[Scottish Episcopal Church] In a joint statement released Jan. 5, the Most Rev. Mark Strange, primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, joined other Christian leaders and leaders of development agencies Christian Aid, CAFOD and Tearfund to say that “the human cost of failing to take action now is too big and too damaging to ignore.”

Signatories are calling on political leaders to set out clear plans to eradicate extreme poverty and halve overall poverty by 2030, in the United Kingdom and globally, noting that poverty is “a consequence of political choices and priorities” and with a General Election on the horizon, “this year must mark the beginning of the end for poverty.”

Strange said, “The message I get from churches across Scotland is that poverty, and the worst effects of poverty, are on the rise in our communities and around the world.  Many members of the Scottish Episcopal Church are involved in work to tackle poverty at home and abroad, as are many of our ecumenical, interfaith and secular partners.  We cannot do all we need to do to address this crisis of poverty without political support from all governments. In a nation as wealthy as the U.K., poverty is a political choice. I am joining this call for political action because Jesus’ words are clear: ‘I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me drink’ is not an abstract concept – it is central to our faith.”

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