Who gets your vote? - CFN Newsletter Week 145

CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK NEWSLETTER 145

> The party leaders on some of the issues we all care about
> News:
> Royal assent for Disability Discrimination Bill
> Sky gives parents greater control on kids TV viewing
> More than half of us can't cope without plastic cards
> Sites:
> Bible theme park for Yorkshire?
> Students' magazine The Blurb
> Election help for Christians
> Daily inspiration via e-mail
> Marriage MOT: Every day is an opportunity!
> To make you think: A poem from Mother Teresa
> Members' Zone latest

> OUR SPONSORS FOR THIS WEEK

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> FROM THE EDITOR

Dear all

We hope you're all enjoying your latest issue of Families Together magazine - do get in touch and let us know what you like, and what you'd like us to cover in the future.

In the meantime, the election campaign is in full swing, so we've got plenty of content for you in this update ...

• to help you weigh up the party leaders' views on key issues
• to help you question your local candidates on some of the big topics

Plus ... helpful advice for students on life after uni, a special giveaway of Credit Action's latest money manual for families, plenty of news, fun items, websites and more.

Take care

Russ

Russ Bravo
Christian Family Network
info@cfnetwork.co.uk
http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk

PS Christian Family Network is here to direct you to the best in parenting, marriage and family resources; to link you up with other Christian families up and down the UK; and to help you make the most of life as a follower of Christ - at home, at work, at school and college, at play and online.

Your feedback, positive and negative, enables us to develop CFN in the way that is most useful for you - so please tell us if we're off the rails or on the button!

And don't forget - if we can pass on material (sample copies of Families Together, leaflets) which will help you tell your friends and your church about CFN, just mail Lyn Bedford at marketing@christianmedia.org.uk and she'll be glad to help you out.

>ELECTION

The party leaders - excerpts from the Faithworks Lectures 2005

• Prime Minister Tony Blair, Opposition leader Michael Howard and Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy all addressed an audience of church and Christian organisation leaders recently as part of the Faithworks Lectures. We've culled some of their comments with most relevance to families for you to weigh up ...
  

Faith schools

The subject of faith schools was raised at each of the three Faithworks Lectures. This is what the party leaders had to say about this often-controversial issue.

Tony Blair: "I think that faith schools have an important part to play…and if you go and visit them, you will see a strong sense of ethos and values and purpose that isn’t narrow or bigoted at all, but is actually very liberating I think.

"I myself don’t believe there is any inconsistent message in supporting faith schools and still wanting a strong sense of community cohesion. I believe that Muslim, Jewish and Christian schools can contribute to community cohesion, provided that what is being taught in those schools is a sense of respect for other faiths and I think, by and large, that it is."

Michael Howard: "I believe that faith schools should be allowed to flourish.

"Conservatives … recognise that parents should have the right to choose faith schools. We will encourage new ones to be set up, existing ones to expand, and will provide taxpayer funding for parents currently forced to pay for wholly private schools in order to uphold their faith."

Charles Kennedy: "It seems to me that if you have a faith school, or an organisation where employees are employed based on their faith, they should have an arms open faith. It should be willing to include people from other faith traditions or, for that matter, people of no faith whatsoever and give them an education opportunity or an employment opportunity."

Marriage and the family

All three politicians discussed the subjects of marriage and the family within their speeches and within the question and answer sessions that followed.

Tony Blair: "We cannot call ourselves a fair or strong society until every one of our children, whatever their background, gets the chance to make the most of themselves … this will take significant investment in greater financial support for families …

"I do believe that … support for families, through Government and voluntary organisations, does make a difference."

Michael Howard: "… marriage is not yesterday’s institution. It’s an abiding institution that strengthens society and secures children.

"Marriage is a separate and special relationship which we should continue to celebrate and sustain. Doing so does not denigrate those who don’t want to marry."

Charles Kennedy: "I think that marriage is a very good institution indeed – spiritually, also practically and socially. But it is not for everybody.

"I don’t think you should assume that those who are not involved in a traditional, married, nuclear family are somehow having a downgraded experience or that it somehow inhibits how they relate to other people."

• Read the rest of our extensive article in our Resources section at http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/resources.asp

> THIS WEEK'S NEWS

> Royal assent for Disability Discrimination Bill

The Children's Society said it was delighted that The Disability Discrimination Act will now become law. The Act will require schools to promote equality of opportunity for the 700,000 disabled children in Britain.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> Sky gives parents greater control on children's viewing

Parents in millions of households across the UK and Ireland will soon have greater control over their children's TV viewing, following Sky's announcement of enhancements to its Parental Control facility.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/resources.asp for the full story

> More than half of us can’t cope without plastic cards

More than 50% of people taking part in a unique financial experiment called Cash for a Month have found it impossible to manage without credit or debit cards, a new survey reveals.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> MARRIAGE MOT

> Check out our archived marriage tips in the Members' Zone, plus stacks more marriage resources at http://www.2-in-2-1.co.uk

Every day is an opportunity

Every day I get out of bed and before I know it I am in the thick of daily life. It is so easy to take my family and of course my dear husband for granted. Yet none of us know what each day will bring.

It’s good to pause a moment and be thankful for what we have in our marriage, for the things that make our husband or wife special and precious to us. OK, there may be things we aren’t happy about, but if we stop and think, there will also be things that we can appreciate.

Each day also brings a new opportunity to show our love and commitment to them. It may involve telling them we love them, or picking their dirty clothes off the floor yet again, or doing that job we have both been putting off. It may simply involve giving them a smile or sharing a bit of our day with them.

What opportunity do you have today to show your love to your husband or wife? Will you take it?

> EVENTS

> YOU'VE GOT TO LAUGH ...

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.

- Mother Teresa

> CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK THIS WEEK
(MEMBERS' ZONE) - http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/default.asp

> Advice

> Kate's Marriage advice - every day is an opportunity
> Eric Spellmann looks at online privacy
> Life after uni - Joshua Generation's Mike Shaw on your next move

> Resources

> General election: what the party leaders have said on top Christian issues; plus help from the Lawyers Christian Fellowship - questions to ask your local candidates
> Know your U2? 30 questions and in-depth answers on one of the world's biggest bands and their beliefs
> They things they said - famous people's memorable words
> True calls to a PC helpline ...

> Magazine

> The lowdown on what's in our great new Spring issue of Families Together

> News:
> Royal assent for Disability Discrimination Bill
> Sky gives parents greater control on kids TV viewing
> More than half of us can't cope without plastic cards

> News extra: New Moneymanual from Credit Action - 10 free copies for CFN readers!

> Sites:

> Bible theme park for Yorkshire?
> Students' magazine The Blurb
> Election help for Christians

> Events: What's on near you

> Webwatch index: more than 700 sites categorised at your fingertips

> Site Search Engine: the easy way to trawl our 1,000-page plus archives

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