Churches will play vital role in bringing communities together post-Covid-19

CHURCHES WILL PLAY VITAL ROLE IN BRINGING COMMUNITIES TOGETHER POST-COVID-19 

Churches in the UK have a unique opportunity and rich resources to bring local communities together in a post-Covid-19 world where loneliness and inequality look set to rise, claims the Free Churches’ report on The Church and Social Cohesion.  

The report calls on every church in the UK to assess whether it is using its resources to the best of its ability to improve social cohesion at the very grassroots level. It identifies the following assets that local churches may have, including the vision to serve, which is based on a local knowledge of and commitment to their neighbourhoods:  

• Buildings - to hold community events (which can foster everything from church events to mother and toddler groups or foodbanks).  

• Networks - that bring people together from different backgrounds and can be used to send information quickly into communities in times of need.  

• Leadership – not just faith leadership at a formal level but also encouraging and nurturing young Christians to lead, something which should be further developed.  

• Convening power – bringing people together offering conversational space.  

• Volunteering – providing and co-ordinating volunteers and events.  

• Vision - the desire to shape and transform communities, which is intrinsic to the core values of Christianity. 

The Church, with its strong vision and desire to “love your neighbour as yourself”, has an important role to play in helping to bring communities together.   

“Most Christians wouldn’t naturally think of the work they are doing in communities as “social cohesion” work, because that is the language of policy makers. However, in their quiet, everyday ministries of neighbour-love, they are building the links we rely on to call ourselves ‘a community’, all the time. We hope this research helps both policymakers and churches themselves to recognise this.”

— Elizabeth Oldfield, director of Theos

The challenge for each local church is to look at what you’re already doing to encourage and support social cohesion in the places God calls you to serve.

What needs strengthening and where can you do more?   

(Article adapted from press release by Theos Think Tank on 26th November. The areas visited for the research were: Bolton, Bradford, Bury, Cornwall, Croydon, Derby, East Lindsey, Haringey, Middlesbrough, Newham, Peterborough, Plymouth, Solihull, and Thanet.)

Social Cohesion is for life, not just for crises… and churches are the way to build it!

Social cohesion and ‘loving our neighbour’ matters, and it matters at all times and in all circumstances. A recently published report by the Free Churches Group, prepared by Theos Think Tank, says that all too often policy makers have only taken steps towards social cohesion in times of challenge and when faced with crises. This ground-breaking and thought-provoking report goes on to say, “policy interventions in pursuit of greater social cohesion have usually been driven forward by crisis, and therefore predominantly focus on what happens when things have already gone wrong.”

Well, of course, it is important to address things which have been identified as affecting community relations, when we see things have gone awry, yet perhaps it is even more important to consider how neighbourliness and matters of social cohesion might be addressed and enhanced in everyday life. After all, this will help to build stronger foundations for times of adversity and challenge; if policies are in place which equip and empower neighbourhoods and faith groups, then this can pave the way for fostering better social cohesion in the good and the tough times.

“We find that churches are often working quietly and concertedly to enhance their communities.”

It’s encouraging to know that churches are there for us, in all times and in all weathers, so to speak! The report affirms that, “we find that churches are often working quietly and concertedly to enhance their communities” not just in emergencies, but in everyday life too.

We know that in recent times, during the pandemic, that our churches and community groups have had to work differently; to plan and respond in ways that perhaps have been very different for us, but respond we have! Abundantly! And this is in part because of the passionate people who relentlessly serve in churches. Yet it is also because churches have established a network of contacts who can be called on in times of trouble. Each one of us will be able to call to mind some remarkable act of compassion or generosity which a church has carried out in recent times. It is because, as Christians, we are called to love our neighbour as ourselves. Churches just go on doing what they do purposefully and steadily in all times; when there are times of challenge, they step up and adapt in amazing ways.

It reminds me of the parable of the wise and the foolish builders. Houses built on rock do not fall, even in times of storm, whereas houses built on sand come down with a great crash (Matthew 7:24-27). So we see that the resolute and committed work our churches do, to build social cohesion, really comes to the fore in times of crisis, but it is because the foundations of the churches are well crafted and securely built, being established over time, that really makes the difference.

The report is full of case studies and quotes gathered and shared from interviews with many different church leaders and community members.

A church leader from Derby says social cohesion is “kind of the leaking out of loving your neighbour… I think you will find that individuals will visit people who are sick, will stay in touch with people who are housebound, will set up little coffee mornings, and you know. It just is the lifeblood of the church. It’s what it does. Because it’s about loving your neighbour, really.” That ‘lifeblood of the church’ and the fact that it offers support and builds relationships, in all times, means that it can work even more co-operatively and effectively in times of crisis!

Danny Kruger MP, in commending the report, says that the church is unique in how it does this because of “its national breadth, its local depth” and “the diversity of its activity.” He goes on to say, in his endorsement of the report, that the church plays a vital role “in building connected, more unified communities.”

We might liken churches to trees with strong roots, which grow and deepen over time, and that have branches that reach out to shelter us and to sustain us… the report asserts from its findings and conversations that, “The emotional and symbolic reach of church buildings points to the fact that churches are not only embedded physically, but socially, in their communities…. one church leader strikingly described churches as the “capillary” level of the community. Capillaries form the circulatory network which delivers nourishment at a scale unreachable by other means, making life possible.” What a great analogy! Churches reaching parts of our communities that are unreachable by many others and churches making life possible… so however we work towards social cohesion, we know it is for life, not just for crises…. And churches are the way to build it. What are we waiting for!?

To go deeper, download our ‘How To’ guides and the full report:

Blog by Rev Sara Iles, FCG Media Support Officer & Minister with the Congregational Federation

What do Brexit, Black Lives Matter, loneliness and austerity have in common?

A brand new report, published last week, written by Theos and commissioned by the Free Churches Group, asks the bold and provocative question, “What do Brexit, Black Lives Matter, loneliness and austerity have in common?”  The answer, to emerge from the findings of this new report, asserts that, “They are all social cohesion issues”.

But what is social cohesion? How might you define this? 

The working definition, used for the purposes of the report, suggests it is the “strength of our collective relationships”; that is to say, “what binds us together beyond our immediate social circles, whether in times of celebration or challenge. In more concrete terms, how far do you feel your own well-being is tied to the well-being of a person you have never spoken to, but who is sat next to you on the bus?”

I wonder, does this definition chime true with what you came up with?

So many issues and circumstances impact our lives and communities, such as the ways that COVID-19 has affected us, the debates and discussions around Black Lives Matters, the crucial and heart-breaking effects of loneliness and the deliberations and divisions in the Brexit debate; working these matters out are all core to how our society seeks to function well and are core to social cohesion. As Pastor Agu Irukwu, from The Redeemed Christian Church of God, says, the report is a welcome resource for our churches at a time when we are “dealing with [these] complex, emotional and often painful issues”; the report, he says, offers us encouragement and lays the foundation for the potential for greater social cohesion.

The report, which you can download and read in full, says, “At heart, social cohesion is about which communities we feel part of – locally, nationally, internationally, and even virtually – and how coherently these communities interrelate. It is about how connected and accountable we feel to others across society, and how fairly opportunities are distributed. It is about whether, and to what extent, we feel we belong. Simply, it is about how effectively we nurture what is most precious to us: the strength of our collective relationships.”

Social cohesion, the report goes on to say, “affects every aspect of our lives from happiness to economic flourishing. It has been towards the top of the policy agenda for several decades, over which time British society has become more culturally and ethnically diverse, older, less equal, and more geographically mobile… Time and effort are required to bring people together and nourish cohesive communities, and there is work to do.”

I wonder what part faith groups, and in particular our churches, might play in harnessing and garnering the potential in our communities and be the bridges for fostering social cohesion?

The report asserts that, “The nation’s churches have the potential to offer this time and effort in abundance,” but goes on to say that “neither the churches’ community contribution nor its wider potential have been considered in detail by policymakers,” so that is why the Free Churches Group commissioned Theos to assess the impact of churches on social cohesion in October 2018. The report has been commended from a broad base church leaders, MPs and community activists.

In the coming weeks, we will explore the report together, in greater detail, and see how our churches can fully engage with the issues emerging from the findings in the report, as well as find out ways we can activate our church leaders and congregations in developing how we work towards social cohesion and build stronger communities.

Article written by Rev Sara Iles

FCG Media Support Officer & Minister with the Congregational Federation

Theos say read all about it!

A new report, The Church and Social Cohesion, commissioned by the Free Churches Group, investigates how churches in England contribute to social cohesion.

The Church and Social Cohesion: Connecting Communities and Serving People is the concluding report of an 18–month project which seeks to understand the impact of churches on the cohesiveness of our communities across England. It was commissioned by the Free Churches Group, and authored by Dr Madeleine Pennington, Theos’ Head of Research.

Between November 2018 and September 2019, Theos researchers observed a range of local cohesion initiatives and conducted 361 semi–structured interviews in 14 English local authorities: Bolton, Bradford, Bury, Cornwall, Croydon, Derby, East Lindsey, Haringey, Middlesbrough, Newham, Peterborough, Plymouth, Solihull, and Thanet. Just under half of participants were church–based; the remainder were cohesion stakeholders from a wide range of non–Christian contexts (including council officers, elected representatives, other faith leaders, healthcare professionals, teachers, and more). You can read all about the findings from those conversations and see some suggestions about how your church can make bolder braver steps in your work in building a more socially cohesive community (links at the end of the article below).

The report begins with a brief overview of recent cohesion policy, particularly noting how it has often been directed in response to crisis rather than a sustainable consideration of community assets. It then notes that Christians have distinctive theological motivations for engaging with their communities, before considering churches’ community assets in turn. It notes six assets as particularly common features of effective church–based community engagement: buildings, networks, leadership, convening power, volunteers and vision. Finally, it assesses how effectively churches work with a range of other community stakeholders in pursuit of cohesion aims, through a more targeted consideration of churches’ working relationships with other faith groups, other churches, and local authorities.

The report offers six core recommendations for the future, three of which are directed at policymakers, and three of which are directed at churches. 

It finds that policymakers should… 

1.       Ensure that they are working with churches wherever possible and appropriate as part of a move away from a crisis–driven approach; 

2.        Be prepared to engage with, and promote, both bridging and bonding opportunities as they emerge practically in local communities and beyond; 

3.       Take account of the specific ways in which churches operate in their communities. 

Meanwhile, churches should… 

4.       Build on the natural strength of their embeddedness in community to tailor their engagement to the community in which they sit, what the community needs, and what their congregation will support;

 5.       Systematically reflect on their assets to ensure they are being used to their maximum potential in pursuit of better social cohesion outcomes; 

6.       If involved in providing services for the whole community, such as public service delivery or education, ensure inclusion and diversity are promoted in their spaces. 

For further practical suggestions for how churches and policymakers can engage and work effectively together on cohesion issues, see the ‘How To’ booklets published alongside this report.

Download ‘Nurturing Social Cohesion: Why it matters and what your church can do about’ here.

Download ‘Nurturing Social Cohesion: A how–to guide for engaging churches’ here.

Launch day!

Launching today!

The Church and Social Cohesion: Connecting Communities and Serving People is the culmination of a major research project commissioned by the Free Churches Group and prepared by Theos think tank

The research project has consulted with over 360 people in England to assess the churches’ social cohesion contribution on the ground. Churches are an important element of the nation’s social fabric, and the cohesiveness of our societies will grow stronger if churches and policymakers alike recognise the distinctive assets that they have to offer.

Download the full report and

discover how your church can nurture social cohesion in the How To guide…