Helpful resources for community action

There are many places which offer excellent resources for community action projects. The list below is not exhaustive, but offers links to papers, toolkits, websites, guides and workbooks to help with different types of projects.
Volunteer in garden

Your Diocesan Social Responsibility officer may offer lots of social action resources too. Chester Diocese has a great example on their website. 

Church of England environment and climate change resources
Lots of links, liturgy, reading and news updates to help with eco-projects and the church’s ‘Creationtide’ season.

Church Urban Fund

  • Publications – a huge range of papers detailing research and background information on a range of social issues
  • Look up tool – lets you see by postcode whether your parish covers areas of deprivation
  • Diocesan information – see how your diocese ranks in overall statistics of deprivation
  • Poverty map – see on a map where the most deprived parishes are in the country
  • Web of poverty – a paper on what poverty and is the impact it has on society
  • Working with volunteers – advice and information to read and download
  • Near Neighbours resources – some excellent practical tools to help bring people in the community together

Cinnamon Network
A charity which helps churches respond to the most pressing needs in their community by providing a menu of best-practice ‘Cinnamon-Recognised Projects’ that can easily be replicated. They offer advice, funding, support and leadership training.

Recent research from Cinnamon highlights the church’s impact on health care in communities. Read more by following this link.

Citizens’ Advice Bureau, Faithful Advice
Produced jointly with the Anglican, Methodist and United Reformed Churches and the Arthur Rank Centre and Church Urban Fund. This provides information about requirements for setting up and running an advice centre. It gives examples in rural and urban locations and provides sample agreements between churches and bureax.

The Clewer Initiative: Hidden Voices campaign
This outlines how the Church of England is responding to modern slavery. Includes Biblical reflections, practical tools and activities for working alongside others in the community and PowerPoint downloads to help raise awareness.

Church Care advice on setting up farmers’ markets

Street pastor talking to people

Guidelines and Best Practice for the Provision of a Hosted Post Office® Service in Churches and Chapels. 

Hereford Diocese Crossing the threshold Toolkit
A step-by-step guide on managing a church building project designed to open the church to the community, especially those who are disconnected and lonely.


Housing Justice, Faith in Affordable Housing: A Practical guide to using church land and property for affordable housing

An online leaflet that outlines how church property and/or land can be used for affordable housing. There’s also more on the Housing for Justice website 

Resourcing for offering bereavement care

Loss & HOPE is a coalition of Christian organisations, (including Church of England Life Events) that equip churches to support the bereaved. There are videos, guides and steps to becoming a bereavement-friendly church, as well as training to run 'The Bereavement Journey Course' through your church. 

Presence: A workbook to help promote and sustain an effective Christian presence in villages 
A focus on rural communities, produced by The Methodist Church, 2004 

Salisbury Diocese Church & Community Audit page
Outlines a method of properly auditing needs in your community. Could help with deciding on what sort of project to start.

United Reformed Church resources
All sorts of online resources for different types of social issues.