The ‘Coming Home‘ report was released in 2021 and was the culmination of the work of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Commission on Housing. The ‘Coming Home’ report:
- Provides a Christian vision for ‘good’ housing, based around five core values
- Applies this vision to re-orient the Church’s response, addressing how National Church Institutions and Dioceses can be positioned as significant contributors to resolving the crisis by facilitating good housing and creating and sustaining strong communities
- Equips the Local Church to meet local housing needs and strengthen their communities
- Offers policy recommendations to Government, the housing sector and other stakeholders so that together we can bring about the necessary change.
You can read the full report, or an executive summary here.
As part of the Diocese of London’s response to the ‘Coming Home’ report, they hosted a series of three Housing Summits in 2021 hosted by the Right Revd Graham Tomlin on the following themes.
- Housing Summit Part 1: Practical Parish Responses
- Housing Summit Part 2: Prophetic Action and Pushing for Change
- Housing Summit Part 3: Putting our Own House in Order- Affordable Housing and Use of Church Land
You can find the recordings from those evenings below.
Housing Summit Recordings
Housing Summit 1- Practical Parish Responses
A ‘TED Talk’ style evening, helping churches explore what they can do to respond to the housing crisis and homelessness.
Housing Summit 2- Using our Prophetic Voice and Campaigning for Change
A TED-talk style evening, helping parishes explore how we can campaign and organise, using our voice and power as churches to seek a better vision of housing in society.
Housing Summit 3- Putting Our Own House in Order
A TED-talk style evening, helping us explore what we can do to unlock church assets, in the cause of providing truly affordable housing for our local communities.
Further reading and resources
- The Coming Home Report- The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Commission on Housing’s report, “Coming Home”, and associated resources, can be found here.
- “Why the Church should Care About Housing” Grove booklet- This Grove Booklet by the Right Revd Graham Tomlin can be ordered here
Practical Responses
Housing Justice have put together a brilliant resource helping the local church think about practical responses to homelessness and housing issues. You can access it here.