Church and Society Commission03 Oct 24

Sharing hope with people without a home

Parishes encouraged to take action against homelessness

Each parish in the Church of Ireland is being encouraged to consider how it can help to overcome homelessness at a local level between Harvest and Christmas this year.

With both seasons being special times for thanksgiving and generosity, the Church and Society Commission’s new two–page flyer – Sharing hope with people without a home – is a timely guide to actions that can be undertaken locally.

Above all else, the resource encourages each person experiencing homelessness to be valued as someone who is unique, facing unique challenges and deserving compassion and respect. Welcoming people into warm spaces, sharing fruit and vegetables with families with nutritional needs, and small acts of neighbourly love to help people feel at ease at home are among the suggestions.

“Homeless is a rucksack that none of us wants to be carrying,” Archbishop Michael Jackson, as Chair of the Church and Society Commission, writes in his introduction.  “Nonetheless more and more people in our societies are carrying this rucksack today. It runs counter to everything many of us have taken for granted around security, independence, belonging and care of ourselves and of others.

“Our appeal is first to you to consider what we have put together; to pray about it and to act upon it. It is a wonderful way to connect Harvest and Christmas and to share what matters with others in today’s society and to play your part in helping it to be a caring community.”

Copies can be downloaded, printed and shared from the Church of Ireland website here and will be shared with diocesan and cathedral offices over the coming weeks.