Archbishop Justin Welby told General Synod members that the recommendations of the Archbishops’ Commission report Coming Home presented a ‘profound challenge’ to the Church of England along with other groups, including the Government and developers, to tackle the housing crisis.
Speaking at an informal online gathering of the General Synod, the Archbishop outlined the seriousness of the crisis, saying that an estimated eight million people are living in unaffordable, sub-standard or overcrowded accommodation.
He said Coming Home was ‘not the end of the process, it is only the end of the very beginning of the process’ of tackling the housing crisis. “We have a long way to go,” he said.
He said that at “the heart of the Church’s message” was that that “our mission to the country is that we carry the good news of a God who intervenes who comes and is part of our life and there is the complete change in us that is caused by meeting with God.
“If we take that seriously, then we listen to what Jesus says when he says ‘your heart will be where your treasure is’.
The landmark report calling on the Church to lead by example in solving the housing crisis is a ‘challenge to the soul’, @JustinWelby told #Synod today.
Read more about the presentation of the report at today’s informal meeting of the General Synod.https://t.co/8XW5uXPugf
— The Church of England (@churchofengland) February 27, 2021