Southend Faith and Belief Network
Southend-on-Sea Faith and Belief Network
Who are we?
Members of the network are representatives of the local faith and belief congregations, groups, and projects, Southend City Council staff, and representatives from partner agencies we have over 100 subscribers to our page getting regular news from the Faith community and communications from Southend City Council, NHS, 3rd sector organizations and invitations to our monthly meetings organizations subscribe to keep informed.
What do we do?
We bring together faith groups and public services committed to
pro-actively build relationships and trust between faith groups and public services
creating opportunities to raise awareness and share learning and knowledge between different faith communities, and within the public services
seeking opportunities to bring people together to serve the community, particularly the most disadvantaged
We meet monthly to share good practice, hear from invited speakers and support each other in activities which support the above commitments.
Content
On this page there is a wide range of resources for faith groups, from funding opportunities specifically for the faith community, to community initiatives, events, links to useful information as well as news relevant to the faith community feel free to add your event, your place of worship into our map and subscribe to join our monthly meetings and get our newsletters.
News : The latest information for Faith and Belief groups.
Have your say! : Tell us your views, surveys, and funding applications!
Map : Add your place of worship and contact details, other can use this information to reach out, find out where you are or worship!
Events : Subscribers can add their events and invite others.
Who can join?
The network is open to faith and belief leaders, congregational members, community leaders, projects members inspired by their faith and beliefs and professionals and agencies wanting to supporting the network’s aims and objectives.
Background story
The council has a long history of working with the diverse faith and belief community in Southend which is making an immense contribution to the wellbeing of residents in Southend. They provide spiritual guidance and also get involved in serving the most disadvantaged in Southend, from food, housing and employment based activities, through to using their assets to host play groups, sports clubs and social and community events.
The Southend Interfaith Working Group was set up to support this work but when the when the pandemic started in 2020 we had to engage with as many people as we could in a short space of time. The more agile and peer-based Southend Faith and Belief Network was born out of this with weekly then monthly meetings. It proved again the role our faith and belief communities play as an invaluable source of support to the residents of Southend, from sharing messages to congregations, assisting with covid testing and vaccinations, supporting vulnerable families in need and generally ensuring that people have felt less isolated and more valued.
The work of Southend’s Faith and Belief Network has naturally evolved since then. The members have been meeting monthly to discuss issues such as safety compliance, the health and wellbeing of community members, support for the Afghanistan and Ukrainian families in Southend on Sea, where they have been able to support their community needs and have generally been getting involved in projects happening across the City as well as working solidly to support their own congregations.
The tragic events related to the death of Sir David Amess in 2021 brought us together as a network with ideas such as the 1000 Conversations, the 2022 Unite in the Light event at the Cliffs Pavilions (23 plus congregations represented) and Eid in the Park with over 4k residents attending. We come together many times as a group, to be a powerful, united voice and group and the Southend City Council joined the Essex Faith Covenant.
In 2023 the network followed through with Unite in Light: One Planet event bringing together congregations to showcase how they look after the environment informed by their faith and belief.
The network keeps on growing and sharing ideas so please do reach out to find out more by emailing:
To read about how the Council handles your data please visit our Privacy notice: Southend-on-Sea City Council Privacy Notice
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Call out ! Apply to “Unite in Light: One Planet” events program in partnership with the Sustainability Fund
Share Call out ! Apply to “Unite in Light: One Planet” events program in partnership with the Sustainability Fund on Facebook Share Call out ! Apply to “Unite in Light: One Planet” events program in partnership with the Sustainability Fund on Twitter Share Call out ! Apply to “Unite in Light: One Planet” events program in partnership with the Sustainability Fund on Linkedin Email Call out ! Apply to “Unite in Light: One Planet” events program in partnership with the Sustainability Fund link
Are you and faith and belief group in Southend city or would you like to partner up with one? Do you have a project idea to “Care for the Planet”? We are here to help!
Apply to “Unite in Light: One Planet” Eevents program in partnership with the Southend Climate Action (SCA) Community Sustainability Fund.
The SCA Sustainability Fund provides grants of up to £100 to support faith and belief groups and community groups to create positive impact in their local community or environment.
Following the successful “Unite in Light: One Planet” interfaith event in April, the Faith and Belief Network and Southend Council’s Climate Change team have come together to support events led by the local faith and belief groups to launch, showcase, initiate, or refresh some of their initiatives.If you have a project idea for an event in your faith and belief community or would like to showcase some of the wonderful work you are already doing and want to apply for some funds to support this – then we want to hear from you!
Fill out the application form below and see if we can help bring your idea to life.
Each application will be reviewed by a panel formed of participants of the Unite in Light event and members of and the Faith and Belief Network.
Once you have completed your project, we ask you to provide a project summary that includes what you did, how many people were supported, what went well and what could be improved in the future. We also ask for a photo or video as evidence.
To make an application please click below
Videos
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The “Unite in Light” event, which is a celebration of hope and light for our City year, saw people gather from Southend’s diverse faith communities at the Maritime Room, Cliffs Pavilion, to share their hopes for the City of Southend and explore what light symbolises in their faith. The event is supported by Southend.City, Citizens Essex and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council.
Additional photos can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/southendbc/albums/72177720296870199/with/51897455880
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Eid in the Park first of his kind open event at Garon Park.
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The second UiL event bringing together local groups and congregations. This time they shared how they look after the environment inspired by their belief and faith.
