Key Quotes for 2012

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Last update: Wednesday 25th March




Councils across the region are waiting to learn if a controversial legal judgment will force them to change the way they say prayers at meetings. All of the region’s main authorities say prayers before full council meetings, usually led by a visiting chaplain. But a High Court Judge ruled last week that there was no lawful place for prayer during formal proceedings. It followed a challenge led by an atheist town councillor in Devon who claimed the decades-old tradition excluded non-believers. City Council Lord Mayor Terry Follows is contacting the authority’s legal boss Paul Hackney to seek clarification on whether prayers can continue unchallenged. He said: “We are a Christian country and we should be allowed to say prayers”.
Religion/Spirituality	The Sentinel - February 13, 2012



The world’s last surviving First World War service veteran has died aged 110. Florence Green died in her sleep at Briar House care home in King’s Lynn on Saturday. She would have celebrated her 111th birthday on February 19. The great-grandmother, who joined the Women’s Royal Air Force in 1918, was believed to be the last person alive who served in the war.
Disasters/War	The Sentinel - February 8, 2012



It is not acceptable that Britain cannot deport a radical Muslim cleric who “poses a serious risk to our national security”, the Home Secretary said. Theresa May said she disagreed with a senior immigration judge’s decision to bail Abu Qatada, meaning he will be free and walking his child to school within a week. “The right place for a terrorist is a prison cell; the right place for a foreign terrorist is a foreign prison cell,” she said.
Social Issues	The Sentinel - February 8, 2012



Almost 11,000 fewer students have applied for degree places at the area’s three universities in the first concrete evidence that higher tuition fees are deterring young people. Keele, Staffordshire and Manchester Metropolitan universities today played down the significance, saying there are still plenty of candidates chasing places for this September. But across England, a similar picture has emerged as applications for full-time degrees fell by 9.9 per cent. These students will be the first to be charged up to £9,000-a-year, almost treble the previous fees rate.
Education	The Sentinel - January 31, 2012



The number of police officers has fallen to 135,838 officers; the lowest since 2002, as a police chief warned cuts had left his force “on a metaphorical cliff edge”. There were more than 6,000 fewer officers in England and Wales at the end of September last year compared with the year before, more than 9,000 fewer police staff, and more than 900 fewer community support officers. But the number of specials, unpaid volunteers, rose by more than 2,500. The Home Office figures were published as Gloucestershire Chief Constable Tony Melville spoke out against the Government’s budget cuts.
The Law	The Sentinel - January 27, 2012



Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King yesterday said there was scope for more stimulus measures to help the UK economy on its “arduous, long and uneven” road. In a speech hours before figures reveal whether the economy contracted in the final quarter of 2011, he warned that the recovery from the banking crisis will be slow and 2012 will not be an easy year. With inflation falling, there was scope to leave interest rates at their record lows and for another round of quantitative easing if needed, he added.
Money	The Sentinel - January 25, 2012



A bus stop outside a £36 million hospital is no longer being used on health and safety grounds – because the road layout caters for the wrong size of bus. The stop – complete with shelters – was erected just feet from the main entrance to the lavishly-redeveloped Haywood Hospital. But safety officers have ruled that the bus stop is off limits to traditional buses because drivers were putting pedestrians at risk by having to reverse to the stop.
Odd Facts	The Sentinel - January 25, 2012



Devout Christian, Euan Murray, has questioned the need for Rugby World Cup matches to be played on Sundays. The Glasgow-born prop, 31, choose to prioritise his faith and missed Scotland’s Pool B clash with Argentina on a Sunday during the World Cup. ‘I don’t see why there have to be games on Sundays,’ said Murray. ‘I hope things will change in future.’ Back in 2008, Murray did play on a Sunday when Scotland took on France in the Six Nations. But, after his faith deepened, he announced a year later that he would no longer be available for selection on Sundays.
Church	Day One Magazine, February to May 2012



The government will spend almost £1 billion over the next three years on the new Youth Contract, a scheme which they believe will provide nearly half a million new opportunities for young people, including apprenticeships and work experience placements. Young people will also receive more support through the Work Programme, Jobcentre Plus and Work Academies.
Young People	Youthwork, February 2012



Following protests from representatives of religious minorities, the government of Pakistan removed ‘Jesus Christ’ from a list of words banned from use in text messages in November. The list of 1700 words – deemed obscene, pornographic or religious – was issued by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) on November 14, but within 10 days AsiaNews reported that the government had backed down.
World Issues	Life And Work, February 2012



The Church of Scotland has refused to back proposed legislation that would legalise same-sex marriage and allow the solemnisation of civil partnerships in churches. The proposal that civil partnerships could be registered through religious ceremonies, was rejected because ‘this would so fundamentally alter the nature of civil partnerships that they would cease to be such’. There was also concern about protecting ministers who do not wish to carry out such ceremonies.
Social Issues	Life And Work, February 2012



The Christian Growth Index, published in December, shows that more than half of people who made a decision for Jesus over the internet have subsequently shared their faith with others. Of the more than 100,000 people surveyed around the world, 51% said they shared their faith three times or more and 37% said they shared their faith at least once or twice. The study indicates that ‘online evangelism and discipleship is truly measurable and effective.’
Church	Evangelicals Now, February 2012



A large-scale Al Qaeda plot to bomb ‘all the churches in Ankara’, as well as the Turkish Parliament and US Embassy in the Turkish capital was made public on December 9. Contents of an official indictment against 11 alleged Al Qaeda militants arrested last July revealed the home-grown terrorist cell’s alleged plans to attack Ankara’s churches as well as their Christian clergy.
Religious Persecution	Evangelicals Now, February 2012



More British children are being raised by single parents because the tax and benefit system ‘encourages transient shack-ups’. One in five British children live with a single mother or father. This figure is 50% higher than in France. In January, researcher and author Patricia Morgan pointed out that these are the countries whose tax and benefits systems reward parents who stay together.
Family	Evangelicals Now, February 2012



In a speech to mark the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible on December 16, the Prime Minister called for Britain to return to Christian values and morality. Speaking at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford to an audience which included the Archbishop of Canterbury, David Cameron declared: ‘We are a Christian country and we should not be afraid to say so… The Bible has helped to give Britain a set of values and morals which make Britain what it is today, values and morals we should actively stand up and defend’.
Social Issues	Evangelicals Now, February 2012

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