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Obituary: Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ

We remember a Jesuit who was committed to hearing the cry of the poor.

Everyone at Church Action on Poverty was saddened to learn of the death in September 2023 of Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ.

During his time as provincial of the Jesuits in Britain, Campbell-Johnston was actively involved in Church Action on Poverty’s work. Most notably, he spoke at the launch of our declaration ‘Hearing the Cry of the Poor’, at Westminster Abbey in December 1989. 

That declaration committed Church Action on Poverty to “seek a new social order founded upon that vision and possibility of human wholeness which is contained in the Christian message and which speaks to all human experience”. Writing before the launch to Paul Goggins, Church Action on Poverty’s National Coordinator at the time, Fr Campbell-Johnston said:

“Six Jesuits in El Salvador died because they were working for justice and peace. Their death is a clear invitation to Christians in other countries to follow their example. When I too was working in El Salvador, the people would often say to me: ‘When you go back to your own country tell them that we here are poor and need help for food, clothes, educational equipment, etc. But more important, we would like the Christians in your country to know and understand why we are fighting for peace and justice. Most important of all, we would like to know that they themselves are committed to peace and justice in their own country. For then we would be truly brothers and sisters in Christ.’ This seems to me to be a clear invitation to become committed to justice issues in our own society here in the UK as an essential dimension of our service of the faith.”

Paul Goggins reported that at the launch, Fr Campbell-Johnston was challenged to admit that the declaration was effectively a Labour Party manifesto. “He replied that he would be delighted if the Labour party wanted to use it, equally he would be happy if Mrs Thatcher wanted to.”

Michael Campbell-Johnston (centre) at the launch of our declaration

Fr Campbell-Johnston also supported other Church Action on Poverty initiatives, for example playing a leading role in Christian opposition to the Poll Tax. He said, “I am concerned that this legislation does not reflect the principles of justice which should inform our society. I would urge members of all political parties to pay careful attention to the possible implications of this proposed legislation.”

Opposing the Poll Tax

Tackling UK poverty was just one of the ways Fr Cambell-Johnston stood up against poverty and oppression. Among may other things, he helped to found the Jesuit Refugee Service, and ran camps for displaced people during the civil war in El Salvador. Click here to read a full obituary.

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North East churches & community gather to tackle poverty together

Church leaders from 6 denominations and people with experience of poverty in North East England met, to work together to tackle poverty in the region.

Church Action on Poverty North East, Thrive Teesside and the Bishop of Durham, Paul Butler, co-hosted a roundtable event for 35 people at All Saints Church, Newton Hall, Durham, on October 11th.

A large group of people seated around a table in a church hall

Led by voices of experience

The agenda had been led by people with experience of poverty, and speakers included people with six particular perspectives of poverty.

6 perspectives of poverty in North East England

  • Davey, from Gateshead, had prepared an account about sanctions, which was read on his behalf. It told how an unnecessary sanction had led to him losing his housing benefit, and therefore being evicted while still grieving for a family tragedy.
  • Sue from Gateshead told of the particular challenges facing carers, and the huge backlog of people waiting to be assessed for support. She also talked of sanctioning, saying: “People get sanctioned for any reason, sometimes if people could not get online to see a message from the DWP.”
  • Lesley from Jarrow relayed stories from a debt support programme, which is helping local people address more than £360,000 of debt collectively.
  • Richard from Upper Teesdale talked about the invisible poverty in rural areas, exacerbated by people being pushed to use online services, when rural internet is often inadequate.
  • Graham and Sharon from Easington Colliery told of the challenges in ex-mining areas, and the lack of support services. Graham said: “A lot of people feel abandoned.”
  • Julie from Thriving Women in Stockton on Tees read from a collaborative poem, which asked: “Whose narrative is being heard?”

Church leaders to work together

Others talked about the loss of face-to-face support, and of the remaining support being stretched to its limit, and David Burns from the Salvation Army talked about the need to uphold people’s dignity, and to accompany them rather than giving hand-outs.

Attendees were encouraged to support community events during the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, and a follow-up meeting has been arranged, to begin agreeing practical next steps.

Tracey Herrington, Kim Plumpton and Claire Lowery at the event

Church can hold politicians to account

The meeting was chaired by Bishop Paul, and church attendees included representatives from the Catholic Church, Church of England, Methodist Church, Salvation Army, the Society of Friends, and the United Reformed Church.

Bishop Paul said he would relay the discussions to northern church leaders at a meeting next month, and also to people involved in the national Poverty Strategy Commission.

He said North East Churches Acting Together would also continue to invest in finding collective solutions. He said he and the Bishop of Jarrow would put a church representative forward for Hartlepool Poverty Truth Commission.

He said local and national government, and businesses, must work together to improve conditions for the lowest 15-20 per cent economically, and echoed the Let’s End Poverty campaign in saying all parties must be pushed to say what they will do to tackle poverty.

Picture gallery

Comments from attendees

The Bishop of Durham, Paul Butler

Bishop Paul said afterwards: “As always it was very good to hear the reality of poverty from those living with it.

“To be able to have a significant number of church leaders listening in to the stories, and hearing from others working alongside those facing the challenges of the social security system, the inadequacies of provision for those with significant mental health issues, and the lack of support for carers, raises many questions that we need to face as a society. 

“The journey to seek to really end endemic poverty is not a simple or easy one but it is one to which all of us gathered together are committed.”

The Rt Revd Stephen Wright, Bishop for the Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, said: “I’m very grateful for the invitation for the meeting of Challenging Poverty Together in the North East. Our Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle is committed to working alongside our Christian sisters and brothers, people of all faiths and none in accompanying those who face needs and struggle in life.

“Our Lord always invites us to see our society and our political decisions through the eyes of the poor. As Christians, we are called to be advocates for their needs and to support them as best we can. I was very inspired to hear of all the ministry taking place across the North East and I am so grateful for all the volunteers who work across the region to support our brothers and sisters.”

Rev Richard Andrew

The Revd Richard Andrew, Chair of the Darlington Methodist District said: “It was a powerful and challenging experience to share with others as we listened to those living in poverty. I was particularly moved by these words, ‘The world does not see my face.’

“If we really believe that we see the face of Jesus in the face of the poor then as North East churches we need to stand up and be counted in solidarity with them.”

Bernadette Askins

Bernadette Askins, from Church Action on Poverty North East, said: Listening to the voices of people from our North East communities who live daily with poverty was a very powerful experience. I feel very hopeful that by working together we can make a real difference.”

Coy Eastwood at the event

Corrina Eastwood, Community Organiser for Thrive Teesside, said: “The commitment and the desire to tackle poverty and inequality was evident from all who attended. By uniting and sharing our insight and knowledge we will continue to work together to create change. The collective poem from thriving women was a powerful expression of voices unbroken, along with others who shared their lived realities – it gave a face and feelings behind the statistics.”

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

What drives activists and activism? For Ashleigh, it is a combination of love, hope, and a passion for equality and justice.

Ashleigh has experienced powerlessness, homelessness, the criminal justice system and poverty. But her experiences have also shown her that change is possible, and achievable.

She now strives to make that happen, through the Moms On A Mission group she co-runs, and through work with others, in Yorkshire and London.

Here, Ashleigh tells her story of speaking truth to power.

Ashleigh, right, with fellow Moms On A Mission campaigners

Ashleigh: "I did not realise I had power... but that changed"

I would definitely like to see more equality. That is what pushed me on in the beginning, and wanting to see people being able to reclaim their power and implement change. 

“I did not realise I had power within me to make a difference in a big society, but that changed. The Young Women’s Trust played a big part in that. I was born in and lived in London and went past Westminster many times but never felt valued or welcome to be in those spaces.

“Then I went to an All Party Parliamentary Group meeting in about 2017, and to participate in that conversation was powerful. The Young Women’s Trust brought me power, and then I started Moms On A Mission, because the YWT works with people up to age 30, and I wanted to be able to help more people. 

“My work with Moms On A Mission is to empower communities and build resilience and confidence so people can overcome the challenges of poverty, breaking the generational curse of poverty.

Ashleigh at the 2023 Dignity For All conference

Ashleigh: "If we aspired to do everything with love, the world would not operate as it does now"

“I am a born again Christian. I grew up in a Christian background but started to stray from the church, and started being involved in some crime and alcohol, being a rebellious teenager, but in situations I went through I saw God’s hand. Every trial or tribulation I came through, such as going to prison, homelessness and being sectioned under the mental health act, made me feel stronger and ignited a flame. 

 “For me, love is at the centre of everything. If we aspired to do everything with love, the world would not operate as it does now. 

Ashleigh: short-term needs and long-term hope

“It’s hard to balance a long term vision with what needs to happen now. You can get distracted from the main goal but I feel everything we do is directed to the long vision. I was relocated by my council from London to Halifax because there are not enough houses in London – that was not part of my plan but we now have work to do in Halifax and things have turned around.

“I did not see how I could keep running the Moms work down in Barking & Dagenham, with me in Halifax. I felt in the wilderness and wondered what my purpose was, but God was with me and he has sent people who need help to be. There were not many groups here focusing on BAME communities and the issues we faced, but now we are doing that. 

Ashleigh was part of the 2022 roundtable on tackling poverty in Yorkshire

Ashleigh: speaking up in Parliament

“I have a lot of hope for Speaking Truth To Power. I definitely hope we will have more opportunities for young people to meet politicians, and I would like us to help have the poverty rate decline and have some policy change. I want to see a significant reduction in poverty in the UK.

“So many issues we see now are impacting on mental health. The cost of living, the cost of food – people wondering how they can cope on a daily basis? Where we live in Calderdale has a high suicide rate and people are struggling.

“One of the big issues I care about is the need for more support for families with children with special educational needs or disabilities (SENDs). Moms On A Mission is a big advocate on this, because it relates to issues we have experienced ourselves.

“We need more support and the pandemic has made it worse, impacting on more children and creating a backlog for support. Parents want to go to work, but when your child has additional needs or is getting excluded and there isn’t the support, then it’s hard. People get labelled as “challenging children” but there just isn’t the proper support. 

“So in October, Moms On A Mission and other groups went to Parliament and spoke to MPs, and tell them what support is needed. We want to raise awareness that there have been so many families with SENDs but not diagnosed – you get adults who end up in prison because conditions were not diagnosed when they were young and they were never supported and end up in difficulties. 

“We see also, especially in our BAME communities, that there is sometimes a reluctance and a sense that it’s forbidden to say a child has extra needs. So we want to bring up how the authorities can approach families before situations get out of hand.

“NHS services need improving and there seems to be a reluctance from GPs to put referrals through. There was already a big waiting list, and covid made it worse. The country needs to be funding the support that is needed for families.

“Another thing we are doing is working in our community in Halifax, to promote everything we are doing and to encourage more people to get involved and become community organisers. We are looking at power and who has it, and at collective power, and to talk about what we’re doing to speak truth to power, and we held a community brunch in Challenge Poverty Week.”

Ashleigh: I am very hopeful

“I’m very hopeful, with the generation we have today.

“When I was growing up, I did not see as many people speaking up as are speaking up now. I feel a lot of people really do want to make a difference now, but a lot of people still don’t know how to get started. So having groups like the Speaking Truth To Power panel is really important. I feel we have a really good group here with different perspectives and experiences, and I’m hearing a lot from different individuals. I think we will become known for making a change, and people should be the change you want to see.”

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

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Let's End Poverty in bold black text, beside a green 'play' icon.

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

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

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

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

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

Gemma Athanasius-Coleman
"Everyone has a right to live a certain standard of living. There shouldn’t be such a gap between rich and poor"

Let's End Poverty for everyone

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

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

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

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

A volunteer lifts a crate of bread out of a car boot.
Compassion abounds in our communities. None of us is happy seeing neighours going hungry.

Let's End Poverty together

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

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

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

Aerial view of Houses of Parliament

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

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

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

By working together, we can end poverty

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

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

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

Let's End Poverty - and be heard

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

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

Come join the winning side.  

Let’s end poverty together.

Let's End Poverty in bold black text, beside a green 'play' icon.

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Nottingham’s first Your Local Pantry opens

We're helping local partners to reclaim dignity, choice and hope in Nottingham.

The first Your Local Pantry in Nottingham has opened to members.

Meadows Pantry opened in Bridgeway Hall Methodist Mission in The Meadows on September 28th.

There are just over 100 venues in the Your Local Pantry network, but this is first in Nottingham, or Nottinghamshire.

9 people outside a brick building, Nottingham's first Your Local Pantry. Most are in purple aprons; one is holding a basket of food.

The Pantry had held a soft launch earlier in September, ahead of the official opening.

Mark Knowles, Pantry coordinator, said they had heard about the success of Pantries elsewhere, and decided it would be a positive addition to the community.

He said: “We have run a busy food bank in Bridgeway Hall for ten years, and see the Pantry as an opportunity for people in The Meadows to access quality food at a good price on an ongoing, regular basis. It has been well-received and local people are really pleased.”

There has been a steady flow of members already. 

Pantry shelves, including rice, tins, pasta, cordials, tuna and more

One of the shoppers at the launch day was Lidiia, who has been living in The Meadows since leaving Ukraine a year ago. 

She said: “It’s a really good idea and I really like the organisation with the hearts and diamonds system, and the very good variety. I really like it. The Nottingham people have been very kind and welcoming.”

She was particularly pleased with the wide variety of food, which included a couple of ingredients she was accustomed to in Ukraine as well. 

A woman in a black coat in front of a Meadows Pantry banner

Shabir Jivraj, Midlands development coordinator for Your Local Pantry, said: “Pantries are wonderful places that bring people together around food, soften the impact of high living costs, and really strengthen the power and potential of neighbourhoods. They improve local food systems, while upholding everyone’s dignity, choice and hope.

“They are a reminder of the power and potential within communities – we can all do and be so much more when we pull together.

“We’re delighted to welcome Meadows Pantry to the network, and look forward to meeting and getting to know the members and volunteers.”

A group shot of 9 people inside Nottingham's first Your Local Pantry. Most are in purple aprons; one is holding a basket of food.

Pantries help to strengthen community, improve people’s physical and mental health, and improve people’s financial situation by reducing grocery bills.

Members can access food at a small fraction of its usual supermarket price, improving household food security, and also enjoy wide-ranging additional outcomes. Members at Meadows Pantry pay £5 a week, for which they are able to choose ten items. Members save an average of £21 a week on groceries.

Earlier this summer, the Your Local Pantry network published its So Much More report. Researchers found that Pantry members reported improved physical and mental health, new friendships, strengthened community and reduced isolation, and Pantries are consistently serving as stepping stones to additional support. Nationally, Pantry members saved £4.75 million on shopping last year.

A shopping basket of groceries

The team at Meadows Pantry hope to reach 50 members within the next few months. It is open from 10am to noon on Thursdays.

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Cut-outs of Stef, Mary and Sydnie. Text above says: "Labour said they would put disabled people at the heart of everything they do. But instead they have shoved us to the very edges."

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Our partner APLE is looking for new trustees

Could you be a trustee for APLE (Addressing Poverty with Lived Experience)?

We’re pleased to share this invitation from the APLE Collective (who work in partnership with Church Action on Poverty on projects like this year’s ‘Dignity For All’ conference):

This is an exciting opportunity in inclusive governance. APLE is a national collective of individuals and organisations with lived experience of poverty. Our aim is to create a sustainable, grassroots network across the UK to raise awareness of poverty, challenge the stigma surrounding it and contributing to its eradication. As a network we promote the voices of those with lived experience of poverty and we work collaboratively with others to influence change.

Our Partners: Good Things Foundation, Ada Lovelace Institute, Trussell Trust, APPG Poverty. APPG Data Poverty

  • Over the past six months we have been preparing APLE members with lived experience of poverty to become APLE trustees. We are looking for people new to APLE to join them. We welcome expressions of interest from individuals who are able to make a real contribution to the APLE Collective through their skills and experience. We are particularly keen to hear from people who have:
  • a strong background in fundraising/income generation;
  • HR;
  • policy development.

We are looking for people who are:

  • Committed to our vision, mission, and values.
  • Able to dedicate the necessary time and effort to carry out the trustee responsibility effectively (1 day per month)
  • Through your knowledge, experience and expertise be able to support the guidance relating to operational needs and future financial sustainability of the Collective.
  • Values-driven and lead by example.
  • A strong team player who can work with other trustees to make decisions collectively to advance the best interests of the APLE Collective.
  • Informed – has some understanding of governance and the legal duties of a charity.

If you would like any further information or would like an expression of interest form, please contact Tracey Herrington  or visit the APLE Collective website.

The closing date for this position is 30 October 2023.

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An aerial view of Reading, with two group photos overlaid. One shows a group of volunteers in a line; the other shows four people around a table smiling.

The town of 250,000 that revolutionised its food system

Cut-outs of Stef, Mary and Sydnie. Text above says: "Labour said they would put disabled people at the heart of everything they do. But instead they have shoved us to the very edges."

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Urban Poverty Pilgrimage: Towards a Theological Practice

Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield embarks on an Urban Poverty Pilgrimage - a journey in search of moral and spiritual significance.

Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield, has embarked on what it describes as an Urban Poverty Pilgrimage. About 40 or so of our members – often dressed in parkas and wearing walking boots – turn out to tread the streets of Sheffield. On our journey, we visit foodbanks and other church-based poverty alleviation initiatives, to learn more about their work and how best we can help to promote and support it in our church communities and wider afield. Consequently, there is often a practical focus to the talks that we get to listen to, and to the discussions that follow. 

Yet, our members are aware that a pilgrimage needs to be more than practical in its focus if it is to embody its traditional meaning, which, for Christians, we suggest can loosely be described as a journey in search of moral and spiritual significance. As such, our walk is peppered with prayer points at which members offer prayers to God for spiritual guidance to help us better understand the causes of poverty in urban contexts, as well as to discern possible solutions to it.

A community theologian who was well versed in the challenges that stem from urban poverty ― as well as in ways of alleviating it ― was Father Kenneth Leech. Ken was an Anglo-Catholic priest who spent a large part of his working life in the East End of London, working with those living in poverty and/or experiencing social exclusion. He chose that path for his ministry, believing:   

In all that I have written there are two central Christological truths. The first is the truth that Christ is found, now as then, among the poor and lowly, on the edge, at the margins. The second truth is that to be en Christo, to be icons of Christ, we need to follow his way of lowly servanthood, and because Christ is found among the poor, our response to the poor becomes both a diagnostic test of our Christological orthodoxy, and a sign of judgment.

Cited in D Bunch and A Richie (eds), Prayer and Prophecy: The Essential Kenneth Leech (Darton, Longman & Todd, 2009), page 134

Ken’s contribution to urban mission was thus centred on a belief that when the poor speak, it is God’s voice that we hear. In our urban pilgrimages we always strive to place a primacy on hearing the views of those who are experiencing poverty, and those who work on a day-to-day basis in supporting them. For Leech, ‘the Christian way’, was to follow Christ’s way of lowly servanthood ― which is to say, to be among the poor, and to make their cause for justice, a cause for everyone, and that is our aim, too. 

Urban Poverty Pilgrimage is one way of doing that, by linking prayer with protest. In some respects it is a form of protest ― a way of raising concerns about urban poverty and its causes simply by being on the streets, waving banners, making a noise, sharing a moment with kindred spirits, sparking some interest from well-meaning onlookers, and following it up with press releases, social media campaigns, and sometimes with political lobbying. As such, Urban Poverty Pilgrimage fits with an approach to Christian discipleship that places much weight on Jesus’s statements: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, and: “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.’

Poverty runs antithetically to human flourishing, being an impediment to human creativity and fulfilment. From a Christian perspective, it is hard to see how it could ever be consistent with advancing the Christian concept of the ‘common good’― that is, a sense of moral obligation which members of a community share that impels them to want to look after the common interests of all members, and not just the interests of some members at the expense of others.    

Pilgrimage involves travelling, often treading where you’ve not trod before, or seeing it afresh as if for the first time. Certain disciplines, both spiritual and theological, are involved for a pilgrimage to be a pilgrimage and not a sight-seeing tour or a mere confirmation of conviction.  As a journey into moral and spiritual significance, pilgrimage must always be open to new revelation to personal challenge and conversion.

Among the helpful disciplines are:

Being Attentive: being awake to the vibes, the smell, the look, the feel of a particular urban locale and what is going on there — this can lead to intercession and to lamenting prior to any desire for solutions, but this is only the beginning of urban pilgrimage and not its fulfilment.

Being Silent: being reduced to silence in the face of poverty and the tragedy of the urban, with such silence leaning towards the strange presence of the holy and the sacred in the most unlikely places, which induces humility in the pilgrim and protects them from false understanding, false protest, and false solutions. 

Being Open: against all the odds, spotting the signs of the Kingdom, the triumphs of the Spirit, the resilience of the ‘faithful ones’ and the generosity of the ‘impoverished ones’, which leads to a wider perspective and a challenge to previously perceived stances.

And thus, and only thus: Offering the urban situations visited to God with thankfulness for what has been revealed and how it has been a converting ordinance for the pilgrims.

And also: Celebrating the creativity and resilience and solidarity in the midst of toil and struggle, of oppression and disenchantment. 
So, if our pilgrimage does not reveal the sacred in the midst of the urban and Christ’s presence among the poor (Leech) how are we to discern the signs of the times let alone the signs of the Kingdom; and if our pilgrimage does not bring us to “lowly servanthood” (Leech) how are we to develop responses that do not impose abstract (ready-made) solutions but are truly responsive to this particular urban locale, respecting its actual residents as having their own agency and their own God-given perspective that may illuminate our own? 

In a true pilgrimage, it is we who are changed, converted, reconciled, and made new.  And this is no less true for a pilgrimage into the urban, amongst the poor.  Protest and action need to be rooted in the pilgrimage itself, not as add-ons or unwanted gifts but as integral divine-gifted outpourings and outworkings of the unpoor-faithful among and alongside the oppressed poor.  

Dr Joseph Forde is Chair of Church Action on Poverty, Sheffield, and is author of Before and Beyond the ‘Big Society’: John Milbank and the Church of England’s Approach to Welfare (James Clarke & Co, 2022).

Revd Dr Ian K Duffield is Director of Research at the Urban Theology Union, Sheffield, and is editor of Urban Christ (UTU, 1997).

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

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

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Obituary: Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ

Annual review 2022-23

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

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

Pantry members, volunteers and supporters have always cherished Pantries’ focus on dignity - so we were pleased recently to see its importance being recognised by an influential group of MPs.

The Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee has published this report into Food Security.

As part of their research, the MPs visited several food organisations and projects in Liverpool, including Blue Base Pantry.

A sense of dignity and choice

The report had this to say:

“We applaud the work being done by charities in Liverpool and around the country to support those in need of food aid. In particular, the Pantry model of food aid provided a sense of dignity to users, as well as choice, and is something we would encourage other food aid organisations to consider where possible.”

A volunteer in a Pantry hoody carries a crate of peaches

The report also acknowledged the additional support that Pantries provide, noting that other advice and support organisations are often also present at the Pantry.

The committee received and heard evidence from a wide range of organisations, including large national charities and public sector bodies.

Another excerpt from the report says: 

“The Trussell Trust said that providing emergency food parcels to people facing an income shortfall was “not a sustainable solution”, adding that “nothing can replace the dignity of households having enough income to buy the food they need for their family”.

“The Local Government Association (LGA) was one of several organisations to call on the Government to take steps tackle rising food insecurity and expand access to access healthy and nutritious food. The LGA said income presented the ‘most significant barrier’ to an adequate diet, prompting it to propose a benefits system that reflected ‘true living costs’.”

Aerial view of Houses of Parliament

Dignity: cross-party praise

The committee consists of six Conservative MPs, four Labour MPs and one SNP MP.

The committee report said that it welcomed the “substantial support packages” from Government, but said: “The Government should examine whether the totality of support to lower-income households, including from central and local Government and charities, is sufficient to ensure household food security without the need to regularly use food aid organisations and publish its findings within six months of the publication of this Report.”

It also said the Government should undertake a detailed assessment of the costs and benefits of extending free school meals in England.

Much of this echoes what Pantry members tell us time and again, and what we said when we launched the Your Local Pantry So Much More report in July.

Government must step up to secure dignity for all

When communities come together around food, they can do and be wonderful things… but Pantry members and volunteers are also witnessing the acute harm being done by soaring living costs, coupled with inadequate national support systems.

Charity has never been the long term answer to food insecurity. We need so much more than that.

We need national commitment and we need Government to step up. Everyone should have access to good food – and that means all incomes need to keep pace with rising living costs.

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

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

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

An aerial view of Reading, with two group photos overlaid. One shows a group of volunteers in a line; the other shows four people around a table smiling.

The town of 250,000 that revolutionised its food system

Cut-outs of Stef, Mary and Sydnie. Text above says: "Labour said they would put disabled people at the heart of everything they do. But instead they have shoved us to the very edges."

Say no to these immoral cuts, built on weasel words and spin

Dreams and Realities in our context

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

We hear how Speaking Truth To Power is progressing in Southwark

Change happens when people come together and demand it.

The exciting new Speaking Truth To Power programme is enabling that to happen. 

People who know first-hand what causes and sustains poverty in the UK are coming together. Speaking up. Taking action.

The programme consists of a national panel, and two localised groups: one in Liverpool and one in Peckham in south London.

A recent Voices For Southwark workshop

Meet the Southwark project

This blog focuses on the Southwark group, and we hope it will help you to find out three things:

  1. Who the group is.
  2. What motivated the group to get involved in Speaking Truth To Power
  3. How the work is going so far.

Helping us do that is Flora Schweighofer, community engagement officer at Pecan, the host organisation in Southwark, and Esther, a member of their Voices for Southwark group.

The Pecan office: a corner high street building decorated blue, with a Pecan sign above the door.

"Hi Flora, can you start by telling us a bit about Pecan? What is the organisation and what do you do?"

Flora: “As a community charity, Pecan offers practical and emotional support to people in Peckham and across Southwark in South East London.

“In addition to direct support with food at Southwark Foodbank and Peckham Pantry, our community food projects aim to see a Southwark where everyone has enough money to afford the essentials and emergency food is no longer needed.

The Speaking Truth To Power logo

"And you've started working on the Speaking Truth To Power project. Can you tell us what that involves and why it appealed to Pecan?"

Flora: “The Speaking Truth to Power project compliments our work and vision at Pecan.

“Participation and community organising are already a big part of our work at Pecan, and our local organising project at Southwark Foodbank is part of the Trussell Trust’s Organising and Local Mobilisation programme.

“With this project, we aim to address structural local issues and build campaigns that are led by members of our community who have used our foodbank, pantry or have lived experience of financial hardship.”

"How is it going so far?"

Flora: “It’s going well and we’ve really grown together as a group over the last months.

“We’ve been holding monthly group discussion meetings on local issues in Southwark since September 2022. The aim was to come together to share our experiences with and thoughts on some of the issues that contribute to financial hardship locally.

“From our brainstorming and open discussion activities, we have narrowed down our list and decided on one issue to focus on for now.

“Our plans for the next months ahead are to continue our regular meetings and further develop our campaign.

“We want to be part of more conversations with local government representatives and other decision-makers to share our plans and asks for a Southwark where everyone can afford the essentials.”

We aim to address structural local issues and build campaigns that are led by members of our community

———— Flora Schweighofer

“Esther, you’ve been part of Pecan’s community organising work since the discussion meetings started last year. What are some of the issues that local people are raising and want to address?”

Esther: “We talked about so many changes that we want to see as a group: cleanliness of our borough, transport that’s affordable to all, reducing barriers to getting into employment.

“For now, we have decided to focus on easily accessible information and holistic support combining a range of services.”

"Lastly, Esther, why do you think all this matters - why is it important that people do speak truth to power?"

Esther: “For the services rendered to be effective and productive, the users’ voices have to be heard. Otherwise, it can be a bit pointless.

“When you’re not listening to the people that you serve, it won’t really have an impact on their lives.

“It’s the voices of the people that are meant to be heard, but from my own experience, it doesn’t happen most of the time. But we can make a change, and that’s why we’re here.”

A group of 9 people in an office room, facing the camera,. The middle person is holding a vertical "Church Action on Poverty" banner.
Church Action on Poverty staff visited Pecan in 2022, for a Pilgrimage On The Margins event.

Read more from Speaking Truth To Power participants and activists below:

Poems from the Iona Community 2022

SPARK newsletter summer 2023

Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield 2023 AGM

An introduction to Self-Reliant Groups for Churches

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

Budget 2023: Speaking Truth To Power reaction

Budget 2023: a precious chance to bridge the rich-poor divide

Books about poverty: some recommendations for World Book Day

Dark Holy Ground – autobiography of a Church Action on Poverty campaigner

Undercurrent book review: “you can’t kick hunger into touch with a beautiful view”

What does it mean to be a church on the margins?

News release: Poor communities hit hardest by church closures, study finds

We need to dig deeper in our response to poverty

Gemma: What I want to change, speaking truth to power

Church Action on Poverty Sunday: St Cuthbert’s Church Event

SPARK newsletter winter 2022-23

Kenny Fields revisited: new hope, amid the tough times

An aerial view of Reading, with two group photos overlaid. One shows a group of volunteers in a line; the other shows four people around a table smiling.

The town of 250,000 that revolutionised its food system

Cut-outs of Stef, Mary and Sydnie. Text above says: "Labour said they would put disabled people at the heart of everything they do. But instead they have shoved us to the very edges."

Say no to these immoral cuts, built on weasel words and spin

Dreams and Realities in our context

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

100 people from across the UK gathered in Leeds for the 2023 Dignity For All event.

It was a unique new gathering, bringing together a vast range of people, groups and organisations who want to see an end to poverty in the UK, and who want to find ways to rebuild the dignity of people and communities.

Dignity For All: what took place

The event included workshops, presentations, stalls, discussion groups, panels and lots of new introductions and conversations.

It’s impossible to capture everything, but these photos will give you an idea of what happened, and this blog aims also to give you a flavour of what was said – and some ideas for what to do next.

Dignity For All: in pictures

A church building full of people sitting round tables, at the Dignity For All conference in Leeds in June 2023
Rahela Khan and Jayne Gosnall hold a board with "Dignity means...." on it.
Lynn from All The Small Things CIC speaks at the Dignity For All conference in Leeds in June 2023
Rahela Khan (left) and Mary Passeri speak about dignity and food, at the Lynn from All The Small Things CIC speaks at the Dignity For All conference in Leeds in June 2023
Dylan Eastwood and Tracey Herrington on stage at the Dignity For All conference in Leeds in June 2023
Joanne Roy from Heaton Moor United Church, speaking at the Dignity For All conference in Leeds in June 2023

During the day, people were asked to write what dignity means to them. Some answers are shown below:

A collage of pictures of people holding A3 sheets of paper, saying what dignity means to them. Answers include respect, being listened to, having my voice heard and my opinions respected, choice and feeling valued for being yourself

Dignity For All: what people said

“Power isn’t just a noun. It’s something we can generate… and not in ways that are overtly angry, but in ways that seek to build a community, in ways that are less ‘them and us’, and more ‘us collectively’.”
Andrew Grinnell
Poverty Truth Network
“Poverty is not inevitable. It is man-made. We have the wealth to end it, we have the expertise – it’s a matter of political will.”
Wayne Green
Speaking Truth To Power panel
“We recognise that it’s our own experience and expertise that can influence change. We’ve got self-belief, but we need to ensure that self-belief stays, despite the difficulties we face on a daily basis. We know that things can change. We know that people will stay committed."
Tracey Herrington
Thrive Teesside
“Do not come into communities because you have money to spend and intend to ‘do this’. Instead, come and listen.”
Mary Brennan
Leeds Poverty Truth Commission
"Do not assume, because I am ‘the voice of lived experience’ that I do not also have a whole multitude of experiences.”
Brian Scott
Poverty Truth Scotland
“I think that services and systems need to be informed by lived experience of those of us who are on the receiving end of those, because the people developing them now have no clue – they’ve never had to receive a benefit, never had to use any of the services, and they’ve just shaped them as they think will work, without the thought to those people who are actually going to be using them.”
Tracy Knight
Speaking Truth To Power, and Expert Citizens

Dignity For All: who was there?

The conference was organised jointly by the APLE Collective, Church Action on Poverty, and the Joint Public Issues Team. 

People from a wide range of groups, churches and organisations, including Christians Against Poverty, the Poverty Truth NetworkSelf-Reliant Groups, the Trussell Trust and many more.

Dignity For All: what next?

One of the most pleasing outcomes on the day was the overwhelming consensus that this should not be a one-off event. 

Speaker after speaker spoke of the need to build on this moment, to harness our collective expertise, insight and desire, to press for a faster end to poverty in the UK.

Various ideas are being discussed already, and attention is already turning to Challenge Poverty Week in October, another great chance to raise our voices together.

You can find out more about how to get involved at the links below. 

SPARK newsletter summer 2022

What is the Right To Food?

Hope story: a united stand against hunger

How we ensure struggles are not ignored

What does the cost of living crisis mean for people in poverty?

Holding the church to account

On the road: recalling the time we took a bus all round Britain

SPARK newsletter winter 2021–22

6 ways we can build dignity, agency & power amid the cost of living crisis

Hope story: tenacity and change in Salford

12 stories of hope for 2022 – and immediate actions you can take

How Thrive took control of the agenda in 2021

Annual review 2020–21

2021 conference: watch the recordings

Long read: How do we build dignity, agency & power together?

What happened when Manchester sat down to talk about poverty…

Sheffield Pilgrimage: pandemic boosts community spirit, but leaves physical and mental scars

How grassroots films change views of poverty

13th Sheffield Pilgrimage, 2021

Listen up to level up: why we must rebuild together

Growing crops & community amid the pandemic

“All it needs is people willing to listen”

1,000+ church leaders say: Don’t cut Universal Credit

SPARK newsletter autumn 2021

Lent course for 2022: Life on the Breadline

Our Cookery Book

An aerial view of Reading, with two group photos overlaid. One shows a group of volunteers in a line; the other shows four people around a table smiling.

The town of 250,000 that revolutionised its food system

Cut-outs of Stef, Mary and Sydnie. Text above says: "Labour said they would put disabled people at the heart of everything they do. But instead they have shoved us to the very edges."

Say no to these immoral cuts, built on weasel words and spin

Dreams and Realities in our context