A Christian emergency response group believes that building a stockpile of essentials in case of an emergency is rooted in the Bible and is a realistic goal for households across the UK.
Rt Rev Peter John from Ready UK, also known as Christian Emergency Network (CEN), thinks that households can be enabled to be prepared for emergencies with small changes.
Rev Peter’s comments come after Defence Secretary Wes Streeting launched the UK Government’s ‘Be Ready’ strategy.
Downing Street is urging households to have three days’ worth of food in reserve - with consumers buying tinned food and long-life goods in response.
Ready UK has analysed the key issues impacting government guidance and told Premier's Esther Higham on Premier Christian Radio's Inspirational Breakfast show that he thought preparing for emergencies is rooted in the word of God.
Rev Peter said: “We’ve put together a document based on the National Risk Adjuster, and we’ve condensed that into four areas to look at.
“We’ve got: power, telecommunications and digital outage; severe weather and surface flooding, public spaces and venue safety - that’s things like major fires and public disorder - and the fourth one is health pressures and social care strains.”
Rev Peter cited Matthew 24 when reflecting on the issue - a passage which details what will happen on Earth in the end times.
He added: “The point of this is that the Bible, particularly Matthew 24, tells us what’s coming. We’re not supposed to have a spirit of fear, and part of that is to prepare.
“Just like the Good Samaritan, he couldn’t have bandaged wounds if he didn’t have a first aid kit on him. He couldn’t have paid for the care if he didn’t already have the cash with him.
“This turns us from a consumer needing assistance from the government to people who can now support in times of crisis.
It’s not about becoming an expert prepper; it’s just about picking up a few extra items in the weekly shop. It doesn’t have to be a big event to get ready; just put it into your routine.”
Anglican priest Rev Jules Middleton said that she has joined online groups about preparing for emergencies.
The Premier Christianity writer is holding Christ at the heart of her preparations and is clear that preparing for emergencies doesn’t mean fearing the worst.
“I think the first thing to remember as Christians is that God is always with us; the Bible tells us he will not leave us or forsake us, so we need to remember that even if we go into a time of emergency, God is going to be with us,” Rev Jules reflected.
“We can be praying that things don’t happen, and we can be praying when things do. I also think it’s really sensible to be prepared because that takes away the fear - one the Bible’s strongest messages is do not fear.
“Let’s not blow it out of proportion - I used to live in a village where we had power cuts all the time, and basically most people had a gas stove.
“I am very aware of climate change and we can recognise that there are things like that around the corner, be there localised storms. It’s about preparing, knowing God’s with us and being aware.”