Postcards put churches at the heart of new communities

Delegates to the Labour and Conservative Party Conferences willreceive postcards encouraging them to recognise the contributionchurches are making in areas of new housing. 2,000 of the postcardshave been printed.

The postcards are part of a campaign by the Churches Group for NewCommunities, part of Churches Together in England. The group pointsout that the churches have vital roles to play in new housingdevelopments, helping to build community as well as supporting thespiritual needs of individuals and families. The Town and CountryPlanning Association estimates that Britain will need 3.5 millionnew homes between now and 2021.

'Churches are involved in the debate on how communities are built,'says Anthea Cox, Methodist Coordinating Secretary for Public Lifeand Social Justice, and chair of the Churches Group for NewCommunities. 'We have so much to offer when it comes to helpingareas of new housing becomes communities.'

'At its heart, this is about the spiritual well being of newcommunities,' says Anthea, 'and also about providing services suchas schools. At a time when we are warned about Britain's townsbecoming increasingly segregated, we want to play our part inhelping bring people together.'