Poverty and hardship can affect us all, whether we or our communities are perceived as rich or poor. This means it’s important to be careful of the language we use. Talking about ‘the poor’ or deprived communities as though they are somehow ‘other’ risks both reinforcing judgemental attitudes and further disempowering the most vulnerable.
Poverty is about more than income – it’s a web of interlinked factors relating to economic position, material conditions and social relationships that together have a significant impact on an individual’s ability to flourish. Income inequality intersects with a range of other inequalities, including race, gender, disability and class.Health and social outcomes are lower across the whole of society in rich countries (like the UK) that have the biggest disparity between the most and least well off.
Our diocese is demographically diverse, meaning where people live can make a big difference to the opportunities available to them and to their access to public services. Local conversations suggest these gaps may be growing. In city centres like Oxford, there are complex needs within a tight space, while in suburbs, the most vulnerable may be hidden from view, and in hamlets, residents may experience isolation and difficulty accessing health and other public services. Hidden poverty is common and, as a church, we need proactively to look for what is hidden, bringing reality to light (learning about hidden poverty through this devotional study is a great place to start).
Whether we’re talking about poverty that exists within our local communities or experienced by our global neighbours, Christians should have the confidence to take action, and call our political leaders to act, to bring about an end to poverty, in line with our faith in God and His vision for the world. Caring for others who are hungry or struggling financially is a key part of living out our faith:
If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness.