Dear John

We would like to wish you a happy and holy Christmas, from everyone at Church
Action on Poverty. Thank you for working with us this year to loosen the grip of
poverty in the UK.

A NEW DECADE
As a new decade opens out before us, it’s natural to spend some time reflecting.
We’ve been asking some partners and supporters what they would like to change in
the 2020s, and how we might get there. Indeed, you might want to consider that
yourself.

One of the most moving responses was from a food bank volunteer in Sheffield,
who had been approached by a six-year-old boy in town one day. She couldn’t
quite place him at first, but the boy recognised her, threw his arms around her,
and said: “You do know me, Miss – you give my mummy food so I can have my tea.”
Her hope for the 2020s was simple: “I don’t want that young man, when he is 16
or 17, having to come to a food bank for food.”

Our work must always be grounded in the lived reality of poverty as experienced
by people who struggle to make ends meet on a daily basis. Their wisdom
continues to shape our work. But as Christians, we must always be driven by a
vision of a better future, and shine a light on the path that gets us there.
Social justice campaigning can take years to achieve results, but when change
happens it can have a huge impact on hundreds of thousands of people on low
incomes.

Time will tell what new challenges and opportunities arise in the 2020s, but
let’s ask where we want to be when this decade ends. Do we want to be
reassessing the same challenges? Or do we want to be reflecting on a decade in
which we collectively removed the need for food banks, ended in-work poverty,
and designed a welfare system that enables everyone to achieve their potential?
Do we want to be able to say that we are part of a genuine ‘Church at the
Margins’ that truly recognises the gifts of all people, expresses solidarity
with those struggling to make ends meet and seeks to work with others to
transform the unjust structures of society? And do we want that young boy in
Sheffield to be playing a full part in society, free from the threat of hunger?

Please join us this Christmas in celebrating our achievements, and in planning
for the challenges ahead:

Look back: [[link removed]]
Read our review of what we achieved in the last decade

Look ahead: [[link removed]]
Help kickstart our work for a new decade - organise an event on 23 February, Church Action on Poverty Sunday


Best wishes

Niall Cooper
Director, Church Action on Poverty


28 Sandpiper Court, Water's Edge Business Park, Modwen Road, Salford M5 3EZ
0161 872 9294
Registered charity number 1079986. Company limited by guarantee, registered in
England and Wales, number 3780243.

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