“The Big Society is about helping people to come together to improve their own lives. It’s about putting more power in people’s hands – a massive transfer of power from Whitehall to local communities.” – Cabinet Office definition of Big Society
Christians do not need a definitive answer to the question “what does Big Society mean?” or to be convinced that it is important to help improve the communities we inhabit. What we need to know is how we can help. The purpose of this part of the CCF website is to tell the stories of those who do social good. This will hopefully provide ideas and inspiration to help you and your community to create a better society.
The first step for anyone in embracing the Big Society agenda is to buy into its values. For many Christians this is easy to embrace, as those who follow Jesus have been preaching the importance of giving for centuries and many churches are experienced in promoting social justice. The New Testament tells us that the kind of society God is interested in is one where people have a keen understanding of others’ needs. The poverty of one person is an issue for everyone. Our 'neighbour' is not just the person in our circle, it is anyone we come into contact with, even if at first glance they seem to be very different from us. People must recognise how they depend on each other and realise what we owe each other.
David Cameron publicly acknowledges that our religious institutions have been making positive contributions to British society for centuries. To use “Big Society” language; Christian churches are large networks of interconnected hubs, who deliver services to the communities they live in. Or to use everyday language; the Christian religion is made up of many active communities, consisting of people who are doing good things in their communities.
If you would like to contribute to this section of the website please submit your Big Society project here... Fill out the form
