admin, Author at Church Action on Poverty

Niall Cooper outlines the new Let’s End Poverty campaign, and how you can get involved.

If you are passionate about tackling poverty in the UK I’ve got good news for you: The overwhelming majority of the UK population agrees.

We know that’s what people care about, from firsthand experience. At Church Action on Poverty, we consistently walk with and listen to people with direct experience of poverty and who want change.

People like Gemma, who tells us: “Everyone has a right to live a certain standard of living. There shouldn’t be such a gap between rich and poor.”

People like Carlie, who outlines in detail what would make a difference for families with additional needs.

And people like Stef, who recognises that: “We tend to have professionals who make decisions, then people who are affected, and there’s a lack of power. In general, the more money you have the more power you have and that doesn’t generally lead to a country that works for everybody.”

Let's End Poverty for everyone

I too want to live in a UK in which no one has to go to bed hungry and everyone has access to good food.

But beyond that, I want everyone in the UK to have the opportunities that many of us take for granted – to enjoy life in all its fullness. To achieve this we must end the scourge of poverty in what is still one of the wealthiest nations on the planet.

The Covid-19 pandemic shone a spotlight on the growing gap between rich and poor, and the cost of living crisis has widened this still further, as millions have been swept further into poverty and destitution.

You too will have your own reasons for wanting to see an end to poverty in the UK. Most people do.

Let's End Poverty together

An overwhelming majority of our neighbours think the UK’s rich-poor gap is too high.

In 2023, some 88% of respondents in a YouGov poll said more should be done to tackle poverty in the UK. That’s almost nine in every ten people, a remarkable level of consensus, at a time when we’re often told public opinion is divided on so many other issues.

Yet while the public will for action is vast and clear, national political leadership is sorely wanting. Politicians have ignored the issue of poverty for far too long.

Let's End Poverty - and let's demand action

Politicians who fail to acknowledge the need for urgent action to tackle poverty are increasingly out of step with public opinion. Anyone aspiring to be in Government should be making this a priority. Ending poverty in the UK should be a key election issue.

That’s why we’re delighted to be part of the Let’s End Poverty campaign in 2024.

Let's End Poverty - and let's demand action

Let’s End Poverty is bringing together a diverse movement of people who want the UK to be a place where poverty can’t keep anyone down. It’s a campaign that brings together people and communities who have either lived in poverty or witnessed its effects and who want change.

Let’s End Poverty stands for a future where poverty no longer keeps anyone down. Where everyone has enough to eat, has a good quality of life and is supported through hard times, and where places like food banks and clothes banks no longer need to be a fixture in our communities. A future where children talking about their hopes and dreams all have the same opportunity to pursue and realise those dreams.

Let's End Poverty - and be heard

The message of Let’s End Poverty is that it’s up to us to make our voices heard. It’s up to us to turn public support for action to tackle poverty into political pressure for the next Government to make this a key priority. We have to work with others to build a powerful movement that politicians of all parties can no longer ignore.

The overwhelming public will is there. Now let’s demand political resolve and a willingness to act.

Come join the winning side.

Let’s end poverty together.

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This week's Budget must bridge the rich-poor gulf, and start addressing the causes of poverty, say people with direct experience of UK poverty

This week’s Budget statement is a precious chance to bridge the rich-poor divide and to enable opportunities instead of barriers for people on low incomes, according to a national panel of people, who all draw on their own personal experience of struggling against poverty.

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt should seize the moment to tackle the unjust systems that hold people and communities back, to ensure that incomes keep pace with soaring living costs, and to invest in the vital public systems that we all require.

The Speaking Truth to Power national panel includes people living on low incomes who have been involved in a variety of local projects to tackle and end poverty and strengthen community around the UK.

Members met ahead of Wednesday’s spring Budget statement, to discuss what it should include, and why, and to discuss how people’s lives could be enhanced if the Government committed to tackling the root causes of poverty.

Time for concerted action

The group says:

“The post-covid roadmap was meant to be for everyone. If we have a Budget – or a General Election campaign – that neglects poverty and the causes of poverty, then the wealthiest people will accelerate away with ease, while the rest of us are left at the side of the road.

“We’re a compassionate society and we believe in justice. But we won’t get there by wishing ourselves forward – we need concerted, national action from our political leaders.”

Polling has shown that more than 60% of people think the Government should act to reduce income inequality, and an overwhelming majority see the prospect of widening inequality as problematic.

Key messages group members would like to see in the Budget included:

Extending support on energy bills, and doing more to prevent the crisis from recurring
Making childcare more accessible and affordable, to support low-income parents
Creating opportunities for young people
Removing flaws and cliff-edge thresholds in systems such as the carer’s allowance, which can punish people instead of enabling them
Committing to serious investment in new social housing
Increasing the living wage, to help low-income workers

Budget 2023: Wayne's view

One of the panel members is Wayne Green, from Shoreham By Sea, who has been campaigning against the structural causes of poverty for more than 25 years.

He says:

“The money that people in poverty have is not enough to live on, and people need to be able to live. As a country we have the money to end poverty. We have the expertise. We have the technology. It is now a matter of political will.

“The will is there to pump as much money as they can into other things, yet they are withholding what it takes to address poverty, while millions sink further into debt and difficulty. It’s really problematic the way the decisions are made.

“People who are not in the situation do not understand what it’s like being poor or on social security. It falls below the bare minimum people need. There’s such a social distance now between parliament and professionals and those of us who have fallen into unemployment or hard times.

“I think the Budget needs to remove things like the cap on housing benefits, and to protect people from high energy bills and address the huge profits the energy companies make. Profits should be for a noble cause, not to make rich companies richer. The Budget should also guarantee everyone an income they can live on, like a citizens’ income.”

Budget 2023: Gemma's view

Another panel member, Gemma Athanasius-Coleman, from Cornwall, said:

“Young people want change and want to influence change, and they want opportunities. The Budget should do more to create opportunities for young people.

“I don’t like divisive politics that pits people against each other – we need to give all young people the opportunities they will need, especially if they have coke from a socially-deprived background.

“The Government could do so much more for people in regards to the cost of living. They know what’s happening, they can see it – but they are not doing enough. It’s not necessarily handing out money – they need to help bring down costs in the first place, by looking at the energy companies, as well as putting more money in people’s pockets.

“Another thing the Budget should look at is childcare. We need them to do more to ensure childcare is well-funded and available and affordable for parents, like in the rest of Europe. It’s so unaffordable that it keeps people out of work, as many parents are financially better off not working, due to what childcare would cost if they worked.”

Speaking Truth To Power

The Speaking Truth to Power programme is coordinated by the charity Church Action on Poverty, and works with people on low incomes to identify causes of poverty, work on potential solutions to end poverty, and advocate for change.

The group also discussed the vital values that should drive the Budget statement. There was consensus that it should be guided by a desire to create a just society, which truly listens to and heeds people in poverty and on the margins, and which works to support people being swept into deepest difficulty.

There was a strong desire among the group for sustainable solutions that create inclusive opportunities, not barriers, and for a commitment that recognises everyone’s right to housing and affordable good food.

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A screenshot of the Universal Credit website

Church leaders join with Church Action on Poverty and Christians Against Poverty to urge the Government not to cut UC income by £1,040 a year.

People in church leadership positions, with the support of two anti-poverty charities, are calling for the plans to cut Universal Credit by £20 a week from next month, which will impact millions of households, to be stopped.

Over 1,100 church leaders have felt compelled to speak up because of the impact this cut will have on people in poverty, and have signed a letter to the Prime Minister.

In the letter to Boris Johnson, created in partnership with Church Action on Poverty and Christians Against Poverty, the church leaders say, “We urge the Government to choose to build a just and compassionate social security system that our whole society can have confidence in.”

Church at the Margins Officer and Former Vice President of the Methodist Church, Eunice Attwood, said, “Cutting £20 a week from families who are just keeping their heads above water cannot be right.

“Every day we see in churches and foodbanks people with huge potential, bursting to contribute who cannot move forward because the struggle simply to make ends meet is all-consuming. I urge ministers to come to a church project and see the difference £20 a week makes for some families.

“We believe that everyone should be able to fulfil the potential God has placed within them and that we should do all that is necessary to prevent people being held back by poverty.”

The Bishop of Doncaster, Right Revd Sophie Jelley, added, “I fully support the plea to retain Universal Credit at the current level at the present time. With the increase in food and energy prices together with the impact of the pandemic on household income I am extremely concerned about families and households already struggling to make ends meet.

“There is no doubt that recent months have placed additional burdens on the poorest in our communities and this feels like the least we can do to show practical compassion and care at this tremendously difficult time.”

The Bishop of Selby, Rt Revd Dr John B Thomson, said, “I signed this open letter because this proposed cut comes at a time when the future of the pandemic remains uncertain and at the very point when the furlough scheme ends.

“It will also coincide with significant increased costs for electricity and gas just when the weather begins to turn and is a concern which has been expressed widely by all organisations who work with the poorest, and those who monitor the impact of such policies on them. I accept that this is a major cost to the nation as a whole but believe that those in most need must be protected by the nation.”

Christians Against Poverty’s UK Chief Executive, Paula Stringer says, “This cut will lead to thousands more people falling into problem debt. If it goes ahead many will be forced to make impossible choices. They’ll be faced with the very real prospect of falling into arrears, and having to choose whether to eat or put the heating on to stay warm. No one should ever have to choose between food or heating, it’s simply not right, but that will be the heartbreaking reality if this cut goes ahead.

“That is why we’re backing the Keep The Lifeline campaign and we’re standing with the church community in continuing to urge the Government to show compassion and make a last-minute U-turn.

“Our message is clear – stop this before it cripples millions of households. We will continue to stand together with those affected by this cut, churches and other charities, calling for this vital lifeline to be kept.”

Niall Cooper, Director of Church Action on Poverty, said, “Cutting £1,040 a year from low-income households would cut hundreds of thousands of families adrift. It’s simply not right.

“With food and fuel costs rising sharply, we know millions of families are struggling to stay afloat, and this £20-a-week cut will make a difficult situation disastrous. We should be pulling together to get the economy back on course, but instead people are having to watch the threadbare lifelines being cut.

“The breadth of support for this letter reflects the wider public’s desire for a just and compassionate economy. We need to redesign the social security system so it brings stability and opens up opportunities, rather than sweeping families into deeper poverty.”

Our letter to the Prime Minister

Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA

27 September 2021

Dear Prime Minister,

We stand together as church leaders from across the UK to urge you to think again about cutting Universal Credit payments by £20 a week from the start of October.

If the Government persists with this cut, it would be the single biggest overnight reduction in the basic rate of social security since the welfare state was established in the 1940s. Millions of low-income households will be swept further into poverty as a result.

As Christians, we are compelled by the gospel imperative to prioritise the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable.

As church leaders, we must speak up, because of the impact this will have on our poorest neighbours and church members.

We urge the Government to choose to build a just and compassionate social security system that our whole society can have confidence in.

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, poorer people in communities all over the country were suffering because the lifelines they needed from our social security system and vital neighbourhood services were not strong enough. Analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has shown that the cut will particularly hit the north of England, the West Midlands, Wales and Northern Ireland. Rather than levelling up the UK, this will compound existing inequalities.

The loss of £1,040 a year will be devastating for many families at a time when energy bills and other household costs are increasing. Instead we can make sure our social security system brings stability, and opens up options and opportunities for people whose income is too low or insecure to make ends meet.

The cut has already been opposed by community groups up and down the country, charities, six former Conservative Work and Pensions Secretaries, and many MPs from all parties. This is an opportunity for the Government to send a message that it listens, and recognises the pressure faced by those on the breadline.

Universal Credit has been a vital lifeline throughout the pandemic. For the sake of millions of families, it must be retained at its current level, and we therefore reiterate the calls for the planned £20 a week cut to be withdrawn.

Yours sincerely,

Nicholas Adams, Louth Methodist Church
Jenny Adams, Duffus Spynie and Hopeman Church of Scotland
Jonathan Adams, Sunderland Minster
Rebecca Aechtner, St Paul’s Scotforth
Janice Aitken, Kelsall Methodist Church
Rosemary Aldis, Sr Mark’s, Heath Park
Keith Aldred, St Peter’s St. Albans
Iris Aldridge, Unity Church
Katie Alexander, Garland St Baptist
Torquil Allen, Frampton Park Baptist Church
Michael Allen, St. Mary’s Arnold
Trevor Allin, New Life Community Church
Angela Allport, St John’s Methodist Church, Hereford
Kathryn Alvis, Glebe Farm Baptist Church
Ian Anderson, Methodist Church
Christopher Anderton, Redeemer, Blackburn
David Andrews, Methodist church
Revd. Caroline Andrews, Saltaire United Reformed Church
Marianne Anker-petersen, Bield at Blackruthven retreat centre
Robin Anker-Petersen, Bield at Blackruthven retreat centre
Stephen Ansa-Addo, Park United Reformed Church and Hungerford United Reformed Church
Nick Archer, Church of Scotland
Keith John Argyle, Retired United Reformed Minister
John Armes, Bishop of Edinburgh, Scottish Episcopal Church
Bernard Arnold, Ely Methodist
Marieke Arthur, Canton Uniting Church
John Ashcroft, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Lewes
Vincent Ashwin, Southwell Minster
Bernadette Askins, Churches Together South Tyneside
Barbara Aspinall, Edgeley Community Church
Richard Astill, Grace Community Church
Howard Astin, Bradford Prayer For Bradford
Heather Aston, Boscastle Group of Churches
Ann Atkins, Downsview Methodist Church (Croydon Circuit)
David Austin, Holy Trinity Coldhurst
Philip Averay, St Mary’s Priory, Chepstow
Gillian Baalham, The Methodist Church (Redhill & East Grinstead Circuit)
Susan Baggott
Patricia Baggott, St Swithun Wells
Steve Bailey, St Paul’s, Oadby
Hazel Baird, Culybackey Methodist Church
Maria Baker, Trinity Chippenham Church
Richard Baker, United Reform
John Baker, Earl Shilton Metodist
Rev. Dr. Nelu Balaj, Livingston Old Parish Church
Kathleen Baldwin, Methodist Church Herefordshire (South and East) Circui
Jennifer Bales, Goldsithney Methodist Church and Local Preacher
Stephen Bales, Lizard and Mounts Bay Methodist Circuit
Dan Balsdon, Methodist Church
Amy Barker, Walsgrave Baptist Church
Matt Barlow, The Light Church
James Barnard, Cheadle Hulme Baptist Church
Helen Barnes, Our Lady of Lourdes, Lee
Anthony Barnes, North Wiltshire Methodist Circuit
Helen Barrett, Fore Street Methodist,Brixham
Richard Barrett, Methodist Church
Kate Barrett, Methodist Church
Revd Dr Al Barrett, Hodge Hill Church
Sara-Jane Barron, Love Looe
Rev Diane Barrow, Toll Bar with Prescot URC; Newtown URC
Salah Bastawrous, St Mary and St Abaschyroon Coptic Orthodox Church
David Batchelor, St Andrew’s Methodist, United reformed Church, Skipton
Michael Bate, Church of the Epiphany, Oxley
Timothy Bateman, Gas Street Church
Kathryn Beamish, Cairneyhill Parish Church
Pauline Beattie, Walsall Central Hall
Adrian Beavis, Christ Church Woking
Pat Beazley, Holy Innocents Kingsbury
Ruby Beech, Hope Community Methodist Church Newark
Russ Beese, Witney Community Church
Gillian Belford, Penrith Methodist Church
David Bell, Unity Church Orpington
John Bell, The Iona Community
Carole Bell, Unity church
Ray Bell, Unity church
Susan Bennet, Northumbria Quakers
Geoffrey Bennett, St Budock
Mehwish Bhatti, Victoria Park Baptist Church
Nigel Bibbings, South Bedfordshire Methodist
Ian Bickerstaffe, King’s Church High Wycombe
Heather Bingley, Bridlington Deanery
Colin Birnie, St.Clements Belfast
Kevin Birtles, Jinny
Sheila Bishop, Gawsworth Methodist Church Gawsworth Cheshire
Biddy Bishop, Polperro Methodist
Penny Bissell, Durham City Methodist Church
Gina Bisset, Grace Church Family
Gregory Black, Wesley Methodist Church
Edmund Blackie, Society of St Francis
Ross Blackman, Hamilton Old Parish
Rosemary Bland, Holy Trinity, Haddington
Nick Blundell, Bradford North Circuit
Tim Boaden, Seedfield Methodist Church
Bev Boden, St John’s Methodist Church
Philip Bodey, Grove Lane Baptist Church
Sheila Bodey, Grove Lane Baptist Church
Joanne Bond, The Well Retford Baptist Church
Teresa Bond, St Thomas More Middlesbrough
Jacky Bone, St Mary’s Church Witney
David Bonnett, Pakenham Christian Fellowship
Pat Booth, Bromsgrove methodist
Laura Booth, Bromsgrove metjodist
Duncan Booth, Cheadle Hulme Methodist Church
Mike Bossingham, Cromer Methodist Church
Irene Bourne, Romsey Methodist Church
Erica Bowler, Love Purfleet
Steve Bownds, Latymer Community Church
John Boyd, The Gathering Methodist Church – Sunderland South Circuit
Jean Boyd, Drumoak Durris
Jonathan Boyers, The Peoples Church
Nic Boyns, Cherry Hinton Baptist Church
Michele Bradbury, St Mark’s at Friday Bridge and Coldham
John Bradbury, General Secretary, United Reformed Church
Rev Matthew Bradley, Creech St Michael Baptist Church
Bronwen Braisdell, Epworth & Scunthorpe Methodist Circuit
John Bramhall, St Mary’s Greenham
Alan Brand, Renew Church, Cambridgeshire.
Christopher Brann, Ascension Bath
Graham Brazier, Churches Together in Stourbridge
Derry Brebner, Fodderty and Strathpeffer Church
Joan Breen, Our Lady of Mercy Institute
Wendy Brennan, Skipsea Methodist Church
Ruth Brew, Freedom Church Liverpool
Amanda Briggs, The New Room, Bristol
Roger Bristow, Holy Trinity Church, Bromley Common
Alison Britchfield, Tillicoultry Parish Church of Scotland
Richard Britton-Voss, Ruskington Methodist Church
Margaret Brock, St George’s, Morpeth
Ian Brodie, Shrivenham Methodist Church
Diane Brooke, Christ Church Bridlington
Colin Brough, Fintry Church, Dundee
Deirdre Brower Latz, Nazarene Theological College
Sarah Brown, Castlemilk Parish Church
Kenneth Brown, Livingston United Parish Church
Judith Brown, RC
Terence Brown, St Mary’s Crowborough
Pat Brownmarlow, Marlow Methodist
Ramon Bruzzichessi, Grosvenor Church Barnstaple
Julie Bryan, West Craven Baptist Church
Estelle Buckley, The Triangle Methodist Community Church
Carolyn Buley, St Mark’s Methodist Church, Cheltenham
Philip Bunce, Shrivenham Methodist
Roz Burch, SoundCafe Leicester – a Bishop’s Mission Order
Peter Burgess, Southend Christian Fellowship
Carol Burns, St Benedicts, Garforth, Leeds
Hugh Burton, St Francis Dudley
Firsl Mike Bush, Rodley
William Butchart, Ellon Baptist Church
Debbie Butland, Freedom Church Liverpool
John Butler, The Parish Church of St. Paul, Shipley
Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham, Diocese of Durham
Revd David Butterworth, Methodist Church
Robert Byrne, Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
Jenny Bywaters, Millhouses Methodist Church
Prudence Cahill, Methodist Central Hall, Manchester
Bryce Calder, Motherwell St Mary’s
David Callander, Ilkley Baptist Church
Barbara Calvert, The Cotteridge Church
Alastair Cameron, South East Scotland Area Quakers
Foluke Campbell, Audacious Church
Dawn Canham, The Lantern Methodist Church
Steven Cann, Our lady of lourdes
Mike Cansdale, Keighley Parish
Lindsay Caplen, Baptist Regional Minister
Mark Carey, Christ Church Bridlington
Eileen Carlin, Brayton Methodist Church
John Carlisle, St Williams
Barbara Carroll, Roman Catholic
Debbie Carruthers, KingsGate Church Helston
Jane Carter, Bede Methodist circuit
George Carter, St Matthew and St Lenoard Bootle
Maria Carter, St David’s Methodist Church
Carol Carter, Woodstock Methodist Church
Rhona Cathcart, Inverurie West Parish Church
Andy Chadwick, Reach Church
Lesley Chandler, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Falmouth Meeting Cornwall
Michele Chapman, The Countess Free Church
Neil Chappell, Southam Congregational Church
Dawn Charles, The Community Church, Burton and District
Steve Charman, Lancaster Methodist Church
Jon Chesworth, Shropshire and Marches Methodist
Steve Chick, Hop Church Winchester
Dave Chislett, ChristChurch
Chris Chorlton, Parish of Girlington, Heaton and Manningham
Margaret Christopher, St Andrew’s Skipton
Rev John Churcher, Methodist Church
David Clark, Oakham Baptist Church
Rod Clark, St Chad’s, Lichfield
Mel Clark, Elim Gateway Bradford
Wayne Clarke, Trinity Baptist Church, Gorton, Manchester
Stuart Clarke, Melbourn Baptist
Graham Clarke, Marshalswick Baptist Free Church
Penny Clarke, Christ Church, Bridlington
John Clarkson, Wigan Baptist Church
Georgia Clarkson, Wigan Baptist Church
Richard Clarkson, St Peter’s, Kinver
Geoffrey Cleave, United Church Bradford on Avon
Peter Clements, Saltash Wesley Methodist
Bruce Clifford, ST Catharine’s Gloucester
Roger Clifford, Craigavon Trades Council
Leonard Clift, Stormore Baptist Church
David Clitheroe, Temple Methodist Church, Taunton
Iain Cloke, Highfield Trinity Methodist Church, Sheffield
Patrick Coad, St Andrew’s
Roswitha Cods, Kensington temple
Nigel Coke-Woods, South Worcester Circuit
William Cole, Holy Cross Bobbington
John Coleby, Caritas Westminster
Paul Coleman, Leeds North and East Methodist Circuit
Michael Collins, Hadleigh Baptist Church
Christopher Collins, Evesham Methodist Church
Jennie Collins, The Pathway Methodist Church
Christopher Collins, South Worcestershire Methodist Circuit
Michelle Compton-Large, Whitehouse Baptist Church
Chris Condrup, Gloddaeth
John Cook, Howe Trinity Parish Church
Tanya Cook, Kingswood Methodist church, Wollaton
Jon Cook, Kings Church Eden
Helen Cook, St Ninians Old Parish Church Stirling
E. Cooke, St Stephen
Revd Naomi Cooke, Bethesda Methodist Church
Ann Cooke, Church Stretton Methodist church
Lynne Cooper, Forest Town Methodist
Lynda Coulthard, Methodist Church in South East Northumberland Ecumenical Area
Revd Nigel Cowgill, The London District of the Methodist Church
Christine Crabtree, Bradford North Methodist Circuit
Simeon Cracknell, Canon Street Church
Patricia Craig, Church of The Assumption
Michael Craig, Portobello and Joppa Parish Church
John Crawford, Tiverton Vineyard Church
Margaret Crawshaw, Somerset Mendip Circuit
Roger Cresswell, Fund for Human Need
Richard Cresswell, St Mary the Virgin, Shawbury
Graham Criddle, West Street Christian Fellowship
Dan Cronin, HEART Church
Colette Cronin, Sister
Phil Crouter, St Pauls, Weston-s-Mare
Toby Crowe, St John’s, Sparkhill
Claire Crowley, Churches Together in South London
Tim Croxson, C3 UnitedLife
Diana Cullum-Hall, The Church at Carrs Lane
Iain Cunningham, Kirkton Parish Church, Carluke
Deborah Curnock, Metropolitan Community Church, Birmingham
Simon Curry, Larne Baptist Church
Richard Curtis, Cannings and Redhorn Benefice
Alistair Cuthbert, Falkirk Baptist Church
Michelle Cutting, IIC
John Dale, Church Action on Poverty and Forres Parish
Mariot Dallas, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Polmont Meeting
Jock Dalrymple, St John’s, Portobello, Edinburgh
Sheree Daly, United Reformed church in Rhyl
Mary Davidson, St Mark’s United Reformed Church
Ceri Davies, River Church
Elizabeth Davies, United Reformed Church
Robert Davies, Glossop and Tameside Methodist Circuit
Jess Davis, St Peter’s Birstall
Maria Davison, St Albans R C , Macclesfield
Rachel Dawson, The Light Church
Liz Day, Addingham Methodist church
Janet de Maine, St Boniface
Dorothy Dean, Maldon URC
Bruce Dear, Southgate
Judy Dennis, Trinity Church, Enfield
Keith Dennis, Hall Green United Community Church
Robert Dennis, New Hope
Jane Denniston, Campsie parish Church
Gareth Dickens, The Salvation Army – Winsford
Shuna Dicks, Cults Parish Church of Scotland
Robert Dimmick, Caversham Park Church, Reading
Judith Dimond, St Paul and St Martin, Canterbury
Peter Dixon
David Dixon, Selsey Methodist Church
Catherine DOBSON, Wesley Memorial Methodist, Oxford
Kenneth Donald, Prestongrange Church
Marion Donald, Cairneyhill Parish Church
Rosemary Donohoe, St Bridget’s
Sandra Doore, St Marks Church, Childwall Valley & Gateacre Team Ministry Liverpool
Neil Douglas, Ebenezer Baptist Church
Terry Down, Unity Church Orpington
Ian Dowsett, St Paul’s South Harrow
Neil Draisey, Beckenham Baptist Church
Lorraine Drinkwater, St Marys Potsea
David Driscoll, Holy Trinity Bradford on Avon
Alison Duncan, Montrose South and Ferryden
Mary Duncanson, Cromdale & Advie
Steve Dunn, The Beacon Church Herne Bay
Jonathan Dunning, Meadowhead Christian Fellowship
Kay Dyer, Holy Trinity
Cath Dyer, The Religious Society of Friends
Kathleen Dymond, Midsomer Norton Methodist
Nick Eades, East Plumstead Baptist
Dave Eadie, Roundswell Church
Donald Eadie, Methodist
Matthew Earl, Emmanuel Church Eastbourne
Vicky Earll, St Michael Le Belfrey
David Easton, Stockton Heath Methodist Church
Richard Eddleston, Beeston Quakers
David Edmondson, Dalton Community Church
Stephen Edney, Maidstone Family Church
Adrian Edwards, Castleton Baptist Church
Marion Edwards, Rogiet Methodist Church
Edward Egan, Brother
Aaron Elder, Oxgangs Community Church
James Ellis, Evesham Methodist
Caleb Ellwood, Gateway Church – York
Gerald Elvin, St Barnabas, Manor Park
John Emmett, Methodist Church
Lynn Emmott, St Margaret’s Liverpool.
Esther Ensing, Amazing Grace Church
Maureen Etherington, Coleford Baptist Church
Judy Evans
Sarah Evans, Christ church Bridlington
Simon Evans-White, Halton Baptist Church
Dub Everitt, Welcome Church
Stephen Ewing, Crofton Park Baptist Church
Jeremy Fagan, St. Martin’s Church, Southdene, Kirkby
Martin Fair, St. Andrew’s, Arbroath
Nathan Falla, Newark & Southwell Methodist Circuit
Margaret Fancy, Arkholme Methodist Church
Diana Farmer, St James’, Wollaston and St MIchael’s, Norton
Katharine Farnham-Dear, Southgate Methodist Church
Sheila Farnsworth, Ludham Methodist Church
Ian Farnsworth, South East Northumberland Ecumenical Area
Geoffrey Farrar, Putney Methodist Church
Tony Farrar, St. John’s Whitley Bay
Jon Farrimond, Liberty Church, Dunfermline
Anne Farrow, Centenary Methodist Church Crawcrook.
Rachel Fasham, Christ Church
Susan Fender, The Linked Pastorate (URC)
Patricia Fenton, St Luke’s Harrogate (Parish of Bilton, St John & St Luke)
Cristine Ferguson, Stromness Church of Scotland
John Ferguson, Peterculter Parish Church
Oliver Fernandes, St Francis de Sales RC Church – Hampton
Camille Fidgett, Catholic Parish of Hemel West
Jade Fielding, Holy Saviiyrs
Jonathan Fillis, Haddenham-cum-Dinton Baptist
Dennis Finch, Hedge End Salvation Army
Sean Finlay, Wisbech Churches Together
Kay Finnegan, Sister
David Firth, Methodist Church
Sue Fisher, Lindsay Park Baptist Church
Neil Fisher, Christ Church, Lewes
Derek Fitchett, All Saints, Trefonen, Oswestry
Abigail Flavell, River City Church Hull
Dean Flay, Unity
Jonathan Fleming, Greenock Lyle Kirk
David Fleming, Rugby Baptist Church
Suzanne Fletcher, Dunglass Parish Church
Hedy Fletcher
William Fletcher, Central Sussex United Area
John Flitcroft, St Mary’s, Old Swinford
Jean Flood, St Nathanael
Geoff Floyd, Sheldon Road Methodist, Chippenham
Gifford Foote, Handsacre Methodist
Ann Ford, Hall Green United Community Church
Carole Ford, St Marys Horsell
Dr Joseph Forde, St Mark’s Church, Bromhill & Broomhall.
Bea Foster, Hapton Methodist Church
Sean Fountain, Pier Avenue Baptist Church Clacton on Sea
Richard Fox, The King’s Church, Addlestone
Aileen Fox, The Pilgrim Methodist Church Blakeney
Michael Fox, Unity Church
Carolyn Frayne, Frodsham Methodist Church
Helen Freeston, Copmanthorpe Methodist Church
Richard Frith, Southwell Minster
Stephen Froggatt, Kingsbury Methodist Church
Carol Fry, Redland Park URC
Ruth Fry, Methodist Church
Daniel Fryer, Jubilee Church Hull
Helen Fuller, King’s Church
Ian Gall, Riverside Evangelical Church
Simon Gatenby, Brunswick Parish Church
Sally Gathern, St Mary’s in Singleton
Neil Gatland, Billingshurst Family Church
Jessica Gatty, Religious of the Assumption
Lisa Gauntlett, St Paul’s Chichester
Alison Geary, Methodist Church, Birmingham Circuit
Andrew Geldart, Oceans Community Church Bude
Alice Gem, Wallington Methodist Church
Martin Gem, Wallington Methodist Church
eddie george, Nantwich Methodist Church
Margaret Gibbs, Perry Rise Baptist Church
Rachel Gibson, St. John’s
Liz Gibson, North Mull Church of Scotland
Anne Gibson, Kelsall Methodist church
Mark Gilks, Hampton Mission Partnership
Linda Gilson, Wolverhampton Methodist Circuit
Helen Glass, Arnold URC
Neil Glover, Aberfeldy, Dull and Weem, Grantully, Logierait and Strathtay
Andy Glover, Hoole Baptist Church
Shirley Godfrey, St. Andrew’s Methodist Church
Ben Goodyear, Parish of Herne Hill
Roger Gordon, North Shields Methodist Church
Stuart Gosling, New Life Church
Michael Goss, Barry l/w Carnoustie
Christine Goudie, Murrayfield Parish Church
Louise Gough, Trinity Church Cheadle
Ruth Gouldbourne, Grove Lane Baptist Church, Cheadle Hulme
May Grafen, St John’s Evangelical Church Linlithgow
Paul Graham, Clare Baptist Church
Peter Grainger, Allnations Wolverhampton
Norman Grant, Cairneyhill linked with Limekilns Parish Churches
Kate Gray MA, The Dandelion Community – the United Reformed Church, Wythenshawe
John Grayson, Standish Methodist Chursh
Stephen Greasley, Gillingham Baptist Church, Kent
Lynn Green, General Secretary, Baptist Union Of Great Britain
Jacqui Green, Stony Stratford community church
Catherine Green, St Columba’s Chester
David Gregory, Croxley Green Baptist Church
Angus Gregson, New Brunswick United Reformed Church
Margaret Greig, Howe of Fife Parish Church
mark Griffin, st Martin and St Paul, Canterbury
David Griffiths, Horwich Team of Churches
Leila Griffiths, Methodistiaid Calfinaidd
John Grimes, Denton Methodist Church
Philomena Grimley, Parish of Christ the King and St Kentigern Blackpool
Robert Grimshaw, The Gate Community Church
Ross Grindlay, St Margaret’s Portsmouth
Kevin Gripton, Churches Together in Brierley Hill
Heston Groenewald, All Hallows, Leeds
Margaret Guite
Phil Gunn, Rosskeen Parish Church of Scotland
Carol Guyers, Brunshaw Methodist Church
Anne Hackling, Pontllanfraith Methodist church
Andrew Haddow, Parish Church of Coldingham & St. Abbs lw Eyemouth Parish Church
Ian Hague, The Parish of Walton Breck, Liverpool
Phil Haines, South Kent Community Church
Oriole Hall, Inverness Quaker Meeting
Sarah Hall, Avenue St Andrew’s URC
Tony Hall, Hope Church Bromley Borough
Sue Halliday, Hope. Church
Revd Ian P. Hamilton, Dialstone Lane Methodist Church
Clive Hamilton, Salford All Saints Team Ministry
Elizabeth Hamilton, Leyland Baptist Church
Jane Hampson, Deane Church
Michele Hampson, Warden Sacrista Retreat House
Ros Hancock, S. Beds Methodist Circuit
Allison Hanshaw, Seascale Methodist Church
Karen Harbison, Greenock Westburn
Ashley Hardingham, Altrincham Baptist Church
George Hardman, Methodist Chuch
Richard Hare, Emmanuel, Bridlington
Mark Harlow, St Paul’s Church, Ireland Wood
Rev’d Dan Harper, Bridge of Allan Parish Church
Daniel Harris, United Reformed Church
Michael Harrison, Llandudno Cytun / Churches Together
John Harvey, The Iona Community
Graham Harvey, Hope Church, Dawlish
The Very Rev’d Joe Hawes, St Edmundsbury Cathedral
Rachael Hawkins, All Saints’ Church, Berkhamsted
Rev Dr Graham Hawley, The Ridge methodist Church Marple
David Hawtin, Wakefield Cathedral
Linda Hayes, Freemantle Baptist Church
Philip Hayllar, Sacred Heart & St Peter the Apostle Waterlooville
Maureen Hazelwood, St Francis of Assisi Kenilworth
Richard Heard, St Francis Church
Nick Heaton, St. David’s Holmbridge
Joanna Hellenbrand, Eastwood Baptist Church
Elfriede Elisabeth Helliar, Dorridge Methodist
Terry Hemming, Church of England
Julian Hemmings, St Francis of Assisi, Rhayader
Terry Henry, Fountains Church Bradford
Rosemary Henry, Cairneyhill Parish Church
Graham Hepburn, Canada Common Methodist Church, Wellow, Hampshire
Paul Heppleston, Wellspring Wirksworth
David Hepworth, Adwick-le-Street Methodist Church
Ali Herbert, St Luke’s Gas Street
Lynsey Heslegrave, New Growth Ministry (Baptist)
Tom Hibbert, St John’s Buxton
Christine Hide, Daventry Methodist Church
Helen Higgin-Botham, Christ Church (Methodist & United Reformed Church)
Anne Higginbotham, Trinity Hillsborough
Robin Hill, Gladsmuir linked with Longniddry
Brenda Hill, Central United Reformed Church Sheffield
Revd Jonnie Hill, Greater Manchester South & Cheshire Missional Partnership
Jonathan Hill, St Martins Hull
K. Hilton-Turvey, S. Michael’s Ledbury & S. John’s Eastnor
Sheila Himsworth, Evesham Methodist Church
Evelyn Ho, Stratford. Upon Avon Methodist
Lim Ho, Stratford upon Avon Methodist
David Hoadley, Avenue St Andrews URC, Southampton
Elise Hoadley, C3 Cheltenham
Gary Hodgson, St Christopher’s Church, Holme Wood
Derek Holl, Jubilee Church, Bromley
Jim Hollyman, The United Reformed Church of St Andrew and St George, Bolton
Linda Hood, Shrivenham Methodist Church
Roger Hook, Christchurch Harpenden
Alison Hooper, Redland Park URC
Eileen Hope, Trinity Methodist Skipton
Alex Houghton, Chorley Quaker Meeting
Kathleen Houston, Roman Catholic
Fleur Houston, United Reformed Church
Hilary Howarth, The Triangle Community Methodist Church
David Howe, Heanor Baptist Church
Andrew Howell, Church of England and CEO of End Hunger Cornwall
John M Hoyle, Nene Valley Methodist
Timothy Huc, United Reformed
Elizabeth Hudson, Waltham Methodist
Tim Hughes, Gas Street Church
Edwin Hughes, Barry Parish Church
Sara Hughes, St. Peter’s & St. Paul’s Church, Bleadon
Rob Hughes, West Mersea Free Church
Natalie Hughes, Church From Scratch
Peter Hughes
Gavin Hume, St Andrew’s Methodist/URC Church, West Moor Methodist Church, Coxlodge
Methodist Church
Margaret Hunt, Cottingham Methodist
Bev Hunt, St Michael and All Angels
Gavin Hunter, Stoneleigh Baptist
Graham Hunter, St John’s Hoxton
Ronald Hunter, Methodist Church
Walter Hurfurt, Ashbourne Methodist
Jason Hurr, Hayle Methodist Church
Lesley Husselbee, Chorlton Central Church, Manchester
Joanne Hustwick, United Benefice of Birchencliffe and Birkby: St Cuthbert
James Hutchings, St Mary’s Church, Barnes
Philip Hyne, Cinderford Methodist Church
Hamilton Inbadas, St John’s Forres
Carl Irvine, Inverurie St. Andrew’s Parish Church
Samuel Jackson, Paisley Methodist Church
Annette James, Christ Church, Toxteth Park
Patricia James, St Andrews Thornton Heath
Amelia Janes, St Mary’s Church
Philip Janvier, St Stephens Parish Church
Karen Jardine, Thomas Helwys Baptist Church
Barbara Jeffery, Institute of Our Lady of Mercy
Anne Jeffrey, The Methodist Church in Consett, County Durham
Sophie Jelley, Bishop of Doncaster, Diocese of Sheffield,
Helen Jenkins, Strathclyde Methodist Circuit
David Jenkins, Caversham
Rebecca Jenkins, Christchurch Baldock
Andrew John, Senior Bishop, Church in Wales
Rose Johnson, St Marks Church Chester
Nina Johnson, The Square Methodist Church & Harlington Methodist Church
Neil Johnson, Birmingham Methodist Circuit
Nick Johnson, Long Lane Church, LIverpool
Judith Johnson, All Saints Harworth
Ian Johnson, Northallerton Methodist CHurch
Shirley-Anne Johnston, Found church
Ashleen Johnston, ChristChurch Primacy Bangor
Andy Jolley, Archdeacon of Bradford
Derek Jones, All Saints and St. Oswald’s, Bradford
Stephen Jones, Helston Baptist
Keith Jones, Shipley Baptist Church
Mark Jones, Padiham Parish
Janet Jones, St Paul’s with St John’s URC
Kenneth Jones, Seedfield Methodist Church, Bury
Nicholas Jones, Heswall United Reformed Church
Gareth Jones, St Andrew’s Psalter Lane & Highfield Trinity, Sheffield
Daphne Jones, Christ Church Methodist Addiscombe Croydon
Margaret Jones, St Paul’s Sale
Lesley Jones, The Parish of Jarrow and Simonside
Brian Jones, Methodist Church
Mary Jones, Methodist Church
Richard Jones, Methodist Church, South Worcestershire Circuit
Heulwen Jones, Eglwys Dewi Sant, Cardiff
Pauline Jones, Christ Churchparishoner
Fr Allan Jones, CRIC, Our Lady of Charity & St Augustine
Mike Jourdain, Brighton & Hove CIty Mission
Nick Jowett, St Aidan Sheffield Manor
Carol Joy, Bournemouth Methodist Church
Colette Joyce, Diocese of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission
Gordon Joyce, St Stephens, Bury, Lancs
Joe Kavanagh, Mearns Kirk
Jonathan Kear, Forest New Life Church
Sue Keegan von Allmen, Chandler’s Ford Methodist Church
Sam Keen, Oasis Church Swansea
Julian Keen, Bicester Methodist church
Melvyn Kelly, Methodist Church
Michael Kennelly, Park Road Baptist Church Peterborough
David Kent, St Paul, Armitage Bridge. Huddersfield
Pamela Kent, Emmanuel benefice
Duncan Keys, Friars Baptist Church
Richard Kidd, Baptist Union of Great Britain
Chris Kilby, Life Church Southampton
Christopher Kimbangi, Hope Church Guildford
peter kimber, Muff Field wr Church
Andrew Kimmitt, Aberlour Parish Church
Cathy King, City Hope Church
Jo King, Holy Cross North Bersted
Mark King, Mosaic Church Bangor
Tom King, Bridge Community Church
Carolyn King, Westbury Leigh & Stormore Baptist Church
Simon Kirby, St Mary’s Cogges
Ian Kirby, The United Reformed Church
Julie Kirby, The United Reformed Church and United Welsh Independant Church
Ian Kirby, United Reformed Church
Belinda Kirby, St Michael-in-Lewes
Ann Kirk, Arnold URC
Neil Kirkham, Acting as individual
Betty Anne Kirkham, The Triangle Community Methodist Church
James Kissack, The United Reformed Church Yorkshire Synod
Andrew Kleissner, Christchurch United Church, Llanedeyrn
Rachael Knapp, Diocese of Rochester
Jacquie Knight, Love Church Bournemouth
Jackie Knott, Victoria Park Baptist Church
Karen Kowlessar, Arun Community Church
Sadie Krishnathasan, Freedom Church Liverpool
David Kruczek, Grace Church Bolton
Antonia Lacey, Catholic Church
Laurene Lafontaine, Kingswells Parish Church
Dr Pieter Lalleman, Knaphill Baptist Church
Freda Lambert, National Board of Catholic Women
Bernard Lane, Rockbeare parish church
Trudie Lane, Woodlands
Patricia Lawrence, All Saints, Streetly
Andrew Lawrence, Harvest Church
Linda Lawson, Trinity Methodist Church
David Lawton, Lincoln Circuit
Christina Le Moignan, Methodist Church
Jane Leach, Catholic Church
Nick Lear, Mutley Baptist Church
Rachel Leather, Bishops Cleeve Methodist Church
Simon Lee, Northchurch Baptist Church
John Lee, Thatcham United Reformed Church
Matthew Lee, Melbourne Methodist
Graham Lee, Ruislip Manor Methodist Church
Peter Leech, Our Lady of the Assumption
June Leeming, Brandlesholme Methodist Church, Bury
Stephen Lees, St Margaret’s
Sarah Leeson, Emmanuel United Reformed/Methodist Church
Danielle Leigh, Stafford Baptist Church
Clare Leighton, Parish of girlington, Heaton and manningham
Pamela Lerwill, Bradmore Methodist Church
Joanna Levasier, Burpham Church
Ann Lewin, Swaythling Parish Southampton
Tim Lewis, Mowbray Community Church
Michael Lewis
Brian Lewis, Oakham Methodist Church
Bethany Lewis, St John the Baptist Belmont
Sue Liddell, Saxmundham URC
Malcolm Lindo, Felpham Methodist
John Lindsay, Antrim Elim
Jane Linley, Our Lady of Kirkstall
Andy Littlejohns, Chorley URC
Trevor Lloyd, Community Church Huddersfield
Sarah Lock, St Edmundsbury & Ipswich Dioces Cursillo
Diane Locke
Jennifer Lockwood, Lanner Methodist
Trevor Lockwood, Emmanuel URC/Methodist Church Redditch
elaine Loe, Ross Baptist Church
Michael Long, Notting Hill Methodist Church
David Longe, The Matlaske Benefice
Jennifer Low, St. Stephen’s Southmead Bristol
Sheilah Lowe, Trinity Harrow
Andy Lowe, Hove Methodist Church
Colin Lowther, Holy Trinity Huddersfield
Julie Loxley, Victoria Park Baptist Church
Iain Luke, Tyne Valley Parish
Phillip Lund, St Andrew’s Penrith
Laurel Luscombe, Woodfalls Methodist Church
Philip Luscombe, Woodfalls Methodist Church
Peter Lyndon, City Church, Bristol
Elizabeth Lynn, Axminster Methodist church
Laura MacBean, West Wickham Methodist Church
Matt MacDiarmid, Hope Community Church, Wigston
Monica MacDonald, Slamannan Parish Church
Irene MacGregor, Gillespie
Craig Mackay, Grosvenor Church Bideford
Amanda MacQuarrie, Bo’ness Old Kirk
Rod MacRorie, Bearwood Baptist Church
Marilyn Mahon, Trinity Church
Robert Mahy, Saltash Wesley Methodist Church
Pauline Main, Summertown, Marston and Wheatley United Reformed Churches
David Malcolm, Thurso St Peters & St Andrew’s
Maria Malson, St Osmond’s
Phil Maltby, City Church Preston
Neil Maltman, Unity Church Orpington
Terry Mansfield, Hollins Lane Methodist Church
Margaret Mansfield, Hollins Lane Methodist Church
Stephen Mares, Methodist Church
Kelvin Marsh, Hope Church Harrogate
Revd John Marsh, Former Moderator of the General Assembly, United Reformed Church
John Marsh, Former Moderator of the General Assembly, United Reformed Church
Alison Marshall, St Peters Macclesfield
Hanneke Marshall, St Machar’s Ranfurly Church
Roger Martin, Lindsay Park Baptist Church
Malcolm Martin, Brockley Baptist Church
Laura Martin, St John’s Church
Jill Martin, Overend Methodist Mission
Paul Martin, Bolton Methodist Mission
Nicola Martyn-Beck, Milton Keynes Methodist Circuit
Linda Maslen, Fountains Church Bradford
Hugh Mathie, Stirling Baptist
Dyfed Matthews, Baptist Old Colwyn
Joanne Maude, River City Hull
Larry Maurice, Sonrise Church, Hastings
Robert Mawer, Shrivenham Methodist Church
Ross Maynard, South Street Baptist Church
Noel Mc Garrigle, All Saints Rainford
Scott McCarthy, Garthamlock and Craigend Parish Church
Ann McCool, Johnstone: High, Church of Scotland
Mary McCullough, Sacred Heart and St Cuthbert
Emma McDonald, St David’s High Kirk
Kate McFarlane, St Bartholomew’s Benefice
John McGarrigle, St peter and Saint Paul’s Great Casterton
Stephen McGarva, Wigtown Baptist Church
Liz McGibbon, Cobham United
Barbara Mcintivey, Hounslow Methodist Church
Gregor McIntyre, Faifley Parish Church
Elspeth McKay, Cumbernauld Old Parish Church
Edward Mckenna, South St Nucholas Church
Jean Mckenna, Leyland Road Methodist Church
Shirley McKenzie, The Salvation Army Darlington
Andrew Mclelland, Fullarton Parish Church Irvine, Ayrshire
Rev. Jacqeline Mcleod, Living Word Christian Fellowship
Caroline McLoughlin, Cairneyhill Parish Church
James McNaughtan, St Marnock’s
Thomas McNeil, Calderwood Baptist Church
Emma McPhail, Gosport Waterfront Baptist Church
Alison McQueen, City United Reformed Church, Cardiff
Gordon McQuoid, C3 Church Cheltenham
Debra McQuoid, C3 Church Cheltenham
Margaret McShane, St Patrick’s
Trev Meardon, St Mary’s Church Pype Hayes
Paula Medd, St. Colman’s R.C. Cosham, Portsmouth
Mary Paula Medd, St. Colman’s Cosham Portsmouth
Helen Mellor, Charlestown URC
Howard Mellor, Wesley Methodist, Winchester
Christopher Mellor, Elmwood Church
Joel Mercer, Whitley Bay Baptist Church
Henry C Merriweather, Bolton Villas Family Church
Hannah Metcalf, Heaton Methodist Church
Toni Miles, Christ Church Bridlington Network
Emma Miles, Christ Church
Greville Mills, Nexus Methodist Church, Bath
Jennifer Mills-Knutsen, American International Church
Daniel Milne, Gateway Church
Penny Milsom, Downing Place URC
Gail Minter, St Matthew’s Ipswich
Suzanna Mitchell, Reading Family Church
Ellen Monk Winstanley, Midge Hall Methodist Church
Hannah Montgomery, Lighthouse Central
Geoff Moore, St Brandon’s, Brancepeth, Durham
Sarah Moore, The United Reformed Church National Synod of Scotland
Lindy Morgan, St John’s Pontyberem
Gareth Morgan, St Aidan with All Saints Speke
Gill Morgan, Grove Lane Baptist Church Cheadle Hulme
Andrew Morrice, Dunfermline East
Rosemary Morris, St Mary’s, Bury St Edmunds
Ian Morris, Ilford High Road Baptist Church
Laura Morris, Mosaic Bangor
Ruth Morrison, St Mary’s Parish Church, Kirkintilloch
Paul Morrison, Putney Methodist Church
Alan Morton, GoChurch Manchester
Malcolm Moss, Stourbridge Street Pastors
Rachel Muers, Society of Friends (Quakers)
Maura Mullen, Sister
Anne Mulligan, Mayfield Salisbury
Peter Mulrooney, Dodworth Methodist Church
Andrew Mumford, Falmouth & Gwennap Methodist Circuit
Alan Munday, Stalybridge Methodist
Deirdre Munro, Christ Church East Sheen
Christine Murdoch, Craigrownie Parish Church of Scotland
Ros Murphy, Kineton Methodist Church
Chris Myers, Rugby Quaker Meeting
Liz Mylon, King’s Church Heathfield
RitaLynn Mynett, Sandbach Baptist Church
Graham Nash, Cambusbarron: The Bruce Memorial, Church of Scotland
Geoffrey Naylor, Discovery Church Swindon
Jim Neal, Holy Trinity Church, Penrhyndeudraeth
Michael Neal, Barnsley Methodist Circuit
Cezar Neculai
James Needham, Methodist Church, Alsager
Janis Neil, Rutherglen Stonelaw Church
Alan Nelson, New Life Church, Woking
Martyn Newman, Liverpool City Centre Methodist Church
Joyce Newton, St James the Great Hebden Bridge
Selina Nisbett, Trinity and All Saints Abingdon
Matthew Noden, Saint Luke’s
Gary Noonan, Houston and a Killellan Kirk
Peter Normington, Torrisholme Methodist Church
Philip Nott, St Barnabas
John Nugent, Church of Scotland
Fr Thomas O’Brien a.a., Our Lady Immaculate and St Andrew
Peter O’Halloran, Belfast City Vineyard
John O’Melia, Our Lady’s Belper
Rosalind O’Melia, Our Lady’s Belper
Sara O’Shea, Croxley Green Baptist
Hazel O’Sullivan, St Francis and St Mary, West Wickham
Charles Chijioke Oham, All Nations Church RCCG
Gabriel Ojo, Covenant of Peace Assemblies, Manchester
Judith Oldroyd, Talbot Rd Methodist Church
Ivan Oliver, The Salvation Army
Pat Oliver, Avenue St Andrews Southampton
Marian Olsen, Cleckheaton Methodist Church at St Andrew’s Methodist Church, Liversedge
Steve Openshaw, Christ Church Walshaw
Anthony Oram, Cottesmore Benefice – Peterborough Diocese
Chris Orange, St Mary Magdalene’s Maltby
Andrew Ovens, St Andrews
Colin Oxenforth, Christ Church, Waterloo
Simon Oxley, Centre for Theology and Justice
Rebecca Packer, Trinity Church Cheadle
Juliana Packer, Trinity Church Cheadle
James Packman, Holy Trinity Nailsea
Nelson Pallister, Christ Church, Orpington
Avis Palmer, Kelsall Methodist
Ben Parish, Lowestoft Community Church
Ian Parker, Lamplugh, Kirkland and Emmerdale LEP
Julia Parkes, Hall Green United Community Church
Sarah Parkin, Bramhall Methodist Church
Rachel Parkinson, Wolverhampton & Shrewsbury District, Methodist Church
Josephine Parkinson, Generations Church
Ruth Parrott, Methodist Women in Britain
Jon Parsons, Buxton Church in the Peak
Hazel Parsons, Halberton Methodist Church
Ian Parsons, Sandbach Baptist Church
Guy Partridge, Freedom Church Bexhill
Linda Paterson, Orchard Baptist church
Raj Patta, United Stockport Circuit
Helen Pattison, Cobham United Church
Will Pearce, King’s Church Leicester
Arnold Pease, Grove Lane Baptist Church
Alyson Peberdy, St Michael and All Angels, Summertown
David Peel, Former Moderator of the General Assembly, United Reformed Church
John Peet, Airedale Methoidst Circuit
Mark Pengelly, Trinity Methodist, Chelmsford
Diana Penny, St Clements, Outwell
Tim Perkins, Wharfedale & Aireborough Methodist Circuit
Elizabeth Perrott, St Davids. Tywyn
Kathleen Perry, Wolsingham Methodist
Susan Pestell, The Benefice of the Guitings, Farmcote, Cutsdean, Upper and Lower Slaughter
with Eyford and Naunton
Jo Pestell, St Catharine’s Gloucester
Teri Peterson, St John’s
Ian Phillips, Crawley Baptist Church
Joff Phipps, All Saints Highertown
Frank Picken, Torrisholme Methodist Church
Al Pickering, King’s Church Lewes
Melanie Pike, Bromley Baptist Church
Darren Pike, Bromley Baptist Church
Gill Pilkington, Seedfield
Enid Pinch, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
David Pitkeathly, Dorking Christian Centre
Marysia Placzek, St Francis of Assissi
Damian Platt, Christ Church Thornton
Heather Pocock, Kerith Community Church
Matthew Pollard, Bridlington Priory
Keith Poltock, St Peter’s Jessopp Road Church
Richard Poole, St. Andrew’s Church, Furnace Green, Crawley
Iain Pope, Totterdown Baptist Church
Andrew Popplewell, Cedar Tree Church
Stephen potts, Auchaber United Church linked with Auchterless Church
Joyce Powell, Droitwich Methodist
Robert Powell, Drioitwich Methodist
Andrew Pratt, Methodists
Tim Presswood, North Western Baptist Association
Oliver Preston, Christ Church Bridlington
Adam Price, St Aidan’s, Ernesettle
Andres Price, St Michael ‘s Church, Edinburgh
David Price, Stroat Church
Ann Price, St Paul’s
Andrea Price, St Michael’s Church
Rhiannon Price, Tabernacl.Efail Isaf.Pontypridd South Wales
Viv Prior, City Valley Church
Adrian Prior-Sankey, Taunton Team Chaplaincy
Adella Pritchard, Uniting Church Sketty
Joe Pritchard, St Mary’s, Walkley, Sheffield
Barry Probin, New Central Methodist Church, Blackpool
Marc Prowe, Invergowrie Parish Church and Carse Churches
Fr Michael Puljic, Sacred Heart, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
Tom Putt, Burford Church
Andrew Radford, St HIlda’s, Hunts Cross, Liverpool
Simone Ramacci, Wivenhoe Congregational Church
Charles Ramsay, Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, Dolgellau
James Ramsay, All Saints, Briston
Sophia Ramsay, Wave Church
Viv Randles, Shrewsbury United Reformed Church
Michael Ranyard, St. Martin’s Church
Margaret Raw, Chorlton Central Manchester
Richard Reakes, St Andrew’s, Countesthorpe
Graham Reardon, Church of England, North Hartismere, Suffolk
Joseph Redhead, Alvechurch baptist church
Monika Redman, Urray and Kilchrist Church of Scotland
Andy Rees, Surrey Chapel
Jonathan Regan, St Peter and St Paul
Dave Rendle
Revd Emily Reynolds, St John’s, Pleck and Bescot
Mike Reynolds, St. William of York, Sheffield
Carolyn Rice, St Giles Church Desborough
Philip Rice, St Giles Church Desborough
Jane Richards, St Andrew’s and Holy Cross
Sam Richards, United Reformed Church
John Richardson, St Oswald’s, Guiseley
Bethan Richardson, Llan
Stuart Richardson, Cramond Kirk
Keith Richardson, Christ church methodist congregation nelson
Philip Ritchie, St Mary and St John, Cowley
Margaret Roberts, St Davids with St Michaels Mt Dinham, Exeter
Ishbel Robertson, Dumbarton Riverside
Evelyn Robertson, Springfield Cambridge Church
Andrew Robertson, Duns and District Parish
John Robinshaw, Dearnley Methodist Church
Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, London
Victor Rones, Church of England Bracknell
Andrew Rooney, Kirkmuirhill Parish Church
Patrick Rooney, St Wilfrids Preston
Andrew Rose, Avenue Methodist Church Newton Abbot
Eileen Ross, Linwood Parish Church of Scotland
Sarah Ross, Moncreiff Parish Church of Scotland
Graeme Ross, Eastern Baptist Association
Kirsten Rosslyn-Smith, St Peters Shared church stoke Hill Guildford
Anne Roussel, Cambridge Rd Methodist Church Birmingham
Rose Rowe, St John the Baptist
Christopher Rowe, Glasgow: Colston Milton
Sharon Rowe, Ponsanooth
Susan Rowe, Methodist church
David Roy, Adelaide Place Baptist Church
Celia Royce, Mull and Iona Quakers
Phil Rudd, Emmanuel
Christopher Rushton, Clayton Gospel Hall
Hilary Russell, Church of England, Chair Feeling Liverpool
Ian Russell, Torphichen Parish Church of Scotland
Judy Russell, The Mint
Ian Rutherford, Methodist Central Hall, Manchester
Michael Ryall, Bridge Community Church
Craig Ryalls, St Paul’s Church, Salisbury
Gary Ryan, Surrey Chapel
Margaret Ryan, Metropolitan Cathedral
Paul Salaman, Probus parish church
Vaughan Salisbury, Eglwys Unedig Seion
Lynda Salmon, St Everilda’s
Philip Saltmarsh, St Aidan with All Saints Speke
Lindsey Sanderson, United Reformed Church
Eileen Sanderson, Methodist Church
Pete Sandford, St Paul’s, Norton Lees, Sheffield
Rob Saner-Haigh, Diocese of Newcastle
Andrew Sarle, Falkirk: Bainsford
Irim Sarwar, St Michael and All Angels, Summertown, Oxford
Howard Satterthwaite, Westminster Chapel
Mary Saunders, St Peter’s
Janet Scott, Barry Parish Church of Scotland
Joanna Seabourne, St George’s Church, Leeds
Kathy Selby, Bury Methodist Circuit
Giles Semper, St Paul’s Lorrimore Square
Norman Shanks, Wellington, Glasgow
Malcolm Shapland, United Reformed Church
Stuart Sharp, Killearn Kirk
Naomi Sharp, Badminton Road and Winterbourne Down Methodist Churches
Jim Sharp, Beverley Toll Gavel United Church
Anita Shaw, Strathclyde Methodist Circuit
Ruth Shaw, St. Paul, Astley Bridge, Bolton
Alison Shaw, Coast and Country Mission Community
Matt Sheard, Bede Methodist Circuit
Anne Shearer, Alva Parish Church
Peter Shears, St. Anne’s Lewes
Lorraine Shorten, Hall Green United Community Church
Lorraine Shorten, Leominster Moravian Church
Bryan Shutt, Covenant Life Church Leicester
Daniel Sibthorpe, Living Waters Church Clevedon
Robert Silver, Croftfoot parish
Andrew Simpson, St Orans and Dunbeg
Diane Simpson, Killamarsh Methodist Church
Nick Sissons, The Methodist Church
Jack Skett, Dewsbury Elim Church
Stephen Skuce, Methodist Church in Ireland
David Sleet, Haxby & Wigginton Methodist Church
Joe Smith, St Oswald’s, Bidston
Fiona Smith, Ness Bank Church Inverness
Norman Smith, Granton Parish Church
Pamela Smith, Abbots Road URC, Leicester
Mary Smith, Seedfield Methodist Church
Susan Smith, St Marys
Josie Smith, Chorlton Central Church
Valerie Smith, St Margaret’s Ilkley
Lesley Smith, Congleton Parish
Timothy Smith, Gainsborough Methodist Church
Roger Smith, Guiseley Methodist Church
Melanie Smith, Enfield United Reformed Churches
Janet Smith, St Johns Methodist church Llandudno
Janet Smith, Grove Lane Baptist
Jeffrey Smith, Easington Methodist
Patricia Smith, St James
Lillian Smith, Grove Lane Baptist
John Smith, St Bridgets West Kirby
Ann Smith, Muswell Hill Methodist Church
Sarah Smith, Stonehaven Carronside Parish Church
Dean Snuggs, C3 Cheltenham
Derek Softley, Prenton Methodist
Martine Somerville, St Michael-le-Belfrey
David Somerville, Seedfield Methodist Church
Alan Sorensen, Wellpark Mid Kirk
Margaret Sparkes, Buchlyvie Church of Scotland
Lynne Sparkes, St Mary’s Pickersleigh
David Speed, Methodist Church
Elisabeth Spence, Hopefield
Jenny Spouge, South Bedfordshire Methodist Circuit
Roy Squires, New Life Church @ The Mission
Ian Stackhouse, Millmead, Guildford Baptist Church
David Stanfield, First Presbyterian Church Bangor
Lin Stanton, Wisbech Baptist Church
William Habib Steele, New Life Christian Reformed Church, Guenph, ON, Canada
John Steele, Wigginton
Lindsey Steele, New Earswick Quakers
Basil Stephens, St Agnes West Kirby
Martin Stephens, Macclesfield Team Ministry
Rob Stevens, Bookham Baptist Church
Alistair Stewart, Sandbach Baptist Church
Gill Still, Stoke Gabriel Parish Church
Patricia Stoat, St Barbabas Cathedral Nottingham and Chair of Justice & Peace Commission,
Diocese of Nottingham
Brian Stocks, Methodist Curch
Kenneth Stokes, Cholton Methodist Church
Kenneth Stokes, Manley Park Methodist Church
Deacon Bob Stoner, Strathclyde Methodist Churches
Christine Stones, Victoria Methodist Church Bristol
Anne Stott, Perth Riverside, Bertha Park
Kenneth Stott, Perth North
Debra Stoute, Rayners Lane Baptist Church
Mark Strange, Scottish Episcopal Church
Neil Stubbens, The Methodist Church
Roger Sturrock, Wellington Church of Scotland
Frank Sudlow, Our Lady of Lourdes
Matt Summerfield, Zeo Church
Robb Sutherland, Holy Nativity Church Mixenden and Illingworth
Elsie Sutherland, Forest Hill Methodist church
Susan Sutherland, Aberdeen North Parish Church
Rev’d Jon Swales, Lighthouse West Yorkshire
Alan Swann, Lincoln Methodist Corcuit
Sue Swires, Mottram St Andrew
Katie Symons, Grosvenor Church Bideford
Dave Symons, Grosvenor Church Bideford
Tina Tabrah, All Saints Church
Reverend Margaret Tait, Trinity Methodist/URC MassieStreet Cheadle Cheshire
Adrian Tape, St David’s
Mathew Tapusoa, GoChurch Bradford
Tony Taylor, Bishop Auckland Baptist
Terry Taylor, East Kilbride South Parish Churxh
Steve Taylor, St James, Alperton
Anthony Taylor, Grace Church Thame
Mary Taylor, Wakefield Baptist Church
Simon Taylor, Oakwood Church
Ann Taylor, St James, St Andrews
James Teasdale, Glasgow: Eastwood
John Temple, Desborough Baptist Church
Helen Texidor, Effingham Methodist Chapel
Tim Thomas, St John’s Bowling
Gerwyn Thomas, Peniel Church Glynneath
Sally Thomas, St Paul’s United Reformed Church, Bayswater and Kensington United Reformed
Church
Mark Thomas, Lancaster Methodist Church
Maria Thompson, Holy Infant and St Anthony
David Thompson, Former Moderator of the General Assembly, United Reformed Church
John Thompson, Hopsital Chaplain
Stephen Thompson, Antrim Methodist
Sam Thompson, Hamilton Road Presbyterian Church
Nigel Thompson, Bury Christian Fellowship
Lesley Thomson, The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
John Thomson, Bishop of Selby, Diocese of York
Celia Thomson, Gloucester Cathedral
Susan Thorne, Hamsterley Methodist Church
Maggie Thorne, The Benefice of Coity, Nolton and Brackla with Coychurch
Joanne Thorns, North East Churches Acting Together
Rev Sally Thornton, Whitefield Methodist Church
Miriam Thurlow, Christ Church Bridlington Network
Stella Tidmarsh, Shrivenham Methodist
David Tillson, Sacred Heart
Ivor Timson, Ive
Chris Tinker, Cornerstone Church, Brighouse
Steve Tinning, Leigh Road Baptist Church
Kenneth Tomlinson, Greenbrook methodist
Ben Topham, St George’s Chruch, Stamford
Rich Townend, Emmanuel Church, Bridlington
Mark Triggs, Bridgnorth Baptist Church
Margaret Tuck, St Lawrence Church
Wendy Tucker, Gloucestershire Methodist Circuit Cirencester, Fairford and South Cerney
Churches
Adrian Tuckwell, St Anne RC Church
Alyson Tunstall, St Michaels Garston
Tim Turner, Beacon Evangelical Church
Jean Turner, Little neston methodist
Rebecca Turner, Millhouses Methodist Church
Anna Twomlow, Hinde Street Methodist
Rose Uitterdijk, Ellesmere Port Community Ministry
Habte Ukbay, St William of York catholic Church/ Forest Hill
Brenda Veitch, Stansted Free Church
Tim Vellacott, Holland Road Baptist Church
Mike Veric, Serbian Orthodox, Donnington, Telford
Janet Vidler, Community Church Robertsbridge
Mark Visser, Grace Vineyard Purley
Liz Vizard, South Street Baptist Church Exeter
Andy Wadsworth, All Saints Trull
Catherine Wagstaff, River Methodist Church
Stephen Walker, Holland Road Baptist Churchb
Alison Walker, Canton Uniting Church
Sarah Walker, Kerith Community Church
Linda Walker, Newlands South
Joe Walker, St Cuthmans Whitehawk
Alison Walker, Cambridge Methodist Circuit
Jim Wallace (Lord Wallace of Tankerness), Church of Scotland General Assembly
Elaine Walters, Christ Church At Andrews
Philip Ward, Jubilee
Martin Ward, Durham Vineyard
Susan Ward, Portsmouth Anglican Cathedral
Lesley Ward, St Mark’s Methodist Church, Cheltenham
Jane Warhurst, St John the Baptist, Irlam
Rev. Rachael Warnock, Emmanuel group of churches
Deborah Warren, Fountains
Keith Warrender, King’sway Church
Ben Warrender, Coastal Community Church
Nick Waterfield, Share Ministry – Parson Cross Sheffield
Nick Watson, Deanery of Manchester South and Stretford
George Watt, Thames North Synod, United Reformed Church
Alan Watt, Church of Scotland
David Watters, St Nicolas Downderry
Gordon Webb, Great Glen Methodist Church
Tim Webber, St Mary’s Hawkshaw
Clare Weiner, St Michael’s Summertown Oxford ex St Margaret’s Oxford
Edmund Weiner, St Michael and All Angels Oxford
Martin Wellings, Barnet & Queensbury Methodist Circuit
Chris West, Rock Methodist
Margaret Westbrook, Manley Park Methodist Church
Helen Whitall, Belmont
John White, Christ Church URC, Clacton -on- Sea
Meryl White, United Reformed Church
Mark White, Our Lady of the Sacred Hear, Herne Bay
Richard White, St Michael & All Angels, Twerton you
Sophia White, Cornerstone Church Bridlington
Simon White, St John the Baptist Tideswell
Anne White, Falkirk Grahamston United
Eileen Whitehorn, Ridgeway Community Church
Ann Whitfield, St Ann’s Deepcar
Joan Whitfield, Silsden Methodist
Diane Whittaker, The Astwell Benefice
John Whittle, Trinity Church Knebworth
Christine Whitworth, The King’s Way. Ossett
Norman Whyte, Ayton and District Churches
Maggie Whyte, Aberdeen St Stephen’s Parish Church
Caroline Wickens, Manchester Circuit, The Methodist Church
Caroline Wickens, Manchester Circuit, The Methodist Church
Carol Wignell, Trinity @ Renishaw Methodist
Hannah Wijetunge, Christchurch Baldock
John Wilkins, Minny Street Chapel, Cardiff
Paul Wilkinson, The Fountain of Life Network Church
Mark Willett, King’s Church Penwortham
Jeniffer Williams, Christ Church Bridlington
Nick Williams, Christ Church Guildford
Jeff Williams, Plough Aberhonddu
Paul Williams, New Life Community Church – Fordingbridge
Virginia Williams, St Thomas’ Stourbridge
Hugh Williams, St Thomas’s Stourbridge
Denise Williamson, Thirsk and Northallerton Methodist Church Circuit.
Katy Willis, Christchurch W4
Anthea Willis, Cobham United Church
Wendy Willoughby-Paul, Hermitage Team
Delyth Wilson, St Lleian’s Church Gorslas
Diane Wilson, St Matthews
Rachael Wilson, The Methodist Church, Upper Thames Circuit
Jane Wilson, Keynsham Methodist Church
Andrew Wilson-Dickson, Canton Uniting Church
David Winstanley, Peasedown St John Methodist Church
David Winwood, Methodist Church
Lesley Wishart, United Church Cobham
Jane Witts, Seaford Life Church
Louise Woodcock, St. James URC, Buckhurst Hill.
Rachel Woodcraft, Kings Church Kingston
Simon Woodman, Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church
Anthony Woods, Durham Quakers
Christine Wooley, Catalyst vineyard ellon
Peter Woolway, South Street Baptist Exeter
Revd Ian Worsfold, The Methodist Church
Paul Worsnop, Windy Nook Methodist Church
Sam Wright, Lisburn Cathedral
Toby Wright, Benefice of Witney
Revd. Fabian Wuyts, St James, Taunton
Dan Yarnell, Redditch Church of Christ
Kate Yates, Trinity URC
James Yeates, St Gabriel’s, Cricklewood
Stephen Yelland, Methodist Church
David Young, Hemel Hempstead Community Church
Vivienne Ruth Young, Billingham Team Parish
Emily Young, Sutton Park Methodist Circuit
Richard Young, Holy Innocents, Fallowfield
David Young, Grove Lane Baptist Church, Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
Naomi Young-Rodas, Christ Church United Reformed Church, Rayleigh
Agnes Ziebarth, St. Matthew’s
Lucy Zwolinska, Methodist Church

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Just Worship review

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6 places, 41 people: Some of the UK’s unheard election voices

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Wythenshawe voices: It’s wonderful – but austerity NEEDS to end

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A church with people at the margins

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Weed it and reap: why so many Pantries are adding gardens

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Epsom voices: It’s a lovely place – but many feel excluded

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In this guest post, Bryn Lauder of the JustMoney Movement explores the connections between poverty and tax justice.

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Thank you Pat! 40 years of compassionate action

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This Neighbourhood Voices story comes from West Yorkshire We’re in Halifax. Queen’s Road to be precise – in a former betting shop that is now …

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The UK doesn’t want demonising rhetoric – it wants to end poverty

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Sheffield Civic Breakfast: leaders told about mounting pressures of poverty

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Artists perform for change in Manchester

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Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield: annual report 2023-24

God never intended for one group of people to live in superfluous inordinate wealth, while others live in abject deadening poverty. ———— Revd Dr Martin Luther King ———— …

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Church Action on Poverty North East annual report 2022-24

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Ruth Lister's book challenges the UK’s approach to poverty, and highlights the work of several of Church Action on Poverty’s partners.

Baroness Ruth Lister is a member of the House of Lords, the honorary elected president of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), and a Professor of Social Policy at Loughborough University. Poverty links to academic research and anti-poverty campaigners’ views on the concept of poverty. The second edition uses updated research and puts a renewed emphasis on the importance of participatory research, involving ‘experts by experience’. Poverty attempts to widen public understanding of poverty and therefore will not be new to campaigners. Lister’s arguments link heavily with Church Action on Poverty’s strategy of Dignity, Agency, and Power.

In the 2020s, poverty is more salient an issue than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic looms large throughout Poverty. Lister argues that focused definitions of poverty affect political policies but asserts that poverty shouldn’t be “reduced to statistics”. She emphasises that poverty should not only be seen as insecurity but as a “corrosive social relation” that permeates the experiences of those experiencing it. Lister analyses the non-material aspects of poverty and argues passionately for:

The need to treat those living-in poverty with dignity and respect
The recognition of agency within the experience of poverty
The importance of reframing the dominant narrative of poverty in terms of power and citizenship.

Ultimately, Poverty calls for the recognition and respect of the viewpoints of those impacted by poverty and a rethink of the politics of poverty in order to redistribute resources more fairly.

Church Action on Poverty’s work is centred upon the ideas of dignity, agency and power, and the book reinforces the importance of all of these.

Dignity

Lister hypothesises that how poverty is seen and experienced is created by a power dynamic within a society where the majority ‘non-poor’ decides the attitudes towards ‘the poor’. ‘The poor’ are created as ‘the other’ through language and images that “label and stigmatise marginalised social groups, with fundamental implications.” The main one being that they are treated differently to the rest of society. The best example of this is the 2014 Channel 4 show Benefits Street, which was criticised for reinforcing negative stigmas of claiming benefits.

The stigma of poverty causes social shame and leads those in poverty to feel disrespected. Participatory research in the UK and internationally has concluded that those in poverty are fighting to maintain dignity and respect as the experience of poverty takes it from them.

Lister asserts that treating people experiencing poverty with dignity can “increase their self-confidence and sense of agency” arguing for the recognition and representation of those in poverty within wider society and the media. Lister argues later for the importance of participation of those with lived experience in making policy decisions to shift the narrative and allow dignity and respect.

Agency

One of Lister’s main arguments is the importance of recognising the agency of people experiencing poverty, emphasising that they make their own decisions to cope with their circumstances. She claims that the acknowledgment of the agency of people living-in poverty can be another sign of respect. But she emphasises that an important consequence of poverty is the constraints of agency, either through ‘othering’ or a lack of material resources. Lister categorises four different types of agency, from the everyday to the more strategic:

‘Getting by’ – the struggle to keep going in the face of adversity and insecurity, which is not acknowledged by wider society. Lister stresses how impactful insecurity can be, as it can impact mental and physical health.

2. ‘Getting (back) at’ – the feeling of being trapped in poverty and powerlessness can create anger that can be directed at the state (through benefit fraud) or families and neighbourhoods (through anti-social behaviour). But challenging the narrative doesn’t have to be negative. For example, ATD 4th World’s poetry written by ‘experts by experience’ contains assertions of dignity in the face of indifference/disrespect.

3. ‘Getting out’ – Individuals use their agency to negotiate their way through the structural routes out of poverty, usually employment or education. Lister argues the key to agency, in this case, is raising the aspirations of those who feel powerless.

4. ‘Getting organised’ – ‘othering’ processes can discourage those in poverty from activism, but Lister argues that action often takes place within communities in the form of mutual aid (which has increased during the pandemic). Lister also uses the example of APLE Collective (Addressing Poverty through Lived Experience) and Poverty2Solutions, who address the perceived lack of political action from people in poverty by creating a platform to speak out against political policies.

Lister argues government policies tackling poverty should address societal structures while also helping individuals use their agency to negotiate the pathways open to them. The emphasis of participation of ‘experts by experience’ in research and activism to challenge the ‘othering’ of people in poverty is key to the book.

Power

Lister emphasises the importance of the use of human rights, citizenship, voice, and power as a counter-narrative to characterising people in poverty as the ‘other’. Anti-poverty campaigners use this discourse to link political narratives on poverty to wider concerns about human rights, citizenship, and democracy. Lister argues this is a potentially transformative way of speaking about and mobilising against poverty.

Our understanding of poverty can be enlarged when we frame it in this way, and it supports a focus on dignity and agency. The idea that poverty is a denial of basic human rights implies a moral imperative to tackle it and shifts responsibility to structural causes. Lister argues it is important to promote the discourse of human rights through the political action of those with lived experience of poverty, to reinstate dignity, agency, and power to rearrange the societal structures in their favour.

Social divisions and different experiences of poverty

It is becoming increasingly acknowledged, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, that the impact of poverty and how it is experienced is affected by social divisions such as age, gender, race, disability, social class, religion, and geography. Lister reasons that poverty cannot be effectively tackled until inequality is reduced both locally and internationally. Throughout Poverty, the effects of the social constraints of poverty and the individual agency of those who experience poverty despite these constraints are emphasised.

Women, black and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, those living in deprived areas, children, and the elderly are more likely to experience poverty.

Lister maintains that “policies combating poverty need to address underlying intersecting inequalities and be embedded within broader gender, ‘race’ and disability equality and antidiscrimination strategies”. This view that anti-poverty strategies should tackle intersecting inequalities as a whole is not yet widely acknowledged but should be taken seriously. Here at Church Action on Poverty, we learnt valuable lessons through discussions on some of these themes during Challenge Poverty Week 2020.

Overall, Poverty maintains the empowerment of people in poverty is needed for them to realise their visions of society that don’t include poverty, which would lead to new ways of thinking about poverty. Lister cites ongoing initiatives from ATD Fourth World and Poverty2Solutions. This book aims to widen the general understanding of poverty to galvanise us all to recognise the importance of including people in poverty. That’s something all of us in the anti-poverty movement recognise the importance of, as we work to ensure that dignity, agency and power are better understood in the context of tacking poverty.

Jessica Waylen is Challenge Week Intern at Church Action on Poverty.

Opinion and insight

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The lecture 'Untangling the legacies of slavery: Deconstructing Mission Christianity for our contemporary Kerygma.’ will be given by Anthony Reddie, Director of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture.

May 11, 7:30 pm
‘Untangling the legacies of slavery: Deconstructing Mission Christianity for our contemporary Kerygma.’

The Centre for Theology and Justice is delighted to welcome Anthony Reddie to give the annual David Goodbourn Lecture. This lecture, built upon research undertaken for the Council for World Mission’s ‘Legacies of Slavery’ project, will outline the necessity of deconstructing the problematic history of Christian mission and its relationship to slavery and colonialism.

Anthony Reddie. Director, Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture. Anthony is a leading scholar in the practice of Black Theology within grassroots communities. The significance of his writings and research is recognised internationally.

The Centre for Theology and Justice brings together a number of organisations involved in justice issues, including Luther King House, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI), Church Action on Poverty, and Christian Aid.

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Our partners at the ‘Life on the Breadline: Christianity, Poverty and Politics in the 21st Century City’ project at Coventry University invite you to share their research at their End of Project Conference.

24–25 June 2021 10:00am to 4:15pm UK time

A two-day online conference from the Life on the Breadline project team as the culmination of three years of research into Christian responses to UK poverty in the context of austerity.

The conference will combine sessions with presentations and Q&A, and interactive workshops. Sessions at the conference will include presentations from the Life on the Breadline project team – Chris Shannahan, Robert Beckford, Peter Scott and Stephanie Denning – on the research findings, plus interactive workshops on researching poverty, asset-based community development, and Black Church responses to austerity, and guest speakers Dr Naomi Maynard (Together Liverpool) and Professor Anthony Reddie (University of Oxford and University of South Africa). At the conference we will also be launching the Anti-Poverty Charter which is being developed in consultation with research participants in the Life on the Breadline research.

The anticipated audience for the conference is theology and social science academics, church leaders, and practitioners in church and poverty response settings. The majority of sessions are aimed at all three audiences, and the target audience is noted alongside each session in the provisional conference programme.

To find out more including the provisional conference programme, and to book your free place visit the Life on the Breadline website at https://breadlineresearch.coventry.ac.uk/events/end-of-project-conference/

Day 1 - 24th June 2021

Day 2 - 25th June 2021

Opinion and insight

Time to scrap the two-child limit

In this guest blog, Sam Corcoran explores why it’s time to scrap this harmful policy.

News

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

Churches around the UK are joining calls for an end to the UK’s highly controversial two-child limit. Ask your church to sign the letter today. …

News

Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield: 15th annual Pilgrimage

Joi our local group and hear about local issues and responses to them as we walk and pray together

News Opinion and insight

Unheard no more: Story project brings hope for change

Five people with experience of complex poverty have been speaking up to press for change, as part of an exciting collaboration in York. Church Action …

Vacancies News

Wanted: honorary Treasurer for our Council of Management

Are you an experienced treasurer or qualified accountant with experience of working with charities? Would you be able to volunteer a day per month to …

News

Our use of social media: an update

In recent years, social media networks have become less useful as a way of having conversations, sharing messages and mobilising people to act for change. …

Opinion and insight

Just Worship review

Theologian Greg Smith reviews the new book by anti-poverty activist Stef Benstead.

News

6 places, 41 people: Some of the UK’s unheard election voices

Our Neighbourhood Voices conversations have yielded some fascinating ideas and insights. The UK needs to get serious about ending poverty. And to do that, we …

News Opinion and insight

Wythenshawe voices: It’s wonderful – but austerity NEEDS to end

In Wythenshawe, people tell of the harm of austerity, and hopes for a better future “We need funding back. We need Government to pay attention …

News

London voices: poetry, photos and unheard issues

The Neighbourhood Voices conversation in London looks at election messaging, hopes and some of the issues not being discussed. What stories are the political parties …

News

A church with people at the margins

The United Reformed Church’s North West Synod is adopting a new anti-poverty strategy inspired by our Church at the Margins programme – and urging the …

Opinion and insight

Weed it and reap: why so many Pantries are adding gardens

Many Pantries are adding gardens. We hear of the impact for people’s diet, wellbeing and enthusiasm Paulette and Jackie at Kirkley Pantry Community Garden in …

News

Epsom voices: It’s a lovely place – but many feel excluded

This Neighbourhood Voices conversation comes from Epsom, just on the Surrey side of the Surrey-London boundary The group consists of just a small group of …

News Opinion and insight

Stoke voices: We want opportunity and hope

News Press Releases

Merseyside Pantries reach big milestone

The Merseyside Your Local Pantry conference was a big success Merseyside’s network of neighbourhood Pantries have now been visited 150,000 times, and can be springboards …

Opinion and insight

Transforming the Jericho Road

In this guest post, Bryn Lauder of the JustMoney Movement explores the connections between poverty and tax justice.

Opinion and insight

Partner focus: Meet Community One Stop in Edinburgh

The Your Local Pantry network has led to new partnerships and connections all over the UK. This blog tells of an exciting organisation doing brilliant …

News Opinion and insight

Thank you Pat! 40 years of compassionate action

Pat Devlin, one of Church Action on Poverty’s most experienced supporters and activists, is stepping down after almost 40 years. Sometimes, we can see exactly …

Opinion and insight

Time to scrap the two-child limit

In this guest blog, Sam Corcoran explores why it’s time to scrap this harmful policy.

News

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

Churches around the UK are joining calls for an end to the UK’s highly controversial two-child limit. Ask your church …

News

Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield: 15th annual Pilgrimage

Joi our local group and hear about local issues and responses to them as we walk and pray together

Self-Reliant Groups facilitator Laura Walton focuses on the importance of mindfulness in the last few weeks of lockdown

Mindfulness is all about appreciating the moment and doing what it takes to stay in the moment. We learn to hold back our thoughts and train them to sit and wait while our minds settle and are still. No more thinking of all the things we need to do by this evening. Taking a break from those anxious what ifs about tomorrow or next week, those worries about our children and their children, relatives, neighbours, situations which we just can’t fix. It is about stopping and looking and listening, even smelling, tasting and touching.

Whilst walking in the park this week with a friend, I caused her to stop and instructed her to look and stop talking. She has been shielding and working from home very reluctantly. Instead of being swamped by children with their noise and clamouring for attention, she has gazed through her window, sat at a desk,in front of her computer and often in silence for most of the last year. Every week we would walk and she would talk, downloading the week indoors as we passed impromptu illegal gatherings of drummers, football matches with supposedly no spectators, the guy cutting hair under a tree over near the closed tennis courts. When I realised she was going to talk her way straight past a huge bank of early daffodils and late snowdrops I had to redirect her energy and attention to something beautiful, wild, resilient and resistent to the drammatic changes that we have all had to face this last year.She continued breathing but stopped still.

Despite the upheavals and U turns in our lives, all those sleeping bulbs needed was time at a certain temperature to activate growth and produce a fine display to capture and hold the frenetic activity of my friend’s mind mid download. And she was still and quiet and smiling.

How much more beautiful do the blossom trees look this year? Can we take time in these last few weeks before Boris sets us free again to walk and stop and look. Can we look up? Instead of leaving our footprints on the white blossom petals spilt on the pavement, let’s lift our eyes to those gloriously decorated branches. Our worlds have become so small over the last few months and our horizons merely as far as the nearest loaf of bread and bottle of milk. It’s definitely time to look up and be reminded of the vastness of the sky, the knowledge of who is in control and the opportunities that still lie out there for us

Opinion and insight

Time to scrap the two-child limit

In this guest blog, Sam Corcoran explores why it’s time to scrap this harmful policy.

News

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

Churches around the UK are joining calls for an end to the UK’s highly controversial two-child limit. Ask your church to sign the letter today. …

News

Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield: 15th annual Pilgrimage

Joi our local group and hear about local issues and responses to them as we walk and pray together

News Opinion and insight

Unheard no more: Story project brings hope for change

Five people with experience of complex poverty have been speaking up to press for change, as part of an exciting collaboration in York. Church Action …

Vacancies News

Wanted: honorary Treasurer for our Council of Management

Are you an experienced treasurer or qualified accountant with experience of working with charities? Would you be able to volunteer a day per month to …

News

Our use of social media: an update

In recent years, social media networks have become less useful as a way of having conversations, sharing messages and mobilising people to act for change. …

Opinion and insight

Time to scrap the two-child limit

In this guest blog, Sam Corcoran explores why it’s time to scrap this harmful policy.

News

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

Churches around the UK are joining calls for an end to the UK’s highly controversial two-child limit. Ask your church …

News

Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield: 15th annual Pilgrimage

Joi our local group and hear about local issues and responses to them as we walk and pray together

The newsletter of our local group in Sheffield

Find out more about Church Action on Poverty Sheffield here.

Resources

Church on the Margins reports

Two reports from our research alongside churches on the margins

Resources

Church Action on Poverty North East annual report 2022-24

Download our local group’s report on the right. Download resource Resources Church Action on Poverty North East annual report 2022-24 …

Resources

A sermon for Church Action on Poverty Sunday

Revd Jeremy Tear has kindly shared with us this sermon, which he preached at St Mary’s Great Sankey on Church …

Nick Jowett, a member of Church on Action on Poverty in Sheffield, writes on differing Christian approaches to tackling poverty.

It would be right to assume that all Christians are equally concerned about issues of poverty and inequality in society.

The Bible is full of such concerns. The law of Jubilee in Leviticus 25 is intended to prevent anyone accumulating more and more wealth and property. The prophets inveigh against greed and luxury and the unfair treatment of the poor. Proverbs 14:31 says: ‘Whoever oppresses the poor insults his maker, but he who is generous to the needy honours him.’ In the New Testament Gospels one can quote very many passages in which Jesus shows his preferential concern for the poor and warnings against those who amass wealth. ‘The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil,’ says the writer of 1 Timothy (6:10). The church of Acts 4 held all things in common, so that there was no inequality.

So the Bible is very clear that injustice and poverty are a scandal and an offence to God. Those who promote inequality, those who pile up wealth for themselves, those who live in luxury while others suffer and fail to do anything, those who actively cheat the poor – these will have to face the harsh judgement of God. Those who help the poor and suffering people, those who give up their wealth and follow in Jesus’ way, those who sell their property and share it with the community – these will be blessed, because they have sought to bring God’s kingdom into reality

Throughout Christian history, the church has been involved in the promotion of charity towards the poor and vulnerable, following Jesus’ commands, e.g. in the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25) or that of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). This has involved both the recommendation of a life of generosity and/or chosen poverty for individual Christians and the organisation of communal charitable activity to help the less fortunate. But the arrival of the modern state, with its economic power and its assumed responsibility for the well-being of its citizens, has opened up new questions which the Bible and Christian traditions may or may not be well equipped to answer.

In the United Kingdom and following upon the consequences of the industrial revolution, it was at the beginning of the 20^th century that the state caught up with its responsibility for the nutrition, health, education, employment and housing of its citizens. This gradually removed from the church much of its charitable provision of the same things, pushing church and other charitable activities to a voluntary and more marginal sector. It is clear that charitable provision on its own had been unable to meet the needs of the population.

Following the economic crisis of 2008, Conservative governments have reduced tax-funded community facilities and individual welfare support to a considerable degree, with a renewed hope, not always fulfilled, that private and voluntary provision might fill the gaps.

Christians on the Left are very likely, in addition to Scripture and Christian tradition, to take their point of departure from William Temple’s ‘Christianity and Social Order’ and the creation of the welfare state in the post-war Labour government. By contrast, Conservative Christians may well consider themselves ‘less political’, relying on Bible and Christian tradition alone, but still accepting the necessity of the welfare state, while also being ‘children of Thatcher’ in preferring the freedoms and possibilities of personal/economic initiative in today’s society.

Left-wing Christians will speak a good deal about the kingdom of God, which has both come into being in the ministry of Christ and yet is still to be fulfilled by the end of the age, and they see an important role for humans, and especially Christians, in collaboration with God’s Spirit, in bringing to fruition a just and peaceful earth. But socialist Christians have to face a major challenge: the modern state, with its democratic accountability and economic strength – with power to affect the whole life of its citizens – is very different from the societies in which Christianity appeared and grew: how then can a set of ethical injunctions which grew up in a world where inequality and injustice were either unquestioned or matters for individual responsibility or, at most, for those with power over smaller social groupings, be applied to the modern corporate state?

Their answer would be twofold. Firstly, they would point to the effects of ‘structural sin’, that is the accumulated effect in society of millions of selfish decisions and actions which entrenches huge disparities of wealth and power, rewarding those who come out on top with ever more privileges and insulation from the less fortunate, and at the same time pushing down those whose forebears came from below or lost out in an earlier rat-race, so that they exist in a ghettoised underclass with low paid, boring jobs, poor quality housing and food, education which often does not encourage aspiration, and physical and mental health substantially worse (as measured, for example, by life expectancy) than for better-off echelons of society.

The accumulated genetic outcome of this process is little commented on, but, for those who have been poor for generations, and probably getting poorer, the quality of minds and bodies will almost certainly decline, often to the point at which all efforts to encourage educational progress and feelings of self-worth and initiative may be very difficult or even feel impossible. (I don’t believe they are impossible, but the resources required are well beyond what any political party has shown itself to have the will to provide.)

Our left-leaning Christians will point to the structural sin which has embedded deep chasms of inequality in our society and left a whole section of it almost cut adrift from the rest, people for whose multi-deprivations there are no quick-fix solutions. They will, however, point to the fact that Liberal and Labour governments in the 20^th and 21^st centuries did make deep inroads into this great divide, with major provisions, through tax and national insurance, of housing, education, the NHS etc, and that Conservative governments have actually accepted the necessity of these provisions. The Left will point out also that Conservative governments have tended to fall back into a ‘freer’ version of society, with many profit-seeking private firms now occupied in social provision, and have allowed processes of division and inequality to become re-embedded.

So state provision is seen by left-leaning Christians as simply a modern method, appropriate to the modern state, of fulfilling God’s command to care for the poor. It’s quite clear that personal or communal charity, valuable though it is, still leaves much of the inequalities and deep unfairness of society untouched, and so, if this is to change, it is only the state that can achieve the heavy lifting that is required. (Many would argue that charity actually confirms and deepens the ‘us and them’ of divided societies: the rich get a nice feeling for handing down just a little of their wealth, but still hold on to most of it; the poor feel humiliated but don’t ever get enough to change their position. Result: nothing changes.)

Secondly, even though modern society is so different from earlier societies, left-wing Christians can point to Biblical justification for state provision. When Jesus was challenged about the payment of tax, he is reported as saying, ‘Pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar’. In Romans 13 Paul also recommends that Christians should willingly pay their taxes. The reason Paul gives for this is that the Roman state provided a system of order and justice and security, and that overarching provision was what one’s taxes were helping to fund. The modern state, of course, provides much more than basic law and order, but the principle of taxation to provide a public good is the same, and therefore tax-funded state provision for the poor can be seen as in line with Christian values.

It might even be possible to argue that Jesus feeding five thousand people at one go is an argument for the state providing a Universal Basic Income for its people.

So what will right-wing Christians say in answer to this?

Of course they will accept the Biblical and later Christian teaching about the evils of mere wealth accumulation and the requirement of charity towards the poor and vulnerable. They will, however, place greater emphasis on personal, individual responsibility: those who are at the bottom of the pile need to be encouraged and stimulated to find a way of bettering themselves, without being featherbedded by state hand-outs which may destroy the motivation to improve their lives; those who are better off should be willing to help the less fortunate, both by generosity and by community and charitable involvement.

There are some issues the right-wing Christians need to face. It is possible that their nerve of effort may be somewhat weakened by making too much of Jesus’ dictum that ‘you will always have the poor among you’ (Matthew 26.11; Mark 14.7; John 12.8; and see Deuteronomy 15.11), even if that particular text is less a universal announcement, and more a defence of a woman’s extravagant generosity towards him (‘You complainers will have plenty more opportunities to help the poor, if that’s what you’re so bothered about!’). Another factor for evangelical Christians which may detract from energy directed towards the ending of poverty is their focus on individual salvation and on a final cosmic consummation, which will be entirely in the hands of God and allow much to fall to perdition; so their efforts are on conversion of individuals, rather than on an incremental collaboration with God to bring in the kingdom on earth. (Having said that, I must add that in the UK in the last twenty or thirty years evangelical Christians have often been in the forefront of imaginative projects with and for the poorer parts of society.)

But in relation to the poor, Conservative Christians are very likely to believe that decades of welfare provision by successive governments have created a culture of dependency, in which too many of the recipients, whether simply receiving what was due to them or positively gaming the system, have got stuck in a poor quality lifestyle, in which it isn’t really worth taking a job, and so you get generation after generation of people with low aspirations and a failure to contribute positively to society. Conservative Christians may well believe that welfare systems have weakened families by encouraging sexual activity and births outside secure relationships and allowing men to escape the responsibilities of fatherhood. So recent Conservative government approaches to poverty have used the need for national austerity as a reason for making welfare benefits and other social provision less generous (which might be caricatured as a ‘stick rather than carrot’ policy to get people out of poverty!), bringing in a Universal Credit system which theoretically makes it easier to move smoothly into work from benefits, trying to create more private sector/self-employed jobs as the route out of poverty, and encouraging ‘Big Society’ voluntary and charitable initiatives to transform deprived communities.

What would justify this approach for a Conservative Christian? It is, for many people, no longer politically correct to say that the poor have somehow deserved their situation, that they have failed to make the right choices and not shown the kind of motivation and energy which could have enabled them to aspire to something better, but I think there is little doubt that a good number of those on the Right believe this. As Christians, they might support this by saying that each of us has personal responsibility before God and that those who fail to work out their salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2.12) will inevitably fall by the wayside. Texts such as 1 Timothy 5.8 (‘And whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially for family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever’) or 2 Thessalonians 3.10-11 (‘Even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work’) may well be quoted at this point.

The belief that God will bring punishment and woe on those who do not live according to his laws can be justified from many Biblical examples, and the rationale for the Prosperity Gospel movement in the United States comes from the obverse of this. Nevertheless, Jesus, when challenged about the man born blind (John 10) or the victims of Herod and the fallen tower at Siloam (Luke 13) specifically denies that their suffering was a direct result of their sin.

The doctrine of personal responsibility is applied by the Right also to those who could potentially help the poor. Jesus challenges the rich man (Mark 10.21) to give up all his wealth and inveighs against those who hang on to their accumulated riches and then die before they can make use of them (Luke 12:16–21). Margaret Thatcher on one occasion, probably prompted by a clever speechwriter, reminded her audience that the Good Samaritan would not have been able to help the poor man who had been mugged on the road without the money that he had previously made. For both rich and poor, the parable of the Talents (Matthew 25) or Pounds (Luke 19) could, for right-wing Christians, provide a justification to encourage rich or poor to make something more from whatever they have been given.

In the end, it’s likely that there will always need to be a balance held between the Left’s desire for universal state provision and the Right’s recognition of personal responsibility in using the world’s resources.

John Milbank has written: ‘It is sometimes said that we can’t stop at charity, and that all Christian reformers have wanted to proceed to enshrining principles and practices in law. One can see the serious point of this and in certain respects such an advance is crucial, and yet there is a profound question mark over that whole tradition which William Temple exemplified. It is a … tradition that tends ultimately to surrender things to the state and risks eroding both the interpersonal and the sense that people are mutually responsible for each other at the immediate social level. Anglican social thought at least has always been divided between this approach and one which stresses less state intervention, and rather more a mixture of the political and the social in the role of intermediate associations where the citizenry act more spontaneously and more for themselves in a genuinely participatory fashion.’

I wonder if it would be fair to say that two CAPs represent the Left and the Right in Christian approaches to poverty. Church Action on Poverty places an emphasis on campaigns to press the government to create the conditions to end poverty. Christians Against Poverty use church members and debt advisers to help people find their way out of debt and start a better life, often as part of the church whose members supported them. It’s clear to me that both approaches – and much more of both approaches – are needed.

Opinion and insight

Time to scrap the two-child limit

In this guest blog, Sam Corcoran explores why it’s time to scrap this harmful policy.

News

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

Churches around the UK are joining calls for an end to the UK’s highly controversial two-child limit. Ask your church to sign the letter today. …

News

Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield: 15th annual Pilgrimage

Joi our local group and hear about local issues and responses to them as we walk and pray together

News Opinion and insight

Unheard no more: Story project brings hope for change

Five people with experience of complex poverty have been speaking up to press for change, as part of an exciting collaboration in York. Church Action …

Vacancies News

Wanted: honorary Treasurer for our Council of Management

Are you an experienced treasurer or qualified accountant with experience of working with charities? Would you be able to volunteer a day per month to …

News

Our use of social media: an update

In recent years, social media networks have become less useful as a way of having conversations, sharing messages and mobilising people to act for change. …

Opinion and insight

Just Worship review

Theologian Greg Smith reviews the new book by anti-poverty activist Stef Benstead.

News

6 places, 41 people: Some of the UK’s unheard election voices

Our Neighbourhood Voices conversations have yielded some fascinating ideas and insights. The UK needs to get serious about ending poverty. And to do that, we …

News Opinion and insight

Wythenshawe voices: It’s wonderful – but austerity NEEDS to end

In Wythenshawe, people tell of the harm of austerity, and hopes for a better future “We need funding back. We need Government to pay attention …

News

London voices: poetry, photos and unheard issues

The Neighbourhood Voices conversation in London looks at election messaging, hopes and some of the issues not being discussed. What stories are the political parties …

News

A church with people at the margins

The United Reformed Church’s North West Synod is adopting a new anti-poverty strategy inspired by our Church at the Margins programme – and urging the …

Opinion and insight

Weed it and reap: why so many Pantries are adding gardens

Many Pantries are adding gardens. We hear of the impact for people’s diet, wellbeing and enthusiasm Paulette and Jackie at Kirkley Pantry Community Garden in …

News

Epsom voices: It’s a lovely place – but many feel excluded

This Neighbourhood Voices conversation comes from Epsom, just on the Surrey side of the Surrey-London boundary The group consists of just a small group of …

News Opinion and insight

Stoke voices: We want opportunity and hope

News Press Releases

Merseyside Pantries reach big milestone

The Merseyside Your Local Pantry conference was a big success Merseyside’s network of neighbourhood Pantries have now been visited 150,000 times, and can be springboards …

Opinion and insight

Transforming the Jericho Road

In this guest post, Bryn Lauder of the JustMoney Movement explores the connections between poverty and tax justice.

Opinion and insight

Partner focus: Meet Community One Stop in Edinburgh

The Your Local Pantry network has led to new partnerships and connections all over the UK. This blog tells of an exciting organisation doing brilliant …

News Opinion and insight

Thank you Pat! 40 years of compassionate action

Pat Devlin, one of Church Action on Poverty’s most experienced supporters and activists, is stepping down after almost 40 years. Sometimes, we can see exactly …

News Opinion and insight

Halifax voices: on housing, hope and scandalous costs

This Neighbourhood Voices story comes from West Yorkshire We’re in Halifax. Queen’s Road to be precise – in a former betting shop that is now …

News

The UK doesn’t want demonising rhetoric – it wants to end poverty

There have been some political statements that have demonised and divided people in the past week. It’s absolutely not what the UK public needs or …

News

Sheffield Civic Breakfast: leaders told about mounting pressures of poverty

Sheffield Church Action on Poverty’s first Civic Breakfast since Covid has heard that around 120,000 people in Sheffield are living in poverty, homelessness is the …

Opinion and insight

Time to scrap the two-child limit

In this guest blog, Sam Corcoran explores why it’s time to scrap this harmful policy.

News

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

Churches around the UK are joining calls for an end to the UK’s highly controversial two-child limit. Ask your church …

News

Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield: 15th annual Pilgrimage

Joi our local group and hear about local issues and responses to them as we walk and pray together

The UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Olivier De Schutter's video outlines his new mandate on ways of tackling poverty.

The UN Special Rapporteur’s mandate argues that poverty has often been pictured as attributable to the individual, but we should see it instead as a failure of society. To combat poverty, we should not shame or penalise people in poverty.

We should instead create a truly inclusive economy, in which each person is not considered a passive recipient of support, but an actor, co-constructing solutions. They emphasise that “building back better” does not mean returning to the status quo, but instead taking public action toward the sustainable eradication of poverty.

This vision is in line with our own, putting people with lived experience of poverty at the forefront to create sustainable solutions to poverty. Our strategy focuses on how we can build a movement that ensures everyone can access dignity, agency, and power.

Watch the video below and read more about the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.

Transcript:

Poverty has often been pictured as attributable to the individual.

Who made the wrong choices in life, who is not fit for the world of work, who failed to see the opportunities, who does not deserve help.

As if society were a fact of nature, a given that we cannot change. this has a number of perverse consequences.

It leads to individuals in poverty feeling shame and becoming invisible in society. It legitimises discrimination and institutional abuse against those who experience poverty.

It gives the wrong impression that only a tiny share of the population is at risk of poverty and it reserves support to the deserving poor while others are denied help.

But poverty is really not a failure of the individual we should see it instead as a failure of society.

A society that fails to recognise the competence of people in poverty a society that relies on a fetishised conception of merit.

A society that does not ensure inclusion but instead creates exclusion.

A society in short that imposes uniformity rather than recognising the value of diversity to combat poverty.

We should not shame or penalise people in poverty.

We should instead create an economy that is truly inclusive: recognising the potential of each individual, building on the inventiveness of people in poverty and their multiple skills on the social innovations that they imagine on the solidarity networks they develop.

This is an economy in which each person is not considered a passive recipient of support but an actor co-constructing solutions.

If I can imagine this society so can you.

Opinion and insight

Niall Cooper outlines the new Let’s End Poverty campaign, and how you can get involved.

Let's End Poverty for everyone

Let's End Poverty together

Let's End Poverty - and let's demand action

Let's End Poverty - and let's demand action

Let's End Poverty - and be heard

This week's Budget must bridge the rich-poor gulf, and start addressing the causes of poverty, say people with direct experience of UK poverty

Time for concerted action

Budget 2023: Wayne's view

Budget 2023: Gemma's view

Speaking Truth To Power

Church leaders join with Church Action on Poverty and Christians Against Poverty to urge the Government not to cut UC income by £1,040 a year.

Our letter to the Prime Minister

Ruth Lister's book challenges the UK’s approach to poverty, and highlights the work of several of Church Action on Poverty’s partners.

Dignity

Agency

Power

Social divisions and different experiences of poverty

The lecture 'Untangling the legacies of slavery: Deconstructing Mission Christianity for our contemporary Kerygma.’ will be given by Anthony Reddie, Director of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture.

May 11, 7:30 pm‘Untangling the legacies of slavery: Deconstructing Mission Christianity for our contemporary Kerygma.’

Our partners at the ‘Life on the Breadline: Christianity, Poverty and Politics in the 21st Century City’ project at Coventry University invite you to share their research at their End of Project Conference.

24–25 June 2021 10:00am to 4:15pm UK time

Day 1 - 24th June 2021

Day 2 - 25th June 2021

Self-Reliant Groups facilitator Laura Walton focuses on the importance of mindfulness in the last few weeks of lockdown

May 11, 7:30 pm
‘Untangling the legacies of slavery: Deconstructing Mission Christianity for our contemporary Kerygma.’