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winter 2011

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Real-life experiences of the poverty premium

People given a voice in our new report – see page 14
Who Counts?
Be part of Poverty Action Sunday:
Give Organise a Cup of Tea appeal – see the enclosed flyer
Act Hold a service or event – download resources from
www.actionweek.org.uk or order them on 0161 236 9321

Pray Use the enclosed prayer calendar through the week –

and order copies for others in your church!

Saturday 29 January –
Sunday 6 February 2011
www.actionweek.org.uk
 

time to speak out

Church Action on Poverty’s National
Coordinator Niall Cooper introduces a new
focus for our work.

O
ur Christian duty to speak
up on behalf of the poor-
est and most vulnerable
is clear – especially at a time
when they are suffering the con-
sequences of the economic crisis
and public spending cuts.
In order to flourish in life, every
person needs a basic level of finan-
cial security and decent housing.
The UK remains one of the fifth
richest nations on the planet – but
one increasingly characterised by
inequality between rich and poor.
Some groups are far more likely
than others to experience poverty,
to lack access to financial products,
or to live in substandard housing.
 The total net household
wealth of the top 10% is now
100 times higher than the net
 Cuts to housing benefit are
likely to force up to 50,000 Church Action
families to move out of high-
cost areas –not just in London
on Poverty
and the South East – causing Dale House
huge dislocation and home- 35 Dale Street
lessness to many. Manchester
Our Christian faith tells us that M1 2HF
another world is possible. For T: 0161 236 9321
this reason, Church Action on F: 0161 237 5359
Poverty will shortly be launch- E: info@church-poverty.org.uk
ing a new three-year campaign W: www.church-poverty.org.uk
– Pledge to Close the Gap. The Registered Charity no 1079986
campaign will mobilise thou- Company no 3780243
sands of people in churches and
local communities to make spe-
cific Pledges to Give, Act and Pray.
If we give, act and pray together
give
we can close the gap.  Become a member
We look forward to your sup- Use the form on page 16
port – and your Pledges – to help

act
wealth of the poorest 10%. make this a success!
 Up to one million people who See page 15 for more information.
are too sick or disabled to
work will lose entitlement  Get news updates by
to Employment Support Facebook, Twitter or email
Allowance (ESA), worth up to www.church-poverty.
£91 a week after 12 months. org.uk/news
 Join the MP Accountability
Network
www.church-poverty.
in this issue org.uk/mpan
 Email your bishop about the
Living Wage
4 News and events 14 In progress www.church-poverty.
5 2010 Annual Review Poverty premium org.uk/livingwage
Sustainable livelihoods; research; Dialogue with
A voice to people in
poverty; Mobilising
government; Tackling
Poverty awards
pray
churches; Finance and 15 Campaigns  Use the Action Week
prayer calendar
acknowledgements Pledge to Close the Gap! www.actionweek.org.uk/
13 Partners and allies 16 Prayer and worship html/calendar.html
Cathy MacCormack on the Intercessions for Poverty
‘war without bullets’ Action Sunday
All opinions expressed in Spark are those of the contributors, and do not necessarily
represent the official position of Church Action on Poverty.
spark news from Church Action on Poverty winter 2011
news
Churches challenge
Government over
poverty and welfare
Several national churches and
other Christian organisations
have joined us in warning
that the Government’s welfare
proposals are based on a lack of
understanding of the poor.
Revd Alison Tomlin, President
of the Methodist Conference,
said that people in poverty were
being “stigmatised”. Graham
Sparkes, President of the Baptist
Union of Great Britain, pointed
out: “The Government needs
to understand what people in
poverty need in order to return
to work.” The most senior
staff member of the Society of
Friends, Paul Parker, used his
first public statement to criticise
Government cuts. Meanwhile,
Scotland’s Poverty Truth
Commission and the Church of
Scotland challenged Chancellor
George Osborne to visit Scotland,
events
Take Part or be Taken
Apart
24 January, Salford
A one-day conference highlighting
the achievements, opportunities
and challenges of the Salford Take
Part Pathfinder which has been
run by our Community Pride Unit.
Speakers will include Ed Cox of
IPPR and Hazel Blears MP.
For more information or
to book a place, contact Ocia
Koranteng: 0161 236 9321 or
ociak@church-poverty.org.uk.
and “hear first-hand their sto-
ries of struggle and survival in
poverty”.
Church Action on Poverty
Christians called to resist the cuts
A group of activists, ministers and theologians is
calling upon Christians to resist the Government’s
cuts in public spending and welfare provision, and
challenged the welfare minis- to be cautious of being co-opted into the Big Society
ter Iain Duncan Smith to come initiative.
to one of our listening events, The group is called Common Wealth. Find out
but so far we have received no more at commonwealthnetwork2010.blogspot.com.
response!
Our project, inside out! As Christians, we are convinced
During the autumn, an entire that the actions of the
episode of the BBC documen-
tary series Inside Out was
current government are an
dedicated to Thrive, a Church unjustified attack on the poor
The Common Wealth Network
Action on Poverty project in
Stockton-on-Tees.
The programme shows
people with direct experience
of poverty receiving training in
community organising and lead-
ership, from our partners at the
Gamaliel Foundation. It follows
our successful campaign to chal-
lenge the high-cost lender Buy
As You View. It tells the inspiring
story of how Thrive changes peo-
ple’s lives and gives them a voice.
You can watch it online at
vimeo.com/17332265.
A scene from the documentary: people
receive training in community organising
Who Counts?
29 January – 6 February,
everywhere
This year, Poverty Action Sunday is on 6 February. Please take part if you
can:
 Use the enclosed prayer calendar during Action Week.
 Hold a special service on Poverty Action Sunday, using
the liturgy resources at www.actionweek.org.uk.
 Hold a ‘Cup of Tea’ collection to support our work
(see the enclosed flyer).
Our theme this year is ‘Who Counts?’. Please help us to
make sure that marginalised and excluded people
get a greater say in our society.
enough for all
Action on
ti n g ye ar for Church
anoth er ex ci d appreciated
This has been gr ea tly valued an
ork h as be en e our clients
Poverty. Our w ga n is ations who ar -
groups an d or under the lead
by the many e im ag in at ive staff team
e to th
and this is du iall Cooper.
r C oordinator, N climate
ership of ou di ff erent political
ar e in a we heard
are that we ection where
We are all aw t G en er al El
g the recen olitical parties
now, followin p le dg es from all the p ent.
many promis
es an d
p ov er ty an d unemploym
would tack le apples
as to how they ‘s u re as G od made little
anged and as s, promises
Things have ch il l be fu rther change
sour’, ther e w ices will
and made them jo bs w il l go, public serv
ill be broken , mmuni-
and pledges w w il l be u n de r stress and co
who are left
be cut, those
.
ties will suffer other side is
p lo yment, on the on
e coin of u n em large proporti
Revd Lewis Rose is chair of Church If you spin th in th is co u n try there is a ci n g p ov erty.
Today experien
Action on Poverty employment. w or k bu t st il l
ce who are in
of the workfor hurch Action
on
io n , it is im portant that C es . W e w ill con-
at d objectiv
As an organis it s ai m s an
d advocate
not falter in s of poverty, an
Poverty does d th e ca u se
wealth of
ing poverty an e where “the
tinue alleviat u al – n ot on
the poor”
here all are eq is the ruin of
for a society w , bu t p ov er ty
r fortified city
the rich is thei
5).
(Proverbs 10:1

annual review
2010
annual review 2010

sustainable livelihoods
We aim to enable people in poverty to develop more sustainable livelihoods: income
security and paid employment which promotes dignity and justice.

dormant me to
Thrive has allowed the

blossom again – even though

fe have
the problems of li
not changed I feel valued and

confident enough to

enter full life again

Kath Carter lives on the state pension in Stockton-

on-Tees, and acts as carer for her husband, son and
grandchildren.
When our Thrive project made contact with Kath,
she had “lost all connection with the outside world”,
and her life was dominated by “illness and poverty”.
Kath participated in Thrive’s Livelihoods research
and received training in community organising. She
is now a volunteer mentor with the project, is taking
the lead on public actions in her community, and has
become a trustee of Church Action on Poverty.
Our unique approach really does change lives, and
enable people to build their own voices and livelihoods.
 sustainable livelihoods

thrive
Thrive is a project in Stockton-on-Tees, which was set Thrive makes me feel more confident
up by Church Action on Poverty and is now in the process and that I am not alone. My voice is heard.
of becoming an independent, locally-run community
organisation.
Thrive gives people in poverty the power to change their
situation by using a unique combination of two approaches. The ‘Sustainable Livelihoods’
model helps isolated and excluded people to make better use of the assets they have. Our
community organising enables them to take practical, public action for change.
Recently, Thrive has completed major pieces of work focusing on health, wellbeing
and financial inclusion. We also ran the very successful ‘Rip-off TV’ campaign, mobilising
Church Action on Poverty’s supporters to challenge a high-cost lender which was
exploiting Thrive’s members. And Thrive was the subject of an episode of the BBC
documentary Inside Out. www.thrive-stockton.org.uk

living ghosts To be under the stress of government always

watching you is really unimaginable!

Since 2005, we have been campaigning to change the Government policies that lead
to the destitution of people who are seeking, or have been refused, sanctuary in the UK.
We have been part of the ‘Still Human Still Here’ network, working with other organisa-
tions who are also concerned about the plight of these very vulnerable people.
Recent actions on this issue have included a major email campaign which persuaded
the Government not to cut the support given to people seeking sanctuary. We also
persuaded many Parliamentary candidates to sign a ‘Sanctuary Pledge’ in the run-up to
the 2010 General Election. Our supporters in churches raised awareness by taking the
‘Endurance Challenge’, living on the food available to people seeking sanctuary.
We will continue to act on this issue as part of our new ‘Close the Gap’ initiative, and
resources are available from our website for churches wishing to take action on sanctu-
ary issues. Matthew Fell and Kate Dziubinska,
members of a Youth St Vincent De Paul
www.church-poverty.org.uk/livingghosts group, took our Endurance Challenge

living wage
Since 2002, we’ve been campaigning for churches to set an exam-
ple for other employers, by ensuring that all of their employees receive
a Living Wage which is enough to keep them out of poverty.
The campaign is linked to other calls for fair pay, and is based on
rigorous research which identifies a Minimum Income Standard for
the UK. We provide resources and regular updates for churches who
make the commitment.
In the past couple of years, several of the UK’s denominations have
responded positively to this campaign. The Methodist Church, the
Baptist Union, the United Reformed Church, the Church of Scotland
and the Religious Society of Friends have all expressed their support
for the principle or made concrete commitments. We are now working
to persuade other denominations to follow suit.
www.church-poverty.org.uk/livingwage
annual review 2010

a voice to people in
poverty
We want all poor and marginalised people to have an effective voice in shaping decisions
which affect their lives.

The group has formed as a

o are
whole, with people wh
and
clear about what they want to do
a sense that we can make a change

In Salford, a Residents & Tenants group in

a multi-storey block of flats had realised that
many new tenants were from different coun-
tries (including Eastern Europe and Africa). Our
Community Pride Unit ran a cultural awareness
workshop, and helped them to think through
how they could enable new people to contrib-
ute to important decisions being made about
the future of their block.
 a voice to people in poverty

community pride
Community Pride has been seeking out solutions to poverty and inequality in
Manchester and Salford since 1999.
The Community Pride Unit (CPU) runs training programmes with marginalised
groups of people to increase their confidence and knowledge, and enable them to play an
active role in local decision-making. The work is very much rooted in the community and
targeted where it is most needed. It builds people’s confidence and leads to real changes
in policies and services.
For the past three years, CPU has been running a ‘Take Part Pathfinder’ scheme in
Salford. We’ve worked with all kinds of people, including refugees, people seeking sanctu-
ary, residents’ groups, DeafBlind people and Travellers. We’re now planning to share our
exciting approach much more widely and enable more people to use it. www.communitypride.org.uk

changemakers
Since 2008, we’ve been working to build ‘ChangeMakers’ coalitions in Manchester,
Bradford and Stockton (see ‘Thrive’ on the previous page). We use broad-based communi-
ty organising techniques to bring together community groups from poor areas, and help
them to work together for change.
In the past year, we have trained over 200 people in community leadership and how
to achieve change. Manchester ChangeMakers is now in the process of becoming an inde-
pendent organisation. It’s run some very successful actions, including a ‘Carers’ Hearing’
which led local health services to make major improvements to their services.
Bradford ChangeMakers uses ‘facilitated dialogue’ to tackle the tensions that exist
between different communities in the region. It played a prominent role in responding to
the extremist English Defence League’s march in Bradford in summer 2010.
“The training was very powerful and energising.” www.changemakersmanchester.org.uk

participatory budgeting
Our Participatory Budgeting Unit has pioneered the use of
this approach in the UK. It gives local people a greater say in
how public money will be spent, and makes a real difference
in poor communities.
Through our partnership with the Department for
Communities and Local Government, we’ve been working
since 2007 to help over 120 local councils across the UK to
open up their budgets. We’re now planning to mobilise our
supporters to call for more and better PB!
on a
ar worked
Claire Arym
tate to do
un cil

It got people on this es

for th e Co
PB project
rnw al l
in Co

something socially together www.participatorybudgeting.org.uk

annual review 2010

mobilising churches
We mobilise churches to work with others to overcome poverty. We want the churches to
actively promote a ‘bias to the poor’, both internally and externally.

ast of ecumenical
Here there was a rich fe
Salvation
worship including liturgical dance,

fo lk pro te st so n gs an d prayers for

Army songsters,
Poverty is
communities that Church Action on
working with across the North East

October 2009 was the 10th anniversary of our

Pilgrimage Against Poverty, which saw dedicated cam-
paigners walk all the way from Iona to Westminster,
enthusing and inspiring churches along the way.
Our local groups marked the anniversary with
Pilgrimages of their own in Sheffield, Newcastle, Leeds,
Manchester and elsewhere.
The Newcastle Pilgrimage saw over 300 Pilgrims
visiting a range of key sites in the area, and making a
visible witness to their commitment to stand alongside
people in poverty.
The Pilgrimage raised substantial funds for our
national campaigns and for vital local projects.
 mobilising churches

local groups
In many areas, our supporters have joined together to form their own Church Action
on Poverty groups. They work together with us, and carry out their own actions to tackle
poverty locally.
We currently have active groups in Barnsley, Leeds, Merseyside, the North East,
Northern Ireland and Sheffield. They’re involved in projects including a Starter Packs
scheme, support for young unemployed men, fuel poverty payments, and an annual
Pilgrimage Against Poverty (see opposite).
www.church-poverty.org.uk/groups

The Leeds Pilgrimage Against Poverty,

17 October 2009

action week
Each year at the start of February, we resource and support churches across the UK to
run church services and events as part of Poverty & Homelessness Action Week. We work
in partnership with Housing Justice and Scottish Churches Housing Action.
In 2010, over 150 events took place, raising awareness of the existence of poverty in
communities, and raising funds for our work as well as for local projects. Our theme in
2010 was ‘Enough for All’. Many of the events spread the word about the wealth that can
be found if we value community and fellowship rather than money and material things.
www.actionweek.org.uk

mp accountability network
One of the keys to restoring faith in democracy is ensuring that the MPs we elect are
held to account for what they do on our behalf in Parliament. We’re inviting churches and
groups to play a key role in making this happen. Already, over 60 have pledged to organ-
ise regular and ongoing meetings with their MPs. We provide briefings on issues that
they can raise with their MPs.
The Network will be one of our most important tools for mobilising churches and
achieving change in the coming years. www.church-poverty.org.uk/mpan

close the gap

Since summer 2009, we’ve built up a network of over 3,000 enthusiastic online cam-
paigners. Using email, Facebook, Twitter and online video, we’ve mobilised them to take CLOSE THE GAP
regular actions to close the gap between rich and poor.
The network has already made some significant achievements. We helped prevent
the Government from cutting support for people seeking sanctuary; we helped persuade
energy companies to stop charging higher fees to their poorest customers; and we per-
suaded a high-cost lender to treat their customers better. www.church-poverty.org.uk/
‘Close the Gap’ will now be the theme for all our campaigning between 2011 and 2013. closethegap
Finance Acknowledgements
Where our money came from in 2009–10 Council of Management 2009–10
Frances Ballin, Elspeth Brighton, Kathleen
Grants £758,443 Carter, Jenny Cooke, Millicent Dews, Julie
Donations £84,464 Green, Wayne Green, Helen Hood, Alison
Jackson, Bandi Mbubi, Norbert Mbu-Mputu,
Campaigns and events £80,122
Brian O’Neill, Lewis Rose, Adrian Smith, Jackie
Membership subscriptions £35,191 Worthington.
Bank interest £94
Total £958,314 Staff and volunteers 2009–10
Ade Arogundade, Greg Brown, Diana Campbell,
Niall Cooper, Adam Dickson, Sarah Dumpleton,
What we spent it on Liz Firth, Geoff Fletcher, Janet Gee, Christina
Fundraising £17,869 Gonzales, Ruth Jackson, Andrea Jones, Jenny
Governance £11,345 Lazarus, Ocia Koranteng, Sebastian Morello,
Thrive £60,966 Joshua Mutebe, Liam Purcell, Adam Sharpe,
Living Ghosts £29,035 Lorraine Shaw, Anne Stewart, David Stott, Alan
Community Pride £113,740 Thornton, Mark Waters, Alexan Westlake.
ChangeMakers £180,209
Participatory budgeting £317,850 Funders
Action Week £20,260 Our work is made possible by the generous
Campaigns, events and other projects £136,675 support of many partners, donors and funders,
Total £887,949 including:
Baptist Union, Church Urban Fund, Eaga
Support our vital work – Partnership Trust, Faiths in Action, Friends
make a donation at www.church-poverty.org.uk/give Provident Foundation, John Laing Charitable
Trust, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust,
LankellyChase Foundation, Leigh Trust, MB
Reckitt Trust, The Methodist Church, Open
Theology Trust, Oxfam, Rowan Charitable Trust,
Scurrah Wainwright Charity, Trust Greenbelt,
United Reformed Church, Waterside Trust.

Find out more and get involved

at www.church-poverty.org.uk!
Dale House, 35 Dale Street, Manchester M1 2HF
Telephone 0161 236 9321 Fax 0161 237 5359
info@church-poverty.org.uk
Twitter @churchpoverty
facebook.com/churchpoverty
Company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, number 3780243.
Registered charity number 1079986.
partners and allies
war without bullets
In summer 2010, Cathy MacCormack, a Church Action on Poverty supporter and
community activist from Glasgow, was invited by the Australian Psychological
Society to talk about her analysis of the ‘world war against the poor’. She found
P
some striking parallels with our own situation in the UK.
rofessor David Fryer and I have been
working together for 23 years to try
and expose this war, that I have termed
the ‘war without bullets’. David is a
Community Critical Psychologist, and a
world expert on unemployment and its effect on
health, as well as the propaganda aimed at the poor.
He is now a professor at Charles Sturt University
in Australia. I first met him away back in the early
1980s, when my family, like millions of others,
was thrown onto the unemployment scrapheap
and forced to live on welfare. This was the time
when Britain under the Thatcher government was
changed from an industrial to a money market
economy. At the time the governor of the Bank of
England was quoted as saying that three million
unemployed was “a price worth paying”.
So when all the propaganda started about the
unemployed being lazy scroungers, I realised there
was a war going on, a social, economic and psy-
chological war against the poor. Only this was a
‘war without bullets’ that was being waged with
briefcases instead of guns – a war that has now
intensified under our new Coalition Government.
My journey to Australia confirmed that this war
is not just local but global, and that unemployment
and poverty are not accidents of government social
and economic policy, but constructed to create a
vulnerable workforce and coerce people into taking
up low-paid stressful jobs.
I found it really shocking, however, to learn
that Aboriginal communities in the Northern
Territory who were already subjected to discrimina-
tion and living in appalling conditions had been
used as guinea-pigs under their government’s
‘Welfare Reform and Reinstatement of the Racial
Discrimination Bill 2009’.
Last year, compulsory income management was
enforced in these communities that have already
been traumatised. First the white man steals their
land, steals their children and destroys their culture,
and when some try to escape this trauma through
drink or fags they are further punished. Now,
instead of getting money, they are being issued
with ‘BasicsCards’ similar to the Azure Cards given
13
I started to get to grips with how our society
could become so brutalised that our most
vulnerable citizens – the poor, the unemployed
and the sick who are the real casualties of this war
– are all portrayed as criminals
to people seeking sanctuary in the UK, further
reducing their dignity.
Most Australians are unaware of these welfare
reforms. It has been estimated that they will cost
around A$4,000 per person per year – about eight
times the amount that would provide employment
services to support jobseekers.
While in Australia, for the first time I started
to get to grips with how our society could become
so brutalised that our most vulnerable citizens
– the poor, the unemployed and the sick who are
the real casualties of this war – are all portrayed as
criminals.
How some people on incapacity benefit who are
terminally ill are being forced to sign on as jobseek-
ers. And how mothers fleeing violence and in refuge
are only given three months to get their heads
together before having to sign on as a jobseeker.
If they refuse to take any job that is offered, then
they will be forced to work for their benefits at the
equivalent of £1.60 per hour. Who is going to look
after their children?
When I started out on my journey away back
in 1985 in search for the truth, there was no way
that I ever envisaged that our country would allow
slavery in through the back door. But at the end of
the day, we are all responsible for the monsters that
we have created.
My trip to Australia confirmed what I under-
stood a long time ago: that this global market
economy, which politicians and bankers still keep
referring to as ‘free’, has in reality enslaved both
rich and poor in a race towards human, social, eco-
nomic and environmental destruction.
It also confirmed that you cannot cure a social
disease like poverty unless you first find the cour-
age to diagnose the root cause.
spark news from Church Action on Poverty winter 2011

a year of listening
Church Action on Poverty ran three special programmes for 2010, the
European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. They all focused
on listening to the stories of people with direct experience of poverty. Here
are some of the results.

paying over the odds?

As part of our EY2010 programme in Yorkshire &
the Humber, we invited families with children in
Goldthorpe, South Yorkshire to share their experi-
ences of life on a low income.
Using our innovative Sustainable Livelihoods
approach, we looked at the impact of the ‘poverty
premium’ – the unjust ways in which people on low
incomes end up paying more for essential goods
and services.
We gathered stories of the real challenges
people face in trying to support their families. We
found that the poverty premium is a fact of life for
most people on low incomes, often costing an extra
£1,000 a year. Families demonstrate real resilience
and creativity in the ways they cope with this

£20 a week would

injustice, but that is often not enough.
We’re suggesting several simple, concrete ways
that policies and services can change to support
Download the full report from this
people better, based on these real-life experiences.
The report from the work makes nine key recom-
be like
work at www.church-poverty.org.uk/

winning the Lottery

overtheodds, or call 0161 236 9321 mendations in areas including credit, benefits,
to order a printed copy for £7. employment and financial literacy.

working-age poverty
Dialogue with government
With our partner Community Links last summer,
we organised listening events across the UK. We
identified three key issues that trap people in
poverty: Jobcentre Plus and the way customers are
treated; welfare reform, particularly concentrating
on the Universal Credit; and the myths and stere-
otypes about benefits and people in poverty.
During December, we held dialogue meetings
where people in poverty raised these concerns
directly with government representatives. We’ll
keep on working for change on these issues – fur-
ther details will appear in future issues of Spark.
Tackling Poverty awards
As part of the same national EY2010 programme,
we ran this award scheme to celebrate projects that
are making a meaningful contribution to people of
working age living in poverty in the UK. Five organi-
sations were shortlisted for this award, and each
made a short video of some of their work.
The main award went to Ealing CVS CANBE
project, but all of the shortlisted projects produced
fascinating films about the inspirational work they
do alongside people in poverty.
You can watch all five videos, and download a
report on the work, at bit.ly/tacklingpoverty.
campaigns 15

pledge to close the gap

During 2010, we spent a lot of time listening to people in poverty, and to our
supporters. We’re now ready to announce the launch of a major new campaign,
which will focus on the most urgent aspects of UK poverty, and help us to build
a powerful movement for change. Our Communications Manager Liam Purcell

W
asks for your pledge...
e know from our listening work that a wide range of issues need to be Supporters at our conference in
addressed to reduce UK poverty – including welfare reform, participa- December made their own Pledges
tion, taxes, education, and many more. Over the next three years, we
will be campaigning on all of these issues under one banner: ‘It’s time
to Close the Gap between rich and poor’. We will connect all of our work
to the over-arching theme of inequality: the unfair
and unacceptable gap that separates rich from poor
in our society.
We’ll use this campaign as a way of recruiting
new supporters and offering new inspiration to our
loyal existing campaigners. We will be challenging
everyone from ordinary Christians to church leaders
and our partner organisations to join us in Pledging
to Close the Gap.
We’re creating all kinds of Pledges that peo-
ple can make, in three areas: Giving, Acting and
Praying. Whether you make a regular donation,
engage with your MP about poverty issues, or get
your church praying and reflecting on poverty and
injustice, you can be part of our work to Close the
Gap. In 2011, our aim is to get 10,000 Pledges made,
and we’ll need your help!
We will officially launch the campaign on 31
January, with a public event in London. We’d like
you to help launch the campaign, by announc-
ing it in your church on Poverty Action Sunday (6
February) and inviting church members to make
Pledges. We’ll be in touch soon with more details
– for now, please note the date in your diary, and get
ready to be part of something big!
spark news from Church Action on Poverty winter 2011

who counts? worship

6 February is Poverty Action Sunday 2011. We ask you to focus on UK poverty in
your prayer and Sunday worship. Download free liturgy and prayer resources
at www.actionweek.org.uk. Here are some intercessory prayers you could use.

Don’t forget to We pray for our country, for its leaders and We pray for our local communities,
follow the Action decision-makers, For all whose jobs are under threat,
Week prayer May they have integrity, wisdom and vision for all those who suffer hardship, anxiety and
calendar too.
There’s a copy in So that in a time of economic hardship stress
this mailing, and Inequalities might be reduced rather than Because of low incomes, benefit cuts, debt or simply
an online version increased, Too much month at the end of the money.
with video And the poorest may have the same opportunities Silence
stories at www. for health and education as the richest.
actionweek. Father, may your kingdom come
org.uk/html/ Silence
In us as it is in heaven
calendar.html Father, may your kingdom come
In us as it is in heaven By Ruth Stock, member of Merseyside and Region
Church Action on Poverty

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