CUF's Together Network teams honoured in Lambeth Awards
Date Posted: Dec 11, 2024.
Greater Together Manchester’s Chief Executive Officer, Lily Axworthy, and the Chair of Wellsprings Together, Bishop Toby Howarth are two of this year’s recipients of Lambeth Awards.
Lily was awarded The Langton Award for Community Service for her outstanding contribution to the relief of poverty in Greater Manchester and Rossendale. As CEO of Greater Together Manchester (GTM) Lily has overseen significant growth and impact of the organisation across the Diocese of Manchester. Working in areas of financial and material poverty, homelessness, mental health and wellbeing, loneliness and isolation, Lily has led GTM’s small central staff team and large network of volunteers to develop partnerships with churches, diocesan and national church bodies, local authorities, and other
voluntary sector organisations with vision and determination.
Lily’s team runs Wayfinder, our relational homelessness project in Manchester. Wayfinder offers support to people moving away from homelessness, temporary or insecure accommodation. Each individual is supported by their own volunteer, who will work with them on their individual goals, helping them to make positive changes, navigate their local community and establish a stable home.
Lily said: “I was both shocked and honoured to have been nominated for this award. I very much see it as recognition for all the hard work of a wide range of people here at GTM, for our staff and volunteers who go above and beyond every single day to support vulnerable people across Greater Manchester. We know that poverty won’t go away overnight, but the work that all members of the team at GTM do, not only to help individuals, but also to contribute to wider systems change is invaluable.”
The Right Reverend Dr Toby Howarth, Chair of Wellsprings Together, was awarded The Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation, for his leadership in interfaith work in the north of England and the wider Church of England. Bishop Toby’s experience internationally and across the Church of England has given him an understanding of different interfaith contexts and perspectives. His involvement with the Together Coalition, the Christian Muslim Forum, Bradford for Everyone, The Linking Network and Wellsprings Together has also gained him trust
among those aiming to strengthen communities and bring reconciliation.
Bishop Toby’s team at Wellsprings Together runs Near Neighbours in Leeds, part of the Church Urban Fund group bringing people together in communities that are religiously and ethnically diverse so that they can get to know each other better, build relationships of trust, and collaborate together on initiatives that improve the local community they live in.
Bishop Toby said: “This award recognises a long tradition within the Anglican church that seeks to listen to and understand our neighbouring faiths deeply, also from an academic perspective, as part of the church’s witness to the good news of God’s reconciling love shown in Jesus Christ. It recognises the extraordinary work of Near Neighbours over many years, and Wellsprings Together in particular in the relationships that we and our partners seek to encourage here in the Diocese of Leeds.”
Our CEO, Bishop Rob Wickham said: “We’re delighted that Lily and Bishop Toby have been honoured in this way. We have regularly witnessed the impact of both Toby and Lily’s work across our partnerships within CUF’s Together Network. Toby has also been a key partner of our group charity, Near Neighbours. Lily and Toby have infectious passion and desire, that the diverse communities they serve might thrive and flourish. They both dare to ask the difficult questions as to why poverty exists, and creatively challenge how individuals, churches and other faith communities will work together to respond to the needs of their brothers and sisters in Christ. These awards are great news for them, Manchester and Leeds dioceses.”
Greater Together Manchester and Wellsprings Together are two of 14 core members that form our Together Network. The Together Network is a network of individual charities, large and small, set up in partnership with CUF and the Church of England dioceses. It promotes collaborative, local social action through network building, strengthening of relationships, sharing of best practice and the development and delivery of programmes to tackle social issues including food poverty, loneliness and homelessness.