Food price cuts and theft
02 Jun 2023
As food prices soar the government is discussing plans for supermarkets to introduce price caps on basic food like bread and milk to limit the rising cost of living. A voluntary agreement with major retailers could see price reductions but there are no plans for a mandatory price cap. The idea of a freeze on basic food items is said to be at the ‘drawing board stage’. Supermarkets will be allowed to select which items they would cap and only take part in the initiative on a voluntary basis. The rate of inflation can be calculated in various ways, but the main measure is the Consumer Prices Index which tracks the prices of everyday items in an imaginary ‘basket of goods’. Expensive food may overtake energy bills in the cost-of-living crisis. Security tags are being fitted to expensive food, coffee jars are replaced with dummies, and some stores are limiting the number of items on shelves to reduce theft. See
Police to attend fewer mental health calls
02 Jun 2023
The Met Police will stop attending emergency mental health incidents from September, only responding if there is an ‘immediate threat to life’, thus freeing up officers untrained in mental health issues to deal with crime. The Royal College of Psychiatrists called this ‘unhelpful’. Police are concerned about ‘mission creep’ - police filling gaps left by cuts to other services. But when Robert Peel birthed the Met the police were ‘paid to give full-time attention to everyone in the interests of community welfare’. Community welfare includes the confused elderly man gone missing or the young girl in the street distressed. The Met’s plan was adopted by Humberside Police’s Right Care, Right Person scheme in 2020. Now mental health calls are dealt with by mental health professionals. It successfully improved outcomes, reduced demand on all services, and has the right care delivered by the right person.
Staff at homeless charity on strike
02 Jun 2023
St Mungo's homeless charity launched a month-long strike from May 30th in a pay dispute. Trade Union members are picketing outside London, Brighton, Bristol, and Oxford offices. St Mungo's said they cannot afford to meet the union's demands for a backdated rise of 10%, calling the strike ‘unprecedented and disproportionate’. Unite union are ‘taking a stand following a pitiful 2.25% pay rise for the last financial year, 2021/22.’ The charity had already applied a rise of 1.75% to salaries in that year. Meeting Unite’s request for the last and current financial years would cost £9.7m and leave the charity not ‘financially viable.’ Plus, all eligible staff have already received an average 5.5% rise for the financial year 2022/23 and some also received £700 to help with their cost of living. Altogether, offers already made equal a 10% rise for the lowest paid. See also Shrewsbury homeless charity needs help.
Archbishop of York meets Pope at the Vatican
02 Jun 2023
On May 29th Most Rev Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, accompanied by Mrs Cottrell and his chaplain, Rev Dr Jenny Wright, shared an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican in a bid to promote Christian unity. Before the trip, Archbishop Stephen expressed his hope for Christians of all denominations to work together more closely and unite in their desire to share God's love. He also met with representatives from the Dicastery for Evangelisation, the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. He said, ‘meeting with sisters and brothers within the Roman Catholic Church is so encouraging. I pray that Christians of all denominations can work in unity, following the prompting of the Holy Spirit as we share the love of God with the many who long for hope and meaning in their lives.
Assisted suicide
02 Jun 2023
Across the British Isles, campaigners are seeking to allow the terminally ill to get lethal drugs to end their lives. Jersey’s consultation on ‘assisted dying’ centred on how, not whether, the law should be changed. However, 1,400 responses argued firmly against assisted suicide. More respondents to the Isle of Man’s ‘assisted dying’ consultation were opposed to the principle of assisted suicide than for it. Member of the House of Keys, Dr Alex Allinson, who is driving the move to change the law, said the findings would ‘inform’ the drafting of legislation. The House of Commons Health Committee was ‘overwhelmed’ by the number of Christian responses to its call for evidence. MPs are currently hearing evidence on access to palliative care and the role of medics. Scotland’s proposal to legalise assisted suicide is delayed over concerns about legislative competence and will be brought forward later this year.
As many Christians water down teaching to accommodate modern Western culture, Tishrei (new beginnings) will encourage Christians to dig deeper into the unchanging truths of God’s Word. The non-residential Tishrei Bible School will bring the Bible back to the centre of family life, which has suffered a succession of laws undermining the Christian building blocks of the UK (same sex marriage, facilitating divorce, promoting abortion and forcing up childcare costs through excessive regulation). Tishrei will re-establish Hebraic teaching, focusing on the whole of life by learning to ‘walk with God’ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Built on the same foundation as the Bible school and at the same premises is the Cedars School of Biblical Family Life, helping parents to strengthen their families on biblical foundations and enrich their children’s education
Portugal: Housing crisis
02 Jun 2023
Lisbon’s rent is €2,000+. The minimum wage is €760. There are more houses than people, but prices don't go down. Comedian Diogo Faro posted a social media video about high rent. His inbox was flooded with messages like divorced couples who can't afford to move out, the elderly choosing between paying rent or buying medication; shortening their lives to have a roof. Lisbon's mayor said that housing is the biggest crisis in our lifetime. 1/3 of Lisbon's historical centre is unoccupied due to ‘touristification’ - holiday rentals diverting homes from residential use to tourism. Foreign investors with Golden Visas can reside in Portugal, renovate a house, and then allow it to remain empty. Houses are being sold over and over again, creating a distortion in the housing market.
Turkey: Unreached people group
02 Jun 2023
The Sunni Zaza are nomadic shepherds and farmers who practise mysticism. Years of repression leaves them crying out to God for help. Their Sunni Muslim mystical faith is rooted in shamanism and Zoroastrianism – spirituality not easily broken. Yet God is overcoming spiritual obstacles and a few dozen believers have emerged among Zaza speakers. Zaza has almost no literary tradition except a specimen of a poem praising Muhammad. Recently two magazines written in Zaza have emerged. See This little but growing church worships in Turkish - as they wait for biblical resources in their own dialects. The spoken word is more natural to Zazas than the written word, pray for workers to know how to develop fruitful oral resources.