Dear John

This week, we're pleased to announce that over 350 ministers and other leaders
of local churches across all the main Christian denominations have signed our
open letter to the UK’s Churches, calling on them to ensure that "the deepening
crisis of UK poverty is at the centre of national attention." It calls on the
Churches to "redouble our efforts not just to alleviate the symptoms of poverty,
but to call out the root causes, systems and structures which ensnare so many in
poverty today.”

Above all, as Churches we are compelled to speak truth to power, with and
alongside those whose voices are consistently ignored by those in power in
corporate, media and public life. Poverty and gross inequality are not acts of
God but structural defects that can be corrected. Speaking truth to power is a
task for the whole Church, and one given greater urgency now, amid political
debates that continue to expose the divisions within society.

The church must hear the cry of the poor and act. It must step alongside those
who have been swept into poverty and work with them to challenge the systems
that pull people down. Many churches are doing wonderful work in their own
neighbourhoods, but we need such action everywhere, and national leaders must
prioritise that. We thank everyone who has signed this letter, and hope it
begins a sea-change in the priorities of the church as a whole.

This Sunday (23 February) is Church Action on Poverty Sunday
[[link removed]],
and many of the signatories will read the letter aloud in their services. The
letter also says: “At local level, we commit to becoming genuinely part of a
‘church at the margins’ where those on the margins of society feel welcomed,
where their God-given dignity is recognised, and where their talents, hopes and
visions for the future are celebrated and affirmed. At national level, we call
on our church institutions to commit to the task of becoming a true church at
the margins and to properly resource this, as a genuine expression of the gospel
priority for the poorest and most vulnerable.”

Revd Andy Delmege, an Anglican vicar and director of the National Estate
Churches Network, is one of the signatories. He said:

“I have signed this letter because it is more vital than ever that our churches
prioritise communities that are being ignored, pushed aside and left behind. We
must ensure that every community can flourish, bringing God’s love and hope to
those in need.”

Revd Dr Clare McBeath, Co-Principal of the Northern Baptist College and Co-Director of the Centre for Theology and Justice, said:

“I have signed this letter to remind our churches of their calling to stand alongside marginalised communities and speak out for justice.”

Martin Green, a trustee of Church Action on Poverty who himself has experienced
food poverty, said:

“I believe that churches as well as Government could do more to address poverty.
They need to stand up and say they are supporting those who are trying to end
poverty, and not hide. Churches are often good at helping people when they are
on the street, but they need to challenge the poverty that has put people on the
street in the first place. With more church support, other people would also
listen more to people in poverty.”

Have you - or your minister - signed the letter yet?
Read the full letter and add your name at [[link removed]]

Best wishes

Liam Purcell
Church Action on Poverty

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