UK News

Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday hosted a Reception at Number 10 Downing Street in honour of the Global Day of Prayer, London - taking place this Sunday afternoon at Millwall Football Stadium.

Mr Brown invited 80 senior church leaders to a two-hour Reception - In Honour of the Global Day of Prayer London at which he also highlighted the Millennium Development Goals and Call to Action declaration.

The Global Day of Prayer London (GDOP) is a movement of collaboration across the Christian Church in the capital towards Unity, Prayer and Transformation, and is part of a global network which began in South Africa at the turn of the Millennium. In 2007 over 250 million Christians united in 203 countries to pray. Here in London, GDOP has been a focus of prayer and Christian action since 2006 with last year's event at West Ham stadium attracting 20,000 Christians. This year's event, on Sunday (11 May) from 3-5.30pm is to be held at Millwall Football Stadium, with an expected crowd of 25,000. Organisers have a vision of hiring the new Wembley Stadium in 2010 to accommodate the ever-growing interest.

The Prime Minister acknowledged the work being done by Church leaders on behalf of the most vulnerable people both at home and abroad. He commended their work towards the Millennium Development Goals and urged a renewed effort to achieve them through support for the Call to Action declaration. A number of organisations, including Premier Radio, Micah Challenge and Tearfund endorsed the Call to Action declaration.

GDOP London founder, Pastor Dr Jonathan Oloyede, said: "A number of Church leaders have been meeting with Prime Minister Brown since the very earliest days of his office to discuss major issues London's communities face, and how the churches are seeking to find solutions, and offer hope and care to the most vulnerable citizens. Having heard about the Global Day of Prayer, the PM kindly agreed to host a reception at No. 10, for which we are extremely grateful. At Millwall this Sunday, We will be urging thousands of Christians to be agents of transformation for the global poor."

In his commendation of the event the Premier told guests: "Whether it is supporting young single parents, providing education, or helping to improve the criminal justice system, the work of leaders such as yourselves makes an invaluable contribution to British life and I'd like to thank you for that.

"I know that you are passionate about promoting fairness and development in every country of the world. That is why I'm delighted that we are using this opportunity to join together to tackle global poverty."

This Sunday's event, apart from praying for Madeline McCann and abducted children, Christians we will focus their prayers on the gun and drug crime in the capital. They will be joined by Richard Taylor, father of Damilola Taylor, the 10-year-old stabbed to death in November 2000. Sadly Mrs Gloria Taylor, Damilola's mother, died on April 8 of a heart attack but had planned to be with us. She and Richard led the Damilola Taylor Trust, aimed at 'healing many of the ills faced by today's youths'. Mr Taylor will speak of how his faith helped him and his family following the death of his son and has been a driving force for both him, and late wife, in their tireless work to put an end to this terrible cancer in our nation's capital." Just last week 15-year-old Peckham teenager Lyle Tullock was stabbed to death, the 12th teenage murder in London since the start of 2008.

Senior Labour figures said on Friday the party needed to re-engage with voters after it suffered a drubbing in local elections while delighted Tories said they were in shape to win the next general election.

Pictured: Conservative candidate Boris Johnson and his wife Marina arrive to cast their votes for the London mayoral elections at a polling station in north London May 1, 2008.(REUTERS/Darren Staples)

Labour was on course to lose around 200 council seats - around a quarter of the party's councillors who were up for election.

Meanwhile the Conservatives made gains across the country, while the Liberal Democrats beat Labour into third place, according to the BBC's projected national share of the vote.

"I think this is a very big moment for the Conservative Party, but I don't want anyone to think that we would deserve to win an election just on the back of a failing government," party leader David Cameron told reporters outside his London home.

"I think these results are not just a vote against Gordon Brown and his government. I think they are a vote of positive confidence in the Conservative Party."

Theresa May, the Conservative Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, told Reuters: "We had an excellent night...taking far more seats than many of us had thought we might."

She said "crucially" they had made breakthroughs in southern areas where Labour had enjoyed success under Tony Blair and also in the north, gaining control of Bury and winning seats in Labour heartlands such as Sunderland.

"We've made a very good launch for the run-up to the next election."

Government ministers rallied behind Brown, saying the poor results were a consequence of a downturn in the economy which the prime minister would reverse.

Harriet Harman, deputy party leader, told BBC TV: "These are disappointing results and we recognise the difficult economic context, with people feeling the pinch.

"We are determined to listen and are confident to take the country forward."

Stephen Ladyman, a Labour Party vice chairman, said it would be a very different picture by the time of the next general election.

"You are going to really see what his (Brown's) mettle is," he told Sky News. Brown does not have to call a general election until 2010. Nick Clegg, the new Liberal Democrat leader, said his party was "gaining momentum".

The Lib Dems gained 11 seats overall, winning control of Kingston-upon-Hull and St Albans but losing Liverpool. "Everything is up for grabs," Clegg told BBC News. "It is only the second time in our history in the post-war period that we have overtaken Labour as a share of the vote."

John Curtice, politics professor at Strathclyde University, said the results meant the Conservative Party was "back in business". "The Conservatives can win the next election. They are not bound to...but the possibility of the Tories winning the next election is now on the cards."

He said Labour's woes had also helped the Liberal Democrats. "The fact that the Labour party have done so badly is Nick Clegg's salvation," he said.

Hope08, the nationwide year of grassroots mission, has set the challenge to Christians to give a million hours of kindness to the UK this May bank holiday.

Christians and churches of all denominations and traditions will come together throughout the day to undertake a practical action that meets a particular need within the local community.

Mike Pilavachi, the Soul Survivor chief who founded Hope08 together with The Message Trust's Andy Hawthorne and head of Youth for Christ Roy Crowne, encouraged Christians to demonstrate God's love through their actions.

"The million hours of kindness is a million hours of worship - it's as much an expression of love for God as it is an expression of his love for others," he said.

The initiative, 'HOPE' Where You Live, is the third of the five Hope08 'high points'. The high points represent seasons of activity at different points of the year that encourage churches to carry out a particular activity knowing that other Christians across the UK are doing the same thing. 'HOPE' Where You Live will be followed up by 'HOPE' Explored, a season of outreach inviting the community to explore the Christian faith in September, and A Gift of 'HOPE' at Christmas.

Some of the activities taking place include graffiti cleaning, litter picking and painting community murals. Other more interactive acts of kindness will harness local people to help in the running of schemes like parent and toddler groups and community clear ups.

Hope08's bank holiday action also brings together some well established events, including The Noise, in which Christians across Bristol show God's love in practical ways, and Soul Action, set up by Tearfund and Soul Survivor to help Christians be good news for the world's poorest by responding to God's heart for justice.

Evening events are also proving popular, with many of the 1,500 Hope08 locations choosing to hold BBQs and gigs.

To ensure that every single act of kindness is counted, a new facility has been set up in the 'For Churches' section of the Hope 08 website (www.hope08.com) where churches can log on and report their donated hours.

Hours from across the whole year will count towards the target of a million hours, with May regarded as a high point of activity.