Thursday, March 22, 2012

Email correspondence with Ann Clwyd, MP

Dear Ms Clwyd,

I am writing to express my concerns regarding the government proposal to redefine marriage.

My major concern is that the government is also redefining the term "consultation".

It is apparent that the "consultation" will not be about whether marriage should be redefined, but only about how it can be redefined, this in spite of the fact that opinion poles demonstrate that 70% of the population want to maintain the status quo and over 230,000, including myself, have signed a petition calling for the retention of the current definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

May I respectfully remind you of the dictionary definition of democracy:

government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.

I fear that we may see the demise of democracy if the government is allowed to act contrary to the will of the people without proper consultation.

I am therefore asking you to oppose any attempt to violate the democratic will of the people in this matter.

Yours etc.


Dr Colin Hurt
33 Bryn Onnen
Penderyn
Aberdare
CF44 9JA

Dear Dr. Hurt,



Thank you for your email concerning redefining marriage.



I will be voting with the Government on the matter of equalising same-sex marriage. The reason I that give my support to this has been clearly expressed by Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, in which she said:

“Some people opposed civil partnerships when they were introduced, some people opposed the whole idea of civil marriage. But both were the right thing to do and have strong support now. It is welcome that most people also already support the chance for gay couples to get married too.”



If you have any further queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.



Yours sincerely,



Rt. Hon. Ann Clwyd M.P.

Dear Ms Clwyd,


Thank you for you reply to my email.


I am not surprised by your response, but I am disturbed.


You state that you will be voting with the government, yet, as far as I understand it you cannot know how the government is going to vote as the consultative process is not yet complete, unless, as I suspect, the "consultation" is a sham.


Can you please inform me:


1. What percentage of your constituents are in favour of redefining marriage?

2. What scientifically proven statistical method was used to ascertain this percentage?

3. If it could be demonstrated that the majority of your constituents were opposed to redefining marriage, would you still vote for the government or would you demonstrate your support for democracy by representing the will of the people?


I fear that the government and its supporters on this issue are going to discover that a large number of the citizens of the United Kingdom will refuse to accept a law that is a clear violation of deeply held convictions. I remember a certain politician who ensconced herself in Tower Colliery because she believed that a parliamentary decision was not in the best interests of her constituents. Government is not always to be obeyed, especially when it is acting in a way it was not mandated to act by the people. This is such a time.



Dr Colin Hurt.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

NEWSLETTER - FEBRUARY 2012

NEWSLETTER - FEBRUARY 2012

UPDATE
First of all, we apologise to all those who pray for us for not having written for such a long time. We just seem to be getting busier and busier, or maybe we are getting slower and slower.

The last newsletter contained a prayer request for certain political situations in Malaysia. These things are still ongoing, so we would value your continued prayers.

The past few months have been very hectic. From September to November, 2011 we were in the USA ministering in several churches, many of which are involved with us in missions, or will be in the future. We also made a very profitable visit to Venezuela. The political situation there is fraught with difficulties, but the churches are making great strides. We had the privilege of training some of the present and future leaders.

We arrived back in Malaysia in January and have already been involved in teaching in Tung Ling Seminary in the Pastoral Interns Programme, with students who are either already involved in pastoral ministry or are preparing to be in the future.

Since we arrived it was the Chinese New Year celebration. The custom is to go to people’s homes for “open house” which involves eating a lot of Chinese food. We went to open houses every day for five days. As this followed closely on the heels of our Christmas time at home we now have the task of shedding a few additional pounds – not easy when we are both advancing in years (68 and 63).

Last week we were in Singapore where Colin taught in the Tung Ling Bible College School of Ministry to seventy students hungry for the word of God. The future of God’s church in this city state is assured.

FUTURE
The next couple of months is going to be extremely busy. It looks something like this:

Saturday, 11 February: Teaching seminars at Asia Pacific Seminary in KL.

Sunday, 12 February: Preaching in Penang at the 80th birthday celebration of our dear friend Dr Joy Seevaratnam.

20 – 24 February: Teaching pastors’ seminars in Cambodia. It will be great to renew fellowship with these excellent church planters.

10 – 11 March: Ministry in Full Gospel Tabernacle in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on the island of Borneo.

26 – 30 March: Teaching in the School of Ministry in Tung Ling Seminary, Malaysia.

9-13 April: Teaching in the School of Ministry in Tung Ling Bible School, Manila, Philippines.

20 – 30 April: Visit to Melbourne, Australia for ministry and to establish links for future missions. One of the churches consists of Tongan and Samoan believers and another has outreach to these nations.

Besides the above schedule, we will be involved in ministry in local churches every Sunday and on other occasions. Please pray that our ministry will be made effective by the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray also for continued health and strength and for all our travel arrangements. One specific need is for the provision of a car for us to drive when we are here in Malaysia as this greatly facilitates our service for the Lord.

YOUR PRAYERS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

UPDATED PERSONAL PROFILE

UPDATED PROFILE


Family:
Colin and his wife, Julia, have four children and five grandchildren. Their oldest son, Ivan, has three children, Amy, Thomas and Jonathan. Their oldest daughter, also named Julia, has two children, Charlotte and Rhys.

Previous Ministry:
Colin has a total of more than 48 years in ministry which includes:
Over 19 years pastoral experience with Assemblies of God both in England (some of this time concurrent with Bible College teaching) and in the United States. During the period in the United States (1993-1995) he established a Spanish language ministry in the prison in Huntsville, Texas.

Colin and Julia were involved in five years of missionary service in West Malaysia from 1978 to 1983 during which period Colin was involved in church planting in the states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, as well as extensive itinerant teaching throughout Malaysia and other countries in Asia. For two years he was a member of the Executive Council of Malaysian Assemblies of God, acting as Eastern Division Supervisor. More recently the Hurts served a further eight years as missionaries in Malaysia from 1995-2003. Most of this time was spent in Bible College lecturing and conducting leadership seminars.

Colin and Julia were the last couple to be granted a missionary visa to work in Malaysia. In 1983 their visa was withdrawn and they had to return to England. As a result nine years were spent teaching as a full time faculty member in the Assemblies of God Bible College in Mattersey Hall, England (1983-1988, 1990-1994). Subjects taught were: Missions, Romans, Luke, Acts, Hebrews, Prayer and Spiritual Warfare, Homiletics, Hermeneutics, Evangelism, Eschatology, World Religions and the Cults. During this period Colin was responsible for evangelistic outreach by the students into the surrounding towns and villages. He was also responsible for assessing the preaching ability of the students. Colin and Julia also led teams of students on missions trips to Belgium and Malaysia.

He has also been involved in itinerant teaching ministry, visiting the following countries: Belgium, Germany, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Mexico, Belize, Colombia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Venezuela and China. In 1998 Colin and Julia set up a Church Planting Institute in Cambodia which continues to the present time, producing graduates who have established over 300 churches in all the provinces of Cambodia. His emphasis has been on training leaders and potential leaders with teaching emphasis being on church planting, pastoral care and pastoral counselling.

For five years the Hurts pastored a church in Aberaman, South Wales. On 8th June, 2008 they resigned from the church to prepare to return full time to missions.

Colin is also on the board of both Asia Pacific Seminary and Network Bible Translators.

Present Ministry:
In January 2009 Colin and Julia returned to Malaysia where the first half of each year is spent in Bible teaching throughout Asia. The second half of each year is spent in the USA and Latin America.

The main objectives of their ministry is:
1. To be in the right place, at the right time, with the right word.
2. To prepare God’s people for the harvest.
3. To train leaders for the harvest.
4. To prepare the bride for the wedding (Rev.19:7)