Alison Tomlin, President of the Methodist Conference, addressed a rally organised by the Trade Union Congress at London’s Methodist Central Hall saying: ‘John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church wrote about a press that stigmatised the poor, he wrote of politicians who did not wish to look at the concerns of the poor, and who continually blamed the poor for their own fate. The past ten to fifteen years of boom have benefited some sections of society but not the poorest. The task the Government has set itself of cutting the deficit in a short space of time while not harming the most vulnerable is a difficult one, some may say an impossible one. We shall wait and see, but the initial signs are not promising. Methodists support a wide range of views about deficit reduction. It is possible to be a Christian and a member of almost any political party.’ Pray: that the Government’s Spending Review will enable communities to support their deserving poor. (Mt.19:21)