Archbishop of Canterbury's Commission on Urban Priority Areas

Papers of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Commission on Urban Priority Areas (ACUPA) relating to the research and producing of their report, 'Faith in the City' (Church House, 1985), including correspondence, minutes, photographs, drafts of 'Faith in the City', and research papers. Also includes papers of the 'Gallup Clergy Survey', including reports, questionnaires, and pilot survey responses, which was commissioned as part of ACUPA's research by Gallup Poll Ltd

The Archbishop of Canterbury's Commission on the Urban Priority Areas (ACUPA) was established in 1983 by Robert Runcie (Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980-1991) in the wake of the inner city riots of the early 1980s, particularly in Brixton, and following the prompting of Bishops from Urban dioceses.

ACUPA's aim was to investigate the situation faced by people living in inner cities and outlying housing estates, including issues such as unemployment, education, crime and health; and to explore the presence and involvement of the Church in these neighbourhoods. ACUPA's findings, along with recommendations on how the Church, the government and society should respond to the issues highlighted, were published in the report, "Faith in the City: A Call to Action by Church and Nation" in December 1985 by Church House.

ACUPA was comprised of 18 members, including Sir Richard O'Brien, ACUPA's chairman, and Rev David Sheppard, the Bishop of Liverpool, who was heavily involved in the formation of ACUPA. Other members, who had been selected for their experience and expertise, included clergy and lay people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Over the course of its two year life, ACUPA held 17 Commission meetings, which were based all over the country, and the views of the public were sought as part of the enquiry. 283 written submissions of evidence, relating to the investigation, were also submitted by individuals, as well as voluntary and statutory bodies. The investigation also utilised surveys as part of the research, the most notable of which was the 'Survey of Clergy', undertaken by Gallup Poll Ltd.

ACUPA's report, "Faith in the City", was met with mixed reactions, and was the subject of political debate with Margaret Thatcher (Prime Minister from 1979-1990) and other politicians.

ACUPA as a body was officially disbanded on the publication of its report in 1983, but subsequent bodies were formed as a result of the report's recommendations, including the Church Urban Fund (CUF; established in 1987) and the Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (CMEAC).

Following on from ACUPA, other bodies have since been formed to continue its work and investigate the changing situation, and the influence of "Faith in the City", in the areas under investigation. These bodies include the London Diocesan Board; the Archbishop's Advisory Group on Urban Priority Areas, working alongside Rev Patrick Dearnley, the specially appointed Archbishop's Officer on Urban Priority Areas, which published "Living Faith in the City: A Progress Report" in 1990; the Bishops' Advisory Group on Urban Priority Areas (BAGUPA), which published "Staying in the City: Ten Years On" in 1995; and the Commission on Urban Life and Faith, established to report on the twentieth anniversary of "Faith in the City", which published "Faithful Cities" in May 2006.

Open

Records transferred to LPL in 1990 and to CERC in the 1980s and 1990s, with subsequent deposits being made periodically to both repositories (to LPL in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995)

Catalogued material at CERC:

BCC/DCA/7/2/8

BSR/SPC/CCW/1

CARE/ACUPA/1

Catalogued material at LPL:

Monte/P/6/2/22

Monte/P/6/3/60

MU/1/CC/2/2a-b

MU/1/EX/1a/2

Runcie/SPEECH/93

Runcie/SPEECH/155

Runcie/SPEECH/158

Runcie/SPEECH/159

Uncatalogued material at CERC (including LPL boxes not in scope of project)

Publications:

'Faith in the City: A call for action by church and nation' (Church House, 1985) by ACUPA

'Faith in the City: the popular version'

'Gallup survey of Church of England clergymen : with particular reference to comparative differences between urban priority areas and elsewhere' (General Synod, 1986)

'Hope in the city; a response to the Archbishop's [of Canterbury] Commission report on Urban priority areas, Faith in the city (Bramcote, 1986) edited by Greg Forster

'Discovering Faith in the City' (Church House, 1988) edited by Pat Dearnley

'Living Faith in the City: a progress report' (General Synod, 1990) by Archbishop of Canterbury's Advisory Group

'Staying in the City: ten years on' (General Synod, 1995) by Bishop's Advisory Group on Urban Priority Areas (BAGUPA)

'Faithful Cities: a call for celebration, vision, and justice' (Methodist Publishing House, 2006) by Commission on Urban Life and Faith

See also the publications (check URBAN LIFE in PB subject index):

'Faith in the City: Guidelines for those parishes not situated in UPAs', nd, PB 149;

'Faith in the City: the popular version', Christian Action 1985, PB 128;

'Faith in Wales: A response to the ACUPA report', CIW 198-, PB 118;

'Housing People: The Church Housing Association responds to Faith in the City', CHA 1986, PB 108;

'Index to Faith in the City', CHP 1987, PB 127;

'Discovering Faith in the City', CHP 1988, PB 107