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29 September 2012

Remember those living in ‘stupid poverty’

Christians in the UK were urged to remember those around the world living in "stupid" levels of poverty at the National Day of Prayer today.

Matthew Frost, chief executive of Tearfund, told those gathered at Wembley that one in seven people go to bed hungry at night, and also that four out of five of “our brothers and sisters live on under a pound a day”.

London convenor of the Global Day of Prayer Jonathan Oloyede led the 40,000 in prayer for the work of Tearfund, an agency started by the Evangelical Alliance in 1960, which works in more than 50 countries around the world, responding to disasters, campaigning for justice, and helping churches do whatever it takes to get close and stay close to the people who need them.

Speaking to the Alliance before taking to the stage, Matthew said: “It’s fantastic to be standing together with the body of Christ in the UK. It’s what we’re asked to do in John 17. God is delighted when we stand together.

“It’s also an opportunity for us to pray and remember the poor and people living in poverty. It also helps us to remember the role of the local church all around the world doing amazing things to transform lives.

“It’s fantastic to have the opportunity to focus not just on our own country, but on those living in poverty around the world.”

Image by Clive Mear, Tearfund