Rev Bruce Kenrick (18 January 1920 – 15 January 2007) was an English

social activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and Minister in the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

and the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

. He is best known for writing "Come out the Wilderness" and as the founder of British housing organisation

Shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...

."Our history"
Shelter, 9 March 2012

Early life

Bruce Kenrick was born in Liverpool and initially trained as an accountant. World War II broke out before he turned 20, and he saw service as a medic in the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

Defence Force and with paratroopers in Italy. After the war he decided to pursue a career as a doctor. He attended the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

where he switched to divinity, having engaged in missionary work.

Ministry

Kenrick went to work in the East Harlem Protestant parish project, which was attached to

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. On his return to the UK he was ordained and went to work in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

, London - then an area marked by racial tension and bad landlords like

Peter Rachman Perec "Peter" Rachman (16 August 1919 – 29 November 1962) was a Polish-born landlord who operated in Notting Hill, London, England in the 1950s and early 1960s. He became notorious for his exploitation of his tenants, with the word "Rachmanism" ...

Activism

In response to the poor housing conditions, Kenrick set up the

Notting Hill Housing Trust Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) is a housing association formed in April 2018 by the merger of Notting Hill Housing and Genesis Housing Association. Notting Hill Genesis’ primary purpose is to work in the community to provide decent and affordab ...

, which maintained the fabric of the are
The early days were not easy
It was out of the desire to put national pressure on local government to improve housing that Shelter was born at

St Martin in the Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

in 1966. After a dispute over the leadership of the organisation with

Des Wilson Des Wilson (born 5 March 1941) is a New Zealand-born British campaigner, political activist, businessman, sports administrator, author and poker player. He was one of the founders of the British homelessness charity Shelter and was for a while an ...

, Kenrick left Shelter.Obituary: "The Rev Bruce Kenrick "
''The Scotsman'', 24 January 2007 He remained a significant figure on the broad left in the church, and his membership of the

Iona Community The Iona Community, founded in 1938 by George MacLeod, is an ecumenical Christian community of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions within Christianity. It and its publishing house, Wild Goose Publications, are hea ...

and work on the example set by the revolution in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

helped set the direction of radical Christianity in the UK.

Personal life

He met his wif
Isabel Witte
an historian, while at Edinburgh. Their children included

Ann Kenrick Ann Kenrick (born 13 January 1958) is a charity leader in the United Kingdom. Early life and family Ann Kenrick is the second of four children of the pastor and homelessness campaigner, Rev Dr Bruce Kenrick, and his wife Isabel. Ann was born in th ...

, charity leader.

Bibliography

* "The New Humanity", Collins, 1956 * "Come Out the Wilderness", Harper & Brothers, 1962 (US); Fontana, 1965 * "A Man from the Interior - Cuba's Quest", Epworth, 1980

References

* ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' Obituary http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1294610.ece * ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' Obituary https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jan/19/guardianobituaries.obituaries * ''

Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

'' Obituary http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/features/display.var.1152247.0.0.php
Notting Hill Housing Trust Obituary
* ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' Obituary https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1539872/The-Rev-Bruce-Kenrick.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenrick, Bruce 1920 births 2007 deaths Clergy from Liverpool Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Homelessness activists 20th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland United Reformed Church ministers People educated at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby People from West Derby