Sunday 2 March is Church Action on Poverty Sunday, focusing on themes of social justice and the Church’s role in addressing the root causes of poverty in the UK.
The campaigning charity Church Action on Poverty was founded in 1982 to raise awareness of issues around poverty and enable the voice of those experiencing poverty to be heard. This remains a central principle of their work.
They are not a lone voice in the Church standing up to tackle the impact of poverty, and its causes – with 1400 foodbanks part of the Trussell Trust network (founded 1997), and Christians Against Poverty, founded in 1996 providing much needed debt advice and hope. Not to mention the local responses of many churches.
This year Church Action on Poverty has produced an exhibition of portraits of real people experiencing poverty under the title, ‘Dreams and Realities’. Each portrays a person – along with symbols representing their experience of poverty, and the dreams they would pursue if they were not being held back by their circumstances.
Sunday 2 March is a chance to reflect on their stories, take action, both to help those who daily live with poverty and address its causes, and also pray for change, justice and hope, reflecting our own Kingdom values of Love, Compassion, Justice and Freedom.
To see the Dreams and Realities portraits visit www.church-poverty.org.uk/sunday. And also see www.trussell.org.uk and www.capuk.org.
