News Archives - Page 9 of 29 - Church Action on Poverty

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.

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.

..It’s not that I don’t want to be part of society

..The poor are being disenfranchised from society#CostOfLivingCrisis Wayne Green pic.twitter.com/Bfi7CnpOir
— UK is with EU (@ukiswitheu) August 7, 2022

Be part of a movement that’s reclaiming dignity, agency and power

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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.

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.

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.

#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.

At Heaton Moor on 19^th 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”.

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.

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.

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

Be part of a movement that’s reclaiming dignity, agency and power

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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.

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 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

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.

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.

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.

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

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”.

“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.

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.

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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!

“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.”

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.

Be part of a movement that’s reclaiming dignity, agency and power

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When people-power won the day against loan sharks

The 2022 Dignity, Agency, Power calendar include stories from today and from previous inspiring campaigns in the movement to end poverty. Here, we look at the Debt On Our Doorstep campaign.

It just isn’t right for institutions to exploit vulnerable people for profit, by lending money at astronomical rates of interest.

That is a moral view widely held today, and a teaching that runs through multiple faith traditions. So it was no surprise that Christians helped take the lead in a recent struggle against exploitative lenders.

A widespread campaign

For many years, ‘doorstep lenders’ and ‘rent-to-own’ companies were a scourge on poor communities, charging interest rates of 160%APR or more to people who had nowhere else to turn. In recent decades, they were joined by other legal loan sharks such as Wonga and other payday lenders.

When Church Action on Poverty decided to challenge these companies, we knew we had to build a wide movement to achieve real change. The ‘Debt On Our Doorstep’ campaign brought together churches, credit unions, experts on debt and credit, and people who were customers of the high-cost lenders.

Gathering momentum

It was a long struggle. We held a public demonstration at Westminster with inflatable sharks, carried out research and produced policy recommendations.

Over time, awareness grew and campaigns snowballed. Debt On Our Doorstep worked alongside other campaigns led by MPs, and Church Action on Poverty was pleased to back the Archbishop of Canterbury when he launched his own initiative designed to ‘put Wonga out of business’.

Government regulators finally took action, introducing a cap on the cost of credit and other regulations which ultimately led to Wonga, the Providential and other lenders having to cease their high-lending practices. Together, we challenged these powerful oppressive organisations and stopped them sweeping people deeper into poverty.

A recipe for the future

To change the world, we must build movements alongside all people of good will. That continues to be Church Action on Poverty’s approach today, as we work with partners across the UK, always led by people who have experienced the issues.

What are the unjust structures we should be speaking out about now? And how can people use their voices and power to transform those unjust structures?

Be part of a movement that’s reclaiming dignity, agency and power

Opinion and insight

Stories that challenge: Emma’s road to church

This is a guest series of stories that challenge and change. These are intentionally contrary stories that push back against negative ideas, and force us …

News

Sheffield voices: We need higher incomes and more for young people

Welcome to the first of our new Neighbourhood Voices stories, featuring people in north Sheffield. We’re at Parson Cross in Sheffield, on a Tuesday morning. …

News Opinion and insight

Cost of living scandal: 7 truly useful church responses

How can churches respond to the UK’s cost of living scandal? That’s what many church-goers are still asking. Household bills have soared, incomes have been …

Opinion and insight

Stories that challenge: Alan & Ben

Welcome to our new guest series, of stories that challenge and change. These are intentionally contrary stories that push back against negative ideas, and force …

News

7 ways a Your Local Pantry could help YOUR community in 2024

The Your Local Pantry network is growing rapidly. There are now more than 100 Pantries, across all four nations of the UK from Portadown to …

Dignity, Agency, Power – new anthology launched today

We're delighted to announce the launch of a special publication to mark the 40th anniversary of Church Action on Poverty.

Published by Wild Goose Publications, Dignity, Agency, Power contains all kinds of inspirational materials – drawing on our 40 years working to tackle UK poverty, but looking forward to how we can build an even stronger movement to reclaim dignity, agency and power.

Prayers for justice
Stories of real people’s experiences of poverty and speaking out for change
Poems
Bible studies
Theological reflection
Worship outlines
Drama

The video below is a performance of ‘Three (Women)’s Voices’, a piece by Miriam McHardy that’s featured in the anthology:

We’re marking the launch with a special online event at 7:30pm on Wednesday 8 June – click below to book a place.

The book is available to order from Wild Goose via the link below.

Be part of a movement that’s reclaiming dignity, agency and power

News

Let’s say what we truly want society to look like – Let’s End Poverty

This year is a chance to reassert what we want for the country. The huge majority of us want to end poverty… Niall Cooper says: …

News

Charity and church leaders call for urgent action on rising poverty in the UK and around the world

Senior leaders from churches and charities have called on politicians to take urgent action on rising poverty in the UK and around the world. In …

News

New Year’s Honour for inspiring campaigner Penny

Compassionate community campaigner, Penny Walters, has been awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Year Honours list. The award is in recognition of her …

News

Meet our five new trustees

Five new trustees have joined the council of management of Church Action on Poverty, bringing fresh skills, insights, ideas and dedication to the organisation. All …

News Opinion and insight

Feeding Britain & YLP: Raising dignity, hope & choice with households

Your Local Pantry, Feeding Britain and others are working together to prevent hunger, offer dignity and choice, and co-design a national exit strategy from dependence …

News

Parkas, walking boots, and action for change: Sheffield’s urban poverty pilgrimage

For 14 years Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield has embarked on an Urban Poverty Pilgrimage. Essentially, about 30 or so of its members – …

A call to UK churches: forge new partnerships and make change happen

News of an exciting new partnership... and a call for churches to re-immerse themselves in their community relationships.

Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.

That quote by American author and activist Helen Keller is a timeless and vital message to anyone who wants to make change happen. None of us can achieve much by acting alone. But when we unite, the opportunities are huge.

As Church Action on Poverty this week turns 40, we look ahead with optimism. Not because of what we do ourselves, as one charity, but because of the larger, inspiring, tenacious and thriving movement that we are one part of, and the partnerships we cherish.

A new partnership with Co-op

This week, we are particularly delighted to announce that we have signed a new national partnership agreement with Co-op, to help strengthen the voice and power of people in poverty.

The Co-op will support a new Speaking Truth To Power programme and the growth and development of the Your Local Pantry network, enabling people on low incomes to start redressing Britain’s power imbalance and to have a greater impact over the decisions and systems that affect their lives.

A growing movement for change

We know that across the UK, there is a vast movement of wonderful people, proactive neighbourhoods, community organisations, residents’ associations, faith groups, charities, activists, campaigners and many others, working to improve everyday life. And it’s when we do so together, in partnership with people in poverty and across organisations, that we see the most remarkable results.

That’s why Church Action on Poverty’s task for the coming years is to focus on working with a wide array of partners to promote initiatives in which local people and communities struggling against poverty can come together, and take collective action to reclaim their own dignity, agency and power. In this way, we can together mitigate the impact of a further economic squeeze but also build a movement against poverty.

Some of our new partners will be very localised and relatively small: individual church congregations, or neighbourhood community groups. Others, like the Coop, are much larger. All can make a difference, and if you want your group or church to start having more impact, then start by looking at who you can partner with.

Partnerships in practice

Here are some of the partnerships that we are going to be part of in the year ahead:

1: Poverty Truth Commissions

Poverty Truth Commissions bring together people with direct experience of poverty in a town or city, and decision-makers whose professional position enables them to quickly effect change. Everyone works together as equals over 18 months or so, to identify local solutions that will make a real difference.

No individual commissioner could make informed and effective change happen on their own. But by working together, and focusing on what they can change, commissions can make a difference.

We are now working in partnership with the Poverty Truth Network, to help to set up more commissions around the country.

2: Speaking Truth To Power

Church Action on Poverty has a long history of supporting people whose voices had previously been drowned out, to ensure people with personal experience of poverty are heard by people in power.

We have now teamed up with local partners in Liverpool and London and with the Coop and Joseph Rowntree Foundation nationally, to develop a new programme launching this summer. This will support a new generation of activists, including people personally struggling against poverty, to further develop their skills and confidence to speak their own truths to power.

Being heard is not in itself enough, however. We want the truths people speak to have an impact, and to help change the broken systems that hold people back. We want people to be heard and their messages heeded. In partnership with other organisations, including media partners, we will work to truly engage people in power in meaningful discussions about how we can work together to solve poverty.

3: Your Local Pantry

The Your Local Pantry network was launched in 2014, and has grown especially quickly in the past two years. Today, there are 75 pantries nationwide, supporting more than 60,000 people to build community and save on their essential outgoings.

Pantries soften the blow of high living costs, and create the conditions for communities to grow and thrive, by bringing people together around food. Members pay a small amount each week, and choose groceries worth many times more.

Each of those 75 Pantries is a partnership. Church Action on Poverty provides logistical support and national oversight and coordination, but it is the local partnership that makes each Pantry thrive. Pantries are all about dignity, choice and hope. Each one operates as a member-led neighbourhood hub and a springboard to other community initiatives, opportunities and ideas. As we all continue to press for lasting change, pantries are an immediate positive step.

4: Self-Reliant Groups

Self-Reliant Groups are small groups of people who meet save together, and use their savings together in a joint venture. Many involve craft-making, or cookery, and they bring dignity and power back to people who have often been sidelined by the mainstream economy. Around 80% of the members are women.

Church Action on Poverty works in partnership with organisations in Scotland, Wales and North West England to help the network of SRGs to grow, and we are also now partnering with an organisation in Leeds, to spread the movement there as well.

5: Challenge Poverty Week

Challenge Poverty Week is a moment when all the myriad groups and partnerships in the movement to end UK poverty can come together.

The week in October is a time for us to hear loudly and clearly the voices that are too often ignored. It’s a chance to show that it is possible to build a better, more compassionate society in which everyone can live life to the full. And it’s a chance to widen our perspective, and see the vast amount of inspiring hope-filled work that is going on across the movement.

Church Action on Poverty coordinates the week in England and Wales, working closely with local authorities, community groups, charities, and the Poverty Alliance in Scotland, where the idea had first begun,

The role of churches - locally and nationally

Alongside all of these partnerships, Church Action on Poverty will continue to work with the churches, at local and national level.

Churches are ideally placed to play a key role in improving UK society, but that requires selflessness and an institutional, theological and cultural shift away from models of rescue and ‘service provision’. Churches must avoid any temptation to do things for people in poverty, and instead do things with people in poverty.

Churches nationally will also need to invest in models of mission, leadership and discipleship which affirm the importance of social engagement and transformation (the missionary goal of transforming the unjust structures of society). Through our existing church partnerships and Church on the Margins programme, Church Action on Poverty can play a modest role in advocating for these new ways of working, and in challenging the institutional churches to invest accordingly.

Widening our lens, and self-reflection

Churches will also need to recognise the links between poverty and other social justice issues, including institutionalised prejudice on the basis of race, gender, disability and class. The churches and the anti-poverty sector (within which we include Church Action on Poverty) need to recognise and actively re-dress our own biases, and take seriously the challenge of intersectionality if we wish to be seen as part of the solution rather than part of the problem in future.

Time for churches to take this opportunity

The past few years have been tumultuous for all of us, and in response many radical voices are calling for a new social revolution, rekindling democracy or a shift towards a wellbeing economy, or circular economy. All of these ideas, in their different ways, rightly seek to place local people and communities at the centre of society.

As we have also found, particularly since the start of the pandemic, local communities are huge reservoirs of ingenuity, mutual support and goodwill. Churches can be a central part of this, drawing on the radical visions and ideas across scripture and the anti-poverty movement to help improve their whole community. Those who take the leap will be amazed at what they can achieve in partnership.

Be part of a movement that’s reclaiming dignity, agency and power

News Opinion and insight

Seeking food justice in York

It’s not enough to hand out food, if the broken systems are allowed to continue. Two people who know that well are Mary Passeri and …

Opinion and insight

Jayne and Shaun’s story: creativity, self-reliance and truth

Jayne and Shaun have worked with Church Action on Poverty on Poverty Truth Commissions, Self-Reliant Groups, and creative workshops. Watch their story below. https://youtu.be/U_jX0P8mkW4 Find …

News

Sign the Anti-Poverty Charter!

We are pleased to share with you the Anti-Poverty Charter developed by our partners at the ‘Life on the Breadline’ research programme. Please read, share …

News

The story of a Cornish food and community revolution

At Newquay Community Orchard, local people are growing and learning together You can’t rush things when you’re growing your own food. It takes time and …

Opinion and insight

“You are worthy. Don’t ever give up.”

Monica Gregory, who works with homeless people in Oxford, has been speaking out as part of our Food Power programme. We talked to her about …

News

How can policy-makers and churches work together to tackle UK poverty?

Our partners at the ‘Life on the Breadline’ research programme have announced two new briefings for policy-makers, looking at how they can work together with …

News

How have Christians responded to poverty during austerity?

Dr Stephanie Denning looks back at what our partners at the ‘Life on the Breadline’ research programme learned over the last three years. How have …

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Reset The Debt in Parliament

Well over a thousand supporters of the Reset the Debt campaign wrote to their MPs to ask them to attend a debate on household debt …

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Watch the Food Power story

As our Food Power programme draws to a close, see how people power has tackled food poverty.

News Opinion and insight

How we can use poetry to accelerate social change

Poet Matt Sowerby harnesses the power and resolve of people in poverty. Matt started using his skills as a route to social justice, when he …

Opinion and insight

Activism, struggle and superpowers

Scouse writer-actor Ellis Howard has worked with us over the past year, helping people channel their experiences of poverty and struggle into powerful activism. In …

News

Why does digital exclusion matter?

Why does digital exclusion matter? That’s the question being explored by our friends at the APLE Collective during June 2021, APLE Month. We invited Tracey …

Opinion and insight

62% want action on income inequality. So, what do we do?

We look at three ways the UK can begin building the society it wants by tackling inequality. How do we make sure everyone is included …

News

SPARK newsletter, summer 2021

The latest issue of the newsletter for supporters of Church Action on Poverty

Resources

Building Dignity, Agency and Power Together

Read about the vision driving our work in the coming years

News Opinion and insight

Penny: What I’ve learnt as an anti-poverty activist

When dozens of people are talking at once, how can you make yourself heard? When you speak to people in positions of great power, how …

News

Sheffield Church Action on Poverty Update, May 2021

Read the latest newsletter from our local group in Sheffield

News

Listening…

Watching birds in the park helps Self-Reliant Group facilitator, Laura Walton, listen to God. Many Christians hear God speaking to them in an audible voice, …

News Opinion and insight

How should we talk about poverty in the 2020s?

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 …

News Opinion and insight

What’s the best way to reduce the stigma of food poverty?

How do we safeguard food access without compromising on dignity? Charities and community groups have wrestled with this for years. Firstly, through a decade of …

SPARK newsletter summer 2022

Click on the right to download the summer 2022 issue of SPARK, our newsletter for supporters of Church Action on Poverty.

How music is once more bringing people together in Sheffield

What song means the most to you?

That’s the question that a few people in Sheffield began asking during the pandemic…. and the answers have led to a wonderful new project.

Reasons To Sing! - A community project

Nick Waterfield from Share Ministries in Sheffield worked with local people in the north of the city, and with Steel City Choristers, on the Reasons To Sing project. People were asked to identify songs that mattered most to them, or which evoked particularly strong memories.

The responses were profound and wonderful. In May, the choristers put on a special concert featuring 12 songs, accompanied by 12 video stories. And now, they have launched a course for small group discussions as well.

Kate Caroe from Steel City Choristers takes up the story…

“The value of music and singing has perhaps never been more apparent than while live performance was so sorely missed during the Coronavirus pandemic.

“For many people, the isolation of being in lockdown highlighted the power of music and our desperate need for it – not only for our pleasure, but for our mental and spiritual health and wellbeing. Music and song have the ability to take us to another place; like other creative arts, they move us into a liminal space – a space between spaces. We want to encourage more people to sing, and this course gives people of all ages the opportunity to reflect on why singing is so valuable a part of being human.”

How the course came about

“The course has been written with Methodist pioneer minister, Nick Waterfield of Share Ministries. It explores the soul of our favourite songs – how singing shapes and reflects how we feel.

“The course can be used in a variety of settings: in schools, community groups, care homes, churches and for private reflection. The course consists of six short videos on the themes of comfort, gratitude, loss, love, unity and structure, with a set of discussion notes and suggested activities to aid contemplation.

“Each video consists of the choir singing two songs and the stories behind them, and acts as a stimulus for reflection on each of the themes. Six of the songs have been chosen by people from Parson Cross Initiative, and they have been paired with six pieces from Steel City Choristers’ traditional repertoire, thus making English choral music relevant to people’s everyday lived experiences.

“The concert was wonderful. Joshua Stephens, director of music at Steel City Choristers, said: “I think this has been the most amazing concert. One of the most amazing things about this project, which has been the best part of a year, is about making choral music more accessible, more visible.

“Hopefully we have shown that choral music is everything from something written in 1592 to Hi Ho Silver Lining and beyond. There are absolutely no words to sum up the feel-good feeling that this project has brought.”

List of songs

There were six themes, with two songs for each:

Comfort: He’s Got The Whold World In His Hands / Psalm 137
Gratitude: What A Wonderful World / For The Beauty Of The Earth
Loss: The Day Thou Gavest Lord Has Ended / In Paradisum from Faure’s Requiem
Love: Angels From The Realms of Glory / If Ye Love Me
Unity: Hi Ho Silver Lining / Jerusalem
Structure: Mr Blue Sky / Agnus Dei from Byrd’s Mass For Four Voices

Find out more

The course materials are available now on the Steel City Choristers website or by emailing kate@steelcitychoristers.org.uk

Be part of a movement that’s reclaiming dignity, agency and power

Opinion and insight

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.

Report highlights size of the gap

We call for an emergency budget and urgent action

Who has backed the call?

Coverage

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.

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

Why does this matter?

Progress has been made - but this is a crucial time

What you can do:

More on our Reporting Poverty work

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

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.

Church Action on Poverty: our story

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

A time to act, and a time to mobilise

Planting bulbs that would keep on growing

Committed and lasting relationships

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

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

Listening, reflecting and sharing

What can we do together to build a better future?

Keeping hope local

Bringing hope back into the food system

The 2022 Dignity, Agency, Power calendar include stories from today and from previous inspiring campaigns in the movement to end poverty. Here, we look at the Debt On Our Doorstep campaign.

A widespread campaign

Gathering momentum

A recipe for the future

We're delighted to announce the launch of a special publication to mark the 40th anniversary of Church Action on Poverty.

News of an exciting new partnership... and a call for churches to re-immerse themselves in their community relationships.

A new partnership with Co-op

A growing movement for change

Partnerships in practice

1: Poverty Truth Commissions

2: Speaking Truth To Power

3: Your Local Pantry

4: Self-Reliant Groups

5: Challenge Poverty Week

The role of churches - locally and nationally

Widening our lens, and self-reflection

Time for churches to take this opportunity

Click on the right to download the summer 2022 issue of SPARK, our newsletter for supporters of Church Action on Poverty.

What song means the most to you?

Reasons To Sing! - A community project