The Church believes in equality
It’s important that a Church which represents everybody has representation from everybody, which is why almost half of new Bishops appointed since 2014 have been women, and why the Church continues to seek a balanced set of appointments. In November the Bishop-designate of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, will be the first black woman to become a bishop in the Church of England.
The Church believes in democracy
The Church of England doesn’t work alone – instead it works with hundreds of local authorities, schools, hospitals, mosques, temples, societies, clubs, businesses and more to build a society in which we all move forward together.
Sometimes this is as local as agreeing on a new colour scheme for a shared building – or it could be as complicated and far-reaching as helping to put together new legislation to help the most vulnerable in society.
The Church believes in freedom
Freedom is an integral part of being human, and freedom comes in many forms. Freedom from fear, freedom from hunger and freedom to worship are just a few examples.
It’s because of this belief in freedom that the Church of England supports over 33,000 social projects up and down the country. One and a half million volunteers from the Church help with food banks, lunch clubs, debt relief, supporting asylum seekers, teaching languages and much more, helping over three and a half million people feel more free.
St Mary’s Church is proud to support groups both locally and across the city of Leeds working to build a better future, like the Leeds South & East Foodbank, St George’s Crypt, schools in the TNLP Trust, the Silver Lining Luncheon Club, the Mothers’ Union and many more.