UCKG HelpCentre

UCKG supports national alcohol
awareness campaign
Released: 07.02.06

In the face of the current British alcohol crisis, UCKG HelpCentres in Finsbury Park and across London (in Luton, Birmingham, Manchester and London) are proud to be part of a nation-wide initiative to discourage excessive drinking, especially among the young.

Bishop Renato Cardoso, who heads UCKG is the UK, has wholeheartedly thrown the church behind ‘thirst for life', which aims to get people thinking about their drinking habits and the impact this has on their lives. “The immediate challenge is to sign up to go alcohol free for 40 days, starting on 1 March. The long term benefit is to help wean people off destructive binge drinking and drink-driving which all too frequently ruin lives,” he said.

‘thirst for life' is the brain child of two long-established Christian organisations. Hope UK is a national charity which provides drugs education and prevention for children and young people. Share Jesus International, where 26-year old Andy Frost who came up with the idea works, is passionate about reconnecting the church with society and culture.

As a fast-growing Pentecostal church with young and growing congregations UCKG's stance on alcohol UCKG is that addiction and substance abuse of any type is to be strongly discouraged. Like the ‘thirst for life' team it recognises that alcohol is inextricably bound up with modern lifestyles; yet pleasant as it often is, it is a major contributor to ill-health, domestic violence and other forms of crime.

In linking up with ‘thirst for life' UCKG is promoting the initiative widely. An hour-long radio programme with George Ruston, executive director of Hope UK was aired on Friday February 3 on the church's Liberty Radio (www.libertyradio.co.uk) and Sky guide 936 (Sky guide 0186 from 28th February).

There will be articles in the church's publications and website, posters in UCKG HelpCentres and some 2,000 ‘thirst for life' leaflets have been distributed across the church's Victory Youth Group. “We would encourage everyone - UCKG members or not - to prove for themselves that drinking isn't essential for having fun, concluded Bishop Renato.

“I'd suggest a visit to the ‘thirst for life' website at www.thirstforlife.org and to sign up. Some of the case studies on our own website, www.uckg.org illustrate the destructive impact of excessive drinking and show how a Christian response can make all the difference when alcohol is doing great damage.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

UCKG stands for Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. The church is active in some 90 countries around the world, having been founded in Brazil in 1977, and has 13 churches, known as HelpCentres, in the UK. In addition to informal Christian prayer services, it offers vocational training, a 24 hour helpline, prison visitors, hospital visitors, prayerful support and counselling for all, support for lonely elderly people and a food distribution service for the homeless in Brixton.
Recent government figures indicate that alcohol is a major problem in the UK. Deaths due to cirrhosis of the liver, a frequently fatal condition commonly caused by alcohol abuse have risen sharply to over 6,500 each year, while 8.2 million Britons - 26 per cent of the adult population - have alcohol-related disorders.

If you require any further information regarding the UCKG, please submit your enquiry or telephone Francessca Lewis on 0207 686 6033.