| Chris Senior writes:
CHRISTINE RUSSELL, who died on 27 June, a week short of her 67th birthday, was well-known in the Church of England and the voluntary sector in Nottinghamshire, as a champion of homeless and vulnerable people.
At the time of her death, Christine chaired the House of Laity and was a senior figure in strategic planning in the diocese of Southwell & Nottingham. Christine’s lively faith — and in particular her belief that all humanity should be served equally in God’s love — was the cornerstone of her work.
She spent her life supporting and campaigning for people who were vulnerable and marginalised. In doing so, she was instrumental in establishing the award-winning Nottinghamshire homelessness charity Framework.
Born in Newark, Christine was the daughter of a clergyman, and spent her teens in the villages of Dunham-on-Trent and Norwell. She attended Newark High School, studied English at Manchester University, and then social administration at the London School of Economics, before becoming a youth leader in the East End of London.
After a period as a college lecturer, and having returned to Nottinghamshire, Christine gave up teaching to become a social worker. In 1982, she was appointed Social Responsibility Officer for the diocese of Southwell — the first woman to hold such a post in the Church of England — while also administrator of Family Care, the Nottingham-based adoption and family-support charity.
In 1991, she became chief executive of the Nottingham-based homelessness charity Macedon, at a time of crisis. Driven by an irresistible passion for the cause, and compassion for those who are homeless, Christine rescued the fledgling organisation, and set about sowing the seeds for its growth.
During ten years with Macedon, Christine oversaw significant improvements in its accommodation and the opening of new services, including the first accommodation in Nottingham for homeless women. As a victim of domestic violence herself, she was particularly proud of this achievement.
Her final challenge was the charity’s successful merger in 2001 with Nottingham Help the Homeless Association to form Framework Housing Association, of which she became the first chief executive.
After leaving Framework, Christine was involved in a range of training, education, and voluntary work with the Church of England. She was also an active campaigner for fair trade and Make Poverty History, and a member of the Church of England’s working party on domestic abuse.
In 2002, Christine received a Windrush Award for Notable Community and Public Service to the City of Nottingham. When Framework’s new homelessness accommodation opened in Newark in 2007, it was named, in her honour, Russell House.
Christine was an active member of the Cursillo movement, becoming its lay director in the Southwell diocese for a time. The movement provides a method by which Christians are empowered to grow through prayer, study, and action, and are enabled to share God’s love with everyone. In Christine’s life, prayer, study, and action became one expression of her very active Christian faith.
She is survived by her daughter Juliet Russell. A memorial service will be held at Southwell Minster in the autumn.
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