Faithful cities in a time of economic crisis

A regional roundtable event for Greater Manchester, organised by CAP to help churches respond to the recession.

When	Sep 21, 2009 from 11:09 AM to 04:09 PM
Where	Manchester Cathedral Centre
Contact Name	Janet Ashton
Contact Phone	0161 236 9321
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“There is no doubt that Britain’s cities are now managing their way through a recession. The only question now is how long and deep the recession will be. The immediate challenge is to support vulnerable households and businesses against the negative effects of the downturn. But we must also make sure that everything possible is done to help our communities and businesses take advantage of the upturn when it comes.”

Centre for Cities Outlook 2009

The current recession is having a very real impact on people’s lives, with rising unemployment, repossessions, debt and other causes of poverty. Church leaders and congregations are concerned about the situation and how they can respond to it. In many instances, churches and other faith communities are the first or only agencies providing support for vulnerable people affected by the crisis.

"When a big bank or car company goes bankrupt, it gets bailed out, but no one seems to be bailing out the ordinary people who are losing their jobs and seeing their savings diminished.

The Bishop of Durham, quoted in The Sunday Telegraph, 29 December 2008

The churches have rich resources to draw on – not least the succession of church commissions and reports on church, society and economy, from Faith in the City and Unemployment and the Future of Work through to The Common Good and Faithful Cities. What insights can we gain from revisiting this work – and how much does the new situation require new thinking?

As well as having contributed to many of the churches’ reports over the past two decades, Church Action on Poverty has a long track record of organising ‘hearings’, which create space for genuine dialogue between faith leaders, politicians and other decision-makers, and those directly affected by poverty and other forms of social and financial exclusion. Church Action on Poverty is organising a series of regional events during 2009 and 2010, to explore the impact of the crisis in relation to a specific issue and/or region. Each event will be co-sponsored by at least one local/regional partner and one or more national partner organisations, who bring specific local knowledge, expertise, or resources to help shape the event. Download a list of all the events and a booking form here.

This event will explore the impact of the crisis on the future of urban life, including re-visiting the work of the Churches’ report Faithful Cities (2006), and implications for urban mission and ministry. The event partners are Church Action on Poverty, Greater Manchester Churches Together and the Evangelical Alliance (Life Beyond Debt). Keynote speakers include:

Sir Howard Bernstein, Chief Executive, Manchester City Council
Dr Shirley Jenner, MMU Business School and a trustee of Network
Professor Hilary Russell, Liverpool John Moores University
Husna Ahmad, Chief Executive, Faith Regen Foundation

For further information, and to book your place, please contact Janet Ashton at Church Action on Poverty on 0161 236 9321 or by email at janeta@church-poverty.org.uk