Church Action on Poverty

@church-poverty.org.uk

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Our goal is to grow and support a social movement that can reclaim dignity, agency and power. We're here on Bluesky to connect and share with all our partners in that growing movement.

A cut-out of a newspaper letter. The text reads: Your editorial on deepening poverty in the UK (28 January) rightly condemns the decade and a half (and counting) of austerity. Millions of people’s lives have been knowingly worsened by the state. To compound this, countless shared neighbourhood spaces have been closed or sold off, meaning there is less opportunity for community togetherness just when it is most needed. The UK has the political and financial resources to create a society full of opportunity and security. Instead, successive governments have allowed poverty to continue and ultra-individualism to become normalised. You highlight the ideological dimension of this. There is also a fundamental ignorance behind it. Our politics is dominated by people who have never lived on a low income and know little of what such a life involves. There are remarkably few ways for people to truly shape government decisions that will determine their own lives. At regional and city levels, poverty truth commissions have led to new understandings within some councils and public bodies. Localised participation projects have managed to remove barriers, leading to people being heard as never before. But as long as this work exists only on small scales, progress will be inadequate. The UK must reinvest in our social security system, but it must also find new ways to harness the wisdom of people who access that system. If we can do that, social security, and indeed politics as a whole, can become constructive rather than antagonistic. Liam Purcell CEO, Church Action on Poverty
Lined paper with a ragged left edge. Kate’s headshot is in the top right. A nativity silhouette is in the bottom right. The text reads: “Christmas is a time where vulnerability meets power. Our recent work with Church Action on Poverty has built bridges through deep listening, enabling us to create a space for hopeful conversations which support faith in action through acting bravely together. Keep being vulnerable and bold this Advent!”
Lined paper with a ragged left edge. David’s headshot is on the top right. A nativity silhouette is in the bottom right. The text reads: “During Advent, in anticipation of the joy of Christmas, I look beyond to that time when our Lord will come to establish His Kingdom of justice and peace, and I commit myself to work for that day.”
Lined paper with a ragged left edge. In the top-right is Helen’s headshot. Bottom-right is a nativity silhouette. The text reads: “Frustration with waiting for Christmas is based on the idea that waiting is a negative experience - I want it and I want it now! But Advent isn’t that sort of waiting. It’s anticipating. It’s remembering Christmases past, it’s looking forward to our favourite aspects of Christmas whether that’s seeing people we’re normally apart from, eating special food, or listening to carols. Anticipating the pleasure when you know you’ve got a brilliant idea for someone’s present or you’ve mastered a tricky recipe. The anticipation is part of the pleasure.”
Lined paper with a ragged left edge. In the top-right is Helen’s headshot. Bottom-right is a nativity silhouette. The text reads: “Frustration with waiting for Christmas is based on the idea that waiting is a negative experience - I want it and I want it now! But Advent isn’t that sort of waiting. It’s anticipating. It’s remembering Christmases past, it’s looking forward to our favourite aspects of Christmas whether that’s seeing people we’re normally apart from, eating special food, or listening to carols. Anticipating the pleasure when you know you’ve got a brilliant idea for someone’s present or you’ve mastered a tricky recipe. The anticipation is part of the pleasure.”
Lined paper, with a ragged left edge. In the bottom right is a nativity silhouette. Top right has a headshot photo of Liam. The text reads: “Christmas reminds us that God is here with us, experiencing poverty and injustice - and calling us to work together for a better world. During Advent, we hold onto the hope of light appearing in the darkness, just as we hope and pray for a world free from poverty.”
Two identical photos of a basket of groceries, with the text: “Have your Christmas donations doubled!”
A mirror-effect photo of two robins facing each other on alder branches. A speech bubble from one says: “If you donate to our Bjg Give appeal this weekend, your donation will be matched!”
Red background. Text reads “Hqve your Christmas donations doubled”. There are two identical pictures of a basket of groceries.
A quartered square. Top left is a photo of a Pantry volunteer in blue chatting to a man pushing a buggy. Bottom right has two men with ice cream. Top right says 82% of Pantry members we spoke to feel more connected with their community. Bottom left says “It has been an absolute blessing for many reasons, not just helping with the cost of living on low income and a debt repayment plan, but I also found friends, connected with people and it improved my mental health and sense of being included and belonging to a local community.”
Sharing Our Dreams
Artist Stephen Martin, whose 'Dreams and Realities' portraits are a focus of the materials for Church Action on Poverty Sunday
The Perils of Universal Credit from Elicit Theatre Company Etcetera Theatre, London, 11 Sep - 11 Oct 2025 Contact the theatre on 020 7482 4857 to reserve your tickets
Three Pantry team members stand in front of a mural that says 'HOPE' in Kingston Pantry
A Pantry staff member with a tray of peaches
Logos for Small Charity Week, Global's Make Some Noice, and NCVO, with the start date of Small Charity Week: 23 June 2025
Niall Cooper admiring a painting of Iona, given to him by his colleagues as a leaving present
Empty Plate Project flyer: image of a clay plate with 'Food On My Mind' handwritten on it
Based on factual experiences, we follow the journey of a young woman’s experience whilst on benefits, the process of Universal Credit & the challenges she encounters while trying to survive whilst looking for a job & feeling the effects of austerity in 21st century Britain.
An image of Stef Benstead with the words "They're using a lot of spin and weasel words, but it is worse than empty rhetoric. It is deliberately misleading the public in order to buy support for immoral, harmful cuts."
Niall Cooper in 2023
Liam and Dan loading the van
A 'Let's End Poverty' banner on display outside Camden Methodist Church, with congregation members of all ages stood nearby
Niall Cooper in 2023
A sign reading 'Job Vacancy' with a Church Action on Poverty logo
A flyer promoting the exhibition at Christchurch Foodbank+
Paintings and other works of art in the exhibition at Christchurch Foodbank+
Are Churches losing faith in low-income communities? More details of the event.
Photo of Niall Cooper
Mary Passeri says: "If the Government could bring themselves to stop scapegoating and instead invest in bettering the situation for disabled people, then perhaps there would be less pressure on social and health services."
Stef Benstead says: "They’re using a lot of spin and weasel words, but it is worse than empty rhetoric. It is deliberately misleading the public in order to buy support for immoral, harmful cuts."
Stef Benstead, Mary Passeri and Sydnie Corley say : "Labour said they would put disabled people at the heart of everything they do, but instead they've shoved us to the very edges."
A display in a church for Church Action on Poverty Sunday, featuring the 'Dreams and Realities' portrait exhibition
Our staff and trustees say THANK YOU for taking part in Church Action on Poverty Sunday
FREE ART EXHIBITION Sun 20 April - Sun 27 April Open every day 10am - 2pm promoting LET’S END POVERTY and supporting Christchurch Foodbank+ Thought-provoking paintings, textiles and mixed media Come & be inspired & challenged The Runway, 15 Airfield Rd, Christchurch, BH23 3TG Free Tea and Coffee - ALL Ages Welcome
Photos promoting the Menopause workshop with Let's End Poverty branding
A member of York Poverty Truth Commission speaks as part of a panel at the Dignity For All conference
Artist Stephen Martin talks with the Church Action on Poverty team at our Greenbelt stall, where his 'Dreams and Realities' portrait exhibition is on display.
Wayne, Stef and Mary from our Speaking Truth to Power programme, accompanied by our Chief Exec Niall Cooper, meet with government minister Stephen Timms.
Wayne, Steve, Tracy and Penny of our Speaking Truth to Power programme speak from the stage at a conference at London School of Economics.
An artist leads a creative workshop in Kingston Pantry
The Bishop of Leeds with Your Local Pantry Network Facilitator James Henderson, and three members of the team from InterAct Pantry Meanwood in Leeds. They're holding copies of 'Places of Hope', the Your Local Pantry 2024 social impact report.
Cat Stevens MP asks Keir Starmer about our letters at Prime Minister's Questions, and gets a response.
Dreams and Realities: the artist and the organiser pose with three of the subjects of the paintings
A 'Let's End Poverty' banner displayed on stage during an Artists for Change at Manchester's iconic venue Band On The Wall.