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April 12, 2021

Church group to pray for lower gas prices

Consumers love to bitch and moan about gas prices, but what do we ever do about it?

We protest and write our MPs (Pickering-Scarborough Liberal leader Dan McTeague has long been our shining crusader on this front), yes, though none of us take our gripes to, say, a higher power.

Surely, even the most religious Canadians don’t pray  for lower gas prices, yet that’s what a Georgia church group will do this weekend – proof that, with all that’s wrong in the world, the rising cost of gas may have been pushed to the forefront.

Indeed, while you might expect God’s channels to be filled with Libya and Japan-related requests these days, it’s gas prices the good Lord will have to deal with this Saturday.

That’s when the Beacon of Light Christian Center in Dublin, Georgia – a little more than two hours southeast of Atlanta – will gather at a local grocery store gas station to throw their hands up in mercy.

“If it doesn’t drop to nothin’ but ten cents, I’m happy with that,” church pastor Marshall Mabry said. “But what I really want to believe God (will) do is drop (the current prices) down $1.50.”

Specific plea, no doubt, but Mabry and his group might want to bring out their big guns this weekend to get prices back to a respectable level.

Analysts say gas prices are to stay sky-high throughout the summer, and in Canada, the last time the cost of fuel got this high it took about seven months to return to decency.

In March of 2008, when Canadian gas prices really started to take off, the average national pump read about $1.13 per litre for regular gasoline. Over the next half-year, prices surged to more than $1.40 per litre and it wasn’t until October that prices returned to the $1.13 mark.

Could we be looking at the same pattern now? According to GasBuddy.com, the average national pump price reached that same $1.13 mark in January of this year, and has spiked to about $1.28 per litre as of Tuesday.

By that count, if 2008 was any measuring stick, we won’t again reach the $1.13 mark until August or September.

Lord help us.

By Jason Buckland, MSN Money

*Follow Jason on Twitter here.

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...