Pilgrimage goes virtual to highlight local bids to beat poverty in Sheffield, despite pandemic

Sheffield Church Action on Poverty (Sheffield CAP) has organised a pilgrimage to raise awareness and understanding of how poverty is affecting people in Steel City for more than a decade.

In the past, each pilgrimage has involved a circular walk around a specific area of Sheffield, stopping at different faith-based initiatives to hear about their work to reduce the effects of poverty in the city.

"Changed circumstances mean we can't gather people f r om across the city and take them around different initiatives targeting poverty, so we are organising a 'Virtual Pilgrimage' to bring the initiatives to Sheffield CAP supporters," said chair Joe Forde.

"We've created and collected a series of short videos covering the work of four initiatives - one city wide and the others focusing on Parson Cross, the Manor and Attercliffe and Darnall.

"We're inviting anyone to watch the videos, and then, if they want to find out more, take part in a Zoom meeting with project organisers."

This year's Virtual Pilgrimage is highlighting the work of Help Us Help, an initiative that targets the homeless and rough sleepers, Manor Church and Community Project, the Parsons Cross Initiative (PXI), which is celebrating its tenth anniversary, and Attercliffe and Darnall Mission.

The videos are available now at: https://tinyurl.com/y45fketh

The Zoom meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 7, at 7.30pm. To attend the Zoom meeting after viewing the videos, please contact Briony Broome via email [email protected] .

*Sheffield CAP usually holds monthly meetings, and organises annual events including a Church Action on Poverty Sunday service, a civic breakfast, and the pilgrimage.

Church Action on Poverty is a national ecumenical Christian social justice charity, committed to tackling poverty in the UK. It works in partnership with churches, and with people in poverty themselves, to tackle the root causes of poverty.

A spokesman said: “We know that the real experts on poverty are the people who live with it. Our work is driven by their insights and experiences.”

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