New approaches to caring for the vulnerable
By Ian Soars, Church of England Newspaper
Reading headlines like “Vulnerable children facing ‘catastrophe’ over crisis-hit councils” 4 August) or announcements like “Poor mental health has become part and parcel of childhood for many children.” (Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner) would cause any right-thinking reader to pause for thought…
…Christians have responded nationally in such a way in the past. Britain’s ancient universities, hospitals and schools that stand in our communities bear testament to almost forgotten eras when Christian Churches innovated social solutions to the pressing issues of the day.
For example, William Wilberforce used the idea of Christian equality before God to argue for emancipation of slaves. A group of vicars considered the abuse of children an outrage: they formed the NSPCC. Dr Barnardo, Lord Shaftesbury, James Fegan and others, moved by Christian compassion, founded children’s homes.
The Clapham Sect campaigned for children to be banned from going down mines. Church schools were founded because a group of vicars committed to start a school in every parish, the first serious attempt at a national education system. Foodbanks and Christians against Poverty are admirable modern incarnations of this trend. The current problem needs the Church to find new solutions to respond strategically to the cry for justice from communities seeing children’s lives being broken as Statutory Bodies no longer have the resources they need to meet the overwhelming need.
The Church has an opportunity, in partnership with the State, to respond to that need in a stunning way. The Church has powerful social assets that the Government can no longer afford: it is present in every town, its people are motivated, local and engaged, it has buildings, services and expertise… and its second greatest commandment is to ‘love its neighbour’.
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