The Anglican and Catholic churches are uniting in support for the citys hungry. In an unusual joint visit to the Stoke foodbank today, Anglican Bishop of Stafford, Right Reverend Geoff Annas, was joined by the Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, Right Reverend David McGough.
The bishops met and prayed with staff, trustees and volunteers at the food bank at Wesley Hall Methodist Church.
The Right Reverend Geoff Annas said: Jesus had compassion for people who had nothing. Food banks are part of how we respond to the needs of those around us, translating Gods love into action.
Bishop David and I meet regularly with our colleague from the Methodist Church, the Revd Peter Barber, and we all take a keen interest in the Christian social action taking place in its various forms in North Staffordshire.
We hope that our visit to the Food Bank will affirm and encourage those involved with this excellent project and also emphasise our belief that Christians are at their best when working together across our various denominations.
In a joint radio interview, which you can hear at 02.11.00 here, Bishop Geoff told BBC Radio Stoke:
"The last thing we want is a dependency culture, but there are people falling through the net. In Stoke-on-Trent, something like 1 in 5 families are getting by on less than a living wage. Christians are working together to offer support to these families."
In the Sentinel newspaper, Bishop Geoff said "It's also a chance to explode some myths. People who access food banks are not scroungers or people who can't be bothered to work - there are a lot of people working but on very low wages." [Read more from the Sentinel here.]
The visit is part of a national project called Listen to God, Heal the Poor, launched by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who are supporting and praying for the work of social action projects in the run-up to Easter.