|PIC1|The Bishop of London launched a new ten-day prayer and fasting initiative on Sunday to bring more attention to the Millennium Development Goals and efforts to halve extreme global poverty.
The initiative was launched during the 'Time for God's Creation' service in the historic St Paul's Cathedral.
The prayer and fasting initiative Think:Fast is a joint collaboration with Micah Challenge, a global movement of Christians lobbying their governments to tackle poverty. It provides educational materials designed to help Christians pray, reflect and increase their understanding of poverty over the ten days.
The initiative culminates with Bishop Richard Chartres fasting for a full day on 24 September, the day before world leaders meet for the UN summit on global poverty.
Other religious leaders and politicians taking part include the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, and Micah Challenge's International Director-designate Joel Edwards.
Dr Chartres will also offer a public message of encouragement to Prime Minister Gordon Brown prior to the UN meeting.
He said: "In today's interconnected world, loving your neighbour starts at home but extends throughout the world. It is idle to talk of loving our neighbours while neglecting the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world.
"Supporting the Millennium Development Goals is a 21st century way of loving our neighbour. Promises have been made and world leader have to be held to account for those promises even at a time of economic difficulty.
"I hope and I pray that the Think:Fast initiative goes some way to heightening our awareness that we should not rest easy while others face extreme poverty and have so little share in our rich and fruitful earth."
The Executive Director of Micah Challenge UK, Andy Clasper, said the outcome of the UN meeting had the "potential to make a huge difference to the lives of some of the world's poorest".
Micah Challenge is rallying thousands of churches around the world to take part in Micah Sunday on October 19.
On the web: www.micahchallenge.org.uk
-
The story of St Patrick’s Day
-
'Sad news' as House of Lords approves abortion up to birth
-
Disestablishing Church of England 'will not be a priority' at next election, says Green Party
-
The little-known story of the woman who rescued Mothering Sunday
-
Archbishop of Canterbury will be attending abortion vote in Lords on Wednesday
-
Archbishop of Canterbury to embark on historic six-day pilgrimage
Most Popular
News
Scotland’s assisted suicide vote: a temporary victory?
It will be interesting to see if the Scottish government goes down the route of investing in quality palliative care, or whether Liam McArthur's defeated assisted suicide bill is simply resurrected in another form.
Nick Timothy stands by criticism of Muslim prayer in Trafalgar Square
Shadow justice minister Nick Timothy is standing by claims that a mass Islamic prayer in Trafalgar Square was “a declaration of domination” that should never be repeated.
Britain’s culture of giving is becoming more 'fragile' as donations fall
A major new report from the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has raised fresh concerns about the state of charitable giving in the UK, showing that total public donations fell sharply in 2025 as fewer people gave and average gifts became smaller.
UK urged to press Nigeria on violence against Christians during historic Tinubu visit
A coalition of Christian and human rights organisations has called on the UK government to use President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to Britain to press for stronger protections for Christians and other vulnerable communities in Nigeria, amid continuing concern over deadly attacks and weak accountability.