Politics, faith and homelessness

Jon Kuhrt, our CEO, was asked to preach at the Labour party conference church service on Sunday 22^nd September.

This is an excerpt from Jon's talk (skip to 50 minutes.)

The issues of politics and faith cannot be separated from homelessness.

Just consider the four charities I have worked for before coming to Hope into Action: the Shaftesbury Society – named after Lord Shaftesbury, the passionate evangelical social reformer. Centrepoint, which was started by Rev. Kenneth Leech when he opened up his church’s crypt as a night shelter for young rough sleepers in Soho in London. And the West London Mission of the Methodist Church which Rev. Donald Soper led for decades.

For each of these very different people, their faith inspired practical social action to address homelessness and poverty. But all of them were also involved in political activism - Shaftesbury as a Tory peer, Soper as a Labour peer and Leech as a passionate Christian socialist.

And the role of faith is not just something historic.

Hope into Action was started by Ed Walker 14 years ago after he met a man who was homeless in his local park who had just left prison.  This man had nowhere to go because he had no one to go to.

Ed used his own money from an inheritance to purchase a house for people who are homeless in Peterborough – and from this seed of faith our work was born. 14 years later, we now have a network of 118 homes and last year we housed 486 people.

And we haven’t just got a ministry to people affected by poverty but also to those with wealth.  We have had over £29m invested in homes for people who would otherwise be homeless.

Faith is right at the heart of what we do – we pray every day together as a team. And critically, each house is partnered with a church. We provide tenants with professional support and our partner churches provide vital friendship and community.

Too often in social action the role of faith is neglected - faith gets skimmed out until all trace is gone. But I believe that times call for a more ‘full-fat’ approach.

Jesus is the gate and guide to the kingdom that Isaiah spoke of: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Let’s not forget that Jesus and his kingdom are revolutionary – they turn the values of this world on their head. Life to the full isn’t found in wealth, fame or power. Greatness is found in service. The defining symbol of the most influential person in history is not a throne or a statue – but a cross. Jesus ‘laying down his life’ is the template for us all.

This is the path to find life in all its fulness.