#CostOfLiving Christmas

It seems a long time since the COVID restrictions of last Christmas, and, God willing, we’ll be able to socialise and enjoy the company of friends and family more freely this year. But once again this December we are faced with distinct challenges as we hit the festive season.

So how are churches and charities responding differently this year to communities struggling to cope with soaring energy bills, and the cost of weekly shops?

Depth and breadth

Churches are now responding not only to the deepening need of the most vulnerable accessing support, but also to a whole new constituency of individuals and families needing support for the very first time. This is a group made up of people who likely never envisaged they would need the support of churches and charities to put food on the table and money in the meter.

One church extending provision this December is River City Church, Hull who have already arranged for Christmas lunches to be delivered to 100 individuals and families they’ve come to know through Foodbank provision over the past few months.

Paul Mogford (West Cumbria), like many, is witnessing more – much more – of the need for emergency food provision. He’s convinced that this winter the depth and breadth of the need means co-ordinated working across different localities between different agencies and sectors is more crucial than ever.

This will need to be matched by a volunteer response that sensitively welcomes people from a wide range of backgrounds (especially those long-established in paid work, as well as the asset-rich/cash-poor).

Rethinking giving

Churches across the UK have been preparing for the coming winter by setting up, or strengthening, central support funds which can support church and community members struggling to make ends meet. These funds are usually accessed via referral (or self-referral) and can also be used to pre-empt need (for families around the Christmas period and beyond). For churches unable to meet multiplied need, partnering with Acts 435 has also proved invaluable (find out more about their work here).

Chief Executive, Kat Osborn similarly expresses how Safe Families are shifting their approach to gift-giving this year by asking families what would be most helpful (eg. toys, vouchers, Christmas dinner, help with energy bills) and then linking with local churches so that gifts meet the needs identified by families themselves.

New opportunities to reach out

Churches across the UK have been quick to set up warm banks across the UK, providing support and welcome to those unable to afford the cost of heating their homes around the clock. Warm welcome has helpfully mapped provision across the country (see here), and given advice to those setting out.

If your church is hosting a warm bank, how could you involve those with creative and catering gifting among you to ensure that decorations, lighting and festive food and drink all converge to create a welcoming home from home?

Refugee welcome

It’s easy to forget how unthinkable it would have seemed at the beginning of 2022 to have imagined individuals and families across the UK opening up their homes to a staggering 105,000 refugees. Yet via the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme this is exactly what has happened*.

Churches have been at the forefront of the response (see article), and the hopeful expectation of charities like Hope at Home (who match survivors of slavery with host families) is that this open welcome will normalise for many the idea of hospitality of this kind.

So, whether you’ve been involved in refugee outreach for many years, or are on a steep learning curve right now, how do festive traditions from other nations in your community shape the way your church family celebrates? Krish Kandiah (Sanctuary Foundation) recently hosted a webinar titled ‘Happy Holidays’ (available to watch here) which considers ways to enjoy the season together.

Are our churches creating contexts (big and small) for food to be brought, shared and enjoyed as one? And do we have capacity to provide space for refugees living in hotels to prepare and cook food together (see this example of outreach to Afghan refugees from The Oak, Leeds)?

Cause for hope

Sam Ward (Director of Ministry at the Message Trust) helpfully shared at our recent conference:

 “We tend to have our eyes drawn toward crisis, and not toward Christ. Christ is in the crisis. The church’s job is to identify the presence of Jesus, and show Him to the world.” (Jubilee+ podcast - listen here)

It’s easy to be discouraged when seemingly faced with another perfect storm of world events as we head into the winter months. However Christ has been active in and through his church throughout 2022, and will continue to be so as we consider the year ahead.

We look forward to a certain time when there will be no need for refugee hosting, warm banks, food banks and emergency support funds. In the meantime count it all as privilege to play whatever small role you have in imaging Christ in your context this Christmas. 

Written by Rachel Wilson

* Data (as of 24/11/22) from www.gov.uk