CRCW – Simon Loveitt
The Manor Church and Community Project is an ecumenical project – Methodist, Anglican and United Reformed Church, working on the Manor & Castle electoral ward in SE Sheffield, a community ranked in the top 1% of the Government's indices of deprivation.
The vision is to work ecumenically, and in partnership with others who share their aims, to be agents of God’s transformation in the lives both of individuals and the community in the Manor area of Sheffield. The vision is based on their strong belief that the Church is called to be an agent of social change and a vehicle for establishing God’s Kingdom.
The project has already provided support and encouragement for local families and children on the Manor Estate in their faith and life journeys and to build their confidence to engage with church, schools and community. This area of work has been identified as a key priority by the local churches in consultation with other relevant community agencies.
Simon Loveitt who was called as a CRCW to the Manor Church and Community Project, began work on 1 September 2014 and is now in his second five-year term. His aim has been to build upon the already exiting initiatives, build new relationships, and to try and make a difference in the community, by addressing the many issues that present themselves. So far, key areas of work have included Financial Inclusion through work with the local Credit Union, Community Cohesion, tackling food poverty and the redevelopment of the Temple Park Centre.
Food poverty is an acute problem in the S2 ‘Manor’ area of Sheffield. The S2 Food Poverty Network is the local food bank and Simon is the food bank treasurer. Demand for the Foodbank significantly increased in 2020, due to Covid19. About three years ago, they also created a ‘Food Club’. So, after 12 weeks’ of using the Foodbank, and with the client, beginning to address their underlying reasons for using the foodbank, most clients move onto the Food Club – a transition from dependency to independence.
Simon has also administered the Covid-19 appeal for the Sheffield Foodbank Network, where £130,000 has been distributed to the 15 active Foodbanks within the network. For some this has been the difference of surviving or being overwhelmed by demand.
Another of their concerns is that Foodbanks are becoming ‘normalised’ and accepted as part of the fabric of society. That can’t be right. Campaigning forms an important part of our organisation; hence they are called the S2 Food Poverty Network, and not the S2 Foodbank.
The biggest achievement in 2020 has been the redevelopment of the Temple Park Centre into a multi-use community centre. £300,000 was secured from six funders, and despite the various lockdowns, the £300,000 redevelopment was able to be completed, on time, by the end of September 2020. Unfortunately, the official opening had to be cancelled due to the second national lockdown.
Read Simon's most recent CRCW reflection here.
For a fascinating read, please refer to: 25 Years of Creating Change in Communities written by CRCW Simon Loveitt.
