Lection Connection - Spirit Sightings

August 18, 2019: Faith Witnesses

From Fraser Macnaughton

 

In turbulent times in whom can we put our faith? The advent of a new prime minister in the UK, Boris Johnson, who has claimed that the UK will leave the European Union on October 31, with or without a withdrawal deal, has called into question even the most basic trust that citizens in a democracy legitimately have in their elected government. 

Schools may have to close, exams could be disrupted, and fresh food for pupils’ meals could run short because of panic buying with prices soaring by up to 20%, according to official analyses of the risks of a no-deal Brexit. Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City University, London, warned that the UK’s food supply faces levels of disruption “unprecedented” in peacetime.

With widespread disruption at ports and over 40% of the UK’s food coming from the EU, the fear of food shortages becomes exacerbated by panic buying in supermarkets as consumers stock up on essentials in the belief they may no longer be available. The government does not have facilities to stockpile food in the event. There is not warehousing space in the country for such an eventuality.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney has again warned of the consequences of a no deal exit and the impact it will have particularly on poorer families. Foodbank charities have warned that they do not have enough volunteers or space to deal with what is widely anticipated to be an upsurge in demand for their services. And the timing of an exit is made even worse by the fact that it is so close to the usual pre-Christmas surge in demand for all sorts of goods and foodstuffs. 

Meanwhile the new prime minister is exhorting Britons to be upbeat and to look forward to “taking back control.” And, by implication, to put their faith in him to be the man to deliver the outcome of the result of the 2016 national referendum when the populace decided by a margin of 52% to 48% that it wanted to leave the European Union.

Professor Lang, by contrast, said that the public had so far been kept “largely in the dark” about the government's view on the gravity of the situation that could unfold.

 

Explore…Hebrews 11:29 — 12:2

  • In an era of conflicting truths, in what does your group put its faith?
  • How does your group engage with its wider community to alleviate fears and uncertainties where local or national government is concerned?
  • In what ways might your group allow itself to see a wider or bigger picture of the current global political climate and to gain a balanced perspective over a longer time span?

 

Prayer…
May we, in our time and generation, be not found wanting by future clouds of witnesses in how we have stood up for and proclaimed the gospel values of Jesus: justice, peace and love of neighbour. Amen.

 

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