Written by Jonathon Petre for the Methodist Recorder

It’s great to see Rev. Ian Rutherford, City Centre Minister featured in this article responding to new research finding that a fifth of parents fear they will not be able to afford presents for their children. Read on to find out more.

 

METHODISTS have been urged to do all they can for families struggling with the cost-of-living crisis this Christmas after new research found that a fifth of parents fear they will not be able to afford presents for their children.

 

City centre minister at Methodist Central Hall Manchester, the Rev Ian Rutherford, said the findings were “shocking and devastating”. He said, however, that churches were already committed to supporting families and they would try even harder this Christmas to ease pressure on family budgets – with many providing a meal on Christmas Day “for families to enjoy together”. Mr Rutherford, who works alongside Mayor Andy Burnham as chair of the Greater Manchester Food Security Action Network, was responding to a poll by the Methodist-founded charity Action for Children that has exposed the emotional toll of the cost of living crisis on households in the run up to Christmas.

 

Worried

 

The Savanta ComRes poll of 2,700 UK working parents and their children – a total of nearly 5,500 – found that almost all working parents (98 per cent) said they had worried about money in the last six months – resulting in poor sleep and short tempers. The poll found that about half of parents who worried about money did so “often”, with half of them struggling with sleep and around a third becoming stressed or upset in front of their children.

 

Meanwhile, a third of children who took part in the poll worried their parents were fretting about paying for Christmas. It even recorded that a quarter of children had considered offering to donate their pocket money to help pay for Christmas. The charity’s frontline workers reported in separate research that one family had to pawn all their electrical items to buy food for their children, while in another a single mother was working seven days a week to support children with additional needs.

 

The research quoted one mother saying: “We only put the heating on for the little one so she can have her bath … we use candles in the evening to light the [living] room just to save on electricity, and luckily that also generates some heat.” Almost half of the 200 frontline staff reported they were extremely worried about the impact financial pressures were having on the health and wellbeing of the children, young people and families they supported, and one in ten had even donated their own household items or clothing to families.

 

The survey followed research by the Salvation Army that found that nearly seven in ten people in the UK are worrying about being able to afford Christmas dinner this year amid the cost of living crisis. The study by the Christian Church and charity also found that nearly one in six people expect to use items from a food bank for their festive meal. The new findings come amid spiralling food bills, driven by high levels of inflation, coupled with potential shortages of such staples as free-range turkeys over Christmas.

 

Former President of the Conference and rural expert the Rev Richard Teal said the National Farmers’ Union was warning that Britain was “sleepwalking” into a food supply crisis. Dr Teal said the country had to become more self-sufficient in food production to maintain food security at a time of global turmoil. However, he added that he had been cheered by the generosity of Methodist churches in providing food parcels for vulnerable families.

 

Shocking

 

Responding to the Action for Children survey, the charity’s chief executive Melanie Armstrong said: “For most of us the festive season is a happy time, yet as our shocking research shows there will be children all over the UK who face a very different Christmas this year. “Instead of enjoying a safe and happy time, many children will wake up on Christmas morning to no presents, food or warmth. Every day our frontline workers are helping families keep their heads above water, making sure they have the basics like hot meals and proper winter clothes, as well as offering emergency support to keep homes warm and help families pay the bills. “In yet another year when children and families have been pushed deeper into crisis, supporting them is more important than ever. Until every family can keep their child warm and well fed, we’ll be there to help them – that’s why we’re asking people to donate to help us make a life-changing difference to vulnerable children this Christmas and beyond. With your help we can be a vital lifeline for even more children across the UK.”

Mr Rutherford said: “The results of the recent Action for Children survey are shocking and devastating for families. Methodist churches across the country are committed to initiatives such as toddler groups and messy church and are aware that they need to respond to an even greater extent this Christmas, to ease the pressure on family budgets. Through the warm welcome initiative, lots of churches are now responding and we will see many churches opening on Christmas Day to provide a meal for families to enjoy together. We must do all we can for families struggling this Christmas.” Among churches planning to provide Christmas lunch on Christmas Day are Hove, Epsom and Churches Together in Ewell. Hazel Grove Methodist church in Stockport is inviting “all to come”.