Southend Faith and Belief Network

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Southend-on-Sea Faith and Belief Network

Update

The page is in development as the Southend Faith and Belief Network is reviewing its strategy and documents.

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.

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.


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 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 in the last few months. The leaders 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 Council as well as working solidly to support their own congregations.

Last year's tragic events related to the death of Sir David Amess brought us together as a network with ideas such as the 1000 Conversations, the 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 as a group, to be a powerful one united voice and group.

Word from the facilitator – Maria Medina – Community Capacity Advisor

I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this group and watching the relationships between our faith, belief and community groups flourish over this past year – despite all the adversity that covid has challenged us with. I have been overwhelmed at the sense of togetherness, passion and drive for a united Southend throughout these troubled times.

I look forward to working with our Faith and Belief groups even more closely over the coming months and years, and would encourage anyone who is unfamiliar with who your faith and belief neighbours are, to find out about what is happening in your local community. Introduce yourself!

If you are a faith leader, deputy or representative and are interested in finding out more please email.

mariamedina@southend.gov.uk(External link) or call 01702 212704.

To read about how the Council handles your data please visit our Privacy notice: Southend-on-Sea City Council Privacy Notice

Southend-on-Sea Faith and Belief Network

Update

The page is in development as the Southend Faith and Belief Network is reviewing its strategy and documents.

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.

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.


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 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 in the last few months. The leaders 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 Council as well as working solidly to support their own congregations.

Last year's tragic events related to the death of Sir David Amess brought us together as a network with ideas such as the 1000 Conversations, the 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 as a group, to be a powerful one united voice and group.

Word from the facilitator – Maria Medina – Community Capacity Advisor

I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this group and watching the relationships between our faith, belief and community groups flourish over this past year – despite all the adversity that covid has challenged us with. I have been overwhelmed at the sense of togetherness, passion and drive for a united Southend throughout these troubled times.

I look forward to working with our Faith and Belief groups even more closely over the coming months and years, and would encourage anyone who is unfamiliar with who your faith and belief neighbours are, to find out about what is happening in your local community. Introduce yourself!

If you are a faith leader, deputy or representative and are interested in finding out more please email.

mariamedina@southend.gov.uk(External link) or call 01702 212704.

To read about how the Council handles your data please visit our Privacy notice: Southend-on-Sea City Council Privacy Notice

  • Southend Faith and Belief Network Interfaith Week Tree Planting Event

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    Southend Faith and Belief network and Wellbeing at Garon Park are delighted in inviting you to celebrate interfaith week.

    To continue our celebrations of United in light One planet initiative we are requesting, Network members, faith leaders or community leads, to join us uniting together and mark Interfaith Week by planting a tree at Garons wellbeing park joining together in looking after our planet, there will be refreshments and an opportunity for our community and faith leaders to join in conversation. Plant a tree look after the earth.

    To find out more about the network and the work we do please see our page, subscribe and join us

    yoursay.southend.gov.uk/faith-and-belief-network


    if you are interested in creating your own event for Unite in light One planet please see this call out to support your event.

    https://yoursay.southend.gov.uk/faith-and-belief-network/news_feed/call-out


  • Beginners Guide to Writing Successful Funding Applications

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    Beginners Guide to Writing Successful Funding Applications

    Training Details: Tuesday 3rd October from 2pm to 5pm at SAVS. Book your free place



    Join Anderson Fundraising in this interactive session to improve your bid writing technique and learn how to make successful applications

    With more than £4 billion available from grant-making trusts and foundations each year, is your charity making the most of funding opportunities which come about via an application form? If you haven’t yet honed your application-writing skills, or even if you want a bit of a refresher, then this is the session for you.

    Beginners Guide to Writing Successful Funding Applications will help you to:

    • Understand what to include (and what to leave out!) of funding applications
    • Discover your good cause's Unique Selling Point – and how you can communicate this to funders
    • Improve your bid-writing technique!

    This interactive session, hosted by SAVS, is being delivered by Susannah Anderson, a local fundraising consultant with over 15 years experience of sourcing income for local and national charities. During the session, you’ll be able to learn more about what makes a successful application and how you can communicate your project to potential funders.

    Places are fully funded by SAVS and are open to all Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise organisations located in Southend. Due to the expected high interest in this session, we please ask that only one person per organisation registers and attends. There is a limited capacity and as such, you may be added to a Waiting List.

    If you have any questions, please email Roger Savage on rsavage@savs-southend.co.uk

  • Call out ! Apply to “Unite in Light: One Planet” events program in partnership with the Sustainability Fund

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    supporting image


    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



    Click here to apply


  • Unite in light: One planet 2023 Video

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

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    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

  • Coastal Climate Conversations

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    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


  • Faith and Hate Paradox Event

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    CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.


    “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

  • £28 million funding will help keep places of worship safe

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    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

  • Unite in light One Planet event invitation and live stream

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    'Unite in Light One Planet' event takes place on Sunday

    Wednesday 12 April 2023

    The Faith and Belief Network event 'Unite in Light One Planet' will take place on Sunday 16th April from 2-5pm at the Park Inn Palace in Southend-on-Sea.

    Those wishing to attend can register on the Action Network website: https://actionnetwork.org/events/unite-in-light-one-planet

    The event will also be livestreamed on the council's YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@southendcc

    The “Unite in Light One Planet” celebrates how faith groups respond to and look after the wonderful gift of our planet, especially now during our current climate change challenges. The lead that faith communities take over is an important task, and provides hope and light for our communities in the future.

    People from our diverse faith communities will be sharing their hopes, thoughts, and scriptures during the event.

    The event has been organised by Southend-on-Sea Belief and Faith Network in partnership with Citizens Essex and Southend-on-Sea City Council.

  • Inter faith tree planting

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    Inter faith tree planting

    Faiths Forum for London is “engaging in a Mayor of London-backed 12-month tree planting programme which aims to plant 75 trees across multiple sites in London, enabling Londoners to benefit from a greater, healthier environment whilst engaging with local faith communities.”

    The events will focus on inter faith engagement, empowering religious communities through relationship building and creating attractive public places. The Mayor of London has provided funding to enable 15 separate tree planting events, with the trees being provided free of charge. FFL is dedicating the planting of these trees to its former Trustee, Leonie Lewis who died last year (also a former IFN Trustee), and will also be raising funds to plant 25 more trees in her honour.

    For more articles in the interfaith Network click IFN Newsletter March/April 2023 - News - The Inter Faith Network (IFN)

    As part of Unite in light One Planet we are looking at different activities such as this one if you are interested in finding out more planting a tree in your faith space or other please email.

    mariamedina@southend.gov.uk

Page last updated: 21 Sep 2023, 02:23 PM