It has been a busy time for the APPG on Faith & Society.  Take a look at some of the recent highlights and developments. Inter Faith Week 2021 Celebrating Brent’s Faith Covenant Brent Council and Brent Multi Faith Forum (BMFF) came together during Inter Faith Week to mark the fourth anniversary of Brent’s accession to the Faith Covenant.  The event was celebration of all the Covenant had allowed the borough to achieve, and an opportunity for BMFF and the council to renew commitment to the

The All-Party Group on Faith and Society hosted a report briefing with the University of York on Thursday 9th December. The report, Churches, COVID-19 and Communities is a joint publication by the University of York, Historic England, the Church of England, the Association of English Cathedrals, the National Churches Trust, and the Historic Religious Buildings Alliance. The report examines the impact of closing church buildings and restrictions on activities provided or hosted by churches, on the lives and wellbeing of individuals and communities. It also

The All-Party Group on Faith and Society held a session with Leeds Becket University on Wednesday 24th November. At the event, two students from the UK Centre for Events Management, based at the university, put forward their concepts for a National Commemoration Event for the UK to mark the COVID-19 pandemic. During the session, senior lecturers Reverend Ruth Dowson, Dr Ian Lamond and Bernadette Albert, gave some background information about the brief given to the students. Students Olivia Preston-Lee and Beatriz Lobato-Castilla, then presented their

Earlier this year, the Centre for the Study of Christianity & Culture at the University of York produced a report on the value of churches to local communities entitled Churches, COVID-19 and Communities. This was measured primarily through the services and support churches provide to local residents (members and non-members alike), as well as through the experience of loss felt as a result of the closure or restricted activity of churches during the pandemic. The report and subsequent work have looked at four central questions:

On Thursday 11th February, Rt Hon Stephen Timms tabled a debate in Parliament on the response of faith groups during the covid-19 outbreak. Several MPs joined this debate to commend faith communities and faith-based organisations for the excellent and often sacrificial ways in which they have served their communities throughout the past year. Timms drew special attention to the Keeping the Faith report, conducted by the Civil Society Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London, and commissioned by the APPG on Faith and Society with support

The Faith Covenant was set up by the APPG on Faith and Society in order to facilitate open, practical working between faith communities and local authorities, removing mistrust and encouraging collaboration according to a mutually agreed set of guiding principles. Since 2015, 13 local authorities have signed up the Covenant, with many others expressing interest in recent months as a result of the crucial role that faith communities have played in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Faith Covenant works not only to establish an

A new report has recommended that a Faiths Commissioner be appointed to champion faith groups across Government. Keeping the Faith has been published today by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Faith and Society and the Faiths & Civil Society Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London, found that collaboration between local authorities and faith groups dramatically increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey was sent to all 408 local authorities in the UK and 55 in-depth interviews were conducted with local authority leaders and co-ordinators of

The Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Faith and Society are hosting The launch of a new Demos report, ‘Holy Alliances’ Tuesday 3 September • Westminster Refreshments provided If you are interested in attending, please contact [email protected] for more information. In the decade following the 2008 financial crash, there has been a widely acknowledged growth in church social action, as well as a much less-acknowledged rise in partnership working, as churches increasingly link up with non-Christian organisations to meet social need.