The post Anglican Communion 27 June 2019 – Prayer for Victory appeared first on Flatimes.
Former priest sentenced for funeral fraud
Dr. Andrew Hawthorne stole tens of thousands of pounds in fees from grieving family members, after failing to declare a number of ceremonies he officiated.
An investigation found that the former assistant curate at St. George’s Church, Dorset retained £49,059 between 2009 and 2013, which should have been paid to the Diocese of Winchester.
Andrew Robinson, Chief Executive of the Winchester Diocesan Board of Finance, said:”Andrew Hawthorne’s conduct in personally retaining funeral fees constituted a serious breach of the trust placed in clergy by churches, communities and families seeking the ministry of the Church at times of great sadness and vulnerability.
“The Diocese suspended him in 2012 after we uncovered financial irregularities. In 2015, a clergy discipline tribunal ruled that he had been dishonest in retaining a very significant sum in fees he was not entitled to keep.
“After that tribunal concluded we passed all of the evidence to the police, and we have been working closely with Hampshire Constabulary’s Economic Crime Unit on this case since then.
“We are grateful for their thorough investigation of such a complex fraud case, which has resulted in his conviction for a very serious crime.”
Winchester crown court found Mr. Hawthorne guilty of two counts of fraud and gave him a two – year suspended sentence.
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Number of Persecuted Christian Refugees Being Admitted into the U.S. Drops by 70 Percent
Despite the global refugee crisis being at an all-time high, the United States is admitting just a fraction of those religious minorities who are desperate to locate a safe place to live.
On June 20, World Refugee Day, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced that a staggering 70.8 million people were displaced last year alone. Tragically, many of these are from religious minorities and are fleeing fierce persecution in their home nations for the hope of a brighter future abroad.
However, despite continued efforts on behalf of the globally oppressed Christian community, the Trump administration has continued to drastically reduce the number of refugees admitted to the U.S., leaving thousands of Christians at risk of brutal treatment.
Indeed, many of those who are seeking safe passage to the United States are from Tier 1 “countries of particular concern” (CPC) as defined by the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
The numbers speak for themselves. Between 2016 and 2019, data collected by World Relief indicates that there has been an 82 percent decline in the total number of refugees granted entry to settle in the United States. When you break the numbers down, they it gets even more shocking. Among the most persecuted countries on earth, there has been a staggering 70 percent drop in Christians being…
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Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heaven 27 June 2019
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DCLM Daily Manna 27 June 2019 – The Right Fruit
The post DCLM Daily Manna 27 June 2019 – The Right Fruit appeared first on Flatimes.
MFM Daily Devotional 27 June 2019 – Love Not The World
The post MFM Daily Devotional 27 June 2019 – Love Not The World appeared first on Flatimes.
Two-child benefit limit taking toll on family life, Church report shows
The Church of England and Child Poverty Action Group’s new study has also found parents are being forced to drop children’s activities like swimming lessons.
Tom Sefton, co-author of the report and social policy advisor for the Church of England told Premier many parents are not aware of the rule.
“The majority of the people that we spoke to – and I suspect this is true of many of your listeners – were not even aware of the two-child limit policy until it hit them and their family.
“So every day 200 more families are being affected by this policy and most of these are low income working families who rely on tax credits and Universal Credit to top up their earnings at a time in their lives when they’ve got very young children and they need that support.”
The report includes a projection that one million children who already live in poverty will be pushed further below the poverty line by the time Universal Credit is fully rolled out in 2023/24, as a result of the two-child policy.
A survey of more than 430 families affected by the policy found that some parents felt “shame” at not being able to provide for their children’s needs.
Sefton said they heard from “mothers who are having to borrow to pay for nappies and milk for their children, parents who are going hungry to make sure they can feed their children and families who are getting into rent arrears and at real…
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Mueller Is Set to Testify Before Two House Panels Next Month
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller is set to testify before the House of Representatives on July 17th. His testimony comes in response to subpoenas from the Judiciary and Intelligence committees.
Congressmen plan to question him about his investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 Presidential election and allegations that President Trump obstructed justice.
Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, explained their reasoning behind the subpoenas. According to the New York Times, he said, “We never felt it was sufficient to rely simply on a written report or a 10-minute statement without the ability to follow up with questions.”
Both parties look forward to Mueller’s testimony, though they each hope for different outcomes. Democrats believe Mueller could provide the ammunition they need to initiate impeachment proceedings against the President while Republicans hope Mueller’s testimony will finally show that Trump did nothing wrong.
Mueller’s 448-page report did not find that the president had committed criminal actions. However, the report also said they could not declare the President was innocent of wrongdoing either. Mueller has indicated that he does not plan on saying more than the report does, but members of Congress hope to draw out more information through questioning.
President Trump took exception to…
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British Medical Association to poll members on assisted suicide
Delegates at the annual meeting of the doctors’ trade union in Belfast voted in favour of carrying out a poll on whether it should adopt a neutral position regarding a change in the law.
While the results of the survey – which would be open to the BMA’s 155,000 members – will not be binding, they could inform policy-making in the future.
Many Christians raised concerns when the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) did the same thing earlier this year, adopting a neutral stance unless 60 per cent of the electorate voted one way or the other.
In March they adopted a neutral position after 25 per cent voted for a neutral position, 32 per cent voted to support a change in the law and 43 per cent said they believe the RCP should remain opposed.
Speaking about whether the same super majority requirement would exist for the BMA vote, Alistair Thompson, a Christian from the group Care Not Killing, said: “We hope not, because that was a very, very controversial poll and has led to both a legal challenge to the validity of it and also has seen a number of very high profile resignations from senior positions within that organisation.
“It is actually right and proper that groups like the BMA, which have a very important public policy function – consult members on important issues but it needs to be done in a fair and unbiased way.
“So, that means putting forward a set of…
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