recent Equalities legislation and its interpretation in the courts has led to several individuals who hold to mainstream Christian teaching being barred from different areas of public life and employment, running counter to our country’s long heritage of Freedom of Conscience, and creating a serious obstacle to the Christian community's full and active involvement in the Big Society initiative.

We call on the Prime Minister to act decisively to address this situation, securing the change necessary to ensure that the law provides a basis for widespread involvement in serving society whilst properly upholding the dignity of every individual, including those who seek to live with integrity to Christian conscience and teaching.
 
Sign petition here

In January 2011, the coalition government introduced the English Baccalaureate curriculum to secondary schools in England. GCSE Religious Education was deliberately excluded from this new Gold standard programme despite it's popularity, academic rigour and ability to teach young people about a range of faiths and beliefs. We need your support to ensure GCSE RE is included in this crucial new curriculum and ultimately, put back in its rightful place – at the heart of humanities.

Urgent Petition

I am profoundly concerned about the exclusion of Religious Education from the Humanities options in the curriculum of the English Baccalaureate.

Because Religious Education has the strong potential to increase understanding and tolerance, building social cohesion in our increasingly diverse society, I am calling on you now to include Religious Education as a Humanities option in the curriculum of the English Baccalaureate.

Sign Petition here

Reg Bailey, Chief Executive of the Mothers' Union,  is carrying out an Independent Review of the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood and wants to hear from parents and carers about the pressures on their children to grow up too quickly.

The Government asked Reg to look into this issue because of the concerns of many parents who feel their children are under increasing pressure to become consumers, and that the world they live in is a more sexualised place than when their parents were growing up.

Reg will be looking at a wide range of issues around pressures on children to grow up too quickly, focussing particularly on four key issues:

• that sexualised imagery forms a universal background or wallpaper to children's lives;
• that some products are inappropriate for children, and others in dubious taste: parents are anxious about what is appropriate;
• that businesses sometimes treat children too much as consumers and forget that they are children too, with particular concerns about the kinds of marketing techniques associated with digital media;
• how to tell advertisers, broadcasters and retailers about the things parents are unhappy about and how to make an effective complaint.

Reg will complete his review by May 2011, so this questionnaire will be live until 18 March to enable your responses to be taken into account as he writes his report during April.  Reg is also talking to lots of organisations, companies, groups of children and young people and parents in addition to getting views through this Call for Evidence questionnaire process.

Please note – this questionnaire has been designed for use by parents and carers. If you are not a parent or carer but would like to give your views, please go back to the consultation home page  www.education.gov.uk/consultation, and you will find a separate questionnaire there for organisations and individuals replying in a professional/business capacity to fill in. 

• Read the consultation document on-line
• Respond on-line
• Download Summary (Word)
• Download Response Form (Word)

By John Smeaton, SPUC

Chris Bryant’s private member’s bill to make sex and relationships education (SRE) compulsory in all schools is due for second reading this Friday, 11 February.

There is growing concern among parents about the practice of SRE – especially in primary schools – and the evidence of the damage is mounting. Research has shown the ineffectiveness of the typical UK approach to SRE, even when delivered to a very high standard by specially-trained presenters.

SPUC has produced a detailed briefing on the Bryant bill

Read here

From CNK Alliance

Channel 4 are giving you the opportunity to voice your views on a series of short films about euthanasia, which are being shown on Channel 4 next week.