Liberal Democrat Christian Forum

We recently held our first Annual Lecture. Our President, the Rt Hon Sir Alan Beith MP, who has been serving his north east constituents in Parliament for 35 years, challenged us on the subject of “Faith, passion & politics”. At a time when there often appears to be growing pressure to remove all mention of faith from public life he robustly defended its place in the public square. After all, he concluded, “There is nothing liberal about tolerating only those people you agree with”.

Confronting the current economic crisis, presents a huge challenge for politicians and Christians alike. The things in which many people have put their trust in – constant economic growth and a secure banking system – have been exposed as insecure. Sir Alan challenged us to “evolve a Christian approach to rebuilding our societies across the world“. While there is an obvious and urgent need to provide practical support and ministry to those suffering from the economic downturn – there is also an opportunity for the church to be prophetic in critiquing the system which allowed it to happen and perhaps to suggest some radical alternatives.

You can read the full text of Sir Alan's speech at www.ldcf.net

 

• Pray for all those affected by the current economic turmoil, especially those worried about losing their jobs and homes. Pray for wisdom for those in a position of influence concerning how we recover from this crisis.

• As many people anticipate the Christmas season without the cash they would like to spend on the material trappings of the festival, pray that instead they may come to know the true meaning of Christmas.

• Pray for your own local MP (and MSPs and AMs in Scotland and Wales) and councillors, of all parties, as they seek to represent you and your neighbours in the corridors of power.

• Pray for the Christians involved in politics in all the main parties – that they will be salt and light to their colleagues and constituents.

• Thank God for the powerful witness of ‘Christians in Politics’, the cross party group which includes the Christian organisations of the three main parties. Pray that we will have the financial and other support for this group to make it an effective resource to encourage Christians to get involved in all levels of politics.

• Pray that the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum will live up to its mission to represent the voice of Christian Faith in the Party and the voice of Liberal Democracy in the Christian Community.

• Pray that as we step out in faith, God will continue to resource our work.