Rev Bruce Kenrick was a social activist

Activism

Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...

 and Minister in the United Reformed Church

United Reformed Church

The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...

 and the Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

. He is most notable as author of "Come out the Wilderness" http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/jan/19/guardianobituaries.obituaries and as the founder of British housing organisation Shelter

Shelter (charity)

Shelter is a registered charity in England and Scotland that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people in need, and tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies to improve the...

.http://england.shelter.org.uk/about_us/who_we_are/our_history?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=print

Early life

Bruce Kenrick was born in Liverpool and initially trained as an accountant, but the outbreak of war saw him see service as a medic in the Gold Coast Defence Force and with paratroopers in Italy. Having practiced medicine during the war he decided to pursue a career as a doctor. He attended the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

 where he switched to divinity having engaged in missionary work. He met his wife Isabel Witte, an historian, while at Edinburgh.

Ministry

Kenrick went to work in the East Harlem Protestant parish project https://www.utsnyc.edu/Page.aspx?pid=766, which was attached to Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...

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

Notting Hill

Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...

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

Peter Rachman

Peter Rachman was a London landlord in the Notting Hill area in the 1950s and 1960s. He became so notorious for his exploitation of tenants that the word "Rachmanism" entered the OED as a synonym for any greedy, unscrupulous landlord.-Career:Rachman was born Perec Rachman in Lvov, Poland in 1919,...

.

Activism

In response to the poor housing conditions, Kenrick set up the Notting Hill Housing Trust

Notting Hill Housing Trust

Notting Hill Housing Trust is a charity registered in England which aims to deliver urban regeneration and new developments. Originally launched in 1963 in Notting Hill, they now have 25,000 homes across London and the South East and are a member of the G15 group of London housing associations...

, which maintained the fabric of the area, and ironically, laid the foundations for its later gentrification

Gentrification

Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...

. 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 in 1966.

After a dispute over the leadership of the organisation with Des Wilson

Des Wilson

Des Wilson is a New Zealand born British campaigner, political activist, businessman, sports administrator, author and Poker player. He was instrumental in the 1960s as a founder of the pivotal British homelessness charity Shelter and was for a while an activist in, and President of, the British...

, Kenrick left Shelter. He remained a significant figure on the broad left in the church, and his membership of the Iona Community

Iona Community

The Iona Community, founded in 1938 by the Rev George MacLeod, is an ecumenical Christian community of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions in the Christian church....

 and work on the example set by the revolution in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

helped set the direction of radical Christianity in the UK.