The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship is an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

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 pass a bar examination after obtaining a law degree or some other form of l ...

. 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, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

s as

Lord Denning Alfred Thompson Denning, Baron Denning, (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999), was an English barrister 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 he w ...

and

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

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 Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

. 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 "He who is like God”. The name is sometimes found with theophoric extensions. Suffix theophory in '' Yah'' and in ''Yahweh'' result ...

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 In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

and

compassion Compassion is a social feeling that motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental, or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is sensitivity to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based ...

by upholding Christian

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

in the

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

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) a bimonthly American magazine of culture and politics. * Current affairs (news format), a genre of broadcast journalism * ''Current Affairs'', former name for ''Behind the News' ...

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 Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

the

UK government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

on issues such as

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

and laws relating to

blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

. 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 and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politicians

Norman Tebbit Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, (born 29 March 1931) is a British retired politician. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1 ...

and

Nadine Dorries Nadine Vanessa Dorries (' Bargery; born 21 May 1957) is a British author and a former politician who served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2021 to 2022. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire ...

. 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. It has been described as "one of the most prominent evangelical organisations in the United Kingdom", reaching a mailing list of more than 43,000 people. Christ ...

References

External links