The Christian Institute is a nondenominational Christian organization with more than 60,000 supporters and more than 5,000 churches that is dedicated to “the furtherance and promotion of the Christian religion in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.” [1] On October 3, 2024, the Christian Institute published an article detailing how Christian leaders and union leaders are coming together to petition for the closing of businesses on Sunday.
The Christian Institute reported:
• “Church leaders on the Isle of Lewis are urging Tesco (Supermarket) to abandon plans to open on Sundays. Ministers from the Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Free Church of Scotland have called on the supermarket chain to respect the island’s long-standing Sabbath observance, as it consults staff about opening seven days a week.” [2]
• “Currently, Tesco’s Stornoway store is its only UK branch to remain closed on Sundays. Co-op, the island’s only other large supermarket, also shuts on a Sunday. Rev. Greg McDonald, a Free Church of Scotland minister, told BBC Radio Scotland: “Only by trusting in Jesus as our Saviour will people be forgiven. Anything that makes it harder for the shelf stacker, or van driver, or anyone else to come to church to hear that message, I take as a mistake.” [2]
• “Earlier this year, a top union representative said that restricting Sunday trading hours for online businesses and deliveries would benefit families. John Barstow, an Executive Council Member of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), said that society would benefit from a break in trading, rather than dispensing with Sunday trading hours for high street shops in England and Wales so they can compete with online stores.” [2]
Despite being unlikely allies, churches and labor unions are finding common ground in a shared campaign for Sunday rest. Traditionally, labor unions have focused on workers’ rights and economic justice, while churches emphasize spiritual renewal and moral values. However, both sides are working to secure Sunday as the day of rest for society.
Labor unions, while historically claiming to seek to protect the rights of workers, have employed disruptive tactics to push for their demands. Some of the more notorious antics include shutting down entire industries, deliberately reducing productivity to cripple companies, and, in some cases, sabotage. We are reminded that labor unions will be one of the agencies that will help bring about the great time of trouble.
“The trades unions will be one of the agencies that will bring upon this earth a time of trouble such as has not been since the world began” (Selected Messages, Vol. 2, p. 142).
When labor unions and church leaders collectively work together to stop Sunday trading, you know that we are quickly reaching this time of trouble. While religious institutions seek to restore Sunday as a time for community worship, labor unions argue that Sunday rest combats work burnouts. In any case, these two groups are working together to promote regulations designating Sunday as a day of rest, which appeals to both secular and religious motives.
“The time is fast coming when the controlling power of the labor unions will be very oppressive. Again and again the Lord has instructed that our people are to take their families away from the cities, into the country, where they can raise their own provisions; for in the future the problem of buying and selling will be a very serious one” (Selected Messages, Vol. 2, p. 141).
Sources
[1] https://www.christian.org.uk/who-we-are
[2] https://www.christian.org.uk/news/isle-of-lewis-christians-urge-tesco-to-keep-sunday-special/
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Labor unions here in America were willing to make our nations suffer and shut down our economy.
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