Since it was revealed that staff at Oxfam had hired prostitutes while in Haiti, other missions, charities and NGOs are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of having good safeguarding procedures.

However, Christian safeguarding charity Thirty:One Eight says more research is needed to enable a full understanding of the challenges faced by those in this field, to then ensure that best practise is carried out across the board.

In a questionnaire, Thirty:One Eight will be looking into what challenges those who go on mission trips face when trying to protect children and vulnerable adults and asks questions such as whether those going abroad are required to have a DBS check or not.

Thirty:One Eight, who assisted the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in the Church of England and help churches with their safeguarding practise, will work with the University of Chester’s psychology department to launch an academic study into the challenges and training needs for organisations sending people abroad for mission.

Justin Humphreys, CEO of Thirty:One Eight, said: “We have a strong track record of conducting and commissioning research in the UK and overseas. In order to help with the development of best practice in safeguarding within the faith sector

“We are particularly excited about this study, which comes at a crucial time amidst growing scrutiny of…

The former Wallabies star had his multi-million dollar contract terminated earlier this year, after posting “hell awaits” for “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, idolaters” on his Instagram account.

Ruby Australia dismissed Folau for being in breach of their Professional Players’ Code of Conduct.

According to the news organisation Reuters, the proposed legislation would allow Australians to express their faith outside of the workplace, as long as there is no financial damage towards their employer.

Following the release of a draft of the bill last Thursday, Australia’s Attorney General Christian Porter said: “Australia has a strong anti-discrimination framework with specific protections for people against discrimination on the basis of their age, sex, race and disability.”

He continued: “This draft bill released today extends those protections to provide protection for people against discrimination on the basis of their religion or religious belief, or lack thereof.”

The bill would see businesses with a turnover of more than $50m be unable to enforce limitations on a person’s religious expression in private, unless that company can prove it would cause “unjustifiable financial hardship to the business”.

A business would need to prove that a limitation on their freedom of speech was necessary to avoid this unjustifiable financial…

It suggests that the average cost of a funeral in Scotland is £3,537.

Research by Royal London revealed that the average cost of a burial is £3,993 and £3,081 for a cremation.

Charges vary in different parts of Scotland.

Rev Bryan Kerr, the Church of Scotland’s representative on the Scottish Working Group on Funeral Poverty, said: “We are concerned with the findings of this report which states that funeral poverty in the UK has increased by 12 percent with the average cost of a funeral in Scotland standing at £3,537.

“This is having a disproportionate impact on low income families – no one should be plunged into debt in order to bury or cremate a loved one. It can create huge stress and adversely affect one’s ability to grieve and move forward.

“The Church welcomes the imminent introduction of the Scottish Funeral Expense Assistance which will provide help towards burial and cremation costs for individuals on lower incomes.”

The report states that approximately 40 percent more people will be eligible for this payment than were for the Department of Work and Pensions funeral payment.

Rev Kerr said: “Whilst this is good news, people on low incomes will still have a significant shortfall to address. We continue to call on the Scottish Government to ensure that all families have the ability to say goodbye to their loved one without being burdened with debt.

The…

Fatemeh Bakhteri was initially handed a one-year sentence in September 2018 for “propaganda against the regime” together with a two year ban on social activities involving more than two people.

At the same ruling fellow Christian, Saheb Fadaie was sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment and two years’ exile in Hamedan – in the north west of Iran for “action against national security through collusion and gathering.”

At an appeal hearing on 15th January the pair were pressured by presiding judges Hassan Babaei and Mashallah Ahmadzadeh to renounce their faith.

After the pair refused to do so an appeal court ruled to uphold the sentences in a decision announced in May.

According to religious freedom charity Middle Eastern Concern (MEC), Fatemeh presented herself to officials at Evin Prison in Tehran to begin her sentence on 31st August.

MEC are encouraging Christians to join them in praying for Fatemeh.

Friends of Fatemeh report that she was not afraid as she went to prison on Saturday, but request prayer for her that the Lord would strengthen and encourage herself and her family, fellow Christian Saheb and all other Christian prisoners serving sentences in Evin Prison. Fatemeh also asked that Christians pray for the Iranian authorities to cease religious persecution and respect the law of freedom of religion.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a…

McKrae Game lead Hope for Wholeness – a Christian organisation that counsels homosexuals seeking to change their sexual orientation – for 20 years before being fired from the organisation in 2017.

In June this year Game came out as gay and publicly severed ties with the ministry.

In an interview with the South Carolina newspaper Post and Courier last week, Game condemned the practice saying: “I believe ex-gay ministry is a lie. Conversion therapy is not just a lie, it’s very harmful,”
“It’s false advertising,” he added.

According to a 2018 study by UCLA’s Williams Institute, nearly 700,000 LGBTQ+ people have undergone conversion therapy treatments or counselling across the U.S.

Game took to social media last week to express his regret for his previous work and ask for forgiveness from the gay community.

His Facebook post said: “20yrs in exgay ministry, I WAS WRONG! Please forgive me!

He went on to say that telling people “they were going to Hell if they didn’t stop [practising homosexuality]” was amongst his “worst wrongful acts.”

Premier has contacted Hope for Wholeness for comment.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.