The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community -
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Community Social
Action Team
Working with local churches to put faith into action across our local community
We Cover Cumbria…
Our Community Social Action team cover Cumbria as well as leading on many projects that are important as wider conversations highlight gaps and joining significant dots across the county. We work with local County Councils, NHS, Police and other statutory bodies, this is extra to the many denomination and local church leaders we work with.
The Community Social Action Team for Churches Together in Cumbria is a team dedicated to coordinating and supporting social initiatives within Cumbria's local communities. Comprised of representatives from various Christian denominations, the team works collaboratively to identify pressing social needs and develop practical responses rooted in Christian values.
Their activities include organising community outreach projects, facilitating partnerships with local organisations, and promoting social justice and inclusion. The team aims to embody the compassionate service of the church by addressing issues such as poverty, homelessness, and social isolation across the region.
The team are highly skilled and are available to work with local churches in Cumbria with a desire to work in a holistic approach to the Gospel.
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Lois Sparling
Community Social Action Team - West Cumbria
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.
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Jonny Gios
Community Action Team - South and East Cumbria
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.
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Jo Philips
Community Action Team - North Cumbria
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.
Jo Phillips
Born in Kendal, based now in Lanercost, and married to Ben (CofE vicar) with 3 grown up children who’ve nearly left home, she joined the CTiC team in 2021 as the Ecumenical Social Responsibility Officer, working under the Social Responsibility Forum in a general role covering various issues, including:
Adoption & Fostering, Agricultural Community, asylum Seekers & Refugees, Bereavement, Domestic Abuse, Environmental Issues, Loneliness & Isolation, Mental Health , Modern Slavery & Exploitation, Poverty
The aim was to connect and support churches engaged in social action in their communities, with each other, but also with similar work undertaken by individuals and organisations outside of the Church.
Prioritising a few of these issues at a time for greatest impact her work has involved:
· An Environmental Conference in Carlisle in Oct 21 as COP26 pilgrims passed through
· Various Eco Church workshops around the county in partnership with Carlisle Diocese and A Rocha staff
· Development of a county-wide, multi-agency, modern slavery network *
· Reaffirmation Service marking 10 years of an ecumenical county in Cumbria
· Visits to various CT groups around the county
·Visits to many projects, statutory organisations, charities organisations across the region and beyond where appropriate
· Representing the Cumbria Church in groups such as:
o CVS Third Sector Network Executive
o Cumbria Poverty Reference Group
o Cumbria Bereavement Partnership
o Social Prescribing Groups
o Cumbria Domestic Abuse Champions Network
o CTE (Churches Together England) NW CEO (County Ecumenical Officer) Group
Jo considers it a privilege and a joy to visit so many wonderful people working to meet the needs of those in their communities across Cumbria and beyond.
Community Social Action - North
Rev Jonny Gios
Community Social Action - South & East
Jonny is originally from Manchester and has been in Cumbria for 24 years working as a minister in both Urban and Rural contexts. He now lives in Kendal with family, Jonny is married to Pamela and they have two teenage children. Jonny has been working with CTIC since January 2024 on various projects and roles. He is passionate about serving the local church and sharing his experience in community engagement. Jonny is involved in various projects including:
Faith Covenant : Jonny is working with Westmorland and Furness Council and faith leaders in the area to bring about the signing of a Faith Covenant that will bring faith leaders together. Since the social action audit of 2024 the results showed that the faith community was worth 1.6 million to communities in Westmorland and Furness. The covenant is one step towards building a Faith Action Network across the area with the local Council. You can follow the developments and read the report findings here. The Covenant is due to be signed by faith leaders in July 2026.
Give a Day to Kendal: Off the back of the this work - Jonny has been asked to lead on a project taking place in Kendal, 1-7th June ( national volunteers week) called ‘Give a Day to Kendal’. This is a community power project with Westmorland and Furness Council and Cumbria CVS to undertake projects within the town to benefit a variety of users with volunteers from statutory, third sector and faith groups getting involved in the initiative that is being piloted in the town.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group : Jonny also sits as a representative of CTIC on the EDI group for Westmorland and Furness Council. This is group has many subgroups that Jonny is part of including, Racism, Poverty and Communications.
Cumbria LRF - Volunteer Community Resilience Group: Jonny has vast amount of experience working in relief efforts, especially through the 2015 flooding of Kendal. CTIC has historically had a representative that sits on this group to liaise with the British Red Cross and Emergency Services to assist where is needed. Jonny will be conducting a mapping exercise in 2026 to ascertain how faith groups can help in an emergency in their local community.
The Local Church: Jonny’s passion is serving the local church in how they meet the felt needs of the local community. Where is God calling your church to meet a need? How do you start one? Jonny has assisted churches across the South and East of Cumbria in this work and open to work with more churches.
Lois Sparling
Community Social Action - West
At the end of 2024, Lois completed her training as a Reader (Licensed Lay Minister) in the Church of England. In February 2025 Lois’s partner, Tim, moved up from Kendal to Cockermouth for me to take up a brand new role as part-time Community Chaplain for the Grasmoor Mission Community (15 churches, across 7 parishes and 3 denominations in and around the town). In May Lois had the absolute privilege of joining Jo Phillips and Jonny Gios to make up CTiC’s brand new Community Social Action Team.
Lois has begun by taking on the role of listening to local groups around the county and building relationships with others with an interest in tackling rural isolation and deprivation, mental health and spiritual wellbeing, domestic violence and abuse and the challenges that our farmers face, areas which are close to her heart.
As the new Team sets its priorities for encouraging and enabling social action in local communities, we want to hear from you what issues are closest to your heart and what support we could offer you to raise awareness or take other action. Do please get in touch with your ideas (community.chaplain.gmc@gmail.com).
Lois’s recent background has been in working with Manna House (support for homeless and vulnerably housed) in Kendal, with CADAS (Cumbria Addictions Advice & Solutions) countywide and, most recently, with South Lakes Poverty Truth Commission. The team have a wide network of contacts, a range of experience, and bags of enthusiasm to draw on. We look forward to being able to use these gifts, with you, in the service of God and of our neighbours in this place.
Lois’s area is West and Central (vs your South and East and Jo’s North).