The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship is an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

organisation in the United Kingdom which professes a membership of more than 2,000 Christian lawyers. The organisation's website states that its vision is to "bring the whole good news of Jesus Christ within the legal world".

History

The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship was founded in 1852 as the Lawyers' Prayer Union, and was subsequently renamed Lawyers' Christian Fellowship. The LCF states on its website that it has a long history of uniting and equipping Christian lawyers and witnessing to members of the

legal profession Legal profession is a profession in which legal professionals study, develop and apply law. Usually, there is a requirement for someone choosing a career in law to first obtain a law degree or some other form of legal education. It is difficult t ...

. The LCF claims that in its 150 years of activity it has impacted both individual lives and the wider legal landscape through its commitment to the Bible's teaching. Since its inception as a prayer union, the scope of LCF's work has grown with the support of such

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

s as

Lord Denning Alfred Thompson "Tom" Denning, Baron Denning (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999) was an English lawyer and judge. He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 when ...

and

Lord Mackay of Clashfern James Peter Hymers Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, (born 2 July 1927) is a British advocate. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Lord Advocate, and Lord Chancellor (1987–1997). He is a former active member of the House of Lo ...

Current activity

Work of the LCF has developed into three main areas: the legal workplace, amongst law students and young lawyers and internationally. Local workplace groups meet across the UK to study, pray and encourage

evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

. The LCF has particularly strong international links in East Africa.

Vision

According to the LCF website, its members aim "to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (

Micah Micah (; ) is a given name. Micah is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), and means "Who is like God?" The name is sometimes found with Theophoric name, theophoric extensions. Suffix theophory in ''Jah, Yah'' and in ''Y ...

6:8). The LCF website states that the LCF's vision is encouraging its members to: * Speak the good news: from within the legal profession. * Live the good news: living as godly lawyers. * Apply the good news: applying God's justice on the ground. * Promote the good news: working for good laws. The LCF also believes in enabling its members through information, teaching, and support to fulfill their full potential as lawyers for Christ. They believe in witnessing to the legal profession by speaking of the Christian gospel and demonstrating God's character of

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

and

compassion Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is often regarded as being sensitive to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based on n ...

by upholding Christian

values In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics in ethics), or to describe the significance of dif ...

in the

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

of law at home and overseas.

Notable media coverage

In May 2008, the British

current affairs Current affairs may refer to: News * Current Affairs (magazine), ''Current Affairs'' (magazine) a bimonthly magazine of culture and politics. * Current affairs (news format): a genre of broadcast journalism * Current Affairs, former name for Behi ...

programme, '' Dispatches'', presented a feature entitled ''In God's Name''. The programme explored the growing influence of the Christian

movement in the UK and highlighted LCF's involvement in

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...

the

UK government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

on issues such as

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

and laws relating to

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

. The activities of the then LCF Director of Public Policy, Andrea Williams, were examined, including footage of her meetings with

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politicians

Norman Tebbit Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit (born 29 March 1931) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1983), Secretary of State for Trad ...

and

Nadine Dorries Nadine Vanessa Dorries (''née'' Bargery, 21 May 1957) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2021 to 2022 under Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A member of the Conservative Party, she ...

. Williams was reported as making a number of controversial statements, including claims that the Human Fertilisation bill was "the work of the devil", that abortion should be illegal, homosexuality is sinful and the world is just 4,000 years old. Williams no longer works for LCF and is presently employed by

Christian Concern Christian Concern is the trading name of CCFON Ltd, a not for profit advocacy group described as 'one of the most prominent evangelical organisations in the United Kingdom', reaching a mailing list of more than 43,000 people. Christian Concern se ...

References

External links