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September 2025 | Phonebox Magazine 53NEWPORT PAGNELLCancel the debtThis may sound familiar. In the years leading up to the Millennium, the Jubilee 2000 campaign collected millions of signatures around the world, and thanks to this movement, more than $100 billion in debt was cancelled.Sadly, a new global debt crisis has ensnared many of the poorest countries. The statistics are alarming; the number of low and middle-income countries in debt crisis has more than doubled since 2015. The burden of debt is not just a fi nancial issue; it has profound implications for the well-being of millions. Many countries are forced to allocate signifi cant portions of their budgets to repay loans. In Africa, many countries spend more on external debt payments than on health or education, leaving hospitals and schools severely underfunded. This means that debts are being paid at the expense of hiring doctors and teachers, building schools, hospitals and sewage systems, preparing for fl oods, or coping with droughts.Countries often fi nd themselves in a cycle of debt, repaying their original loans many times over, yet the debt continues to grow due to compounding interest. This situation is unsustainable and detrimental to the development of these nations.A group of charities, including Christian Aid, CAFOD and Oxfam, are campaigning for debt relief for the poorest countries of the world and changes to the international fi nancial system. Several recommendations for a better international fi nancial system have been made, including establishing an international bankruptcy mechanism for countries and bridge loans and short-term fi nancial support for countries in crisis. These measures aim to make the international fi nancial system juster and more sustainable.Pope Leo is supporting the campaign for debt relief and has called for urgent action to address this crisis, emphasising the need for solidarity and reform. In the Catholic Church this year is a Jubilee Year, which is traditionally associated with mercy and debt forgiveness. Pope Leo has called on governments to show clemency by forgiving the external debts of poor countries. This initiative echoes the Jubilee 2000 campaign and hopes to repeat the success of that campaign.Let us hope that it will be successful and will help to create a more just and sustainable future for everyone.On a completely diff erent matter Churches Together in Newport Pagnell are holding the annual Songs of Praise event on 21st September at 5 pm at the Parish Church. Everyone is very welcome.Deacon Klaus Reidel, St. Bede%u2019s Catholic ChurchChurches TogetherOLNEYBaptist ChurchIt would seem that the word %u2018outage%u2019 is being used more and more frequently in daily life. I%u2019m not sure why the word power cut wasn%u2019t suffi cient %u2013 perhaps it was a question of size. I suppose that the complete disappearance of power in the whole of Spain and parts of France and Portugal at the same time was pretty mind-boggling, so it would seem that it was a power cut of immense proportions for which a diff erent word was seemingly appropriate. Certainly being caught up in an outage is very unpleasant, especially if it%u2019s connected with travel on a holiday. My wife and I felt the full eff ects of one when attempting to make our way to a Greek island recently. It%u2019s bad enough having to get to Stansted airport for an 8 am fl ight on a Sunday morning anyway but to discover the terminal building closed with a myriad of case carrying passengers waiting for it to open is a nightmare. This situation deteriorated even further when suddenly the doors were opened to allow in hundreds of case wielding passengers all at once only to fi nd no one at all inside directing traffi c. It took another hour to fi nd where to wait, everyone having been told to leave all hold luggage in an enormous pile in a corner with no attempt being made to diff erentiate destinations. When we fi nally arrived at our destination it was scarcely a surprise to fi nd that we, along with about ten other groups of people, had no accompanying baggage to collect. It took two days for our cases to catch up with us via Athens but to our airline%u2019s credit, we were given %u00a355 per day of luggage absence for us to buy essentials. This event didn%u2019t even make it into the papers. 2000 years ago a new power surge hit the fi rst ever group of Christians in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He had told his followers to wait patiently for this to happen, coinciding with the huge numbers of people attending the festival of Shavuot, one of the three Jewish pilgrimage festivals, this one celebrating the giving of the Torah (the Law). When many of the Christians were praying together, suddenly the Holy Spirit came down and fi lled each one there so that they all rushed outside praising God in many languages unknown to them, drawing a huge crowd of the visitors. The apostle Peter took the lead and explained to all present what was happening and why. Basically the presence of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and minds of the fi rst believers in Jesus would equip them for living out his teaching and telling others the good news of new life in God, thanks to Jesus%u2019 death and resurrection. This was undoubtedly the biggest power surge in history and the best news is that it is still fi lling the lives of Christians today. Yes, there are defi nitely no outages in this power source, not now, not ever! Martyn Glass, Olney Baptist Church Budding writer in new wheelchair appealA young student writer has launched an appeal to help her buy a new wheelchair and fulfi l her dream of unlocking greater mobility, work and leisure opportunities.Maya Czerminska, who worked at Phonebox Magazine this summer on a work experience placement, needs to retire her current eight-year-old wheelchair and fi nd a more modern alternative.The 17-year-old has a rare illness called Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2, which weakens her muscles. She has her sights set on a new iBOT wheelchair that has four wheel drive, allowing it to go up and down steps, kerbs and across rough terrain and sand. And it also climbs stairs, which Maya says would be %u2018life changing%u2019 as she prepares to go to university next year.%u201cMy current wheelchair is faulty and unsafe, as I have had it for eight years, and it no longer lives up to my needs and lifestyle,%u201d said Maya, of Olney. %u201cI rely on a wheelchair all day, every day to be able to do the things I love, including seeing my friends, going to school and travelling.However, the iBOT costs more than %u00a352,000, and although Maya receives a small %u2018voucher%u2019 from the NHS to help buy equipment, it%u2019s only around 10 per cent of the total she needs. Maya has a GoFundMe page, which has raised more than %u00a321,000 of her %u00a352,700 target, and she says she is grateful to the generous people who have already contributed to her cause, including an anonymous donation of %u00a35,000.%u201cIt%u2019s amazing, I didn%u2019t think the donations would happen so fast,%u201d she said. %u201cI%u2019m grateful because it%u2019s essential that I can get around safely and independently in a wheelchair that works. The new wheelchair would make me more independent and able to go out and not be limited by steps.%u201dMore details: gofundme.com/maya-get-a-new-stairclimbing-wheelchair.