This is a longer article written to provoke discussion about the key challenges and future direction for Christian social action in the UK. A PDF version can be downloaded at the bottom of the article. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for ancient paths, ask where the good way… Continue reading Justice, Empowerment & Faith: the future direction for Christian social action
Feeding the hunger for community – by Simon Dwight
Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.com On the Friday before Christmas, I hurried from my office to our church's outreach meal. Over the past two decades, my work life has focused on ways to help people overcome homelessness. However, as my career and the issue of homelessness have become increasingly interconnected, I've naturally moved away… Continue reading Feeding the hunger for community – by Simon Dwight
‘I didn’t see how I could be loved by God’: a journey from homelessness to hope
Antonio's life had been the grip of an addiction which had taken his resources, destroyed his relationships and left him cold and alone on the streets. His identity lacked dignity and any positive self-worth. As he says: 'It turned me into a person I was never meant to me' Recovery But from this rock bottom,… Continue reading ‘I didn’t see how I could be loved by God’: a journey from homelessness to hope
Structural justice: we need to nationalise house building
Photo by SevenStorm JUHASZIMRUS on Pexels.com In 1998 I bought a one-bed flat in Kings Cross. It cost me £62,000. The similar flat next door had been sold for £38,000 a few months before and I remember my new neighbour telling me I had been ‘diddled’. I only bought the flat because the estate where… Continue reading Structural justice: we need to nationalise house building
Complicity or challenge? Responding to self-limiting excuses – by Keith Hebden
Photo by Tyler Lastovich on Pexels.com In John’s gospel, there is a story of Jesus’ one-to-one conversation with a man lying by the ‘Pool of Bethesda’ which was famed for its healing powers (chapter 5). John’s Jesus asks the man starkly: “Do you want to get well?” The man replies with a series of excuses… Continue reading Complicity or challenge? Responding to self-limiting excuses – by Keith Hebden
How grace & truth changed my life
Photo by David Alberto Carmona Coto on Pexels.com This post consists solely of an emailed letter I received yesterday. As ever, personal stories speak more authentically than any theory and I think its one of the clearest articulations of the core thinking behind this blog. I am deeply encouraged to receive letters like this. Hi… Continue reading How grace & truth changed my life
Overcoming polarisation, avoiding disaster – by Jonathan Thomas
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com In times of explosive and frightening polarisation one can despair of finding common ground. I grew up in such a world, a teenager in the mid 1980s, at the height of the Cold War. The US and the USSR held two competing ideologies, totally incomprehensible to each other. They were… Continue reading Overcoming polarisation, avoiding disaster – by Jonathan Thomas
A tents dispute with the Home Secretary
Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com In 2011, Westminster City Council proposed byelaws to ban rough sleeping and to prevent groups distributing food to people in need, known as ‘soup runs’, in the Victoria area. The proposals caused an almighty uproar from charities and community groups and provoked demonstrations outside the council offices. In addition,… Continue reading A tents dispute with the Home Secretary
Keeping social action salty
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew 5:13 Photo by Castorly Stock on Pexels.com At Streatham Baptist Church, we run a meal on Wednesday evenings… Continue reading Keeping social action salty
No free lunch: the parable of the banker and the extra sandwich
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com A banker was recently sacked by his employers CitiBank for an expenses claim he submitted for two sandwiches whilst on a work trip. Szabolcs Fekete, who had worked for Citibank for 7 years as an analyst specialising in financial crime, had claimed that he had eaten both sandwiches. But actually,… Continue reading No free lunch: the parable of the banker and the extra sandwich
Grace + Truth 