‘Cleaning Up Fair Pay’: The Church’s role in promoting the ‘Real Living Wage’ in the Newcastle-upon-Tyne cleaning industry
‘Cleaning Up Fair Pay’ is conducted by a team at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, led by Sally Wightman. The Church has historically been involved in advocating for the ‘Real Living Wage’, yet a significant challenge that is a barrier to many churches in paying all their workers fairly is the outsourcing of cleaning services. Low pay has long been an issue within the cleaning industry, and recent research has recently shown that the North-East has the highest proportion of low paid workers than any other region in England. In partnership with Citizens UK and several local churches across Newcastle upon Tyne, this study aims to develop an ethical, theological, and business case for the ‘Real Living Wage’. By amplifying the voices of cleaners and other stakeholders within Newcastle, the study aims to better understand the factors that influence both The Church and cleaning agencies’ commitment to and efficacy in promoting fair pay.
How to get involved: The team are looking for several groups working across the city and surrounding suburbs to participate in their research, in particular they are in need of cleaners working in churches (either as part of an agency or as an employee of the church) and cleaners who work for cleaning agencies more broadly, commercial clients of cleaning companies, and business owners within The Church. If you fit one of these groups or have contacts with others who do, they would greatly appreciate your help. You can email them at newcastlecleanersproject@northumbria.ac.uk to get in touch. This project runs from October 2025 to August 2026.
All Rise Together: Congregation-based community organising as a tool for church and community to build relationships across diversity in North East England, post-riot
All Rise Together is a collaborative award led by Helen Jarvis, Professor Emerita, Newcastle University, in partnership with Tyne and Wear Citizens, participating churches, and the Centre for Theology and Community (CTC) London. Jesmond United Reformed Church is hosting the project, while participating churches in Sunderland and North Shields contribute to a diverse place-based exploration of the potential role and strategies for church congregations to build relationships of trust and hope, both within and beyond their existing community footprint. The project evolved as a practical response to issues and tensions that have divided communities and persisted in North East England since riots erupted in summer 2024. Tools of congregation-based community organising (CBCO) will be developed as a practical-theological way to promote empathy, build trust and establish common values. This collaboration aims to deliver mutual benefits to local churches, charities and community groups – whether participating directly or engaging remotely with resources to support ongoing learning and partnerships in areas of social justice and faith in community cohesion. All Rise Together runs from February 2026 through September 2027 (20 months part-time). If you are interested in getting involved or to find out more, contact: helen.jarvis@newcastle.ac.uk .
Churches, Safety and Older People in Middlesbrough and Teesside: the role of Christian communities in safety and safeguarding older adults
Safety and feeling safe is fundamental to our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing, yet as we get older our sense of safety often diminishes. Churches, safety and older people is led by Keith Chappell at the University of Sunderland and will collaboratively explore the perspectives older people within Christian churches in Middlesbrough and Teesside, along with selected experts from the wider North East region, to consider the following questions:
- Can churches and other Christian communities enhance the feeling and reality of safety for older people both within the Church and in the wider community?
- What does safety look and feel like for older people within the Christian community?
- How can churches enhance welcoming for older people who approach them as a place of community and safety?
- How alert are Christian communities to safeguarding issues for older people and how they might support older adults at risk?
How to get involved: The project is looking to run workshops with older people on the theme of safety and safeguarding, and also to talk with leaders and safeguarding specialists about provision for older people in Christian communities. If you are a church or Christian organisation on Teesside, or you are a practitioner involved in safeguarding in a Christian setting, then please get in touch with Keith Chappell at Keith.Chappell@sunderland.ac.uk. The project will be running up to April 2027.
A Gift to the Church: Learnings from the faith lives of people living with addictions attending Recovery Church
Florence O’ Taylor is undertaking a project involving collaborative theological reflection with ‘Recovery Church’, a community of people living with addictions that gather for services that incorporate elements of the 12-Step programme. This research connects with the ‘Church at the Margins’ initiative within the Methodist Church in Britain, and builds on her doctoral thesis, which paid attention to the lived experiences of women living with addiction in order to develop an empirically grounded political theology of addiction. Her interest in addiction grew out of working for several years in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre alongside running a Christian ministry with women facing multiple forms of marginalisation. This project is running for two years part time from October 2024 to September 2026.
Recently-completed Research:
Friendship, Faith, and Flourishing: How do friendship and faith interact and impact the wellbeing of practising ‘Millennial’ Christians in North East?
Ruth Perrin built on her earlier William Leech Research Fund-sponsored research into the faith development of Millennial Christians in the region (published as: Changing Shape: The Faith Lives of Millennials, SCM 2020). Her new mixed-mode project explored the intersection of friendship and faith in their current life stage, with a view to understanding how friendship influences spiritual wellbeing and impacts the ways in which 30-something Christians live out their beliefs across the Northeast. Ruth’s fellowship was based with St John’s College, Durham University, and is ran part time from December 2023 to November 2025. The findings from this project are now available on this website: ‘Resilient Faith: The Lives of Millennial Christians in the North East’
Recovery from Moral Injury across the North East of England and Beyond: Researching and refining the theological tools available to chaplains
Brian Powers led this project that asked important questions about the tools that chaplains, clergy and religious personnel can use to attend to moral injury in a UK context, particularly the North East of England. Specifically, it explored what are the resources – the rituals, scriptural traditions, theological concepts, frameworks of meaning and experiences – which a chaplain or clergy member may employ in order to engage with moral injury in British military veterans that will help facilitate recovery. The project involved a series of interviews and sought to develop a set of resources for chaplains, clergy and other practitioners, with the ultimate aim of improving mental health for morally-injured people in the UK. It ran for 12 months full time from September 2024 to August 2025, based at the International Centre for Moral Injury – Durham University . To hear about the findings from this project, see the ‘Events’ page for a forthcoming webinar where these will be shared.