In 1914, Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy was an unknown parish priest. Ten years later he was the church's best known speaker, drawing larger crowds than politicians and publishing books that sold millions. How did this happen?
The answer is the first world war. In 1914, he enthusiastically supported Britain's declaration of war on Germany and soon enlisted as a chaplain. He distributed fags to troops and earned the affectionate nickname Woodbine Willie. He joined the soldiers on the western front when they went over the top, and won the Military Cross when he ran through shells into "no man's land" to obtain supplies of morphine. His speaking skills were used to maintain morale. Sickened by the needless slaughter, on his discharge, in 1919, he spoke all over the country, opposing war and calling for an end to unemployment and poverty.
Today "Willie" is largely forgotten, although the centenary of the start of the war may show how relevant he is to contemporary problems. Poverty campaigners and academics do call for social reform. But few are as close to poor people as Willie was. His turning point was when he stopped talking to, and instead listened to, the troops. Through his magnetic preaching, he publicised their views on wanting to end war, their dislike of the monarchy, and their desire for the end of poverty. And in his collection of rhymes, many written in working-class dialect, he expressed their views in their own language.
He became a great social evangelist calling for reform. So did others, but he was different. He gave away his possessions. His salary was modest but he received large royalties – all of which he gave to charities. He left very little money. He was genuine and, when he died, in 1929, exhausted at the age of 45, poor people flocked to his funeral in Worcester. Today, we urgently need poverty campaigners like him.
The dean of Westminster refused Willie a burial at the Abbey because, he said, he was a "socialist". Hardly, if he meant a Labour-party socialist. Willie distrusted most politicians and refused to join any political party. He proclaimed that the church (or churches) had to counter poverty and inequality. His argument was that wealth redistribution would only come following changes in people's values and attitudes, and that only the Christian message could achieve this. True, he did transform some individuals, but no large policy reforms followed. He had little impact on politicians.
His close friend William Temple used a different strategy. He had been a member of the Labour party. In 1942, he became Archbishop of Canterbury, spoke in support of Labour's proposed welfare state and urged Christians to back Labour. In 1945, Labour won a large majority with considerable middle-class approval. By this time, Temple was dead but his strategy remained: the church should work in co-operation with reforming parties. When I joined Labour in 1962, I accepted this approach.
But today's Labour party is vastly different from that of 1945. It has some commitment to tackling child poverty, but none to abolishing poverty. Ed Miliband's speech in Bedford last week called for a small increase in the income of low earners by restoring the 10p tax rate, but no plans for a much more equal society.
So perhaps, 80 years on, with poverty and inequalities still rife, it is worth reviving Willie's stress on the church as a way to challenge the state of society. Church membership is still higher than that of all the political parties put together, and mostly meet every week. Already the church contributes strongly to social wellbeing and welfare. I now find a sense of fellowship and mutuality in Christian gatherings not present in the almost non-existent party branch meetings.
Church, not politicians
Churches – like some other voluntary bodies – provide shelter, clothes and food for destitute asylum seekers, who are mostly ignored, or vilified, by polticians. They also embrace some of the homeless, lonely and those with mental-health problems. The Baptist church I attend in Easterhouse, in Glasgow – a deprived area that I moved to in 1987 to work with the community – has services and a cafe for the employed and unemployed, those on moderate incomes, those on the minimum wage and people on benefits, those long rooted in the east end of Glasgow as well as families from the Congo and Nigeria who have become part of the strength of the church. More traditionally, churches run youth activities and holidays. My experience is that, as these have not attracted statutory grants, they still continue at a time when many voluntary bodies are closing.
Christians have responded to problems. The Trussell Trust, which is the largest provider of food parcels, is run and funded by churches. There is a small but significant move by some Christians into deprived areas. Not to take over, but (like Willie) to listen to and to work with residents.
Yes, this is not true of all churches. There is prejudice within some. And it is true of other religions as well as Christianity. But thousands of needy people find not just help, but –I have to use the word—love, within them.
As Willie perceived, immediate help is not sufficient. The system that creates poverty and inequality needs challenging. He wrote that he condemned capitalism "because in theory and in practice it was based upon a single incentive, it was based entirely upon … the motive of self-interest". He believed that, as all people were equal in the sight of God, wealth should be shared. As a church leader he was prepared to say so.
Today, not just the UK but many other countries are in the grip of neo-liberalism, which advocates large-scale reduction of state services, huge welfare cuts and massive financial rewards for those at the top. No major political party has a critique of this. Significantly, it is emerging within churches in the most poverty-ridden countries, as shown in the study Seeking A City with Foundations: Theology for an Urban World by David Smith, who is senior research fellow at the International Christian College, in Glasgow He shows a growing radical Christian consensus that unregulated and unethical market forces are the driving force of inequality. And, in December, the Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth, provost of St Mary's cathedral, Glasgow, described the coalition government as "ungodly" in "robbing the poorest while giving tax cuts to the rich". He and others are challenging the god of the market and advocating systems that promote equality, mutuality, co-operation and self-sacrifice. Roman Catholic leaders, while disagreeing with Protestants over gay marriage, are at one with them in defending the poor. Today's Christian radicals want to act with secular bodies that promote the same objectives.
Willie failed to change the role of the church, but he never failed to apply his principles to his personal life. Looking for his first parish, he took the one with the lowest stipend. He frequently gave away his clothes and possessions to poor people. Today, a growing number of Christians – and others – are rejecting greed. Willie shows us that individuals can point the way to a better society.
Woodbine Willie: an Unsung Hero of World War One, by Bob Holman, is published (Lion Hudson) on 21 March