Unpaid carers who have a faith are more likely to be in better health than their counterparts who are not religious. They are also more likely to report better mental health, prompting calls for faith groups to support unpaid carers in their communities.
Concerns have been raised about the rights of parents in Scotland who oppose their child's desire to change genders. A consultation was launched by the Scottish government last week into detailed proposals for legislation aimed at ending "conversion practices" in Scotland.
In the field of creative evangelism, the Good News paper serves as a dynamic force for Christian media, carrying the transformative message of Jesus Christ into communities across the UK. You may well have seen copies at your local church or at collection points in surrounding towns and cities.
Christian campaigners are calling for tough restrictions on online pornography after new figures released this week revealed a rise in sexual offences committed by children. According to latest figures from the National Police Chiefs Council, a total of 106,984 child sexual abuse offences were reported in 2022, an increase of 7.6% on the previous year.
Christian Today speaks to Ali Wood, Tearfund's country director for Lebanon, about how Christians are responding to the many challenges affecting the crisis-hit country.
This year the Church of England's General Synod backed prayers of blessing for same-sex couples and they were permitted for use in services for the first time on December 17. Christian Today speaks to Rev John Dunnett, National Director of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), about the Church of England's new same-sex prayers and what they might mean for the future of evangelicals in the Church.
As we have watched the news over the last few years, we have seen many stories of refugees fleeing strife or persecution in the Middle East, from Iraq, from Syria, and now Gaza. Some are displaced and seek sanctuary in safer parts of their own countries, and others flee their own country for other lands. At Christmas time, we also remember that after the birth of Jesus, he too was a refugee from Bethlehem to another land. The story is recorded in Matthew 2:13-23.
Persecution against Christians is expected to rise in several countries in the coming year, according to Release International. The organisation's new Persecution Trends report, released this week, warns of an intensfication of persecution in a number of countries, including Nigeria, India, Pakistan and China in 2024.
An update from the ministry of evangelist Hatun Tash has said she "is fine" after fears that she was missing. Tash leads Defend Christ Critique Islam Ministries (DCCI) and often engages with Muslims at Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park.
"A ceasefire and peace - these are the two things I want for Christmas," says Brendan Metcalfe, chief executive of Friends of the Holy Land. Months of war between Israel and Gaza are taking a "terrible" toll on the entire region, with devastating consequences for people in the West Bank and Bethlehem who rely on tourism.
Jerusalem church leaders have met Israeli President Isaac Herzog to appeal for "an immediate and permanent humanitarian ceasefire". They said that their meeting with Herzog was "not a mere exchange of Holiday Season pleasantries" but was held with the purpose of "conveying the global ecclesiastical stance, demanding, on behalf of Christians worldwide, an immediate cessation of the bloodshed in Gaza".
An Islamist extremist has been sentenced to a minimum sentence of 16 years over a plot to kill a Christian preacher in London's Hyde Park. Edward Little, 22, was intercepted by officers on 23 September 2022 while on his way to buy a weapon after travelling from his home in Brighton to London. He had a rucksack containing £5,000 when he was arrested.
