The Cinnamon Network – which is a charity that connects faith-based organisations – studied 32 church-led initiatives and identified how they tackle issues including mental health, obesity and social isolation.
They found that more than 3,500 churches and 200,000 volunteers were making a significant contribution to the overstretched health service.
Matt Bird, founder of the Cinnamon Network told Premier the state of the nation would be worse without the Church’s help.
Speaking during Premier’s News Hour, he said: “Now we have evidence to show actually, active churches help reduce obesity, help prevent loneliness, and address mental health issues and dementia and many other aspects of just normal life for normal people.”
Rt Hon Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London is one of the Cinnamon Trustees and said in a statement: “The NHS is under considerable pressure; increasing public expectation, increasing life expectancy, improvements in technology and limited resources. If we are able to improve our health and the health of the community, we can contribute to the better use of those limited resources.
“The Church’s Impact on Health and Care research is an important contribution to understanding how the voluntary sector and specifically the church and faith-based projects can promote health and create community and belonging.”
Niky Dix, is the founder of Intentional Health, a…
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