14 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew Chapter 5 verses 14-16 (NIV)
Love justice? Take action!
Each year a huge number of laws go through our Parliament at Westminster . Also affecting the way we live are the numerous decisions made on our behalf at local government level.
We believe that at St Marks we are called to become ‘active citizens’, participating in democracy at every level of our nation.
Sometimes the complexity of the issues and the legal arguments may seem intimidating, but democracy belongs to the people and good governance is God honouring.
We can not only make a difference to domestic law and in local government but we have a duty to act to protect freedom of speech and the vulnerable.
Public Affairs Prayer points for St Marks Ignite
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| Thursday September 14 | |
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What can we do?
We believe that at St Mark's we have the potential to make an impact. By joining together to campaign as a church, on issues such as religious liberty, Gambling, social exclusion, life issues and encouraging political participation we can make a difference.
If we don’t vote and don’t get involved how can we complain?
We can take action by lobbying our MP, attending rallies writing to public bodies and assisting on campaigns.
As a church we will join major campaigns run by organisations such as CARE, The Evangelical Alliance and the Lawyers Christian Fellowship.
Other campaigns that have been run with major Christian participation include:
Alive and Kicking is an important campaign aiming to reduce the term limits for Abortion now that babies are viable at an ever earlier stage.
Care Not Killing is the campaign group that successfully lobbied against Lord Joffe’s partial Euthanasia proposals in his Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill.
We are following in the footsteps of people who show us that stepping out in faith can change the world.
Next year is the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Slave trade in the UK .
William Wilberforce worked for over 30 years to bring an end to the slave trade and freedom to slaves throughout the British Empire . He ran over 80 campaigns during his lifetime on a wide range of issues.
Christian politicians like Lord Shaftesbury, leader of the factory reform movement continued the tradition of Christian political action for human rights.
But that was then this is now?
In 2005 Christian groups successfully amended legislation on Gambling to include more accountability for local communities and to press for greater protection for children and the vulnerable.
In 2005-2006 the Government’s proposed Racial and Religious Hatred Bill was watered down after Christians and others complained that it would affect free speech and freedom to preach.
Campaigns like this show that when people come together things can change and governments do listen.
People trafficking is one of the worlds fastest growing illegal industries. It is happening now, in the UK. Worldwide 80% of victims are women and girls, and up to 50% are children. We support the aims of STOP THE TRAFFIK, which is working to create awareness and understanding of this worldwide problem and call for change.
We would love to hear from you about campaigns you want to get involved with too.
Sign up to receive updates on campaigns and information about how to get involved.
Email: UKaction-subscribe@stmarks-battersea.org.uk
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Please see these websites for more information:
