Saturday, 24 January 2009

It's official...

It's official, we're now in recession - although this doesn't actually change much. According to the official statistics the UK has been in "negative growth" since July 2008. The rules of the game state that two quarters of "negative growth" equals one recession so we're in...

Of course this doesn't mean that the sense of "phony war" has quite ended since official statistics don't really tell us what's going on in people's lives...

I've been asking around and reading documents and trying to get a sense of what is really happening. I've read some documents from local businesses and the council which focus (perhaps sensibly) on overall figures - and these figures don't seem too bad. There are jobs, and new houses are still being built - at least on the east of the city...

At the same time there are already a few signs that the recession (and I can now use the word) is already affecting real people. Most congregations in MK seem to have at least one person who has lost a job - and many people report changes in their work place - or to their household budgets... Many of these changes are relatively small but they are significant and they add up to a great deal of stress and worry even if they don't actually affect the big figures quoted by governments, councils and chambers of commerce. Suicides are up apparently and relationships are breaking down. Rumours of war are already producing casualties...

We're still a week or so away from the research day planned with Stephen Norrish, Tim Clapton and Paul Desborough but I am increasingly keen to know what we will discover. For those who don't know, we've set aside a day to talk to some of the people who might now what the likely effects of recession will be in MK so we can think about how churches might respond locally or collectively. I think it's urgent that we respond quickly because there is already quite a bit of hidden pain and we may be able to do a few small things that actually make a difference.

Some of the ideas that have already been suggested would be really easy to implement, e.g.:
  • A prayer to say during the course of the crisis
  • Discussion groups for those facing redundancy
  • Volunteering opportunities for those out of work
  • A leaflet with useful contact numbers
These are relatively simple ideas that we could put in place very quickly but there may be more... This is an important time for the church in MK to respond to some real needs and it's important to do so thoughtfully and appropriately. The recession is now official but there is almost certainly worse to come...

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