Churches challenged over money and ethics
With church investments in the national spotlight, a website launched on 17 October will provide church groups and individual believers with a host of new resources to make ethical and spiritual decisions about their use of money. Your Faith Your Finance website – www.yourfaithyourfinance.org – contains facts, links and case-studies covering issues ranging from banking and shopping to biblical parables about money. The new website provides quotes and explains a range of different views on the subjects in question and includes resources for personal reflection and group discussion. The site was launched at an Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility (ECCR) debate on church investment. It has been developed jointly by ECCR and Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW). They aim to meet the growing demand from faith groups for help with the complex ethical and practical questions around the use of money.
Pray: that this new website will provide insight in making ethical and spiritual decisions about the use of money. (Ps.37:30)
Archbishop of Canterbury attacks over '' price rises
The recent energy price hikes make people understandably angry, says the Archbishop of Canterbury, who called on big power companies to be ‘conscious of their social obligations’. Justin Welby insisted the Big Six power companies had an obligation to behave morally rather than just maximising profit. Last week Scottish and Southern Electricity announced an 8.2 per cent price rise, and British Gas followed that with the announcement that its electricity prices were to surge by 10.4 per cent and its gas prices by 8.4 per cent from 23 November. The rises would mean £125 a year added to the bills of almost eight million customers. Whilst blaming a range of external factors, the company said it ‘understood the frustration’ of consumers. Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Mr Welby said: ‘The impact on people, particularly on low incomes, is going to be really severe'.
Pray: that the energy firms will consider their moral obligations rather than just maximising profit. (Lk.12:15)
Britain’s jails facing ‘growing problem’ of forced
British prisoners are increasingly being forced to convert to Islam by their fellow inmates, the prison officers’ union has warned. Muslim gangs are growing in power and influence among prisoners and there are concerns that they are targeting vulnerable new arrivals – making prisons a breeding ground for extremism. ‘It is a concern, and there’s been clear evidence from a variety of different incidents. Young men are being targeted and then coerced into converting to Islam,’ the association’s general secretary, Steve Gillan, told Sky News. One woman, whose brother is being bullied by a gang trying to force him to convert, told the broadcaster: ‘He just looks like a broken man, he's tearful on visits. I'm just really scared for him. He's been physically assaulted. He's had black eyes. In the shower, he got threatened with a knife. He's not going to back down. He's not going to convert for anyone.’
Pray: against the growth of Muslim extremism in our prisons and the pressure they exert to convert to Islam. (Mt.23:15)
Police bribe mother to drop assault case
Hayley Clayton spent a night in hospital with ten stitches to a serious head wound following an unprovoked attack. Three weeks later police told her they had found the culprit but would not prosecute because ‘it would be a waste of taxpayers’ money’. She was offered £100 and an apology from her attacker or have the offender cautioned by police. She found both offers unacceptable. She didn’t want the money she just wanted justice and the offender punished so she would learn the error of her ways and not go on to hurt somebody else. The compensation offer was increased to £150. She refused the offer. Last year 7,243 criminals with more than ten previous convictions only received a caution or warning for a serious offence. A spokesperson for the Centre for Crime Prevention said, ‘Most police have no confidence that serious repeat offenders will get a proper prison sentence if they go to court, so there is no point in going through all the paperwork.’
Pray: that the Ministry of Justice would clamp down more severely on simple cautions and short cuts to avoid paperwork. Pray for a justice system in which both the public and victims can have confidence. (Dt.27:19)
