church and society
poverty and debt
Concerns for tackling poverty and social justice are at the heart of the Gospel. There is a rich biblical tradition from the Old Testament prophets and throughout the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. This has been carried forward in differing ways through the majority of Christian traditions to the current day.
Get Fair campaign
A major campaign, launching in September 2008, mobilising many organisations and networks already working on various aspects of the big problem of ‘poverty', which is being coordinated by Church Action on Poverty. Its aims are:
- To mobilise public opinion to support action to tackle poverty in the UK.
- To secure the commitment of all major political parties to deliver on their existing commitment to end child poverty by 2020 and to extend this goal to ending poverty across all the generations in the UK by 2020.
The campaign will draw on fundamental human rights principles of equality, dignity and respect for everyone living in the UK, at all life stages, having:
- A decent, adequate income.
- The right not to be marginalized or excluded from society.
- Equal opportunities and fair access to services.
- Neighbourhoods that secure health and wellbeing.
For more information, see Church Action on Poverty 
.
Poverty and Homelessness Action Week
January/February
The week represents a major opportunity to put poverty issues firmly on the agenda of local churches, communities and policy makers across the UK. It is organised by Church Action on Poverty, Church Urban Forum, Housing Justice and Scottish Churches Housing Action, and aims to encourage poverty hearings or similar events to take place across the country during that week.
Just Church
A programme of action/reflection, developed by Church Action on Poverty in partnership with other churches/agencies, aiming to help local churches to integrate concerns for poverty and social justice into the lives and faith journeys of congregations and individual Christians.
March 2008
Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office briefing paper:
Poverty - Who Cares? SCPO briefing paper (PDF)
Debt
Churches and Christian organisations have been concerned for years about growing levels of personal debt and the disproportional effect this has on the poor in various ways.
The Church of England launched its Matter of Life and Debt campaign in January 2008. This includes an easy-to-use interactive online resource to help people work out a household budget.
The Hope 2008 programme has information sessions on how the church can help people in debt between February to May.
Debt on Our Doorstep is a campaign of Church Action on Poverty which aims to end extortionate lending and ensure universal access to affordable credit and other financial services.
News
July 2008
Archbishop of Canterbury Welcomes Government Announcement on Credit Unions
