To make an application please click below

Click here to apply

Southend-on-Sea City Council and Eastern Arc are excited to invite you to the first ever Coastal Climate Conversation Workshop that will take place on Friday, 21 July in Committee Room 4, Civic Centre, Southend-on-Sea.

The workshop, first of a series, will look at the potential effect of the climate crisis on disadvantaged UK coastal towns and communities and how, as a collective, we can take steps towards addressing this.

Eastern Arc, working with Southend-on-Sea City Council, will explore the issues faced by communities and stakeholders, and how they can work with world-leading researchers within their regional universities and act on the issues. We want to think differently about the situation. Can the cost-of-living crisis act as a catalyst for change? Is it possible to change long-term global outcomes by addressing the immediate needs and concerns of both individuals and institutions?

If you are interested to “join the conversation”, please register on the Eventbrite page.

Coastal Climate Conversations Tickets, Fri 21 Jul 2023 at 10:00 | Eventbrite

We have a fantastic opportunity for you to receive some free training on becoming an Active Bystander. This is the second instance of this training which has returned due to popular demand.

The training will take place on Friday 8^th December in Committee Room 4A, Southend Civic Centre from 9am to 12pm. You can book your place by clicking here

This free 3 hour interactive course is led by identity-based violence prevention charity, Protection Approaches and has been developed in partnership with Britain’s East and Southeast Asian Network (besea.n).

The expert-led sessions see participants guided through a series of discussions to explore how they can play a role in tackling identity-based harms in their community, school, or place of work.

You will learn:

• What it means to be an active bystander: through group discussion the participants explore what being an active bystander means to them
• Standing up for victims: working through a series of scenarios, participants consider and learn what they can do when they encounter prejudice, harassment, or identity-based violence such as a racist attack in a supermarket or an inappropriate comment from a colleague
• Proactive prevention: returning to the scenarios participants reflect on the root causes of prejudice and discrimination before discussing ways they could contribute to dismantling those root causes and to building safer, more inclusive, and just communities.

Spaces are limited so please book as soon as possible to guarantee your place.

Protective security measures for Places of Worship – open for applications

The government has announced that places of worship will receive £28 million in government funding to help keep them and their attendees safe. The funding is available this year through two schemes, with applications now open.

The funding is part of the government’s commitment to ensure that faith communities in England and Wales are protected from the threat of hate crime and terror attacks and can practise their faith freely and without fear.

The Home Office will provide funding for physical protective security, such as CCTV, intruder alarms and secure fencing, to be installed in order to help protect mosques, churches, temples, gurdwaras and other places of worship. Mosques will also be able to access a new security guarding scheme later in the year.

To apply for funding, applicants should submit evidence of their vulnerability and experience of hate crime. The application window is open until 15 August, and the Home Office will notify successful sites from November 2023.

The types of places of worship that can apply under the schemes include (but are not limited to):

• churches
• gurdwaras
• mosques
• temples
• associated faith community centres (for example, a community centre where regular worship takes place that is near a place of worship and run by that place of worship)

Cannot accept applications for the following:

• living accommodation
• educational facilities (faith schools and other educational institutions are not eligible)
• NHS establishments, including chapels and prayer rooms
• other buildings that are owned by the place of worship or faith community but not used for regular worship (for example, cafes, education centres, youth centres, etc). Where these structures exist within the place of worship or on the same site, the schemes can only cover protection of places that are regularly used for worship

Shoebury Health & Wellbeing Centre Share your experiences and views to help the design of the new centre.

We are seeking your views on the development of the new centre, to help meet the community's health and wellbeing needs. Our previous engagement process has led to a decision about the location of the centre: Shoebury House, 162 Ness Rd. The most popular choice, among the 5 short-listed sites.

We’re looking for a good mix of perspectives and viewpoints for a workshop on Thursday 20 July. The workshop will include a project overview, review of research findings, and collaborative activities. We will work in mixed groups using pre-prepared journey maps and question prompts to generate ideas. The outputs of this workshop will be used to feed into the plans for the Shoebury Health and Wellness Centre.

There are a limited number of spaces. In the first instance please let us know if you would like to attend. Thursday 20 July 2023, 5-8pm Shoeburyness and Thorpe Bay Baptist Church, 90 Thorpendene Gardens Southend-on-Sea, SS3 9JD

Use the QR code or link to access an online form: bit.ly/3NZZQYR

Email: kate@macementer.com Call: 07950 923093

“The Faith and Hate Paradox”

Tuesday 8th August 2023, 17.00-20.30

Southend and District Reform Synagogue

851 London Road, Westcliff-On-Sea SS0 9SZ

Essex Police are committed to tackling discrimination of all kinds. You are warmly invited to this event which aims to acknowledge and address the issue of faith-based hate and discrimination, raising awareness of the lived experience of our communities through discussion, gathering people of all faiths and none to take part in the conversation.

Objectives

• Essex Police and religious communities to be informed and empowered to support each other in the best and most effective ways.

• Essex Police and religious communities to form a closer partnership.

• To celebrate the common goals and values of religions and learning from our differences.

16.45 - Refreshments

17.15 - Introduction & Welcome - ACO Richard Leicester

17.25 - Hate Crime in Essex - Supt Naomi Edwards, Kathryn Springett, PS Daniel Stanley

17.35 - Sikhism - Shweta Kaur (Sikhs of Chelmsford)

17.55 - Anti-Semitism - Colin T & Phil Mitchell (Community Security Trust)

18.15 - Paganism - Jack Hudson (Asatru UK)

18.35 - Break

18.55 - Islam Vs Terrorism - Sidra Naeem (Muslim community, Essex Mind and Spirit)

19.15 - Mormon Misconception - Anna Buttimore (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

19.35 - Group Discussion - Facilitated by Hannah Kelly, Lead Chaplain

19.50 - Q&A with Panel - Opportunity to ask questions of our speakers

20.15 - Closing Remarks - Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst, His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for

Essex

20.20 - Evaluation and Reflection - Hannah Kelly, Lead Chaplain

To book email Hannah Kelly Hannah.Kelly@essex.police.uk

Have you wanted to get involved with the teaching of religion in your child’s school, but didn’t know how to go about it? Or perhaps you’re a teacher or subject lead who wants to involve community groups in the teaching of Religion and Worldviews in your school, but you’re unsure how to approach the conversation – or you’re looking to reduce parent withdrawals.

We have an opportunity locally, to work with local schools and faith leaders are you interested ? Are you a faith leader wanting to engage with Local Schools are you a school ? or a parent to find out more please email mariamedina@southend.gov.uk

For more related articles click here Religion and Worldviews in Schools

Unite in light 2022 was voted one of your favourite moments from 2022, as a result you voted in our strategy day to have another event this year and so on

The elected theme, for 2023 is around One Planet, this gift we have been chosen to look after, scripturally or practically this is our gift to preserve for future generations.

We are looking at hosting together an event in the Cliffs Pavilions as per last year to be an opening event, where we can, both rejoice having this wonderful gift and our responsibility to look after it or practically what do we do? or intent to do? to help look after it.

We are now currently meeting to plan our opening event this April and this to be a launched as the first of many events through out the year. Where you can take part of in your Church, Mosques, Synagogues, place of worship or thinking spaces, where in your community, we can plant, grown, and support this wonderful work.

Recycle, plant a tree or re-love or upcycle and item all we do to support our work be sustainable and long lasting.

If you are interested in been part of the event an speak about this gift scripturally or practically at the launch event, or if you are interested in been part other events in the year, do you have an idea or initiative we can join in? do you want to plant a tree? start a community allotment, have bicycle repairs in your place of worship or become a ECO church, mosque, synagogue, temple or other.

Please contact us in 01702 212 704 or email mariamedina@southend.gov.uk To find out more and get involved, subscribe to this page and attend our meeting please see key dates to be updated.