Community & Urban Affairs
The Church of England is urbanised and urbanising. As a national Church the Church of England maintains a presence through the parish system in every community. That presence enables the church to engage with the lives of our towns and cities in both rich and poor neighbourhoods.
The Church of England has a fundamental concern about the quality of life in community. This has lead the Church to commision a number of reports on the experience of urban congregations and communities.
The Bishop for Urban Life and Faith is the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark.
The Urban Bishops Panel acts as a point of reference for concerns and policies affecting urban communities and congregations, by drawing on members' experience as bishops in urban areas and their engagement in diocesan and regional strategies.
Reports
In the autumn of
1985 the report, Faith in the City. A Call to Action by
Church and Nation, was published by the
Archbishop of Canterbury's Commission on Urban Priority Areas. The
report came in the wake of much concern about what was happening in
British inner city and outer council housing estate communities.
Faith in the City was crucial in sparking new awareness of
the emerging gaps in society and the Church, and the setting up of
the Church Urban Fund.
Faithful Cities: A call
for celebration, vision and justice was the 2006
report from the Commission on Urban Life & Faith. The report
considered the impact of regeneration, immigration and changing
economic structures on the lives of towns and cities. The report
also considered the contribution of faith communities to the lives
of their neighborhoods, and called on government to work closely
with churches and other faith communities to create a flourishing
society in which all are valued.
