Churches stepping into void in recession Britain
I have often flagged up the importance of the church as a key part of the community infrastructure in rural England, irrespective of its religious function. This article demonstrates just how broad its reach is and what a key role it has to play in filling the challenges arising from the recession.
More than 6,500 Church of England parishes now provide special services for elderly people, schoolchildren, parents and new immigrants, a study by the Church Urban Fund shows.
And eight out of 10 reported that individual parishioners give up their spare time to provide informal help to people struggling with issues such as isolation, family breakdown, drug abuse, domestic violence or spiralling debt.
The figures do not include large numbers of projects run by Roman Catholic churches, Methodists and other faiths.
It comes after the new Archbishop of Canterbury called on the Church to step into the void to do things the state has “run out of the capacity to do” in the wake of the financial crisis.
The Most Rev Justin Welby said last week that the Church could be facing its “greatest moment of opportunity since the Second World War” to reach into communities.