Page 2 - Moravian Messenger March 2019

Editorial
In last month's editorial I looked at official definitions of poverty and this month I have tried to put some flesh on these rather dry bones. The starting figure for these figures is the median household income. This is the income of what would be the middle household, if all households in the UK were sorted in a list from poorest to richest. As it represents the middle of the income distribution, the median household income provides a good indication of the standard of living of the 'typical' household in terms of income.
The provisional estimate of median household disposable income for 2018 is £28,4001. The disposable income includes benefit payments and tax credits as well as wages or salaries and is what is left for family use after direct taxation including council tax has been taken out. The figure of £28,400 does not include housing costs. Those households living in relative poverty are living with disposable household income on or below £17,040 before any housing costs are taken into account. The cheapest area to rent privately is in the North East of England and the average rental costs there in July 2018, were £525 per month2 amounting to £6,300 per annum.
Of course, families come in all shapes and sizes so what might be enough for one family could be very different for another family, therefore charities use different figures to differentiate between working and non-working families, single and two parent families and pensioner households.
It is not that life is not possible on a low-income level because it is. But it is not an easy or comfortable life and it is a life that excludes the family from much that the rest of us take for granted. I have just returned from the vet with a bill of £175 for a minor procedure on a beloved pet - almost a week's expenditure for a family on a limited budget income. If an unexpected bill comes in there is very little slack in such a budget to pay for it e.g. repair to a washing machine so no wonder 'pay day loan' companies find a ready market for their high interest loans.
We will be publishing further articles on poverty in future issues of the Messenger and we would love to hear from you on this subject.
The biggest event looking forward in March is Brexit scheduled for the 29th of this month. It has been the most divisive issue in our country for many years and people in our churches were and are on both sides of the debate. In terms of results, although there was a clear majority to leave, it was not a large majority with only 4% or 1,269,501 more people voting to leave than to remain.
So, there was no real consensus in the country about leaving or remaining and the decision to leave is still regretted by nearly half of those who voted. And amongst those who voted to leave there is no clear consensus about what kind of Brexit is desirable. Here in Northern Ireland there is the added worry about what happens to the border between
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and what that might mean for the constitutional future of Northern Ireland further down the line.
I am not sure that there can be an easy reconciliation on this issue between those who voted for leave and those who voted remain; between the different needs and desires of the regions of the United Kingdom; and between the age groups who voted in such different ways. The best hope is not to demonise those who differ from us personally over this matter; they just see issues differently; they voted with integrity taking due regard to things that matter to them; they, Remainers or Brexiteers are still our brothers and sisters in Christ and to be cherished as such. There is a wonderful Christian Aid Prayer praying for Palestinians and Israeli's that can be adapted:
Talking about Poverty and Brexit
Pray not for Brexiteer or Remainer,
for World Trade rules supporter or single market adherent, pray rather for ourselves, might not divide them in our prayers
but keep them both together in our hearts.
References
1. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/
personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/bulletins/
nowcastinghouseholdincomeintheuk/financialyearending2018 2. https://www.statista.com/statistics/752203/average-cost-of-
rent-by-region-uk/
Sr Sarah Groves
Editorial Team
Letter to the Editorial Team
Since 2011 and the start of the Moravian Church campaign to eliminate UK Child Poverty may I tell members my prayers have been answered.
The Rt Rev Sarah Groves is the first Provincial leader to take the time to give the above issue the genuine attention it rightly deserves. This Bishop should and must be commended.
Whatever type of Poverty be it Relative, Absolute or Abject she tells readers the devastating effects child poverty in the UK has on the sufferers' childhood, youth, adolescent and grown up lives.
The 2015 Ockbrook Conference on UKCP was a 'none mind changing' fellowship gathering.
Now is the opportune moment when Catherine West, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, is planning to meet the PEC to discuss the 2016 and 2018 Resolution to take the first democratic step to eliminate UKCP that a new and more meaningful conference takes place.
Yours still struggling,
Br Alan Holdsworth
Bath Coronation Avenue
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