In the following paper, Jon Kuhrt, CEO of Hope into Action, and Jenny Sinclair, Founder and Director of Together for the Common Good, report on The Advent Retreat, a gathering of leaders who met to reflect on the future of Christian social action in November 2024.
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Challenging Power, Changing Practice and Deepening Spirituality: The Future of UK Christian Social Action
‘Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.’
Jeremiah 6:16
Poverty is getting worse
Christian social action plays a significant role in alleviating the symptoms of poverty, as illustrated by the significant growth of church-based food banks, warm hubs, debt centres, and homeless shelters in the last 15-20 years.
However, the overall picture of UK poverty is deteriorating. In 2025, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reports that over 21% of the UK population are living in poverty, of which 8.1 million are working-age adults, 4.3 million are children, and 1.9 million are pensioners.1 Over the past 25 years the number of people in very deep poverty has grown by around two-thirds.2 In-work poverty has also increased over the last two decades: in 2022/23, 63% of children and working-age adults in poverty lived in families where at least one adult was working part-time or more, up from 56% in 2012/13 and 44% in 1996/97.3
Despite the heroic efforts of volunteers, the dedication of a huge range of charities, and despite the stream of advocacy campaigns to “end poverty”, there are no signs of improvement and if anything, the trends indicate a further deterioration.
Therefore, we believe that the church’s social witness stands at a crossroads. We should not simply celebrate the growth of social action because it proves the church is useful. Instead, we should be self-critical, ask hard questions and carefully consider the right road to take in the next 20 years. Now is the time to grapple boldly and faithfully with the challenges our country faces and to ask: where is the “good way” for Christian social action?
The background to this paper
In March 2023, Jon Kuhrt, CEO of Hope into Action and Jenny Sinclair, Founder and Director of Together for the Common Good, began a correspondence following Jon’s response to a talk Jenny had given for Churches Together England, Poverty: How Should the Church Respond?
In December 2023, Jon published an extended article on his Grace + Truth blog titled Justice, Empowerment & Faith: the future direction for Christian Social Action. This was re-published by Christianity Magazine in their March print edition as The sins of social action.
In July 2024, Jenny invited Jon to give a lecture titled Grace, Truth and the Common Good: the Future of Christian Social Action as part of a series of public talks organized by Together for the Common Good. The lecture was given in-person to an invited group of 70 leaders from across the Christian traditions and was livestreamed for an online audience. To follow Jon’s lecture, a roundtable discussion took place, involving 30+ leaders of the leading charities and social action organizations, across denominations and sectors, including Christians Against Poverty, Trussell, Housing Justice, St Vincent de Paul Society, Caritas Social Action Network, Caritas Westminster, Salvation Army, ChurchWorks, Feeding Britain, Church Urban Fund (CUF), the Message Trust and more.
Due to the enthusiasm and interest created, Jenny and Jon conceived a one day ‘Advent Retreat’. Held in late November 2024 in central London, the retreat was convened by Together for the Common Good, and recruited a unique cross-section of church, charity and social action leaders representing many of the major Christian charities and denominations (see Appendix).
Rather than a conventional conference format with keynotes, we sensed that the times called for a more dialogical, distinctively Christian discernment approach, and so we used the Conversations in the Spirit framework with its emphasis on listening to God and to each other. Outcomes of small group work were captured, and whilst this is not a joint statement from that meeting, this paper draws on the key themes.
‘The sins of social action’
Throughout this journey, three “sins” or “disconnections” have developed as the key challenges which we believe the church needs to grapple with:
1. The disconnect between charity and justice
The growth of social action should lead to a questioning of the underlying social and economic systems which generate such need in the first place. Homelessness and food poverty are good examples: recent years have seen a host of new church-based initiatives to address both these issues but there is more homelessness and more food insecurity than ever before. The underlying causes that generate these problems cannot be cured by voluntary efforts or by social security. Social action and welfare are not the same as social justice.
Charitable kindness and personal generosity should be accompanied by a questioning of the power arrangements underpinning the political and economic status quo. Given its prophetic role, the church cannot be content to be the handmaid of the state, running around filling in gaps that government either neglects or cannot fill. It must not be seduced by the lure of feeling useful, nor be comfortable being placed in the invidious position of, effectively, propping up a dysfunctional system.
2. Dependency: the disconnect with empowerment
The hard truth is that not all responses to poverty are effective. A huge amount has been learnt in the last few decades about what helps Majority World countries overcome poverty. The book Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo argued powerfully that “aid” given from richer countries actually served to disempower economies and deepen poverty. We have to grapple with similar challenges in our response to UK domestic poverty.
US Christian community developer Rob Lupton argues in his books Toxic Charity and Charity Detox that too often churches and charities worsen poverty by deepening dependency and destroying personal initiative: ‘When we do for those in need what they have the capacity to do for themselves, we disempower them.’4 He argues that our approaches are often wrong because we tend to mis-diagnose problems as crisis issues when they are actually chronic in nature. Social action needs to shift its emphasis to more empowering approaches that build the personal agency of those who are needing help.
3. Secularization: the disconnect with faith
A consistent challenge for Christian social action charities and projects is to maintain an active connection with the faith that birthed them. Sometimes faith fades due to a lack of confidence. Sometimes it is due to fear about what funders might think. Sometimes it becomes fossilised when a charity’s founding inspiration is neglected.
Rather than something dynamic and creative, faith often becomes just a slightly embarrassing footnote in the history of an organisation. And the fruit becomes separated from the roots from which it has grown. This tendency diminishes both the charity and the beneficiary: most importantly, it limits the ability to respond to the spiritual needs of those affected by poverty.
A Common Good response to these challenges
The scale of Christian charitable engagement is a testimony to the power and conviction of the Christian faith. The UK’s history has been deeply enriched by generations of Christian charitable activity: parish-based welfare, alms-houses, orphanages, countless small charities, Religious Orders, Wesley and the Methodist revival, the New Ecclesial Movements, Shaftesbury’s Ragged Schools, the City Mission movement, Barnardo’s, the Salvation Army, Church Army and YMCA movement, to name just a few.
But this growth and the dynamism of faith are not just something for the history books. The last 20 years have seen a significant rise in church-based charity and social action initiatives: food banks, night shelters, pantries, community supermarkets, larders, debt centres, Street Pastors, warm hubs and community meals have all expanded at significant rates. The number of new homeless charities and church-based night shelters has rapidly expanded, and more generally, there has been a boom in a wide range of Christian-led social franchise initiatives helping struggling families.
However, poverty is getting worse. This brings Christian social action organisations to a crossroads.
‘The great disrupter’
We need to discern the times we are living in, examine our aims and what we do.
We face a context where there is a tangible absence of hope for people trapped in poverty. Geopolitical volatility signals an unstable future, and a new Labour government has so far disappointed rather than inspired. Despite the change in management, there are few signs of the political will required to change the neoliberal market-state arrangement of the last 40 years. There is still a lack of a unifying and hopeful story to place ourselves within. Given the level of public debt, indications are that conditions are likely to get worse5 and that government is likely to look to faith-based social action to step up even further.
Much of the mainstream charity sector has adopted the ways and means of the market. Led by executives on six-figure salaries, and an ambition to measure effectiveness by size of turnover, rather than to demand economic reform, the sector’s default is to lobby government for more state funding and to chase contracts. The radical founders of these charities would be dismayed to see how they have been co-opted as arms of the state, as the economy fails to create conditions that allow people to lead fulfilling lives.
Christian social action is not immune to this tendency, but it also contains the antidote. In the words of Jacob Dimitriou, Director of England at Housing Justice:
‘Christian social action should once again become the great disrupter.’
Of course, Christian social action has much to learn from secular charities, but we must never lose the distinctive emphasis of the gospel which makes our approach different. We must resist being co-opted into the state-funded ‘voluntary sector’ and losing our authentic Christian character.
The inspiration of Frank Field
This lack of hope is exemplified in the way that the contemporary, state-funded charity sector is unable to have a proper debate. Imprisoned by self-protection, ‘groupthink’ and political correctness, it cannot find the courage to ask difficult questions. As Jacob Dimitriou continued:
‘Conferences in the charity sector are no longer places for ideas to be debated, but where the same mantras are trotted out and organizational egos swell. This stifles the energy of the movement-based responses to social injustices.’
We want to uphold the memory of the late Labour MP for Birkenhead, Frank Field. His deep faith and life-long commitment to tackle the causes of poverty led him to challenge both the left and the right of British politics. He did not please everyone but inspired many because of his willingness to challenge political tribalism and his courage to speak his mind. We believe his passion, bravery and moral vision is deeply relevant to us today.
To be faithful disciples we need to be willing to challenge across the accepted boundaries of theological and political tribalism. We need to talk about both structural change and personal responsibility. We need to talk about the political economy and family life. We need to talk about justice and Jesus.
We need radical solutions which speak to the root of the problems we face and not settle for the shallow waters of sticking plaster solutions and contemporary acceptability. This is the inspiration that Frank Field can provide.
Three themes
From our discernment in November 2024, these three themes emerged as critical for the future direction of Christian social action:
1. Challenging power: class, justice and the political economy
2. Changing practice: empowerment and the contributory principle
3. Deepening spirituality: confidence in our Christian distinctiveness
Below, we share a summary of the key themes raised within each of these areas.
1. Challenging power: class, justice and the political economy
Christian social action should not ignore the role of political, social and economic power – and the underlying drivers which trap people in poverty and create the needs that charity aims to meet.
Rather than simply acting as “benefactors”, which exacerbates class division, we should stand in solidarity with those trapped in poverty and together demand an economy less reliant on welfare and which instead generates decent, dignified employment.
Across our combined networks, our grassroots knowledge reveals the realities of poverty. Our experience exposes a malaise that is at times overwhelming. Our interventions are vital, but we must face the hard reality that poverty cannot be ended while a low wage, high welfare economy remains in place. It is time we asked awkward questions. This does not require us to be party political.
Both the state and the market need to be challenged about how human beings are treated. The powers of capital and state act like the modern Pharaohs of our time. As in Genesis 47, they seek to achieve control through economic methods of centralisation, exploitation, division and domination.
We know this is not a new problem. For the past four decades, big corporations have benefited from globalisation, subordinating weak governments of all stripes to insulate financial interests from democratic decision-making. This collusion between capital and state has undermined the common good and is provoking increasing discontent. The leadership class has not been able to comprehend that the resulting “populism” is the blowback caused by their own policies.
The unaffordability of housing and the off shoring of jobs are key issues to be addressed for the common good. The status of many jobs has changed, with work too often now failing to deliver the dignity that employment should provide. Instead, people are reduced to units of labour, manipulated for profit. The underlying philosophy driving this market dominance has been a disaster for stable community and for family life – it has in effect been an assault on relationship.
Furthermore, our current welfare state arrangements have not incentivized work and have often imprisoned people in a benefit trap where they have been better off out of paid work. These are signs of a broken and de-humanizing political economy.
Many campaigners call for an “end” to poverty by arguing for rises in benefits. But despite the undeniable imperative of meeting essential need, such welfarist approaches can only offer a sticking plaster, leaving root causes unchallenged. By contrast, a justice approach in-keeping with the Christian tradition would demand a political economy that fosters decent jobs that enable people to earn well and thrive.
The inequality gap in the UK continues to grow, with the top fifth owning two thirds of the wealth, and the bottom fifth only 0.5%.6 Given this injustice, we lament the fact that in recent years, “social justice” came to be more associated with identity politics than with economic justice. This distraction from its original meaning enabled large corporations to claim that their brands were ethical while the pay and conditions of those at the bottom went unnoticed. This cheap, shallow and performative approach disguised the true state of the economy.
To be true to the Christian justice tradition, like its ancestor, the rabbinical, biblical tradition, we want to stand in solidarity with poor communities and demand an economy based on right relationship. We recognize that meaningful justice is achieved in relational ways, such as through the negotiation of decent wages and working conditions, by acting as a community to support a family in trouble, or by forming alliances of solidarity to achieve better housing conditions. Whilst the safety net is vital, our primary relationships should be with each other, not with the bureaucratic state.
Too often, well-meaning churches and Christian charities fail to call for economic reform and instead prioritize the “welfarist” or “identitarian” interpretations of justice, not realising that these can act as a distraction from more fundamental questions of economic justice and, that they can inadvertently undermine social relationships.
2. Changing practice: empowerment and the contributory principle
As well as looking to systems of economic and political power, we must also be concerned with our own practice. Is the approach we are taking to social action effective? Good intentions are not enough. We need to face questions about whether some forms of social action are counterproductive. Does our charity sometimes unintentionally trap people deeper in poverty?
As well as the principle of solidarity, the principle of subsidiarity is vital – that responsibility is taken at the appropriate level, empowering people to help themselves. As Benedict XVI said: ‘Subsidiarity is first and foremost a form of assistance to the human person.. [which].. respects personal dignity by recognizing in the person a subject who is always capable of giving something to others.’7
The uncomfortable truth is that too much of the growth of social action has been in activities focussed on giving out resources to people affected by poverty rather than forms of help which build mutuality. We are concerned that this growth is simply digging a bigger hole for the people it is seeking to serve.
We are also troubled that this approach can accentuate class estrangement between the church and the people it aims to help. The professionalised language common in social action circles often communicates a middle-class, managerial, “service-client” dynamic rather than a meaningful, reciprocal encounter. This can inadvertently rob people of their agency.
We need to take seriously the message of books such as Toxic Charity or When Helping Hurts because they have exposed the complexities of compassion. We need to develop models of help which have empowerment and reciprocity at their heart, and approaches that enable people trapped in poverty to have agency. We need to enable people to discover the kingdom of God within themselves (Luke 17:21), to find the faith which heals them – not just to be passive recipients of hand-outs.
Again, a relational, rather than transactional, approach is fundamental. Relationships must be two-way – inviting people into environments where their contribution is a vital ingredient in the change that is happening. In food poverty initiatives, this means that beneficiaries will pay something towards the food provision they are receiving and have the opportunity to help out. In homelessness services, this means empowering people to pay their rent and contribute to their own recovery from the challenges they face.
A critical aspect of this is appreciating the difference between crisis problems which require an immediate, material response and chronic problems which require longer-term, relational approaches. As Robert Lupton argues, a crisis form of response to chronic issues is not helpful:
‘We respond generously to stories of people in crisis, but in fact most of our charity goes to people who face predictable, solvable problems of chronic poverty. An emergency response to chronic need is at best counterproductive and, over time, is actually harmful.’8
Christian social action should aim to welcome people into participating in community rather than keeping them in receiving mode. People are not transformed simply through what they receive but through what they participate in and contribute to. This is why the 12-Step movement of addiction recovery has been so effective and sustainable, because everyone who truly benefits commits to helping others. Thus, one person’s recovery is always bound up with another in a community-shaped form of help.
A neat way of expressing this is the contributory principle: all forms of social action should empower beneficiaries to contribute to their own welfare and to the welfare of others. We should reject atomising, transactional approaches which can deepen dependency, and instead create structures that enable people to realize their own capacity to act.
Building on this principle, it should be our longer term ambition to help build robust forms of local economy and co-ownership structures that safeguard people from hardship. As Andrew Forsey, National Director of Feeding Britain says, there are already examples of initiatives that suggest potential in that direction:
‘Churches up and down the country, through pantries, food clubs and co-ops, are expanding working-class purchasing power and reducing the need for food banks and remedying the inadequacies of both state and market provision. These institutions, built upon the contributory principle, seem adept at combining individual self-interest with the common good.’
3. Deepening spirituality: confidence in our Christian distinctiveness
Finally, we believe that now is the time for confidence in the distinctive nature of Christian social action. There is a well-worn path of secularization that many Christian charities have ventured down and in doing so have cut themselves off from the roots from which they grew. We call for a new emphasis on integration of faith alongside charitable activity. We must resist the tendency to dilute our distinctiveness until we are left with a legacy faith: a footnote in a charity’s history rather than something dynamic and life-giving.
Our distinctive character is built on foundational beliefs about what it means to be human. We are relational beings made in the image of the Almighty God. Relationships are at the heart of what it means to be human because relationships are at the core of a Trinitarian God of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This truth can and must infuse all we do.
The biblical narrative has both relational justice and empowering mercy running right through it. The liberation from slavery in the Exodus, the social and economic justice enshrined in the Torah, the social concern of the prophets railing against idolatry and injustice, the compassion and transforming power of Jesus and his radical call to discipleship and the way the early church lived as a counter-cultural community. These stories continue to inspire countless people drawn into God’s work of restoration and repair.
We want our lives and our work to reflect this grace and truth of Jesus not reject it. We want to call people and society into a radical way of living, into a movement which embodies this life-giving energy, that offers a constructive response to the socio-economic, cultural and spiritual malaise that has plagued our country for too long.
Every Christian church and charity is called to be more than a service provider, more than a think tank, and has a vocation deeper than activism or volunteering. In the words of Pope Francis, our calling ‘begins where we live…by bearing witness every day to the beauty of the Love that has looked upon us and lifted us up.’9
This crossroads calls us to ask ourselves honestly what it means to be a Christian. Indeed, the very idea of a separate “social action” sector calls us to take a new look at discipleship formation. In a culture plagued by individualism, it is not only our charitable bodies that need reminding about the relational imperative – it should be integral to the vocation of every Christian. As Stanley Hauerwas reminds us, ‘The church does not have a social ethic; the church is a social ethic’.10 And, as Benedict XVI says, charity (love) is not to be reserved to an activist class: it is ‘not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others.’11
Practices of discernment – listening to God in the local – are vital. These practices enable faith to become far more than a “starter motor” for a social action project – it can become the engine of a whole new way of being. We must remember that the gospel is the source of hope in addressing the crises of our time, giving purpose, meaning, depth of insight and a route for forgiveness and fullness of life.
Our charitable activities and local relationships can offer so much more than the bleak “allocation of resources” world and the managerial mindset can supply. We can provide an answer to the poverty of relationships and identity.
The Christian tradition must not fail to offer a response to the deep spiritual needs among our brothers and sisters affected by poverty. The scale of loneliness and despair is often hidden from view. We know that people in financial trouble are most likely to be living alone, and many have considered or attempted suicide as a way out.12 We also know that spiritual accompaniment, as part of a respectful offer of support, is often welcomed by people in need.13
We recognise that many charities and initiatives operate in a mixed-zone with volunteers who may not always be committed Christians. This is a good thing, and there are lots of ways that a vibrant spirituality can be integrated sensitively alongside inclusive practice. The times call not for shyness but for what Lesslie Newbigin described as ‘proper confidence in the gospel’14 and a conviction that ensures our Christian distinctiveness is integral to what we do and how we live. This does not mean a return to crude forms of proselytising: rather, as Pope Francis has said, the church ‘grows by attracting others. And what attracts is our witness.’15
We must listen to God in prayer and boldly seek the grace and truth revealed in Jesus Christ. We must not be embarrassed by the distinctive roots that drive our motivation, nor should we allow social action to secularize the church and mute its ability to share the good news.
Proposed directions for action
At the Advent retreat, a number of practical proposals and ideas emerged from our collective discernment process.
1. Build our capacity to address the systemic drivers of poverty
a) Develop a shared theological language that enables churches and Christian charities to understand political economy, power, class and justice, and learn ‘how to do justice’ in grassroots and tangible ways
b) Learn from community organizing methods and work with marginalized communities to build upon co-operative movements like food co-ops, social supermarkets, credit unions
c) Develop new strategies for political and policy engagement appropriate for the new era
2. Reimagine discipleship and formation for the common good
a) Develop a discipleship formation addressing what it means to be a Christian in the neighbourhood today (incorporating the relational imperative; an understanding of power, class and justice; reflective practice; gifts from different theologies and organizations)
b) Explore models of dissemination including mentoring for both new and established Christians, aiming for a wide engagement beyond the limitations of activist groups
3. Develop the network of Christian social action leaders
a) Hold another “prophetic imagination” event, focused on two or three of the practical proposals, incorporating more young leaders and those with “lived experience”
b) Develop a mechanism to continue the links between these leaders (and others):
i. fostering relationships across agencies and denominational boundaries
ii. sharing resources and stories of best practice
iii. building a collective voice, while enhancing the voices and collective impact of smaller local initiatives, to balance out the dominance of the bigger organizations and national charities
4. Research the real impact of Christian social action
a) Assess different ways of measuring the distinctive impact of Christian social action (how do we measure God’s blessing)
b) Assemble multiple impact reports around specific needs (eg. a prison leaver) to speak into the public sphere in a new, non-competitive, collective Christian voice
c) Develop training to improve impact measurement and evaluation
5. Address the impact of funders on outcomes
a) Meet with strategic funders to present these issues and identify ways to empower distinctively Christian social action strategically appropriate for the times
b) Develop a theory of change, addressing the critical impact of funders on outcomes (incorporating the public perception of poverty) in relation to individual giving, family offices, philanthropic trusts, fundraising professionals, major denominations, central and local government), in consultation with faith-aligned experts in large scale change, eg. Nurture Development.
Next steps
Of course, any of the above would require energy and resources. We can see the value in holding another gathering in 2026, involving a bigger number of participants, nourished perhaps by the fruits of working groups that have focused for a while on two or three of the above proposals. We recognise the energy here and offer this paper to share these developments to test the water to see what kinds of next steps might resonate.
Closing words
We cannot do justice to the depth of conversation at the retreat. The sense of being as one united family in Jesus Christ was profound despite our many differences. We intentionally convened a group of leaders across denomination, politics, class, education, experience, expertise, ethnicity and opinion. It was a joy to have Pentecostal, Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Evangelical, Salvation Army, and Presbyterian traditions all represented. There is also a spectrum of theological tendencies from liberal to conservative, which of course cuts across all denominations, and their distinctive emphases, practices, terminology, worship styles, forms of discipleship.
It was a unique gathering and a moving experience that affected all involved. Rather than try to convey every detail of what was said, we have tried in the very limited time available, in between our day jobs, to convey the spirit of the discussions and bring out the key themes. We ask forgiveness for any omissions. We sense there is more to be done here, and we look forward to seeing where this may lead us next.
It may look hopeless, and we may feel powerless. But grace is working. We can look for signs of the Holy Spirit in our neighbourhoods and our local economies – signs of trust, forbearance, forgiveness, covenantal relationships of reciprocity and mutuality. We can join in with this divine energy and build the common good together. This is what keeps us human, and our God-given humanity must be defended. This is a time to speak the truth with courage, to accompany each other, refuse tribalism and build unlikely alliances of mutual respect and loving friendship.
Jon Kuhrt and Jenny Sinclair
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Footnotes
1 Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK Poverty 2025: The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK
2 JRF, UK Poverty 2025
3 The Health Foundation, In-work poverty trends, 2024
4 Robert D. Lupton, Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help
5 Toby Helm, All UK families ‘to be worse off by 2030’ as poor bear the brunt, The Guardian ,22 March 2025
6 The Equality Trust, The Scale of Economic Inequality in the UK, 2025
7 Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate [2009, #57]
8 Robert Lupton, Charity Detox: What charity would look like if we cared about results (2015)
9 Francis, General Audience, January 2023
10 Stanley Hauerwas, The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ethics, 1991
11 Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est (God is Love), 2005
12 Christians Against Poverty, Under the rubble of debt and poverty 2024 client report
13 Carwyn Gravell, Lost and Found: Faith and spirituality in the lives of homeless people, 2013
14 Lesslie Newbigin, Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt and Certainty in Christian Discipleship, 1995
15 Francis, General Audience, January 2023
APPENDIX
The Advent Retreat, 29 November 2024
Organisations
The retreat involved the participation of leaders from the following organizations:
Ascension Trust, Bonny Downs Baptist Church, Bridge Church, Lincoln, CARE, Caritas Social
Action Network, Caritas Westminster, Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales,
CCLA, Christians Against Poverty, Christians on the Left, Church Urban Fund, ChurchWorks,
Cinnamon Network, Citizens UK, Compassionate Communities, Diocese of London, Daughters
of Charity Services, Diocese of Northampton, Feeding Britain, Good Faith Partnership, Guild of
Our Lady of Ransom, Home for Good, Hope into Action, Housing Justice, Joint Public Issues
Team, Jubilee Plus, London Citizens, Methodist Church of Great Britain, National Estates
Churches Network, Old Lodge Lane Baptist Church, Prison Advice Care Trust, Red Letter
Christians, Salvation Army UK, Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries , School for Synodality, St
Vincent de Paul Society, The Message Trust, Together for the Common Good, Transforming
Notts Together, Trussell.
Quotes
If poverty is getting worse, can we stop pretending that we are changing it?
Do we know the poor?
Are we actually asking people in need what they need? Do we have those relationships?
We don’t focus enough on class.
Do we see social action as to only benefit those outside the church?
We need to change the ‘fix it’ benevolent provider mentality and this requires solidarity.
Do we prefer the comfort of social action over the discomfort of social injustice?
The current culture of Christianity is toxic and focuses on do-goodism instead of leaving space
for God to move.
Are we lacking the habits and practices that transform?
We have valued the ‘quick wins’ when what we actually need is a 100-year vision.
What does relational funding look like?
We need a new way of doing church
We need to be the microcosm of God’s big kingdom.
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to the following for making the retreat possible:
To Avril Baigent for expert facilitation, to CCLA Investment Management, Caritas Westminster
and Church Urban Fund for financial support; to St Mary Magdalene Church for their hospitality;
to Chloe Smith for gathering the contributions and to Emma Cosgrave for admin support; to our
volunteer small group leaders and to every participant for their unique and valuable contribution.