“Faith communities are often the first to arrive after a disaster and the last to leave”

That was one of the lasting memories I have from the “Interfaith Network Day” in March. The theme was “Working in partnership for the common good”, and the whole day was excellent. That particular quote, and the one below, comes from the National Emergencies Trust – which I’d never heard of before.

“Churches, mosques and other faith buildings are often the focus of community support in emergencies”. After the Grenfell Tower disaster, no fewer than 10 agencies were involved, which inevitably led to confusion and delays.

Other highlights of the day included:

Interfaith Week always begins on Remembrance Sunday. We talked about how can other faiths be involved in Remembrance Day commemorations…

Faith-based charities and secular agencies. “Muslim Charities Forum” was highlighted – now a network of 300 charities, and growing. I loved its statement: “Support, connect, represent”

The workshop on business involvement was inspiring! Can we apply some of it here? It was mainly talking about diversity training in business environments. My experience is that some diversity training is excellent – but it tends to be weakest on religious diversity. One of the speakers was from the “Faith & Belief Forum”. They talked about the Charter for Faith & Belief Inclusion Network.

The National Emergencies Trust. Have you heard of it? I hadn’t. I may try to get a speaker to come and speak to WIFF. It was formed after the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017. Formally launched in 2019, and COVID was the first emergency it had to deal with.

Stephen Timms, MP, spoke on “Keeping the faith”. He chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group on Faith & Society, which looked at how partnerships can be, and should be, formed between faith groups and local authorities, during and beyond the pandemic. Traditionally councils have been suspicious about faith groups – are they seeking to convert? If we involve one faith group, should we involve more? Read the full report here

Thank you, IFN, for an excellent day!