The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) has called for July to be a month of prayer for the spiritual health of the nation and the Church of England the thorny subject of same-sex relationships returns to its General Synod.
CEEC is inviting Christians and churches all over the country to join in prayer, with prayer pointers and Bible verses provided as a focus each day.
A significant motivation for the month of prayer is the July meeting of the Church of England's parliamentary body, the General Synod. Of particular concern to the evangelical wing of the Church is a Private Member's Motion brought by Professor Helen King.
The proposed motion states: “That this Synod affirm that there are no fundamental objections to being in a committed, faithful, intimate same-sex relationship, and that such a relationship can be entirely compatible with Christian discipleship.”
CEEC said the motion was a “cleverly worded” attempt at garnering support for a change in the Church’s position on sexual ethics, while not demanding an explicit repudiation of long-standing doctrine.
Rev John Dunnett, National Director, of CEEC, warned, “While it might be viewed by some as committing General Synod to ‘nothing in particular’, this motion shows that the revisionists will find new and different ways to continually push their agenda – away from Scripture, away from our Church’s doctrine and towards liberal change – even when the House of Bishops is not doing so. And were the motion to find support it could be seen as paving the way for further change.”
Dunnett said that the month of prayer, called PRAYjuly, is intended at least in part to help the Church renew its faith and witness.
“We want to pray and give thanks for the continued opportunities for the evangelisation of our nation that we see every day," he said.
"We want to encourage evangelicals across the country to join together in praying for the Church of England's faithfulness and its witness to the gospel. We want to pray for many more people to come to faith in Jesus Christ.
"Of course, the Church of England rightly always needs our prayer, but our national month of prayer in July will inevitably have some focus on the General Synod as it once again debates the divisive topic of marriage and sexual ethics”
More details about PRAYjuly can be found here.
