Meeting in the new Emmanuel Church building with big windows looking out to bright blue skies, and with the news that morning that the Northern Ireland Assembly was to return to Stormont, there was an expectant buzz in the room. Everyone was keen to be part of a network of Christians that cares about the impact of poverty in our communities and to join together in building a unified Christian voice against poverty in Northern Ireland.
Over the past 18 months, we have gathered together leaders from a broad range of Christian churches and organisations to collaborate and address poverty’s impact on local communities. Our efforts include engaging with political representatives, expressing concerns to the NI Secretary of State about damaging budget cuts and supporting events like the Cliff Edge Coalition Stormont event in September 2022.
The panel of experts on launch day challenged us on the theme ‘Beyond Benevolence: Reawakening a Call For Common Good’. Lynda Gould, project co-ordinator for faith-based engagement, NICVA, explored the question, ‘When can helping hurt?’ Rev Brian Anderson, mission superintendent at East Belfast Mission, discussed the role of Christians in promoting the common good for society, and our invited guests from the Cliff Edge Coalition, Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick and Sarah Corrigan, provided an overview on the topic of the ‘State of the Nation’, and their key campaign policy asks.
As I said on the day: “Everyone is keen to be part of a network of Christians that cares about the impact of poverty in our communities and to join together in building a unified Christian voice against poverty in Northern Ireland. God has a plan to put things right and it’s not right that children should go to bed hungry at night, but this is our chance to play our part in God’s plan to put things right. However, it’s hard to make a difference when you have your head down working hard to help people in your local community. I believe we are stronger together and can achieve so much more as a group and this coalition allows us to do that.”
If you are interested in joining the coalition then get in touch with Danielle to find out more. D.mcelhinney@eauk.org.
