Social Justice

We act justly as a sign of our love for God and for our neighbour. Social justice means meeting people’s needs through loving service, and also challenging the unjust structures that keep them in poverty. Jesus gave the Church, his body, a mandate to witness against the structural, communal, and personal sin which lies at the heart of injustice.

This page is for clergy, lay leaders, and church communities across the Diocese of York who want to respond to poverty and injustice in their parish, as many already do through food banks, warm spaces, and support for families. It brings together recent research, the Church of England’s renewed commitment to ending poverty, and practical resources you can use.

Poverty in the UK today

• More than 14 million people, about one in five, are living in poverty. That share has barely changed in almost 20 years. (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK Poverty 2026)
• 6.8 million people are in very deep poverty, the highest level since records began in the mid-1990s.
• Nearly a third of children are growing up in poverty, and child poverty has risen for three years running.
• Food banks in the Trussell network gave out more than 2.6 million emergency food parcels in 2025, about one every 12 seconds. (Trussell)

40 years since Faith in the City

In 1985, the Church of England published Faith in the City. Archbishop Robert Runcie commissioned the report after the riots of 1981 and growing concern about the decline of England’s inner cities. It challenged both the Church and the nation to face up to poverty, and it led to the founding of Church Urban Fund.

In February 2026, General Synod voted to recommit the Church of England to ending poverty in all its forms. The motion:

• gave thanks for the lasting impact of Faith in the City, including the work of Church Urban Fund
• asked churches to listen to people in their congregations and communities who experience poverty, and to build their views into the life of the Church
• gave thanks for Christian communities serving their neighbourhoods and building partnerships for love, justice, and mercy
• recognised that poverty affects some Black and minority ethnic communities disproportionately, and asked the Church to reflect this in its pastoral care, mission, and public witness
• encouraged the Church to ask questions of leaders in church, politics, society, and business about structures that cause or deepen poverty, in line with the third and fourth Marks of Mission
• recognised that poverty is often experienced in multi-faith communities, and encouraged ecumenical and interfaith partnership

Church of England churches run or support more than 31,300 social projects, including nearly 8,000 food banks and more than 3,000 community cafés. Archbishop Stephen told Synod that Faith in the City treated poverty as a moral challenge for our whole society, not a personal failing, and that the Church must go on speaking up for change as well as caring for people.

What your church can do

• Listen first. Ask people with experience of poverty what would help, and involve them in planning, not just in receiving help. General Synod asked every church to do this.
• Know your parish. Use the parish data tools below to understand your community, then check what you find by talking to people who live there.
• Give, and ask why. Keep supporting your local food bank, and explore together what it would take for food banks to no longer be needed.
• Open your doors. A warm space, a community meal, or a drop-in can be a lifeline, especially in winter. You can register a free, heated space with the Warm Welcome campaign so people can find it.
• Help people find support. Christians Against Poverty offers free debt help, money coaching, job clubs, and life skills courses. Benefit rules for larger families changed in April 2026, so encourage families to check what they are entitled to.
• Work with others. Partner with other churches, other faith communities, local charities, and your council. You don’t have to do everything yourselves.
• Speak up. Share what you see, with people’s permission, with those in power, as our bishops have done.
• Pray. Hold the people of your parish, and those who make decisions that affect them, in your prayers.

Resources for churches

Growing Good course

Growing Good is a free course from Church Urban Fund, based on three years of research with the think tank Theos. It helps churches explore how social action, discipleship, and church growth connect. There are seven sessions on six themes: presence, perseverance, hospitality, adaptability, justice, and participation. Each session has a short video and a leader’s guide, and no training is needed. It works best with a group of six to eight people. There is also a version for young people, Growing Good: Youth.

Know your parish

Church Urban Fund’s free parish data and comparison tool shows who lives in your parish and the challenges they face. Search by parish name or postcode to see local deprivation and census data, and compare your parish with others in the diocese and across England. It can help your PCC plan, support funding bids, and start conversations with local partners.

The Church of England also publishes parish deprivation statistics and an interactive parish map, updated in July 2026.

More resources

Support in the Diocese of York

The diocese works in partnership with the Church Urban Fund in Middlesbrough. This work is co-ordinated by Kate Jeffels from Together Middlesbrough and Cleveland.