When the Prime Minister announced the creation of a new Civil Society Council — designed to integrate voluntary and community organisations into government thinking — the appointment of Bishop Rob Wickham as one of its members sent a clear signal: faith communities have a seat at the table.

Bishop Wickham leads Church Urban Fund, the organisation that has spent decades investing in church-based community action in England's most deprived areas. He knows, from the ground up, what it looks like when a local church becomes a food bank, a debt advice centre, a community garden, or a safe space for isolated older people. That practical knowledge is exactly what a Civil Society Council needs.

The appointment matters for several reasons. It recognises the scale of what faith communities contribute — not just in spiritual terms, but in measurable social impact. It creates a channel for that contribution to shape policy rather than simply respond to it. And it signals that the government is willing to listen to voices that come from a different kind of authority than electoral mandate.

For churches across England, this is an encouragement. The work you are doing in your community is not invisible. It is being noticed — and now, through Bishop Wickham, it has a voice in the room where decisions are made.