Not already a Dorset Humanist member? Join now and support our vital work for a year.
| |
Welcome to Dorset Humanists
For Humanism & Dorset Humanists news - see below. For information about Dorset Humanists - see right.
Not already a Dorset Humanist member? Join now and support our vital work for a year.
Not already a Dorset Humanist member? Join now and support our vital work for a year.
Rally to mark Universal Children's Day and International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
The British Humanist Association, with whom Dorset Humanists is affiliated, participated in a rally in Hyde Park, London, calling for secular law and universal human rights. Naomi Phillips, BHA Public Affairs Officer, who spoke at the rally, said, 'Humanists have always been deeply committed to human rights, equality, democracy, and an end to irrelevant discrimination. The BHA has a long history of active engagement in work for an open and inclusive society. In such a society, people of all beliefs would have equal treatment before the law, without exception - and that law must be one that is secular. We are deeply concerned, therefore, by any attempts to uphold in British law judgments made in Sharia tribunals that stray into family or criminal matters and we fundamentally oppose any such moves.'
See Naomi's speech here
See Distinguished Supporter A C Grayling's speech here
See Vice President Evan Harris's speech here
See Naomi's speech here
See Distinguished Supporter A C Grayling's speech here
See Vice President Evan Harris's speech here
Assisted Suicide Guidelines - Take action before 16th December 2009
Have your say on assisted suicide guidelines and help support the BHA's campaign for patient choice and dignity at the end of life. The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) has issued guidelines clarifying the issues that will be taken into account when deciding whether or not to consent to the prosecution of individuals who assist someone to die, including when people have accompanied friends and family abroad for an assisted death.
These issues are now open for a public consultation period that ends on 16th December, and we strongly recommend that Dorset Humanist members and supporters express their views. Take action now!
These issues are now open for a public consultation period that ends on 16th December, and we strongly recommend that Dorset Humanist members and supporters express their views. Take action now!
- visit the Crown Prosecution website to participate in the consultation.
- e-mail your response to assistedsuicide.consultation@cps.gsi.gov.uk
- sign the petition to the Prime Minister (takes just a minute)
BHA - Criticisms & Alternatives to the Samaritan's Purse shoebox appeal
BHA reported in 2006 that Evangelical literature is added to the shoeboxes (or given "alongside" the boxes) and in the UK this is often unbeknown to the donors or even to the organisers of collections at individual places of work or education. ... how many parents and children know that their contributions are funding a massive conversion effort by evangelical Christians?
BHA Alternatives to the Samaritan's Purse shoebox appeal.
BHA Alternatives to the Samaritan's Purse shoebox appeal.
Samaritan's Purse say "We are blessed to be able to report that over 95 percent of the shoe box gifts which we distribute are given out with literature in the child's native language."
Samaritan's Purse discussed at MumsNet
"Every year I have the privilege of handing out shoe box gifts to hurting children like this little girl in a school in Honduras" Franklin Graham, Samaritan's Purse President
Samaritan's Purse has been discussed at MumsNet and also here.
The October 2009 Newsletter by their President Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham) shows how Samaritan's Purse are preaching to kids around the world and labelling them as 'Christian Children'.
Here is the Samaritan's Purse October Newsletter (unedited):-
Dear Friend,
Over the past 16 years, I’ve had the opportunity to hand out Christmas gifts to hurting children all over the world and to tell them the story of the Savior who came from heaven to rescue us from sin and death. Nothing brings it all together—the joy of Christmas with the power of the Gospel—quite like Operation Christmas Child.
During the next few weeks, people just like you will be filling shoe boxes with simple gifts—each one for a precious girl or boy that the Lord has laid on their hearts. Samaritan’s Purse will collect those millions of boxes and ship them overseas for delivery to children in over 100 countries around the globe.
While we are reaching millions of children and families, God is touching one heart at a time. Every box you pack represents one more child who will have the opportunity to hear the Good News of God’s love.
One child whose heart was touched was Cecilia, a 13-year-old Mexican girl suffering from a malignant tumor behind her eye. She heard the Gospel during the gift distribution and immediately accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior.
Two days later, her sickness put Cecilia in the hospital. She asked her parents to bring her the doll and teddy bear from her shoe box, “so I can take them to heaven with me.” Cecilia said she had lived the most wonderful day of her life on the day she got the box and found Jesus. Cecilia is in heaven now, but through her witness, her parents and grandparents have become believers.
For our church partners across Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, the shoe box gifts are a powerful tool for sharing the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.
These tangible expressions of God’s love open doors for local churches to share the true meaning of Christmas—God’s gift of His Son, Jesus.
Along with their shoe box gifts, children are given colorful storybooks that present God’s plan of salvation in their local language.
We provide churches with a 12-part Bible study to teach children about the Gospel, invite them to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and train them to share their faith with family and friends.
Children who complete the Bible lessons receive a personalized certificate and a special New Testament that includes favorite Old Testament stories.
By God’s grace, millions of children have made commitments for Christ and become strong witnesses for Him to their families and friends. I’d like to share with you just one story about what God did in a little village in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mimbulu is a collection of mud-brick houses and thatched huts with no electricity or running water. Most of the villagers are subsistence farmers living on far less than $1 a day. You can imagine how happy and excited the children were when our team handed out shoe box gifts from Operation Christmas Child. Later, hundreds of girls and boys signed up for our Discipleship Program, and most of them made commitments to Jesus
Christ through the Bible study course.
Traditional religions and occult practices are common in this part of Africa, but many people in Mimbulu have been delivered from spiritual darkness as a result of this evangelistic outreach. Three girls, all under the age of 10, confessed to being involved in witchcraft, repented of their sins, and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. One cult leader, after reading his son’s Bible lessons, renounced his false religion and surrendered his life to the Lord. Other adults turned to Christ at the graduation ceremony where they heard their children recite Scripture and listened to a pastor preach the Gospel.
The Lord is doing great things in Mimbulu, and we give Him all the glory!
We treat every single gift box as a Gospel opportunity. That’s why prayer is the most important thing we ask people to do when they pack their shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We want each person to pray for the child who receives the box and ask God to touch that child’s heart. That’s where the real power of Operation Christmas Child lies—in God’s answers to those millions of heartfelt prayers. Jesus promised,
“Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13, NKJV).
There are girls and boys all over the world who would treasure a box of gifts from someone like you. Encourage your church and friends to get involved. Together, we can see children, families, and even entire communities transformed for the glory of God.
Please pray for Operation Christmas Child in the weeks ahead as we deal with the extraordinarily complicated task of collecting, processing, and shipping millions of gifts. This is the largest Christmas gift project in the world, and it is possible only through God’s power and grace.
Thank you, and may God richly bless you in the upcoming holiday season.
Sincerely,
President
Samaritan's Purse
During the next few weeks, people just like you will be filling shoe boxes with simple gifts—each one for a precious girl or boy that the Lord has laid on their hearts. Samaritan’s Purse will collect those millions of boxes and ship them overseas for delivery to children in over 100 countries around the globe.
While we are reaching millions of children and families, God is touching one heart at a time. Every box you pack represents one more child who will have the opportunity to hear the Good News of God’s love.
One child whose heart was touched was Cecilia, a 13-year-old Mexican girl suffering from a malignant tumor behind her eye. She heard the Gospel during the gift distribution and immediately accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior.
Two days later, her sickness put Cecilia in the hospital. She asked her parents to bring her the doll and teddy bear from her shoe box, “so I can take them to heaven with me.” Cecilia said she had lived the most wonderful day of her life on the day she got the box and found Jesus. Cecilia is in heaven now, but through her witness, her parents and grandparents have become believers.
For our church partners across Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, the shoe box gifts are a powerful tool for sharing the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.
These tangible expressions of God’s love open doors for local churches to share the true meaning of Christmas—God’s gift of His Son, Jesus.
Along with their shoe box gifts, children are given colorful storybooks that present God’s plan of salvation in their local language.
We provide churches with a 12-part Bible study to teach children about the Gospel, invite them to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and train them to share their faith with family and friends.
Children who complete the Bible lessons receive a personalized certificate and a special New Testament that includes favorite Old Testament stories.
By God’s grace, millions of children have made commitments for Christ and become strong witnesses for Him to their families and friends. I’d like to share with you just one story about what God did in a little village in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mimbulu is a collection of mud-brick houses and thatched huts with no electricity or running water. Most of the villagers are subsistence farmers living on far less than $1 a day. You can imagine how happy and excited the children were when our team handed out shoe box gifts from Operation Christmas Child. Later, hundreds of girls and boys signed up for our Discipleship Program, and most of them made commitments to Jesus
Christ through the Bible study course.
Traditional religions and occult practices are common in this part of Africa, but many people in Mimbulu have been delivered from spiritual darkness as a result of this evangelistic outreach. Three girls, all under the age of 10, confessed to being involved in witchcraft, repented of their sins, and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. One cult leader, after reading his son’s Bible lessons, renounced his false religion and surrendered his life to the Lord. Other adults turned to Christ at the graduation ceremony where they heard their children recite Scripture and listened to a pastor preach the Gospel.
The Lord is doing great things in Mimbulu, and we give Him all the glory!
We treat every single gift box as a Gospel opportunity. That’s why prayer is the most important thing we ask people to do when they pack their shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We want each person to pray for the child who receives the box and ask God to touch that child’s heart. That’s where the real power of Operation Christmas Child lies—in God’s answers to those millions of heartfelt prayers. Jesus promised,
“Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13, NKJV).
There are girls and boys all over the world who would treasure a box of gifts from someone like you. Encourage your church and friends to get involved. Together, we can see children, families, and even entire communities transformed for the glory of God.
Please pray for Operation Christmas Child in the weeks ahead as we deal with the extraordinarily complicated task of collecting, processing, and shipping millions of gifts. This is the largest Christmas gift project in the world, and it is possible only through God’s power and grace.
Thank you, and may God richly bless you in the upcoming holiday season.
Sincerely,
President
Samaritan's Purse
Are the shoeboxes, which are given by Dorset school children to 'Samaritan's Purse, being used as a 'hook' to preach to and label children as 'Christian Children' in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America? What do you think?
Samaritan's Purse in Dorset Schools
On Friday 27 November Dorset Humanists Membership Secretary Jane phoned me alerting me to a letter by Dave Purnell of Ringwood in the Bournemouth Echo (also posted in National Secular Society) about the local Samaritan's Purse campaign.
Is 'Samaritan's Purse'* shoebox campaign, which some schools in Hampshire may Dorset support, prostelysing to children in Africa and elsewhere and attempting to have these children converted to Christianity and/or labelled as 'Christian children'?
Is 'Samaritan's Purse'* shoebox campaign, which some schools in Hampshire may Dorset support, prostelysing to children in Africa and elsewhere and attempting to have these children converted to Christianity and/or labelled as 'Christian children'?
The Guardian on 8 November said that 'Samaritan's Purse' includes booklets of Bible stories with the shoeboxes provided by school children. On 14 November The Guardian published a retraction to the 8 November story: the Samaritan's Purse booklet which is included with shoeboxes does not include "a pledge that children are asked to sign to "become God's child today", attend church, read the Bible and convince friends to do the same." (The Guardian - 8 & 14 November 2009).
More information about Samaritan's Purse here & here.
Perhaps Dorset Humanists should get permission to place a few 'Please don't label me, Let me grow up and choose for myself' billboard posters outside those Bournemouth organisations or Dorset Schools that support the 'Samaritan's Shoebox' campaign? What do you think?
Perhaps Dorset Humanists should get permission to place a few 'Please don't label me, Let me grow up and choose for myself' billboard posters outside those Bournemouth organisations or Dorset Schools that support the 'Samaritan's Shoebox' campaign? What do you think?
Dorset Humanists welcomes withdrawal of plans to close the only non-religious primary School in Swanage
Dorset Humanists discussed Faith Schools at our 26 November 2009 evening meeting. The Swanage area school issue was debated.
Swanage was in danger of losing its only Community primary school but local action has forced the Council to rethink.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
