Bridging the Gap in Middlesbrough
Wednesday, 8th February 2012
Christians from across Middlesbrough are coming together for a major conference on tackling poverty. Bridging the Gap, chaired by the Bishop of Whitby, will look at ways the churches and Christian organisations are engaged in tackling poverty in Middlesbrough. It will be held at the Trinity Centre, North Ormesby on Thursday 23rd February.
The conference is the vision of local clergy and Christian activists from a variety of churches who are concerned about the growing numbers of people struggling with issues of poverty in Middlesbrough. The Church Urban Fund, a national Church of England charity, is sponsoring the event. One of the alarming findings from research collated by Church Urban Fund shows that four in ten children live in poverty in the most deprived areas of England1. Within the Diocese of York the difference in adult life expectancy between the poorest and richest areas is 15 years for men and 19 years for women, and over half of the children in the poorest areas live in poverty. The scale and spread of deprivation in Middlesbrough is amongst the worst in the country and the town has been identified as one of the least resilient to cuts.
The Bishop of Whitby, the Rt Revd Dr Martin Warner, is chairing the conference. He said, “The Christian Gospel calls us to respond to the needs of our neighbours, to feed the hungry, to clothe the poor, to befriend the lonely, to visit the prisoner, to care for the sick. There are many examples of Christians reaching out in these ways in Middlesbrough, and yet there is still more that can be done. We hope that by bringing people together we can support, resource and encourage one another in making a difference in our communities.”
Speakers will include Dr Paul Crawshaw, Director of the Social Futures Institute at Teesside University; Paul Hackwood, the Chair of Church Urban Fund; and Ian Parker, the Chief Executive of Middlesbrough Council.
The day will include sessions on the impact of poverty in Middlesbrough, including stories from people who have struggled in poverty. Themed conversation groups addressing issues such as health, isolation, debt and child poverty will also take place. A wide variety of Christian organisations will be attending the conference including Christians Against Poverty, Parish Nurse Ministries, Open Door North East, Church Action on Poverty, Methodist Live at Home Scheme, Church Urban Fund and many local church-based groups.
For more information or to book a place, contact Barbara Edwards on 01642 812 622 or office@st-barnabas.net, or click here.
Reference: 1 HMRC 2008 data, published 2010.