JPIT says
Poverty hurts. It blights the lives of people in the UK and around the world.
But poverty is not inevitable. Choices that are made, and that we make, force people into poverty and trap them there. This means we can make a difference. By using our voices and our votes, by using our heads and our hearts and by deepening our understanding of God’s love for all God has made.
With a General Election coming up, we believe that this is the time to speak out as a Church and show our political leaders that another reality can exist where poverty doesn’t hold anyone down, and that together we can get there.
North West Synod has made us aware that churches are closing disproportionately in areas of deprivation in the UK and has produced a strategy aiming to help its churches serving the poorest areas.
What could we do in Wessex?
Roo Stewart, Programme Officer for Church and Society recommends joining LET’S END POVERTY
LET’S END POVERTY is a ‘movement’ – in the same vein as Make Poverty History and the Jubilee Debt Campaign in previous decades. These movements were successful because of the sheer numbers of diverse organisations and individuals united around a common hope, pressing those in/with power to act. Each movement was limited in scope and time, but they largely achieved their objectives by challenging preconceptions of how economy was ordered. Unfortunately, the time is long overdue to raise this issue with our government again.
The ‘specific’ ask of the scheme is to get people – and especially politicians – talking about tackling (or even eradicating) poverty. There is no magic formula that we are suggesting politicians or society need to adopt to end poverty; rather there needs to be the political will to work towards a society where experiencing poverty is uncommon, where no-one is trapped in poverty and where immediate help is available to avoid or escape falling into poverty.
That’s it! There is no membership fee or other expectation. Let’s End Poverty is not affiliated with any political party. This is a movement that means to stand out and to speak up for the end of poverty in the UK.
The website of Let’s End Poverty is found at https://letsendpoverty.co.uk/
There are many great ideas helping everyone to get involved and take action!
Rev Helen Everard, minister of Fleet URC writes:
During Lent, Fleet URC did a bible study produced by Christian Aid and JPIT called Act on Poverty. https://jpit.uk/act-on-poverty. This is suitable for all kinds of groups at any time of year. We were inspired as we studied Bible passages and considered the issue of Poverty. We heard voices from people in the UK and in the wider world telling hopeful stories. We learnt about actions we might take, called seeds for change, and there are many helpful ones from small to large. There is hope and we can make a difference!
We now have a banner outside our church!
