Prayer Guide For Parliament And The Nation

In a speech to the nation on Sunday evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an easing of coronavirus restrictions. The current “stay at home” message has been replaced by “stay alert” and sports such as tennis and golf can restart. In addition, garden centres can reopen and people can now meet family and friends, although not more than one at a time. There is an intention for primary schools to have a phased reopening from 1st June. Individuals were encouraged to return to their place of work, if working from home is not possible.

Give thanks for the easing of various lockdown restrictions. Pray that rebuilding public confidence can happen swiftly, especially when travelling on public transport.

Experts at Oxford University have said that coronavirus is not at epidemic levels in the UK. Latest data from the Office for National Statistics show that just 0.24% of adults, about 136,000, people have the virus. An epidemic is declared if the rate exceeds 0.40%. They also announced that “rates of upper respiratory tract infections and lower respiratory tract infections have fallen significantly since March 15, when social distancing measures were introduced.” Separate work is ongoing at the Government’s Porton Down laboratories to find out how many people have had the disease and since recovered.

Pray that this data can help inform the next stage of the government’s coronavirus response. Give thanks that, due to social distancing measures, rates of upper and lower respiratory tract infection have fallen significantly.

Public Health England have approved a test to find out whether people have already been infected with coronavirus in the past and may now have some immunity. The antibody blood test, developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, has been described as a “very positive development.” The test looks for antibodies to see if a person has already had the virus. Until now, officials have said such tests were not reliable enough. Experts at the government's Porton Down facility evaluated the Roche test last week and found it to be “highly specific.”

Give thanks for this positive development and the reassurance it will provide. Pray that testing can begin in the near future.

Due to Nationwide Christian Trust staff going on furlough, this will be the last weekly prayer email for the next month or so. We hope to resume sometime in June if at all possible.

Pray for all Mulberry House and NCT staff who are now on furlough. May they remain positive and hopeful during this uncertain time. Give thanks that the government’s furlough scheme has been extended until October.

Here at the Nationwide Christian Trust, all our upcoming events have been put on hold, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. We will update you with more information as soon as we can.

Please pray that the Lord will guide us in knowing when to restart our programme of events.


	Fostering and Adoption: 10 May-16 May In 2014, the Children and Families Act placed a new duty on local authorities to consider a “fostering to adopt” placement for looked-after children for whom the local authority was considering adoption. "Fostering to adopt” aims to minimise multiple moves within the care system and the detrimental effect this has on a child. It enables children (usually babies) to form early permanent bonds by placing them with approved adopters who will foster first. This provides the child with a stable home and consistent, uninterrupted care at a much earlier stage in their life. Pray for children across the UK who are not currently living with their parents. Pray that they will be comforted and protected in their present situation.
News of the week In a speech to the nation on Sunday evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an easing of coronavirus restrictions. The current “stay at home” message has been replaced by “stay alert” and sports such as tennis and golf can restart. In addition, garden centres can reopen and people can now meet family and friends, although not more than one at a time. There is an intention for primary schools to have a phased reopening from 1st June. Individuals were encouraged to return to their place of work, if working from home is not possible. Give thanks for the easing of various lockdown restrictions. Pray that rebuilding public confidence can happen swiftly, especially when travelling on public transport. Experts at Oxford University have said that coronavirus is not at epidemic levels in the UK. Latest data from the Office for National Statistics show that just 0.24% of adults, about 136,000, people have the virus. An epidemic is declared if the rate exceeds 0.40%. They also announced that “rates of upper respiratory tract infections and lower respiratory tract infections have fallen significantly since March 15, when social distancing measures were introduced.” Separate work is ongoing at the Government’s Porton Down laboratories to find out how many people have had the disease and since recovered. Pray that this data can help inform the next stage of the government’s coronavirus response. Give thanks that, due to social distancing measures, rates of upper and lower respiratory tract infection have fallen significantly. Public Health England have approved a test to find out whether people have already been infected with coronavirus in the past and may now have some immunity. The antibody blood test, developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, has been described as a “very positive development.” The test looks for antibodies to see if a person has already had the virus. Until now, officials have said such tests were not reliable enough. Experts at the government's Porton Down facility evaluated the Roche test last week and found it to be “highly specific.” Give thanks for this positive development and the reassurance it will provide. Pray that testing can begin in the near future. Due to Nationwide Christian Trust staff going on furlough, this will be the last weekly prayer email for the next month or so. We hope to resume sometime in June if at all possible. Pray for all Mulberry House and NCT staff who are now on furlough. May they remain positive and hopeful during this uncertain time. Give thanks that the government’s furlough scheme has been extended until October. Here at the Nationwide Christian Trust, all our upcoming events have been put on hold, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. We will update you with more information as soon as we can. Please pray that the Lord will guide us in knowing when to restart our programme of events.
Fostering and Adoption: 10 May-16 May *Please use these prayers both in your individual and church prayer times to hold the nation and its leaders before God in prayer and with thanksgiving (1 Timothy 2:1-4).* Our weekly emails are now accessible via the Blog page on our website. Catch up on any news you may have missed or return to emails at a later date. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Please consider making a donation to support our work in providing these emails and other resources.
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Fostering and Adoption: 10 May-16 May

News of the week

Fostering and Adoption: 10 May-16 May