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The Pilgrimage on the Margins

Our Director Niall Cooper reflects on a year spent listening to and celebrating forgotten places and people.

In 2022 we wanted to contribute to the task of community renewal as we start to move beyond the impacts of Covid-19, and to celebrate Church Action on Poverty’s 40th anniversary. We spent listening to and amplifying the truths revealed by people and communities on the margins of British society, sharing their vision of the kind of future they want to see for themselves and the neighbourhoods, and standing in solidarity with them in speaking truth to power about the wider changes that are needed to help bring this about.

The Pilgrimage on the Margins sought to reimagine what pilgrimage means in 2022. For most people pilgrimage is associated with remote, rural, ancient or ‘thin’ places (Iona, Lindisfarne, etc). Whilst these very much have their place, they do not help with the task of discovering holiness, transformation or encountering God in more modern, urban, everyday environments. If we journey to and with forgotten or economically marginalised communities, can they also become sites of pilgrimage, encounter, hope and transformation? 

In total, eight Pilgrimage events took place, including six events in forgotten or marginalised communities in different locations across the UK.  These included Wythenshawe (Greater Manchester), Peckham (London), Lewes (East Sussex), Newquay (Cornwall), Sheffield, and Edinburgh. Each visit was hosted by a local partner church or community organisation.  In addition, a group of 20 people participated in a Pilgrimage on the Margins week at Iona Abbey in July, and a variation of the Pilgrimage took place as part of the Greenbelt Festival in August.

In each Pilgrimage, local people, community, faith and civic leaders, Church Action on Poverty partners and supporters spent time together, listening and reflecting together on their stories, truths, dreams and aspirations. Across the year, over 200 people have spent time listening to and building relationships in places and with people with whom they would not normally spend time.

Whilst it is impossible to recreate the unique experience of each local Pilgrimage, we have collected some of the wisdom generated, through words, poetry, paint, photography and video, to share these more widely, as part of Church Action on Poverty’s wider national communications to mark the Pilgrimage throughout the year.

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.

Keeping hope local

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?”

At all the locations, people have written their hopes on paper leaves and hung them on trees, and laid down stones representing burdens.  A short video giving the flavour of the event in Wythenshawe is here:

Revd Kate Gray, from the Dandelion Community who hosted the Wythenshawe Pilgrimage, 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, we visited three churches in the community, meeting different people and reflecting on the stations of the cross, and also visited the Local 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. Watch a short video here:

In Cornwall, people visited Newquay Community Orchard, which brings people together and is a hub for community, friendship, opportunities and access to good food:

Exploring dignity, agency and power through words, poetry, painting and music

The programme on Iona explored the themes of dignity, agency and power, through storytelling, space for reflection together in small groups, and through creativity, writing, prayers and poetry.  These themes have emerged from Church Action on Poverty’s work with people struggling against poverty over many years. 

Wayne Green, a long-standing Church Action on Poverty activist for more than 25 years, who spoke at our first National Poverty Hearing in 1996, performed this remarkable saxophone solo meditation on his years of activism in Iona Abbey:

The poems below are based entirely on participants’ own words recorded on Iona and at other Pilgrimage on the Margins events during the year.

Dignity is…

Dignity is…
Hospitality
Welcome
Acceptance
Empowerment
Equality
Community and belonging
Feeling part of something
Crossing over borders

Dignity is…

Most of the time I have been tret with respect – I only become aware of it when I wasn’t tret well.

As a white middle-class man I can’t think of a time when I was not treated with respect.

Someone finding a room in a hostel and making sure you’re OK

Dignity is…  moving into a new sheltered flat, people were very caring about what I wanted – far beyond what I was expecting. I didn’t have to ask twice.

Dignity is being with other marginalised people, support in our estate – you can go to someone’s house with no food and you’ll leave with the food.

Dignity is…
Time
Empathy
Solidarity
Mutual blessing
Being with people in their lives
Conversations
Listening

Feeling listened to and respected within our church community.

Dignity is… Since I arrived here on Iona: the fellowship and friendship.  I know I’ll get the love and support.  It’s a long time since I’ve felt that and such a contrast with how things are at home.

Dignity is…

Being listened to
Being accepted
Being treated well even when they don’t know who you are.

A safe place – to be OK.

Lack of respect

Lack of respect is…. 

Arrogance
Fear
Surveillance
Authority figures
Financial exile
Uncaring
Othering
Abuse of power

Lack of respect is…. 

Disrespectful GP not looking at me, looking at the screen.
People demanding things their way, with control and power
Not having issues you raise taken seriously
Criminal justice system – corruption

Lack of respect is…. 

Misguided Christianity
Traditional churches’ judgement – ‘you are a sinner’
‘You will go to hell’

Lack of respect is…. 

Not made welcome in a meeting
Wording in forms
Being asked inappropriate questions or intrusive questions
No one ultimately taking responsibility for giving a proper answer.

Being laughed at
Being hated as a woman
My experience of racism from an early age.

Lack of respect is…. 

Lack of manners
Not asking
Done to you not with or for you
Hierarchy
The class system
When standing up and trying to make change – facing resistance

Lack of respect is…. 

When children aren’t treated with dignity and respect it kills you as a parent. No nine-year-old should have to get her sister breakfast because I’m too ill with stress as a result of the situation.

No safety net for those in poverty;
Being tret like a number.
Being told employment will be terminated at one week’s notice by your new boss. This is the work experience of so many.

The amount of times I’ve been told it was my fault.

You fall and you fall hard. 

A vision of dignity for all

Dignity for all is…

More listening than speaking and being present
Safe to share stories, seek help and make mistakes
People don’t have to be perfect
People know that they are working for each other
We need one another

Dignity for all is…

Knowing and acknowledging our vulnerabilities
Where everyone moves towards the fullness of life.
Where everyone experiences acceptance and fulfilment
Where everyone’s potential is recognised and valued for the common good .. for all

Dignity for all is…

Universal basic income
Decent housing, fair rent
Acceptance of diversity
No judgement

Dignity for all is…

Everyone can live rather than just survive
Everyone is treated fairly and equally, has differences valued
Everyone can contribute to and benefit from community
Given the opportunity to play a part

Dignity for all is…

Self-worth and a sense of purpose
People who are chronically ill have their contribution recognised
Being seen for who you are, how it affects me as an individual, not a number.
Challenging our understanding of who is powerful

Dignity for all is…

Learning from the wisdom of previous generation and the insights of scripture.
Life experience is valued, not just education
Living with friction, it’s not necessarily lacking in conflict.
A willingness to learn and to let go of our own visions
A willingness to acknowledge, to have self-awareness, give and create space.
Everyone has a say, respects each other, has enough

Dignity for all is…

Glory to God in the High Street

Dignity for all is…

Amazing

Agency

Agency is…

Freedom
Aspiration
Trust
Risk

Agency is…

Pushing the envelope
Imagination of possibilities
Opening and broadening opportunities
Opening a space for agency to take place
Degrees of…

Agency is… Hosting a Ukranian family
Agency is… Peace building
Agency is… Retiring 18 months ago
Agency is… Making a difference on the helpline that I work on and deciding not to retire
Agency is… Leaving a job that doesn’t care

In my personal life I’ve always had agency: have never had a problem doing what I felt I needed to

Some people struggle to obtain agency for themselves
When you are poor you can’t afford to take risks and taking risks involves stepping outside your own understanding
Difficulty ending an abusive relationship
Mislead and betrayed
Crossing thresholds is quite hard
No one likes being told what to do

Agency is…  Being able to see physical signs of something good happening

Agency is…  what I do for Christians Against Poverty; in sharing my story to the media; in being tough with them where necessary

Agency is… Sharing my story with the Big Issue, in wanting to give something back, to keep my voice as loud as I can.

Agency is… If I can just change one person’s life through what I say, I will have made the difference I need to make.

A child was murdered in our area and we started a listening project; everybody baked and ate cake, laughed, knitted, sewed because it was too awful outside

Agency is… In providing loving non-judgemental help with money, debt, life skills

Volunteering, work, uni, family – I could choose, I’m going to do what I like, going to choose something I enjoy, fulfilling my need and their need

Agency is…

Just starting something from scratch
Realising you have options you never thought about
Taking risks and when it is safe – going to church took me 10 years to join
Being able to listen to others who need to be heard
Working out what you want and not just waiting to be told

Agency is…

Just starting something from scratch
Through community
Different churches working together, social improvements
Not trying to be the Messiah/Knight in shining armour
Sometimes you ‘happen to be’ in the right place at the right time

Agency is…

Working out what the real priorities are
Working out what would make life better and asking for it
Using knowledge and experience for positive change

Agency is…

Trust in the Lord and go for it.

When we come together

When we come together we are able to…

Challenge authority
Challenge injustice
Challenge power structures
Create a space for dialogue, where everyone’s voice is heard

Make real changes for the benefit of all
Gain understanding and clarity
Pool resources to make a difference
Some people are big names, others are more effective
Get people to listen who wouldn’t listen to us alone
Do God’s work: Where two or more come together…

When we come together we are able to…

Make a difference
Lift a heavy burden
Achieve our goals
Have a knock-on effect

Challenge a culture of greed
Change politics and policies
Change the political system

Stop the traffic
Stop wearing out the planet
Finish a jigsaw

We can change the world… even if it takes a lifetime – and longer
It takes many people’s lifetimes

In a world of hi-tech we can make change quicker
Mobilise the power of social media to mobilise different people
Ensure the little person is not overlooked
Realise we’re not alone 

When we come together we are able to…

Build our own strengths, in order to help others
Practice trust, then encourage others

Listen without judgement
Learn something we didn’t know
Change our minds

Comfort one another
Celebrate one another
Encourage one another
Believe in each other
Realise we’re loud!

Say enough is enough

A prayer for hope

Hope is…
Compassion
Fairness
Trust

Hope is… working together for a positive outcome for everyone and a fairer world

Hope is… sharing what we have gives hope.

My hope is for equality. Equality of resources, of education, of opportunity and equality of wealth.

I hope we can begin to break down the barriers between communities here in Lewes – that this can be a conversation which involves everyone, not just those with power and influence

Newquay Community Orchard gives me hope!  Trees rather than Tesco!
People of Peckham bring me hope and inspiration
Everyone’s commitment, love and dedication gives me hope

My hope is found in the individuals that tirelessly volunteer and serve those that are struggling.

My hope lies in the building of communities who help each other in times of need and join in the celebrating and the mourning and that peace shall reign and fear is no more.

My hope is in the alternative kingdom/world that Jesus shows is possible

I hope that the church rediscovers its place in society as the place of welcome, hospitality, care and inclusion.

Hope is… Where race, gender and current divides are removed and we all live in equality

Hope is… for a Government that cares.

Hope is… The youth challenging the current system through social movements

Hope is… I just want everyone to have the ability to be happy!

Hope is… Community coming together in times of crisis

Hope is… Events like today, meeting good people who care.

I dream of a country where everyone has a right to a dignified life and enough money to live on!

The Food Strategy for Cornwall gives me hope!

Hope is… Many opportunities to serve, show kindness and hope

Hope is… sharing skills, knowledge and understanding of the world from different perspectives.

Hope is… Sharing stories. Shared hope, spreading more love.

Hope is… Sharing food and stories, laughter and hope. 

Hope is… Making connection.

Hope is… No more visits from the bailiffs! A real, practical difference.

Hope is… Good news to the poor, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed, love, laughter and light.

I hope there will come a time that people will have enough that food banks will not be needed and that ‘greed’ will be a thing of the past.

Father God, you reign over all and hear the prayers of your children. May you cover us in peace, bring us to a place where we can stand and lead the fight against injustice that all may dwell in security, joy and peace.

Amen

We want the power

Power is …
Being able to make a difference
Being listened to and heard
Working together
Gaining support
Responsibility
Care and protection of others

Power is…
Virtue, solidarity, persistence
Advocacy, knowledge, resistance
Challenging injustice
Feeling uncomfortable

Power is…
In relationships
Its easier to feel powerful when working with others
Being involved in little changes
Not just sitting on your hands and not using the power you have
Making yourself redundant

Power is…
Debilitating, diminishing, stuck and inadequate
Corruption, oppression, debt and war
Being victims of… Media, money, institutions
Being forced out of a job
Being caught in the system
Following their system and their ways
Time you waste, thoughts you waste
Knowing where your breaking point is

Its OK to be angry, and to want power
There should be a solution to this
With great power comes great responsibility
We are scared of being responsible and accountable
We’re afraid of it because we might abuse it

What would Jesus do?

You have the power
Share the power
It’s OK to make mistakes
Nothing about us without us is for us

We want the power to…
Reveal the truth
Enable parents to be fulfilled and protect their children
End child poverty in Guildford
End poverty
Fight valiantly under the banner of Christ, against sin, the world and the devil
Fight those who deny the right to food, the right to life
Bring about changes at local level
Disarm the unreasonable with reason
Get a foot in the door
Win the battles we choose to fight

We want the power to…
Modernise politics, decentralise power and the media
Rejuvenate the Palace of Westminster
Move Parliament to Manchester/Birmingham
Make sure benefits are reviewed on today’s inflation, not last year’s inflation

We want the power to…
Challenge shareholders getting huge dividends
Cut the costs of utilities
Prevent the cost of living crisis pushing people further into debt, hardship and suicidal thoughts
Access and talk to a human being who can actually help

We want the power to…
Give it away

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

Are we set for a landmark legal change on inequality?

SPARK newsletter winter 2023-24

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

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

New Year’s Honour for inspiring campaigner Penny

Meet our five new trustees

How to unlock poverty for families like Carlie’s

Carlie tells of her experience of poverty, and the systems that do (or don't) support families with additional needs

Carlie in front of an Autism Hope display stand

What does poverty look like today? What is at stake when the Government talks of cutting benefits? What needs to change in society?

Those were some of the issues raised at the Archbishop of York’s recent roundtable discussion on tackling poverty in Yorkshire, at which I shared my experiences of life in a family with additional needs.

I have come to understand poverty personally, as my son was diagnosed with severe autism at two and couldn’t access day care, so I had to stop working and was living in rented accommodation with two children, on benefits.

Carlie, far left, took part in the recent roundtable discussion on tackling poverty in Yorkshire

Inspired by my experience

What this experience did was inspire me to do set up Autism Hope Sheffield six years ago, through the Parson’s Cross Initiative in the north of the city. Autism Hope is a parent-led support group, with one main goal: to connect other parents who have children with autism spectrum disorder.

The group was born out of a desperate need for connection and understanding, both of me as a parent and of my beautiful son. Isaac was two when he was diagnosed, after showing profound regression at eighteen months.

This began our journey in the world of autism. Seeing your child regress and lose skills they have previously held is incredibly frightening for a parent. My once sociable and happy infant became extremely anxious and lost in his own world, with me unable to reach him.

Group members support each other, but there’s still an isolation and a stigma you can feel. There are parents who can’t work, because they’ve got a child with severe anxiety. They’ve given up their jobs, and they’re living in poverty and with the judgment that goes with that.

This week is Challenge Poverty Week, a chance to speak up about the systems and structures that hold many people back. When we talk about poverty, families with additional needs are often an overlooked group.

I consider myself one of the lucky ones in that the severity of Isaac’s autism meant the diagnosis took less than twelve months. However, those twelve months were incredibly difficult and frightening.

Parents are facing this every day and unfortunately the wait for diagnosis is now years rather than months. These are children who may have regressed like Isaac did or who may have hit milestones in their development such as walking and talking yet struggle dramatically with social skills or have sensory irregularities.

A common factor for some children is their ability to mask in school, yet on arrival home they relax and all their held-in emotions erupt, and their parents are at a loss how to help. This can be a major battle for parents as school may not see any problem, and cannot understand why the parents request help.

So, what needs to change in society, to support children like Isaac and families like mine?

Firstly, many schools could do more to accommodate the adjustments that would help a child’s ability to have a successful mainstream education – such as allowing a child a start time five minutes before or after their classmates, or allowing them to eat in a separate place.

Secondly, more should also be done to support parents to access specialist provision where appropriate, and more investment is needed.

Many parents’ applications are turned down because of the shocking lack of places in schools, or on the basis that the needs of the child cannot be met. If a specialist provision cannot meet the needs of the child, then where will they access the education every child is entitled to?

Thirdly, more support for mental health for children and parents should be a priority. A child shouldn’t have to wait months – sometimes even years – to receive much-needed counselling and therapy. 

Anxiety, depression, and self-harm are common with children with autism and the waiting time is devastating to a parent at their wits’ end, trying to keep their child safe. Parents may have to give up work as they need to be full time carers, and this affects the family’s finances dramatically.

A posed group shot on the steps of Bishopthorpe Palace, of event attendees

More understanding is essential

More understanding is essential – of children who are non-verbal yet who fight magnificently to get their needs met in whichever way they may communicate, of children whose anxiety means they cannot leave their bedroom and self-harm, and of parents trying to function and hold it all together whilst neglecting their own care needs. These are the realities of family lives and without more support and funding, this situation is only going to get worse.

NHS waiting times for assessments also need to be improved dramatically but, in the meantime, there are things that can be done – such as clear signposting to parents what the process for assessment will be, and how to apply for an EHCP (education, health and care plan) if needed.

Financially, more should also be done to support parents to claim carers’ allowance, disability living allowance and other state benefits, and these benefits must be increased, to reflect the financial insecurity and extreme difficulties families face.

That is what is at stake when we talk about poverty and benefits.

Carlie Brough is co-founder of Autism Hope Sheffield, and took part in the Archbishop of York’s recent roundtable discussion on tackling poverty in Yorkshire. A version of this article was also published in The Yorkshire Post on 19th October 2022.

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

Obituary: Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ

Annual review 2022-23

Cost of living scandal: 7 truly useful church responses

Ashleigh: “I think we will become known for making a change”

North East churches & community gather to tackle poverty together

There’s huge public desire to end poverty – will politicians now act?

What is Let’s End Poverty – and how can you get involved?

Our partner APLE is looking for new trustees

Nottingham’s first Your Local Pantry opens

SPARK newsletter autumn 2023

Urban Poverty Pilgrimage: Towards a Theological Practice

MPs praise the Pantry approach – but they must do so much more

Dignity, Agency, Power and human worth

A reflection on Isaiah 1:12-20 by Hazel Palmer

Dignity Agency Power

What does the Bible have to say about the value of people – especially when they’re in poverty? Those who are poor and vulnerable are routinely dismissed by our media and politicians as worthless. So how does the Bible speak into a world like this?

Isaiah’s words show us. In his time, obviously our economic and benefit systems didn’t exist. But we can learn from what he says because God’s nature is still the same. And so, sadly, is ours. And one of the results is the gap between rich and poor.

These verses start by describing how the people in Judah and Jerusalem were keeping the religious services, following the prescribed pattern. They felt they were offering God what he was worth.  It seemed fine to them, so it must have been fine with him, right?

Wrong. The Lord’s verdict shocked them. To him, their worship was meaningless and detestable – the word evil is even used. We, too, may be shocked by God’s response, but let’s remember it was not a final condemnation. He was only taking them to task so they would change things for the better.

You could assume the problem with their worship was insincerity, but the passage doesn’t point to this. In Isaiah for Everyone, John Goldingay, an Old Testament commentator, says the believers looked “as if they meant every hallelujah”.  So what was it that God objected to so much?

It was their behaviour outside the services. They had not righted a great wrong (verse 15) and therefore had blood on their hands. The blood of the poor.

The Message version of the Bible expresses God’s anger like this (verse 17):

“Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You’ve worn me out! I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning.”

We’re told the problem was about justice (verse 17). John Goldingay defines this Old Testament word as authorities (governments) “taking decisions … on behalf of people in need and of people wronged by others.” At the time, people in power had thrown many poor widows off land they were entitled to. Instead, they awarded it to others who “joined field to field” (5:8): enlarging their property by snatching what belonged to the poor. They treated widows and their children as if they were worthless; in effect, starving them.

God calls this by its name: oppression (1:17).

So rich people were robbing the poor and vulnerable, while those who weren’t affected did nothing. Sound familiar? God’s worshippers needed to see that justice was done.

Note that charity was not in the picture.

Elsewhere in the Bible – for example, Deuteronomy 15:7,8 and 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 – God commands charitable giving. But not in Isaiah 1. That’s because what was needed was to solve the problem at root: the authorities’ decisions going against the poor. In our day, food banks are sadly necessary and everyone is grateful to staff and donors. But do they put right the basic issue?

No – charity only deals with the effects of injustice. It’s also often piecemeal and can be reduced or withdrawn. Instead, vulnerable people need a reliable system with justice and dignity.

This passage seems like bad news for Christian worshippers. It says if we aren’t calling for justice for poor people, we can recite the prayer book till we’re hoarse; God doesn’t listen.  And if we don’t work to stop oppression, we can sing praise till the roof comes off.  Even though we mean it, it’s unacceptable to God.

Thankfully, God is gracious: he shows us undeserved favour.  Isaiah told the people of Jerusalem to, “learn to do right” (verse 17). If they did, God would forgive their collective failure to love those in need (verse 18): “…though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…”  Scarlet dye was otherwise permanent.

And they didn’t need to fear being in want. Perhaps they were afraid of precisely this. If believers pursued justice for the poor, they were reassured that, “…you will eat the best from the land” (verse 19b). Everyone would prosper together.

This means a letter to your MP about UK hungry children or a decision to join an anti-poverty campaign could be a spiritual game-changer.

So to answer our original question: what are human beings in poverty worth? The answer is that their importance could hardly be greater. God himself stands alongside the poor who suffer oppression.  If we insult them by denying them justice, it amounts to insulting God by offering him worship he can’t accept.

That’s how much a person in poverty is worth.

(Bible quotations are from the New International Version, unless stated otherwise.)


You can find more prayers and reflections by Hazel and over 40 other authors in the anthology Dignity, Agency, Power, published by Wild Goose Publications to mark 40 years of Church Action on Poverty.

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

Obituary: Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ

Annual review 2022-23

Cost of living scandal: 7 truly useful church responses

Ashleigh: “I think we will become known for making a change”

North East churches & community gather to tackle poverty together

There’s huge public desire to end poverty – will politicians now act?

What is Let’s End Poverty – and how can you get involved?

Our partner APLE is looking for new trustees

Nottingham’s first Your Local Pantry opens

SPARK newsletter autumn 2023

Urban Poverty Pilgrimage: Towards a Theological Practice

MPs praise the Pantry approach – but they must do so much more

Budget 2023: Speaking Truth To Power reaction

The 2023 Budget was a divisive 'us and them' one, our panel members feel.

Members of the Speaking Truth To Power national panel met on Wednesday to watch the 2023 Budget and to discuss what it means.

Afterwards, the panel’s response to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s statement was, overall, one of disappointment.

Some positives, much upset, and many missing messages

Some announcements were received positively, most notably the extension of free childcare, the removal of the excess charges for people on pre-payment utility meters.

But there was great concern and upset at news that:

  • the unemployment support system will become even more punishing and inflexible
  • the charity sector will have to plug even more gaps in vital public services
  • pension reforms are likely to benefit the already wealthy rather than wider society

Here is a selection of what people said:

“They are reinforcing a political ideology on to poor people. It’s a harsher world, to get you into any form of work at all. I’m over 50 and am on Jobseeker’s Allowance, but I am threatened with sanctions for 11 different conditions. I get one month to find work in my profession, then am told to search for 35 hours a week for any work locally.”

“The assumption behind a lot of the benefit system is that people are lazy or not willing to seek a job, so must be coerced – it is just so unacceptable.”

“I have a disability, and it’s bad enough, but to then have this real scapegoating of people who cannot contribute more is just something else.”

“It’s a bit cheeky to claim that uprating benefits with inflation is a good-enough action when they have repeatedly refused to uprate benefits at all in a number of the last 13 years.”

“There are more disabled people in work because people in work became disabled and stayed in work. That’s not the same as people too sick/disabled to work moving into work.”

“Argh, no, there is no-one for whom sanctions need to be applied more harshly”…. “Sanctions mean cruelty as a general rule…and cost more to administer than they save.”

“The childcare change is good news. Childcare costs are such a barrier to going back to work, and even when working you can end up out of pocket. It’s women who are predominantly penalised – and the people making the changes are men, who do not understand the issue as well.”

“It still overall feels like an ‘us and them’ budget. The people who are poor are clearly seen as ‘them’ by the politicians.”

“Nothing was said about housing issues, about the rental sector, or young people.”

There was a lot of anger and concern that disabled people would be treated even worse than at present, with renewed pressure to force people who are unable to work to do so, while removing vital support systems.

Panel member Stef Benstead, whose book Second Class Citizens forensically charts successive Government’s mistreatment of disabled people, spoke about her own experiences and said she was anxious that disabled people could face further cuts to support, and more assessments that do not recognise the reality of people’s lives and situations.

Speaking Truth To Power

We had wanted the Chancellor to 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 group wanted a Budget driven 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. 

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 the Speaking Truth To Power panellists had hoped 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

On Wednesday, many of us gathered on Zoom to watch the Chancellor’s address to the House of Commons together, then to discuss it at length afterwards. We were also joined by a national newspaper journalist, who we have worked with over the years, to discuss the issues.

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

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

Dreamers Who Do: North East event for Church Action on Poverty Sunday 2024

Autumn Statement: Stef & Church Action on Poverty’s response

Act On Poverty – a Lent programme about tackling UK and global poverty

How 11 people spoke truth to power in Sussex

Obituary: Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ

Annual review 2022-23

Cost of living scandal: 7 truly useful church responses

Silhouettes of eight people, against different coloured backgrounds

Stories that challenge: Alan & Ben

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

A pen drawning of Portobello Beach in Edinburgh, by Don from Leith Pantry

Artist Don: How Leith Pantry has helped ease my depression

How the Pope’s words 10 years ago challenge & changed us

Ten years ago this month, Pope Francis announced that he wanted "a church that is poor, and for the poor".

A poor church, for the poor.

Those words, issued during his first address to the media after his election as Pope, were a challenge to denominations and church leaders all around the world – and also to us, here at Church Action on Poverty. 

What would a poor church, for the poor, look like?

What would it mean for the way our churches operate?

How might it change our understanding of church, faith and community?

A profound challenge for us all

These words and this challenge became an ever-present context for our work here at Church Action on Poverty. It challenged our thinking and our priorities, and sparked countless profound, interesting and deep discussions. 

Church on the Margins

We began discussing the issue more and more widely. and by 2016 we published our first report, bringing together wisdom, insight and opinion from across the churches.

Here are just a few of the comments and reflections contained in that report:

It surely can’t be left up to what are typically small and struggling churches in poorer neighbourhoods to shoulder the burden of responding to the challenge. What priority does the wider Church give to the task of becoming a Church for the poor? ...For Church Action on Poverty this report is only the start.
Niall Cooper
Church Action on Poverty
There is no true commitment to solidarity with the poor if one sees them merely as people passively waiting for help … The goal is not to become “the voice of the voiceless” but to help those without a voice find one
Gustavo Gutierrez
Liberation theologian and Dominican priest
By locating the divine among the margins, we are challenged to address the needs of these people who are pushed into unemployment and poverty, for a Church with the poor is possible only by our becoming a church of the poor.
Revd Raj Bharath Patta
Liberation theologian

Church of the poor: a lasting work

That 2016 report, as Niall said at the time, was only the beginning.

In 2018, we produced a concept note, Church of the Poor? Helping the Church Hear the Cry of the Poor in 21st Century Britain, and then in 2020 we launched our Church on The Margins programme.

From the outset, we were impressed and inspired by the Church of Scotland, whose ‘priority areas’ work gives clear priority to low-income neighbourhoods. How would other denominations compare?

This work recently reached a very significant milestone, when we published two important new reports:

  1. What does it mean to be a church on the margins?
  2. Is the church losing faith in low-income communities?
The work from 2020 to 2023 has been in two parts.

The first looked at statistics, to see how the biggest English denominations were engaging with low-income neighbourhoods. 

Worryingly, the research team found that church closures between 2010 and 2020 had disproportionately happened in low-income areas, with only one of five denominations bucking that trend.

 
 
The second piece of work involved lots of in-depth conversations with church leaders and members in low-income neighbourhoods, discussing what faith, the church, community and marginalisation mean to people.
 
That second report documents frustrations with barriers around disability, literacy, class, language, leadership and power within mainstream churches.
 
The voices and stories shared are powerful and insightful. They combine faith and a desire for action.

Those two reports deepen our collective understanding or what it means to be “a poor church of and for the poor”. But they are not the end of the journey either.

We are now looking at new ways to engage and challenge churches, at local and national level, to respond in meaningful and tangible ways to the Pope’s challenge, ten years ago this week.

 

"Oh, how I would like a church that is poor and for the poor."
Pope_Francis
Pope Francis
March 2013

Cost of living scandal: 7 truly useful church responses

Ashleigh: “I think we will become known for making a change”

North East churches & community gather to tackle poverty together

There’s huge public desire to end poverty – will politicians now act?

What is Let’s End Poverty – and how can you get involved?

Our partner APLE is looking for new trustees

Nottingham’s first Your Local Pantry opens

SPARK newsletter autumn 2023

Urban Poverty Pilgrimage: Towards a Theological Practice

MPs praise the Pantry approach – but they must do so much more

“We can make a change. That’s why we’re here.”

How YOUR church can build community & save people £21 a week

Annual review 2021-22

Silhouettes of eight people, against different coloured backgrounds

Stories that challenge: Alan & Ben

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

A pen drawning of Portobello Beach in Edinburgh, by Don from Leith Pantry

Artist Don: How Leith Pantry has helped ease my depression

Speaking Truth to Power in Pantries

As we launch our new 'Speaking Truth to Power' programme, programme coordinator Anna Hamill reflects on her fist visits to some of our partners.

Speaking Truth to Power

The Speaking Truth to Power programme is being piloted in Liverpool and Peckham. Felicity (our Pantries and Self-Reliant Groups Development Facilitator) and I have been out and about, visiting some of the Your Local Pantry partners that will be involved.

Liverpool

We started our visits during Challenge Poverty Week England & Wales, visiting two Pantries in Liverpool with our local host, Lee from St. Andrews Community Network. First stop was St. George’s Pantry where we met with Naomi from Feeding Liverpool who showed us around the beautiful church which hosts the pantry. There was a great buzz about the place, with plenty of space for people to sit, chat and enjoy a cup of tea. One of the brilliant volunteers even let me be a personal shopper for a member, which tested my memory skills! It was great to sit down and chat with Naomi and Lee, and get planning the next steps for the Speaking Truth to Power project and how it will look in Liverpool. 

Lee took us to Vauxhall Pantry next, which was a hive of activity! It was a pleasure to meet the Pantry coordinator, Pauline who shared the wide range of activities that are on offer to Pantry members at the amazing Vauxhall Neighbourhood Council. A lot of what was being run was due to local people seeing a need and getting stuck in. Pauline talked us through some of the issues members of the Pantry are facing and it was really clear how much the volunteers and members enjoyed coming together. 

These two Pantries showed us there is such a vibrant and engaged community in Liverpool, and everyone’s enthusiasm shone through!

Lee and Naomi during Challenge Poverty Week at St. George’s Pantry, Everton, Liverpool

London

After an early start, Felicity and I headed to London partners Pecan, in Peckham. It was the first time I had met Chris, Sharon & Flora in person, and we were able to have a really productive chat about starting the Speaking Truth to Power project through their pantry members. We also went to the Peckham Pantry, and met Pantry manager Temi. Her passion and knowledge were fantastic and she fostered a strong sense of unity at the Pantry from the volunteers. What struck me was how different and varied the Pantries can be, but they are all tied together by the fantastic workers, volunteers and members.

Felicity, Temi and Anna outside Peckham Pantry

On our second day in London, we visited Kingston Pantry based in Tolworth Rec Centre to put in time as a volunteer. We were met by Pantry manager Susan, and three volunteers, who were friendly and welcoming. Felicity took on the role of personal shopper and I welcomed members, offering them a hot drink and a piece of homemade flapjack. It was hard to believe this pantry had only been open eight weeks when we visited as everything ran so smoothly! It was great to get a better understanding of being a Pantry volunteer, and it was really clear how much the members valued going to the Pantry. Susan knew everyone by name, and all members came away with their shopping bags overflowing! Felicity and I spoke to the volunteers about the Speaking Truth to Power project and they shared how valuable having a space to campaign would be for members. 

Felicity and Anna with Susan and the volunteers at Kingston Pantry

After these fantastic Pantry visits, it really feels like the Speaking Truth to Power programme is beginning to take off! Going to visit the Pantries has just made me more excited for this project, but now I can continue with a better understanding of what the Pantries mean to their communities.

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

Are we set for a landmark legal change on inequality?

SPARK newsletter winter 2023-24

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

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

New Year’s Honour for inspiring campaigner Penny

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Food, friends & a future: SRGs are a recipe for success

Food and cookery bring us together. and unleash our potential - just like SRGs.

Julia Turshen, the American author and food equity advocate, describes cooking as a “constant reminder of transformation and possibility”. 

In her book, Feed The Resistance, she writes: “Cooking shows us over and over again that we can make things happen, we can make change happen, with just our own hands. Food is metaphor personified and within that there is reaffirmation of what we can accomplish.”

SRG member Rahela gives a cookery demonstration

SRGs bring people together

Self Reliant Groups, like the ones we partner with in Greater Manchester, Leeds and South Wales, do just that: they bring people together to make change happen – often around food.

Members of Self Reliant Groups (or SRGs, as we call them) save together, come up with ideas together, and create together. Some focus on crafts and arts, others focus on food.

In the photos on this page, SRG member Rahela Khan gives a cookery demonstration at the recent Your Local Pantry conference, using recipes from fellow group members. 

SRG member Rahela gives a cookery demonstration

Self Reliant Groups feature on the November page of the 2022 Dignity, Agency, Power photo calendar, because they are a heartening community success story from the past few years. SRGs show us that amazing things happen when people come together and work together.

SRG member Rahela gives a cookery demonstration

What is a Self Reliant Group?

A Self-Reliant Group (SRG) is:

  • A group of friends who support each other and meet regularly.
  • A group that is independent of funders and doesn’t have to tick anyone else’s boxes. It makes its own decisions.
  • A group that shares skills and learns together.
  • A group that saves together (small, manageable amounts like £1 per week) and has the potential to become a business.

Church Action on Poverty supports SRGs, with help to get started, sharing and signposting for ideas, learning and queries, networking with others in the SRG movement, and by sharing inspiration from other groups.

What you can do:

Self Reliant Group members from Greater Manchester and North West England recently produced their own recipe book. You can buy it here. 

If you are interested in learning more about SRGs, or potentially setting one up, you can email Joyce at Church Action on Poverty.

 

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

Are we set for a landmark legal change on inequality?

SPARK newsletter winter 2023-24

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

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

New Year’s Honour for inspiring campaigner Penny

Meet our five new trustees

Dignity, Agency, Power: review by John Vincent

We're delighted to share this review from the Ashram Community's John Vincent of our new publication 'Dignity, Agency, Power'.

John Vincent hails…  

DIGNITY, AGENCY AND POWER  

Stories, prayers and reflections marking 40 years’ work of Church Action on Poverty.

This new book edited by Niall Cooper, Chris Howson and Liam Purcell is published by Wild Goose Publications at £14.99.

It is the standard reference book for progressive Christians for the 2020s and will rightly be put to use by all of us.

Poverty robs people of their dignity. So here, a wide range of different partners show how dignity, agency and power each belong together and each together, build a new vision of a new future for society in which poverty is overcome, and all have fullness of life.

The sources used are often Church Action on Poverty publications and bulletins, though each has its own author or contributor – a list of over 40 of them. The sections include:

  • Prayers, hymns and liturgies
  • Stories of communities and individuals in their struggles against hope and transformation through opposition and difficulty
  • Poems, drama and Bible studies
  • Theological reflections

Many well known names are participants, and lesser known and previously unknown writers.

Church Action on Poverty and the three editors are to be congratulated on an excellent production which will serve us all well.

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

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

Artist Don: How Leith Pantry has helped ease my depression

Are we set for a landmark legal change on inequality?

SPARK newsletter winter 2023-24

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

3 ways church leaders can truly transform poverty discussions

What happens when we truly listen to voices that have been ignored? What ideas emerge, what issues are raised, and what do we learn?

This week, we are encouraging faith leaders and MPs to widen their conversations about poverty, and to do three things:

  1. Commit to participate only in poverty discussions that are truly inclusive, and to challenge and question the organisation of ones that are not
  2. Commit to organising a roundtable event on tackling poverty in their own region
  3. Engage with local groups with experience of poverty, and with national organisations with expertise, to help to make this successful.
A shot of people around a large table, including the Archbishop of York

Around the table in York

In September, as a prelude to Challenge Poverty Week, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell hosted a roundtable discussion on tackling poverty in Yorkshire, in collaboration with Church Action on Poverty.

Attendees included:

  • People with experience of poverty and marginalisation in York, Sheffield, Halifax, the East Yorkshire coast, Teesside and Bradford.
  • The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, and several members of Church of England staff and clergy.
  • People working in professional roles focused on tackling poverty, including from Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Church Action on Poverty
People sitting at a table at the Archbishop of York's roundtable event

What we heard

Attendees raised and discussed a range of issues, bringing first-hand insight and ideas. Topics discussed included:

  • What support would make a particular difference for families with additional needs?
  • How to improve support for people who have been relocated by local authorities
  • Types of positive media coverage that can help tackle poverty
  • Feelings of stigma
  • The lasting impact of adverse childhood experiences and/or addictions
  • Above all, the need for truly inclusive approaches that ensure voices of experience are heard and heeded.
The logos of Church Action on Poverty, the office of the Archbishop of York, and Challenge Poverty Week England and Wales

Challenge Poverty Week: a call to act

This week, as part of Challenge Poverty Week, we have sent a briefing to all MPs in the Diocese of York, and to all northern Bishops. It reports on the Yorkshire event, and encourages people to do three things listed earlier:

  1. Commit to participate only in poverty discussions that are truly inclusive, and to challenge and question the organisation of ones that are not
  2. Commit to organising a roundtable event on tackling poverty in their own region
  3. Engage with local groups with experience of poverty, and with national organisations with expertise, to help to make this successful.
Bringing people with lived experience around the table… Let’s create our own table, and we’re all part and equal around that table and issues are discussed. Reality is put to the statistics and together we collaborate and work out a way forward. So the approach is very participatory, very collaborative.
Tracey Herrington
Thrive Teesside

Listen up! - A call to action

It’s easy for society to turn to the same voices again and again, but only by proactively seeking out and listening to voices of direct experience, can we gain a full understanding of any issue.

And remember, we should beware of the trap of thinking we’re “giving a voice”. People in poverty already have very effective, powerful voices – but they have often been ignored or drowned out. We don’t have a shortage of voices – we have a shortage of listeners and of people in positions of power willing to engage meaningfully.

Tracey Herrington speaks and others listen, at the Archbishop of York's recent event

We all have a role to play in developing more participatory approaches on poverty. Crucially, we can all commit to participate only in conversations about poverty that are inclusive and which meaningfully involve people with expertise based on experience. We should all open up conversations that we organise, and challenge others to do likewise.

We encourage Bishops, faith leaders, community leaders and politicians to do this in full partnership with organisations and people with lived experience, and to learn from good practice.

Broad and truly inclusive conversations can be transformative and can unlock impasses that often hold communities back. They can bring new issues and perspectives to the table, greatly accelerating everyone’s learning and bringing solutions closer to fruition, and enable productive processes. They can also help shift public attitudes to poverty, and build recognition of the scale of the change required.

A posed group shot on the steps of Bishopthorpe Palace, of event attendees

The Yorkshire event enabled the forging of new relationships, which will foster further joint work. It also demonstrated the wealth and breadth of untapped expertise held by people with first-hand experience of poverty, including on issues that have not yet had sufficient attention. 

For instance, two people spoke about having been relocated by a London local authority to West Yorkshire, and the lack of support there was around that move, and others spoke about the need of better support for families with additional needs, whether for children or adults.

We hope the Yorkshire event will inspire similar ones in other regions, and the organisations below are all on hand to help interested organisations.

6 organisations with participation expertise

  1. APLE Collective, which supports groups across the country led by people with experiences of poverty.
  2. Poverty Truth Network, a network of people involved in and interested in setting up Poverty Truth Commissions.
  3. Poverty2Solutions, an alliance of organisations with a focus on delivering change on poverty, and demonstrating the value of including the expertise of experience in policy-making discussions.
  4. Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which has a focus on increasing and supporting participatory projects.
  5. Church Action on Poverty, which has long focused on supporting people with experiences of poverty to be at the forefront of change-making processes.
  6. ATD Fourth World UK, which pioneers the involvement of people in poverty in policy debates and in research.

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

What is Let’s End Poverty – and how can you get involved?

Our partner APLE is looking for new trustees

Nottingham’s first Your Local Pantry opens

SPARK newsletter autumn 2023

Urban Poverty Pilgrimage: Towards a Theological Practice

MPs praise the Pantry approach – but they must do so much more

“We can make a change. That’s why we’re here.”

How YOUR church can build community & save people £21 a week

Annual review 2021-22

Speaking Truth to Power: A Reflection on the Dignity for All Conference 

Photos & quotes: the energy, hope & resolve of Dignity For All 2023

It’s like they’ve flown: the awesome power of craft & companionship

An Introduction to the Joint Public Issues Team

Addressing poverty with lived experience: the APLE Collective

Fair fares in the North East, thanks to students!

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.”

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

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

Artist Don: How Leith Pantry has helped ease my depression

Are we set for a landmark legal change on inequality?

SPARK newsletter winter 2023-24

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