Commission for Social Care

The Commission for Social Care was established in September 2006. One of our first tasks was to find out what was being done by the Churches of the new London District. While it was known that many churches in the District engage with their local communities as an expression of their Christian faith, there was limited information available about the scale of this involvement.

In collaboration with the Civic Care Commission, Prof. Jane Wills of Queen Mary College was approached to undertake some joint research to discover the extent of Methodism’s involvement in Social Care and Civic Engagement. The report was published in June 2007

The survey found that most Methodist Churches make significant contributions to their communities in respect of services, including activities and groups for the elderly, children and young people, parents and families, and around healthy living.

“In addition, Churches make important contributions through hosting other organisations in their buildings, often at sub-market rents, and by becoming involved in community and faith forums.”

Queen Mary College study ‘Social Care and Civic Engagement in the London Methodist District 2007’ download

The information gathered through this research has been transferred onto an electronic map of the District which shows what each church is doing. Click here to view - note the map will open a separate window.

If you wish to see Prof Wills’ introduction to the report given at the launch event on 9 June 2007 at Westminster Central Hall, you can view her PowerPoint presentation here download

Roehampton Institute commissioned another research report which was published in 2006 examining Methodism at the national level. Their findings about the extent of Methodist involvement in the community are consistent with our findings.

“The more trusting a social group is the more likely its members are to become involved in community activities. The results of this research suggest that Methodist members have high levels of trust and that this is translated into social participation…

“Overall, we conclude that Methodist church congregations make positive contributions to their communities. As far as we can tell, Methodists are more engaged in the community than the population at large. Methodist congregations possess higher levels of neighbourhood and general trust, are tolerant of difference and are more likely to be involved in both formal and informal voluntary activity.”

Roehampton study ‘Social Capital and the Methodist Church 2006’ download

The Social Care Commission is interested in setting up a number of networks which will support the work of the Commission and help to develop and share best practice. These could be in areas such as Chaplaincy, Youth Work, Refugees, Ecology, Night Shelters, and Luncheon Clubs. We are happy to support other suggestions. Other areas of need identified are around managing building projects and fundraising. If you have suggestions for networks or would be interested in joining a network, please contact:

Paul Regan

Sheryl Anderson

 

This page was last updated on 27 March 2008