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<p>International Credit Union day was on 17 October. The Church of England supported this with a number of initiatives, a total of 41 bishops from 30 dioceses were actively involved, and over 50 credit unions across the country were involved.</p><p>The Church is also exploring a number of other plans to offer support, including:</p><p>offering space within churches for credit unions to operate;</p><p>dioceses and churches opening corporate accounts; and</p><p>clergy information days and sign-up events to raise awareness about credit unions among church leaders and parishioners.</p><p>The Church has developed a long-term plan to support the credit union movement; the first task is to link parish churches to local credit unions to offer support where any is available. The second is to set up an Archbishop’s task force to work with the credit union movement and local banking sector to produce credible alternatives which offer financially responsible products and services. The third is the plan to found the Churches Credit Union. The intention is to offer the benefits of credit union membership to clergy, ministers, trustees and those employed by the Church.</p> |