Dear John,

A lot is happening in the church, in Parliament and in the media right now, so we wanted to send a quick round-up of how and where we’ve been speaking up.

Speaking up in the church

Next week, the Church of England General Synod will debate poverty in the UK, and acknowledge the 40th anniversary of the Faith In The City report.

Faith In The City was a vital and powerful piece of work, but the Church must avoid slipping into mere nostalgia for past energies. Instead, the Church must recapture the active compassion and indignation behind the original report, speak up more and more against the unjust structures that cause and perpetuate poverty, and equip and encourage local churches and Christian groups to see seeking justice as integral to their role.

We’ll be urging Church leaders to do just that, when they meet next week. In the meantime, there is an excellent article by Father Alex Frost on the link below, reflecting on his own experiences of tackling poverty in his parish. This link also includes details of a talk that Alex will be giving online on February 26th.

Speaking up in Parliament

Last autumn, Parliament voted to scrap the so-called “two-child limit". For eight long years, this policy had denied vital support to children who had more than one sibling. It was an awful experiment that hurt children, and a cruel distortion of our shared social security system.

A great many of you joined the calls for its removal, leading to last November’s change of policy. Thank you!

Yesterday, the Bill formalising its removal began its journey through Parliament. We and 64 other organisations urged all MPs to support this Bill, to greatly improve children’s lives and potential.

Speaking up in the media

Last week, Joseph Rowntree Foundation published its annual report on UK poverty, prompting several media reports. In response, our chief executive Liam penned this letter to The Guardian, which was published as the lead letter online on Sunday evening and in print on Monday.

We shared the letter on our facebook page and it generated lots of interest and ‘shares’. If you’re on facebook, could you too help to spread the message, by sharing the post as well?