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Category: News

A new partnership to support communities

Church Action on Poverty has entered a major new partnership with Co-op which will help improve household finances, whilst bringing people together around food.

The news follows new research from Co-op which reveals a third (33%) of those impacted by the rising cost of living are turning to food charities more often.

The partnership will see the Your Local Pantry network supported by Church Action on Poverty triple within three years from 75 to 225 pantries across the UK, with the addition of 150 new pantries, creating almost 650,000 visits by July 2025.

These Pantries will support over 30,000 Your Local Pantry members who will save on average £15 per shop, with members often saving £1,000 or more a year or more on shopping bills. Overall, the new locations will help to save Your Local Pantry members up and down the UK an estimated £5 million when fully operational.

Rebecca Birkbeck, Director of Community & Membership at Co-op, said:

“Everybody should have access to good food, this innovative new partnership with Your Local Pantry complements our existing initiatives to provide dignified long-term solutions to food insecurity and the cost of living.

“Pantries are all about dignity, choice and hope. Each one operates as a member-led neighbourhood hub, often serving as a springboard to other community initiatives, opportunities and ideas.

“Things are tough for many of us at the moment and we are proud that pantries will be there to support people and their local communities in dealing with the challenges that are thrown at them, it feels like a real step in the right direction to make the world that little bit fairer.”

James Henderson, Your Local Pantry Network Development Coordinator, added: 

“Pantries have enabled tens of thousands of people around the UK to strengthen their community and loosen the grip of high prices. Pantries reduce isolation, foster community and friendships, improve health and pre-empt poverty, and this exciting new partnership with Co-op will enable thousands more people to join and enjoy Pantries.”

Find out more about Your Local Pantry

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Letter to the Prime Minister: more cost of living support is urgently needed

On 21 September 2022, Church Action on Poverty and over 50 other faith, charity and organisational leaders signed an open letter to the Prime Minister, calling for direct support for the poorest households in response to rising living costs.

As faith groups, charities, trade unions and front-line organisations we have seen the cost of living emergency escalating not only in the statistics but in the lives of people we meet day to day, in foodbanks, debt centres and in our places of worship. The least well off in our communities are facing the sharpest end of this crisis, and without substantial support will be dragged into destitution.

It is the urgent, moral responsibility of the Prime Minister to ensure that people on the lowest incomes have enough to live in the months ahead. Spiralling costs are affecting everyone, but for those who were already fighting to keep their heads above water this winter’s challenges will be a matter of life and death.

The Energy Price Guarantee announced on 8th September, whilst welcome, hasn’t gone far enough. Analysis published today by Prof Donald Hirsch indicates that the average family of four receiving Universal Credit will still need an additional £1,391 over the next six months to stay warm and fed. Low-income households need targeted financial support which takes into account family size and need, is distributed quickly and in amounts large enough to enable families to live decently this winter and beyond.

Increases in poverty and destitution because of this crisis are not inevitable, if government, business and civil society recognise that this is an emergency and act now. We believe that concerted action can turn the tide on poverty, see us through this winter and put us on the path to a poverty-free Britain. The government has the tools to deliver this at their disposal, and they must use them now.

Signed by:

Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steed, Chair, Tzelem: The Rabbinic and Cantorial Call for Social and Economic Justice in the UK

Rabbi Charley Baginsky, Chief Executive Officer, Liberal Judaism

Revd Fiona Bennett, Moderator of General Assembly, United Reformed Church

Rabbi Rebecca Birk, Co-Chair, Conference of Liberal Rabbis and Cantors

Anna Bland, Team Leader, Leeds Sanctuary

Anthony Boateng, Vice-President of the Conference, The Methodist Church in Britain

Dr Nicola Brady, General Secretary, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland

Rabbi Janet Burden, Rabbi Emerita, Ealing Liberal Synagogue

Heidi Chow, Executive Director, Debt Justice

Niall Cooper, Director, Church Action on Poverty

Kevin Courtney and Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretaries, National Education Union

Sister Colette Cronin, Leader, Institute of Our Lady of Mercy

Colin Date, Acting Chair, Christian Concern for One World

Sister Lynda Dearlove rsm, CEO, women@thewell

Claire Donovan, Head of Research, Policy & Campaigns, End Furniture Poverty

Bishop Terry Drainey, Chair and Bishop, Catholic Social Action Network & R.C. Diocese of Middlesbrough

Alison Garnham, Chief Executive, Child Poverty Action Group

Ben Gilchrist, Chief Executive, Caritas Shrewsbury

Rabbi Aaron Goldstein, Senior Rabbi, The Ark Synagogue

Rev James Green, Executive Director, Together Liverpool

Revd. Lynn Green, General Secretary, Baptist Union of Great Britain

Mia Hasenson-Gross, Director, René Cassin

Revd Ruth Harvey, Leader, The Iona Community

Joseph Howes, CEO, Buttle UK

Imran Hussain, Director of Policy & Campaigns, Action for Children

Rabbi Richard Jacobi, Minister to the congregation, East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue

Rabbi Neil Janes, Rabbi, South Bucks Jewish Community (constituent of Liberal Judaism)

The Most Reverend Andrew John, Archbishop of Wales, The Church in Wales

Rabbi Gabriel Kanter-Webber, Minister, Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue

Mr. Rajnish Kashyap MCICM, General Secretary, Hindu Council UK

Peter Kelly, Director, Poverty Alliance

Paul Kissack, Chief Executive, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Rabbi Monique Mayer, Bristol and West Progressive Jewish Congregation

Gareth McNab, Head of External Affairs, Christians Against Poverty

Paul McNamee, Editor, The Big Issue

Rabbi Lea Mühlstein, Senior Rabbi, The Ark Synagogue

Zara Mohammed, Secretary-General, Muslim Council of Britain

Patrick O’Dowd, Director, Caritas Diocese of Salford

Helen O’Shea, National President of St Vincent de Paul Society

Emma Revie, CEO, The Trussell Trust

Father Dominic Robinson SJ, Chair, Archdiocese of Westminster Justice and Peace

Revd Paul Rochester, General Secretary, Free Churches Group

Revd. Ian Rutherford, Chair, Greater Manchester Food Security Action Network and City Centre Minister, Methodist Central Hall Manchester.

Adam Scorer, Chief Executive, National Energy Action

Mr Paul Southgate, Chair of Trustees, The National Justice and Peace Network

Most Reverend Mark Strange, Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness, and Primus, Scottish Episcopal Church

Anna Taylor, Executive Director, The Food Foundation

The Revd. Graham Thompson, President of the Methodist Conference, The Methodist Church of Britain

The Reverend James Tout, Chaplain to the Archbishop of Wales, The Church in Wales

Fr Adrian Tuckwell, Caritas Hexham and Newcastle

Jo Wittams, Co-Executive Director, The Equality Trust

Enough to get through the winter: new analysis by Prof Donald Hirsch

New analysis (21 September 2022) by Prof Donald Hirsch updates his earlier report (7 August) to calculate the gap between rising living costs and the support provided by government to low-income households in England.

It calculates that a family of four receiving Universal Credit will still be £1391 behind what they need to stay warm and fed, despite government support.

Read the updated analysis

 

Speak out for dignity for all

Challenge Poverty Week this year (17–23 October) is focused on how we can ensure dignity for all in the face of the cost of living crisis.

Take part and help make voices heard.

Be part of Challenge Poverty Week

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Church Action on Poverty 40th Anniversary Pilgrimage and Conference in Sheffield

The growing cost of living crisis and poverty in Sheffield will be put under the spotlight when Church Action on Poverty's local group stages a Pilgrimage and conference in the city on Saturday 22 October.

Pilgrimage: meet at 9:30am at Sheffield Canal Basin (Victoria Quay).
Conference: 12:45-16:00, Pitsmoor Methodist Church, 131 Burngreave Road S3 9DG.

The event marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the national ecumenical Christian social justice charity committed to tackling poverty. It is open to anyone who wants to expand their knowledge of how poverty is affecting people in Sheffield and how various organisations are endeavouring to reduce its impact.

The Pilgrimage will cover a course of just over two miles to Burngreave, visiting several locations, including:

  • The Emmaus Charity Superstore, which provides a home, support and work for men and women who have suffered homelessness.
  • The Rock Christian Centre, one of the Sheffield bases of Christians Against Poverty, the charity which provides free, professional advice for people struggling with debt, and the Burngreave Food Bank.

Pilgrims will then have the option of joining local religious leaders, politicians and people on the frontline of dealing with poverty for a conference on The Cost of Living and Poverty in Sheffield, and a buffet lunch will be provided.

Speakers at the conference will include:

  • Liam Purcell of Church Action on Poverty.
  • Ruth Moore, Director of St Wilfrid’s Centre for the homeless, vulnerable and socially excluded.
  • Nick Waterfield, of the Parson Cross Initiative which aims to create community and provide support and sanctuary for people living in Parson Cross, Southey, Longley and Foxhill.
  • Sylvia Ward, chief executive of Citizen’s Advice Sheffield.
Email for more information

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Cost of living crisis: is compassion enough?

The 2022 Annual General Meeting of our local group in North East England

Thursday 20 October
5.30pm
(Registration & refreshments from 5pm)

St Joseph’s Centre, High West Street, Gateshead NE8 1LX (opposite Gateshead Metro Interchange)

Voices of experience from:

  • Gateshead Poverty Truth Commission
  • North of Tyne Poverty Truth Commission

Keynote speaker: Anna Rowlands (author of Towards a Politics of Communion:
Catholic Social Teaching in Dark Times)

Email us to book and for further details

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Monica: Why I keep standing up and speaking up

Each year, the Dignity, Agency, Power calendar tells stories of people who bring those values to life. This page features Monica Gregory.

Monica Gregory

Monica works with homeless people in Oxford in a range of roles, and has been involved in speaking up about social injustices for the past few years.

She was part of the national Food Power programme, took part in a Food Experiences panel in 2020 and 2021 to understand food insecurity in the context of covid, and is now part of the Speaking Truth To Power programme, supported by Church Action on Poverty. 

Monica also now runs a safe space for women in Oxford, and a lived experience forum for people who have been homeless.

Monica walking beside the river in Oxford

Monica: We're not here to tick boxes

Monica says the work in recent years has helped her to find the confidence to speak up about poverty in Oxford, which is often hidden, and about the broken systems that cause or increase poverty.

“Poverty is getting really bad now, with the cost of living going up, so my job is getting harder and harder because more and more people are becoming homeless as a lot of people cannot afford to pay the rent.

“The new lived experience forum is for people to have their say about services for people who are homeless, and for people who feel they have sometimes just been used so other people can tick boxes. Not everyone’s poverty is the same, not everyone’s trauma is the same, but people are too often put in the same box.

Things need to change - and I will speak up

“A lot of things need to change. What I would like to see change at the moment is Universal Credit. I don’t know how they can make people wait five weeks to get the first payment, when they have nothing to live on. I have six clients now waiting five weeks for Universal Credit to start, and they’re struggling to pay rent and to put food on the table, and they’ve had to start using food banks. They now feel embarrassed, so the system needs to change. People do not always realise how much poverty there is.

“I started working with Church Action on Poverty through our local food alliance, and now I know I will speak up about things. A lot of people are scared to speak up but I’m not scared to, and I fight for what is right.”

More of this year's calendar stories
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We & 55 others say: bridge the gap

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has joined with 56 faith groups, charities and politicians to call on the Government to take urgent action to bridge the cost of living gap faced by the lowest income families.

Church Action on Poverty is among the organisations backing the call.

Report highlights size of the gap

The move comes in response to a report, ‘Is cost of living support enough?’ written by poverty expert and Loughborough University Professor
Donald Hirsch.

Read the report

It reveals the gap between the support the Government is currently offering to
households and the anticipated rise in living costs.

The report concludes that the current flat-rate
payments offered by the government will fall at least £1,600 short of making up for recent changes to living costs and benefits faced by a couple with two children.

We call for an emergency budget and urgent action

Niall Cooper, director of Church Action on Poverty, says: “If the Government doesn’t take further action to support low-income families, we face one of the most challenging winters in living memory, where the number of people in
poverty in the UK could hit record highs.

“Many of the community-based partners we work with, who support people in or at risk of poverty, are already stretched to the limit. People need much more support, of the type and scale that only Government can coordinate. 

“We need solutions that are not flat-rate or one-off, but which recognise the different needs of families and households on low-incomes, such as uprating benefits in line with inflation, to
ensure that households receive the correct increase according to their needs.

“Addressing this emergency must be the first priority of the new Prime Minister, and we call for an emergency budget to enable decisive and compassionate solutions to be brought forward.”

Who has backed the call?

The report by Professor Hirsch has been endorsed by:

  • Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown
  • 22 charities
  • 24 faith leaders, including Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Jewish leaders
  • 8 political leaders, including seven regional mayors and First Minister of Wales Mark
    Drakeford

Coverage

The report was widely covered by the UK media on Sunday and Monday, and one of our partners Wayne Green, from Shoreham, was among the people leading the calls for action.

He told Sky News that poor people were being disenfranchised from society, and that systems and structures were not working properly.

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Stop press! A big step towards better media reporting of poverty

The ongoing work to improve the way poverty is reported in the UK media is ready to take a big step forward – and you can help.

An Early Day Motion has been tabled in Parliament, condemning the use of derogatory language which can lead to negative stigmatising.

Aerial view of Houses of Parliament

This is a really positive progression for the Reporting Poverty work that we and others have been involved in in recent years. 

It immediately puts this issue directly before MPs for them to consider directly, it highlights the concerns and reservations of people in poverty, and it calls for a united cross-party response.

To maximise the impact of this, we need your help. Please ask your MP to read and sign Early Day Motion 284.

It has been tabled by Ian Byrne MP, and reads:

That this House recognises the importance of journalism in reporting poverty in the UK; condemns any use of derogatory language which can lead to negative stigmatising; notes that this issue is of ever-increasing importance as the working class face a cost of living crisis and the Government’s Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System plan; further notes that the public increasingly reject the toxicity of discourse and debate in the UK; believes that a common, cross-party commitment to challenging discriminatory language will send a powerful, positive message at a time when it is needed; and calls for collaboration with trade unions and anti-poverty organisations, including the NUJ, BAFWU, and the Right to Food campaign, to challenge discourse and to promote awareness and the rejection of negative media messages about people experiencing poverty.

Email your MP and ask them to sign the EDM

Why does this matter?

This matters because every one of us is influenced by the stories we hear, and affected by the language around us. Our views on any issue are affected by how stories are presented – by what we are told and shown, and by what is left out. So when complex social issues are misreported, or reported in an aggressive manner, it can really skew the public’s understanding.

For too long, the dominant stories told in the UK about poverty were deeply skewed and misleading. Stigmatising language was used to denigrate people, and to excuse unjust systems and policies.

That made a great many of us uncomfortable, and that’s why for the past six years, many of us have been working together to look at the way poverty is reported in the media, to challenge hostile language.

Church Action on Poverty, the National Union of Journalists, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, ATD Fourth World, people in poverty with experience of media interviews, and journalists already leading by example have all worked together on this, producing media guidelines for journalists.

The EDM is a next step, to further raise awareness of the issue and to encourage people in power to be aware of the effect hostile language can have. 

Progress has been made - but this is a crucial time

Rachel Broady, who has led the work at the NUJ, says:

“At the NUJ delegates’ meeting last year, it was agreed that we would try to get an EDM tabled, so I started looking into it. Ian Byrne has been supportive of Fans Supporting Foodbanks and the Right to Food campaign, so I sent him the guidelines that we had all worked on and he thought it was a really good campaign and said he was happy to table the EDM.

“It has to be a cross-party approach, as it’s something that everyone can get behind.

“It would be really helpful if Church Action on Poverty supporters and others can ask their own MP to sign the motion, and explain why it’s important to them as a constituent. We would really like a debate to take place in the House about the reporting of poverty.

“In a lot of ways, the language and reporting has improved in the past few years. The real rise in stigmatising language came about from 2010, to support policies being introduced at the time.

“There has not been the same extent of hostile language in recent years, and issues like the pandemic and the cost of living crisis mean more people have an idea now of how it feels to be in poverty and unable to afford essentials. But the new Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System programme means there is a real risk of that derogatory language coming back, so this is an important time to put the EDM on the table.”

What you can do:

Please contact your own MP and ask them to sign Early Day Motion 284, and tell them why this issue matters to you. If you receive a reply, and are happy to share it, please email us. You can find your MP and their contact details here, and the Early Day Motion is on the link below.

EDM 284: Share this link with your MP

More on our Reporting Poverty work

2020: Positive talks with journalists
How photos from 2008 still undermine attempts to end poverty
Join us on the journey

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#ChallengePoverty Week Book Launch

Heaton Moor United Church and Heald Green URC church-led event featured the book “Dignity, Agency, Power!"

The book “Dignity, Agency, Power!” is a collaboration between Church Action on Poverty and Wild Goose Publications.

Dignity Agency Power

At Heaton Moor on 19th October, the evening began with a meal cooked in a bag! This is a fabulous way of cooking, using residual heat and good insulation, will be especially useful now heat prices are increasing.

There was inspirational poetry from Rahela Kahn, one of the book’s contributors, and an entertaining rendition of the parable of Max and Dan, a story about the use of power based on Jesus’ saying to “walk another mile”.

People at Book Launch

Visitors from a local charity SMASH (School meals every holiday) told us about the amazing work they did too.

 

The following week, Heald Green URC church also shared readings from the book, including video presentations from people with experience of living in poverty. The group present decided to write to their MP about pre-payment energy metres. The people who buy their fuel this way are often the poorest, end up paying more for their energy, and are the last to get discounts and rebates.

 

People at Book Launch

This was followed by a writing workshop in which participants created their own thoughtful pieces based on the #ChallengePoverty week theme of Living not just existing; dignity for all.

 

People at Book Launch

Some of the pieces produced are also included in this
newsletter.

Thank you to Heaton Moor United Church and Heald Green URC church for giving us pause for thought about how we should #ChallengePoverty and work for dignity to all. 

Article written by Liz Delafield

 

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A radical idea that mobilised the UK’s churches

Challenging times call for radical action. So it is today, and so it was in the summer of 1982, when Church Action on Poverty was launched.

  • This article outlines the history of Church Action on Poverty. For more information on our current activities and focus, read our call to action for UK churches.
A fresh call to UK churches: forge new partnerships and make change happen:

Church Action on Poverty: our story

“Many people simply do not believe that poverty exists in this country,” Sister Mary McAleese from Liverpool announced at the inaugural public event.

“We are out to make them aware, and at the same time actually do something about the problem. It must concern everyone, regardless of politics.”

This drive to open people’s eyes and to bring about change remains central today to so much work in the anti-poverty movement.

A group of walkers depart from Iona Abbey on the 1999 Pilgrimage Against Poverty.
Pilgrims leave Iona Abbey in 1999, on the Pilgrimage Against Poverty. Hundreds of people joined the walk from Iona to Downing Street. Photo by Brian Fair for The Guardian, reproduced with permission.

A new approach: tackling the root causes, with people who know the issues first-hand

From the start, Church Action on Poverty’s approach was radical and bold. It was not enough to help people who had fallen into poverty, nor to just hope or pray for change.

We knew that as a society we should address poverty at its root, and we should do it in partnership with people who have direct experience of poverty, who can bring unmatched insight and wisdom.

"The church is sometimes present more as Church Action on Poverty than in other things. It’s a form of witness. I think the key transformation that Church Action on Poverty will help bring about is an understanding that change comes from people at community level."
John Battle
First convenor of Church Action on Poverty
Cedarwood Trust in Meadowell

A time to act, and a time to mobilise

What was going on in the UK in 1982? ET was the top-grossing film, and Eye of The Tiger, Come On Eileen and Happy Talk were among the Number 1 singles. Aston Villa were crowned European champions; the 20p coin entered circulation; the war in the Falklands dominated headlines; and a future king, Prince William, was born.

But around the UK it was a time of economic turbulence and political concern. The early 1980s had brought soaring living costs, economic strife, and an often-polarised politics. 

There was a growing feeling that the churches, and churchgoers, should be more active against poverty. Church Action on Poverty was born out of those conversations. It was launched on July 5th, 1982, and quickly embarked on a relentless drive to inspire and engage congregations all over the UK.

An article from the Liverpool Echo in 1982, reporting on the launch of Church Action on Poverty

Planting bulbs that would keep on growing

Much of the early work was driven by three Johns: Revd Canon John Atherton, whose theology underpinned much of the work; Revd John Austin, the first chair of trustees, and finally John Battle, who became Church Action on Poverty’s first convenor.

John Battle recalls….

“At first, people thought we were a service provider. We would sometimes get offers of blankets and things, and we had to explain that we were focused on the causes of poverty. That took some doing, shifting the focus from personal help to structural changes. In the church and wider society, that was quite a difficult job.

“Parish groups were key across the church, and much of my time was spent on buses and trains. We had a good reception and some lively meetings. I look back on it as a time of tremendous people of goodwill gathering together. It helped us build up a real base of evidence that became a testimony and approach: letting the poor speak for themselves.

“We were sowing handfuls of seeds the length and breadth of Britain and it developed into groups of people who were really committed and who would stay with the cause for a long time. It was like we had planted bulbs that would come into flower again and again year after year after year, rather than us having to keep replanting.

“Today it has made its mark and established a church presence. The church is sometimes present more as Church Action on Poverty than in other things. It’s a form of witness. I think the key transformation that Church Action on Poverty will help bring about is an understanding that change comes from people at community level.”

Committed and lasting relationships

Merseyside was an early focus for much of the work, and is again abuzz with inspiring activity today, home to a dozen Your Local Pantries, a new Speaking Truth To Power cohort, and the setting for the wonderful Made In Liverpool film below, which we helped to support.

Other early work was rooted in Greater Manchester, where we are still based, in Yorkshire, in Glasgow and in the North East, including at the Meadowell estate in North Shields, where we have retained close links ever since.

Cedarwood: We are here to support the community

One of our earliest reports was Low Pay Is The Cause of Poverty, in 1984. This challenged the false notion that just having a job – any job – was enough of a route out of poverty, and became a helpful step towards the creation of a minimum wage in 1998.

It also cemented our approach of ensuring that people with experience of the issues should always have the space to speak for themselves, and to shape the solutions. In the 1980s, this was utterly radical, and it is heartening that it has today become much more widespread.

Landmark moments in the 1980s included the poverty declaration, Hearing The Cry of The Poor, and the myriad responses to the Faith In The City report by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Commission on Urban Priority Areas.

An invitation to the Hearing The Cry Of The Poor declaration in 1989
An invitation to the Hearing The Cry Of The Poor declaration in 1989
Church Action on Poverty was playing a growing role in these conversations. In the run-up to the 1992 General Election, we asked people from many backgrounds, organisations and churches to write letters, and produced a special Dear Prime Minister edition of the Poverty Network newsletter. We then helped organise the National Poverty Hearings, which challenged much orthodox thinking about social justice and poverty, and introduced many people to a simple but radical concept: that people in poverty should lead the discussions about ending poverty. Wayne Green, one of the speakers at the national hearing, said at the event:
“What is poverty? Poverty is a battle of invisibility, a lack of resources, exclusion, powerlessness… being blamed for society’s problems”
Wayne Green
National Poverty Hearings
Wayne's story: why we must all refuse to be invisible

Like others, Wayne remains a committed campaigner. He continues to speak out in his own community in southern England, and has this year joined Church Action on Poverty’s new Speaking Truth To Power programme, aiming to further amplify the voices of people on low incomes.

Hilary Russell, who joined the council of management in 1984, and also remains an active supporter today, recalls:

“We were making a lot of calls, and had to remember that we were being political but not party political. It was difficult at times to say anything as a Christian about political issues, because you would be accused of interfering in spheres that were not ours. I remember a Sunday Times headline that said: “Church should stick to saving our souls”.

Assorted press cuttings about Church Action on Poverty's work

“Trying to think theologically about social action, or taking action based on theology, was seen as something that individuals might have been doing, but not organisations. That was something new and significant.

“I remember leading up to the National Poverty Hearings, we were having lots of hearings in different places. Nowadays, we are used to hearing about ‘experts by experience’, but that was an unusual idea at the time.

“When we had the very big hearing at Church House, we had MPs, local authority people and heads of charities very clearly being the audience, and the people on the platform were speaking from direct experience of poverty – the real experts. That method was almost more significant at times than the message, in terms of influencing people. It was very significant and has continued as a theme of Church Action on Poverty’s work ever since.”

As the turn of the millennium approached, hundreds of people joined in Church Action on Poverty’s biggest single event: the Pilgrimage Against Poverty from the Scottish island of Iona to 10 Downing Street. In the new century, there were big campaigns around debt and loan sharks, led by tenacious activists in North Shields; around tax justice; a pioneering push for participatory budgeting; and early research into The Right To Food, which contributed to the continuing campaign today.

Photos from 4 past campaigns: the tax justice bus, an End Hunger UK event in Sheffield, a crowd supporting participatory budgeting, and campaigners with inflatable sharks calling for action on loan sharks
Four past campaigns. Clockwise from top-left: the tax justice bus, an End Hunger UK event in Sheffield, a crowd supporting participatory budgeting, and campaigners with inflatable sharks calling for action on loan sharks

The digital revolution and new technologies have changed the way supporters and activists can engage with one another, and helped to bring new issues into the spotlight. 

But our core principles remain steadfast: working together with people in poverty to build a better future, driven by people’s experiences and insights. That’s how we will build a society in which everyone can live a full life, free from poverty.

Looking to the future: what you and your church can do

The article you’ve just read was written in summer 2022, at the time of Church Action on Poverty’s 40th anniversary. It tells of the organisation’s beginnings and progress – but of much greater importance is what we do now and next. Read the article below, to see what you and your church can do.

A call to UK churches: forge new partnerships, and make change happen
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Baking, walking, listening, giving – how you’re all marking our 40th

Hundreds of people have been getting involved to mark Church Action on Poverty’s 40th anniversary this year.

Many of you have donated to our appeal to support our community partners, have taken part in online events such as our quiz night earlier in the year, or have ordered copies of the new Dignity, Agency, Power anthology. Many of you have responded to our anniversary fundraising appeal. And on Wednesday, supporters in Birmingham baked this spectacular birthday cake, using ingredients available from a Your Local Pantry.

To everyone who has got involved: thank you!

A large rectangular cake, with "40 years of Church Action on Poverty" on the top.
Donate to the anniversary appeal
“There are big powers, big ideas and big things to resist, but the ways to act on hope are local.”
Revd Kate Gray
Wythenshawe

Listening, reflecting and sharing

At the same time, many people have been taking part in events in local communities around the country, as part of our Pilgrimage On The Margins.

We all benefit when we take the time to slow down and truly listen to one another. Hearing fresh perspectives, particularly from people who have often been ignored, is vital.

That’s why this year, in ten places around the UK, people are journeying with marginalised people and communities, listening, reflecting and sharing dreams of change and transformation.

We are now nearing the half-way point. We have been to:

  • The Dandelion Community in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester
  • Peckham Pantry and the Pecan charity in London
  • Lewes in East Sussex
  • Newquay Community Orchard in Cornwall

What can we do together to build a better future?

Along the way, we have had some wonderful moments and conversations, as people have listened to and amplified the truths revealed by people and communities on the margins of British society.

People have been sharing their visions of the kind of future they want for themselves and their neighbourhoods, and describing the changes needed to help bring this about. Together, we have been exploring the question: “What can we do together to help bring these dreams into reality?”

Keeping hope local

At all the locations, people have written their hopes on paper leaves and hung them on trees, and laid down stones representing burdens. 

Below is  a short flavour of how it went at Wythenshawe. There, Revd Kate Gray, from the Dandelion Community, said: “There are big powers, big ideas and big things to resist, but the ways to act on hope are local.”

Bringing hope back into the food system

In Peckham and in Lewes, we went on Pilgrimage walks, exploring the local area and talking on the way. In Peckham, we visited three different churches in the community, meeting different people and reflecting on the stations of the cross, and also visited the Pantry, to learn how its members are strengthening community and bringing dignity and hope back into the food system.

In Lewes, we joined a meeting of the Emergency Food Network discussing many of the challenges food banks are facing, but also the enthusiasm the local community has to get involved. Here’s a quick video summary:

And in Cornwall, featured in this video below, people visited Newquay Community Orchard, which brings people together and is a hub for community, friendship, opportunities and access to good food.

The pilgrimage has rekindled memories of one of Church Action on Poverty’s biggest events, the 1999 Pilgrimage Against Poverty, which began on Iona. Over nine weeks, a group of six hardy Pilgrims walked 670 miles all the way to Westminster, sleeping on church hall floors and in people’s homes.  They were joined along the way by literally thousands of other pilgrims, walking anything from a mile to a week. This week, as you read this, we are back on Iona for the fifth leg of our 2022 Pilgrimage on the Margins events.

In the new Dignity, Agency, Power anthology, Val Simcock and Pat Devlin share their memories of the 1999 event. Val says: “I had no experience of anything like that before, and it was a magical time. We became a close-knit group, and I recall we always seemed to be walking in sunshine. It was a time of prayer and penance as well as pilgrimage. We started every day with prayer and ended every day with a time of reflection.”

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A group of walkers depart from Iona Abbey on the 1999 Pilgrimage Against Poverty.
The beginning of the Pilgrimage Against Poverty in 1999. Pilgrims leave Iona Abbey, heading to Westminster. Photo by Brian Fair.

Pat also travelled several sections of the route, and at the end was part of the delegation that met with the then Chancellor the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, alongside people with personal experience of poverty.

She recalls: “It was the strongest experience of church I have ever had and I do not think I was alone in that. There was a real strong solidarity and camaraderie. It made me realise what it is to be part of the body of Christ – if one suffers, we all suffer.”

You can find out more about the Pilgrimage On The Margins series here.

Pilgrimage On The Margins
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