Research by Drinkaware looked at the drinking patterns of 18 to 75-year-olds in the UK and found nearly 38 per cent of people who had drunk alcohol in the last year said they had done so to forget their problems at least some of the time.

John Beasley is a Christian social worker and volunteer with Hope UK, a charity that provides drug and alcohol education.

He told Premier News Hour the findings were “disturbing”.

“Everyone has problems and there are positive ways to cope with problems,” he said.

“Obviously it depends what those problems are but drinking alcohol doesn’t solve any of those problems and so often it makes them worse.”

Two out of five survey respondents said that they had drunk alcohol because it helps when they feel depressed or nervous, with 54 per cent of these people having done so at increasing levels of risk.

Beasley advised Christians to stay away from it altogether, explaining that alcohol can become a “drug”.

He said: “If all Christians adopted a healthy and safe alcohol-free lifestyle, they would be setting a great positive example to so many other people, demonstrating how you can have fun without drinking any alcohol at all.

“It disturbs me that so many people damage their health by drinking… and many people don’t realise that alcohol is actually a drug.”

Beasley encouraged churches to engage with people struggling by helping them deal with their root issues. 

Listen to John Beasley speaking with Premier’s Alex Williams here:

The victim was targeted in the north of the region on Saturday by three masked gunmen, according to staff quoted by Associated Press.

The death of the 35-year-old, who has been named as Bassem Attallah, marks the latest in a spate of attacks affecting believers in Egypt.

Associated Press quoted security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because “they were not authorised” to communicate with journalists.

More than 100 believers have died in a series of bombings and shootings – many perpetrated by Islamic State – since December 2016.

No one has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack in northern Sinai, which displayed the hallmarks of IS extremists – who have been particularly active in Sinai in recent months.

In Cairo, nine people were killed during a shooting by two gunmen at Marmina Church in the city’s Helwan district on Friday 29th December 2017 (pictured above).

Coptic Christians are the biggest religious minority in Sinai, and comprise ten per cent of Egypt’s total 93 million population.

Believers in Egypt have long complained of the threat of sectarian violence and institutional discrimination and there has been repeated pledges by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to protect Christians.

Top image: Library image of Egyptian military police

The survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors in the United Stated revealed that 39 per cent of small churches (100 to 249 attendees) offer online giving. That’s in comparison to 74 per cent of big churches (250 attendees or more).

Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, said the figures were surprising because more than half of Americans pay their bills online.

“Technology is great, but smaller churches still like to pass the plate,” he added.

The survey also revealed how churches use social media.

It found that 84 percent of the 1,000 churches had a Facebook page, that number was less than half in 2010. However, most have steered clear of using Twitter. Only 16 per cent have an account.

The most common reasons for church social media use are to inform people about upcoming events and to interact with the congregation.

The poll also showed that churches have become more comfortable with attendees using their phones during services. Seven in ten churches provide free Wi-Fi for guests.
 
McConnell said: “Not long ago churches’ use of technology was often limited to a website that functioned like the Yellow Pages or a bulletin board.

“Now they see technology as a way to interact with people. Wi-Fi is just one more way to do that.”

His visit follows three days of violence in the capital, Santiago, over claims of abuses by the Catholic Church.

Over the weekend, three Roman Catholic churches were firebombed and a note was left at the scene threatening the pontiff.

Pope Francis will later travel to Peru.

Illari Aragon, Catholic Agency For Overseas Development’s (CAFOD) programme office for Peru, told Premier how influential the pontiff is in the country.

She explained: “In Peru everyone was a bit surprised that Pope Francis decided to visit this… problematic region of Peru that, on one hand, is really beautiful and is full of biodiversity and ecological wealth.

“But on the other hand, it’s been devastated.”

The pontiff has told reporters on board the plane for his trip to Chile that the world is one step away from nuclear war.

His comments came after Hawaii issued a false missile alert that provoked panic in the US state and highlighted the risk of an “accidental nuclear war” with North Korea, a point made in the Pope’s “state of the world” speech.

Aragon told Premier how important his presence in the countries will be.

She said: “I do think that his visit there has a point and I do think that his message is about protection, it’s about hope for the people suffering in this region and [to make us] all think about that.”

Listen to Illari Aragon from CAFOD speaking on Premier’s Inspirational Breakfast: