Harvest Festival and foodbanks
The arrival of the harvest has long been marked in Jewish and Christian worship. Harvest Festival is just one of the ways that the Christian tradition enriches the lives of children of all backgrounds as part of daily collective worship. It is a wonderful opportunity to help children and young people to think about how food reaches their plates, and to say thank you for all they have received, as well as giving to those in need. The majority of produce donated in churches will stock foodbanks; a recent survey shows that 60% of churches are involved in either running or supporting them - through volunteers, donations, and providing venues. The Trussell Trust’s latest figures show 1.6 million people receiving three-day emergency food from its foodbanks, a 19% increase on the previous year.
Four-storey block of flats destroyed
Flames rapidly spread and destroyed all four floors of wooden-framed homes in Worcester Park, London. 125 firefighters and 20 fire engines arrived in the early hours of 9 September and took five hours to control the blaze. The residents have lost everything, and most fled the fire in only the clothes they were wearing. Members of a nearby Baptist church were up since the early hours, providing help. They are now linking with the council to work out the best response they can offer after being deluged by donations from the local community. They are aiming to meet practical and spiritual needs in the situation. Pray for the residents who have to look at the shell of a building that used to be their home, and are left wondering what the future holds. See
Urgent review on police safety
Solving crime, seeing justice done, and working within communities to improve their lives is what motivates people to become police officers. Officers should not have to face assault when they take the risks of standing up to criminals and protecting people. However, after recent serious attacks on police officers and a national increase in officer assaults, an urgent review has been commissioned. It will hear from officers about their experiences and gather all the available evidence and research. It will focus on officer safety training, equipment, deployment and operational planning, investigations into officer assaults, the care provided after an assault, the response from the criminal justice system, and the extent to which it is providing a sufficient deterrent. The findings of this review will be considered at an extraordinary chief constables’ council in November.
Northern Ireland troubles continue
On 11 September a 33-year-old man was detained in the Strabane area for a mortar bomb found pointed at the police station. The improvised explosive device was positioned close to a family home, and the incident has been blamed on a dissident republican group, the New IRA. Within 48 hours of the bomb being discovered officers moved into the Creggan estate en masse, quickly locating a command-wire activated device built to kill a passing police patrol. Senior officers clearly knew what they were looking for and where it was placed - precise information that must have come from what they describe as a Covert Human Intelligence Source (CHIS). Many believe the New IRA, like all paramilitary gangs past and present, is filled to the brim with such informers.
