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:

faithandbeliefnetwork@southend.gov.uk

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