Church of England urges fresh commitment to ‘ending poverty in all its forms’

‘I am asking us to examine ourselves under God. Are we seeing clearly what is staring us in the face? Are we tiring in our efforts to build a just and peaceful kingdom for all?’

The Church of England General Synod has voted to “recommit to ending poverty in all its forms”, 40 years after the release of its Faith in the City report.

Faith in the City was heralded as a landmark document for Christian social action and led to the foundation of Church Urban Fund, which helps churches in deprived areas serve their communities.

Published in 1985 to the immediate indignation of Margaret Thatcher’s government, it was commissioned by Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie amid concerns about inner-city poverty and the 1981 riots in English cities, which the report showed were driven by structural economic change, unemployment, poor housing and racial inequality.

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrel told the General Synod, “Faith in the City was and remains a defining moment in the life not just of our Church, but of our nation – probably the last time the nation really listened to the prophetic voice of the Church.

“It named poverty not as a personal failure but as a moral challenge for our society, and it called upon the Church to recover its prophetic voice for those who are experiencing and living in poverty.”

The motion, which the General Synod voted for on Thursday 12 February, reaffirmed the necessity of listening to people in congregations and wider communities who are experiencing poverty, to learn from their views and experiences, and to recognise that poverty in England disproportionately affects some minority ethnic communities.

The Synod heard that, while overall poverty rates in England have hovered between 20 and 23 per cent for the past twenty years, the number of people living in very deep poverty has increased significantly: a person living in very deep poverty now has an average income of 57 per cent below the poverty line, as compared with 23 per cent in the mid-1990s.

On Tuesday 10 February, the General Synod also approved a review of the Church of England’s Lowest Income Communities (LinC) funding, which supports dioceses in supporting ministry in deprived areas, amid concern that the funding might not be reaching the communities most in need. Archbishop Cottrell expressed support for increasing LinC funding.

In the debate on 12 February, Synod members shared testimonies from parishes where life expectancy is as much as 13 years below the national average – where, as Revd James McCluskey from Chelmsford said, “Poverty kills. It steals life. It’s a physiological assault, a cortisol-soaked reality where the toxicity actually destroys the body.”

Archbishop Cottrel said, “We recommit ourselves clearly and unapologetically to ending poverty in all its forms, because, as we know, poverty persists. Although well-intentioned policies and governments may change, if you can’t feed your children and feed your home, nothing changes.

“What we’re discussing today should remain a rallying call for the whole Church to support and advocate those who live in poverty, to speak up for the poorest communities, not just caring – though we must of course care – but continuously and tirelessly advocating for change that will bring people out of poverty.”

The Synod voted to reaffirm the work of the Church Urban Fund and recommit to ending poverty “in all its forms and manifestations, whilst asking questions of ourselves, our political, society and business leaders about the unjust structures and decisions which cause and exacerbate poverty”.

The motion aligns with the third and fourth marks of mission of the Anglican Communion: to respond to human need by loving service and to transform unjust structures of society.

Mark Sheard, board member of Christians Against Poverty and former chief executive officer of World Vision UK, quoted a testimony from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s grassroots poverty action group: “Daily life for people like us remains unexceptionably hard.

“We find ourselves focused on surviving, not living the full and thriving life that should be possible for people in a rich society. It feels like a relentless struggle to try to make ends meet, as any increases in our incomes are outweighed by the rising costs of essentials.

“Poverty makes life feel very precarious. That prickling, uneasy feeling uncertainty and sometimes dread dogs our mental health. People can only take so much before they start breaking down. It’s like walking on an icy pond, fearing that at any point you might be plunged into the cold water. At the very least, we need a lifeline to protect us from harm.”

Sheard said, “In these words, you might hear a single voice. Tragically, we should hear 14 million voices crying out for hope and justice. The awful truth is that there are 14 million living in poverty in our nation, 1 in 5 of our population.

“Each one is a real-life person; a woman, a child, a family. Each one has their own story, their own struggle, their own reason to feel hopeless and abandoned by society, and maybe even by God. These are the stories I hear in the work I’m privileged to do in Christians Against Poverty.

“We’re not called to be passive spectators; our mission is to transform unjust structures of society, in the act of creating common life as God intends it to be: life in all its fullness. I am asking us to examine ourselves under God.

“Are we seeing clearly what is staring us in the face?  Are we becoming less attentive to the call of God? Are we tiring in our efforts to build a just and peaceful kingdom for all?”

The lead bishop on poverty, Bishop of Leicester Martyn Snow, also expressed concern that the Church of England was not resourcing interfaith work sufficiently, leading to a “crisis” in interfaith cooperation in England, exacerbated by events in the Middle East and India-Pakistan.

He said, “If we are serious about addressing the multifaceted nature of poverty, we must work in partnership, both ecumenically and with other faith groups, and we must resource that work properly.”

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