Question

To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church has made of the potential impact of rural parishes on social isolation amongst elderly people.

Churches in rural areas often play an important role as a community hub and a place to connect with others. The Church of England has many examples of communities tackling social isolation and loneliness; this may be through traditional offering of worship services, via a home visit for the housebound, or through providing social spaces in the church or church hall for people to gather.

Across the country, and especially in rural communities, churches run around 31,000 community-based initiatives, offering warm spaces, intergenerational children and community projects, coffee mornings, health and wellbeing groups, dementia cafés, community libraries, village shops, as well as spaces for cultural experiences and art exhibitions.

A good example of this work can be found in the research produced by the Archbishops' Commission on Reimagining Care. Commission Members visited a church-led cafe in Kirkby Thore in Cumbria, part of the Renew Wellbeing movement. This provided space for refreshments, games and quiet reflection for people of all ages, but proved particularly popular with older people.

The growing movement towards social prescribing in primary care recognises the important role that faith groups, including churches, play in the health of their communities. Churches are working closely with local GPs in many parts of the country to offer a wide range of specific activities that encourage group work or physical activity. Some good examples of this have been the development of churchyard working groups and gardening projects, community book group and discussion groups, and craft clubs, which all offer people the opportunity meet, chat and make new connections. A recent report has been published by the think-tank Theos, assessing some of the range of projects churches are engaging with, which can be found here: https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/research/2023/08/09/faith-in-social-prescribing