June 14, 2010 • 11:48 am Comments Off
A little while ago Owen Spencer-Thomas MBE interviewed Jenny Kartupelis , Director of the East of England Faiths Council, who had just been appointed to a panel of experts to advise the Secretary of State for Communities on faith matters.
Now Jenny has been made an MBE herself in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to inter-faith relations.
My warmest congratulations to Jenny and to all her colleagues at EEFC: the honour is well deserved indeed.
Filed under: Cambridgeshire, community
June 4, 2010 • 4:38 pm 1
Poor Cumbria! The communities there as resilient as you can get, but how much they seem to be having thrown at them at the moment. Some of the tragedies go with the territory. If you have amazing mountains and lakes, you’ll have terrible floods as well.
The roads that wind their way through the hills are relatively empty but sometimes all the more dangerous for that, and just as the flooded school above is the one our children went to and where I was chair of governors, so we lost friends of our own to the A66, and Patrick Short who died along with the school-children was churchwarden of a nearby parish (see the Church Times report).
But the shootings came out of left field. What can one say? Our friend Bishop James of Carlisle has spoken of ‘Our long search for answers’ and says that ‘Only with faith can we begin to grapple with something as awful and difficult to understand as this.’ Professor David Ford in his big book on Christian Wisdom, which I happen to be reading at the moment, leads on how cries are often where we start, in all their rawness and diversity. We didn’t know any of the people directly affected, but we share their cry.
Here is a prayer for their communities, written by some of their own clergy:
O God, Creator of us all,
in your Son, Jesus you have walked the way of darkness and death,
you send your Spirit of healing and truth to all in need
We pray for those injured or bereaved by inexplicable violence
May your gracious compassion surround and uphold them
We pray for all individuals and communities whose lives have been changed by this tragedy
May your sustaining love be present in all expressions of support offered and help received
We give thanks for the commitment and dedication of the emergency services
And pray that they may be given the strength they need to serve others
We give thanks for the resilience and courage of West Cumbrians
And pray that the bonds of community care and concern may hold fast at this time
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
And let our cry come unto you
Amen.
You can find the Cumbrian Church leaders’ statement here, but let me leave you with some words from an email from a former parishioner:
Yet another awful incident for our communities. People here were asked to stay indoors, and everyone felt a bit vulnerable. Someone working in the special X-ray and ultrasound dept. at West Cumberland Hospital, saw terrible sights and said World War II must have been something like what they experienced yesterday – certainly, to her, it was dreadful. No one could leave the hospital, and come into it except the casualties, until the gunman was found dead.
May 23, 2010 • 9:00 am Comments Off
St Gregory’s Church at Bedale is inhabited by a fine collection of bears, who help bring to life the many people who go to make up its community – brides and bellringers, clergy and choristers (pictured here) and many more.
A good idea for visitors old and young, and one that other churches could easily copy. I suppose each group or person is invited to contribute and dress their own bear, with some seamstress help in the background for non-sewers like me.
Filed under: Churches, community, Teddy Bears
March 31, 2010 • 5:38 pm Comments Off
Funding has been announced for faith groups to develop their voice and capacity to challenge and engage Government, along with a prize fund for Innovation in Faith-Based Social Action.
£1m Faith Leadership in Government Fund
National faith based organisations are invited to bid for a share of £1m funding that help them develop a bigger voice and strengthen their capacity to challenge and engage Government. The money is focused on making sure these organisations have the tools they need to do the job and could be used for activities including training in fundraising.
£50,000 Innovation in Faith-Based Social Action Prize
The prize is being developed to help publicise and reward faith based projects which have not yet received the recognition they deserve. Prizes will be awarded to faith projects who are finding new ways to meet local problems, bring people together and meet the needs of local communities.
Further information is available on the CLG website http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1507453
Myth busting’ guidance has also been issued for local government on working with faith groups.
New ‘myth busting’ guidance for local government on working with faith groups
At times there has been a reluctance or confusion on the part of some local authorities to commission services from faith based groups and there are concerns amongst many groups and organisations including faith groups that they are disadvantaged when trying to access funding. It is clear that greater clarity is needed if local authorities and faith groups are going to have confidence they need to work together. Faith-based bodies are entitled, like any other suitably qualified bodies, to be awarded funding to deliver public services. A paper dealing with some common myths entitled Ensuring a level playing field: Funding faith based organisations to provide publicly funded services, will be launched at the conference. The paper is intended to deal with current confusion about these arrangements.
You can download the guidance here, or read it below.
ENSURING A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD: FUNDING FAITH-BASED ORGANISATIONS TO PROVIDE PUBLICLY FUNDED SERVICES
Some myths ‘busted’
Faith-based bodies and religious organisations make a significant contribution to the well-being of society. They are eligible, like any other suitably qualified bodies, to be awarded a tender to deliver publicly funded services, or to be given a grant to carry out a project of benefit to the wider community or to their own members or constituency of supporters.
However, a number of myths surround the funding of faith-based bodies to deliver publicly funded services and can obstruct the fair access of such bodies to public funding and tendering opportunities as part of the third sector. Some of these myths, followed by the facts in each case, are set out below.
These notes are a positive attempt to ensure that there is a level playing field. They are addressed primarily to purchasers and funders of services in local government.
Myth 1: "We’re not allowed to give public money to religious organisations."
Fact: There is no law against funding faith-based bodies, nor is there any Government policy discouraging this. Whilst it should be transparent that funds will not primarily be used to promote the specifically religious activities of the funded body, there is a difference between solely religious activity and wider faith based work for the common good. Often faith-based bodies are best placed to deliver services.
Myth 2: "Faith-based bodies don’t have the necessary expertise or ‘clout’ to deliver services."
Fact: On the contrary, faith-based groups often have the experience, ‘reach’, buildings and volunteers that can enable highly effective delivery of services. Many among their number operate on a large scale and have led innovation in housing, social care and the children and family sectors to name but three.
Myth 3: "They will use public money for proselytising or worship.”
Fact: Faith-based service providers will want to be honest and open about their religious convictions and/or practices and for others to recognise that their faith or religion is a prime grounding or motivation for their social action. However, they understand that, public money is not for use for purely religious purposes. Making the provision of services conditional on the unwanted taking part in an act of worship would not be acceptable. Local authorities and other parts of government at the local level may wish to reassure themselves that such conditionality would not apply.
Myth 4: "They wouldn’t want to help people they don’t approve of”
Fact: The equalities legislation is clear: religious organisations providing public services are subject to the requirements of discrimination law in the same way as other organisations, save for the limited exceptions designed to ensure that a person’s right to hold and manifest a religious belief is not interfered with.
Discrimination against faith-based providers in a tendering process could, however, be unlawful.
Myth 5: "Single group funding has negative implications for community cohesion."
Fact: Faith-based organisations and religious organisations can be funded to deliver services to a wide cross section of the community, such as homeless shelters, youth clubs, health and social care, health promotion or pregnancy advice and relationship counselling services.
In particular circumstances they (and other identity-, cause- or issue-focused bodies) may be funded to work primarily with their own community. It is not unlawful for a local authority to contract with an organisation to provide a service to a particular community (e.g. Kosher meals on wheels to Jewish old people), as part of service provision for the local population as a whole. Sometimes this can enhance service access to especially vulnerable groups in society.
Local authority funders may wish to encourage faith-based service providers to co-operate, where appropriate, with other faith traditions or communities with which it may have racial, social or theological differences. They will no doubt also wish to encourage the wider voluntary sector to collaborate with faith based bodies so that skills, access and resources can be pooled.
Myth 6: "Faith based groups only work with their own communities."
Fact: Many faith-based organisations are only too willing to extend the help they offer to others in the wider community. For example, churches which have been embedded in local communities for centuries hold precepts that explicitly encourage them to regard themselves as part of the wider community and naturally extend the help they offer to that community. This is true of many other communities also.
Myth 7: "Funding will imply support for the religious views/doctrine of the organisation."
Fact: This issue is not confined to faith based organisations. Local authorities and other bodies may want to include a disclaimer with any grant emphasising that funding does not imply support for views/doctrine, but in any case this implication is unlikely to be drawn. Local public bodies would fund only those functions which they consider to be of benefit to the community. Funding to organisations to deliver services does not imply endorsement of their overall organisational aims – whether they are religious or not.
Myth 8: "This is too much of a cosy relationship between faith and government."
Fact: Not at all, it is about local government and other parts of the local state, especially where Total Place is active, supporting those who are well placed to deliver the services which it is obliged to ensure are available locally.
Myth 9: "It means that non faith-based service providers in the third sector will be disadvantaged."
Fact: Not true. If other voluntary sector groups can offer the best service, the contract would go to them.
Myth 10: “If you engage with one faith community you will have always to engage with all the others in the same way and all together.”
Fact: Not true. Whilst public authorities must not discriminate against religion and belief organisations in matters of engagement and the letting of contracts, there are great differences in scale, capacity and skills between faith communities in different parts of the country, just as there are across the wider third sector. Faith communities should be engaged with as appropriate to this context. For example, in some regions or sectors a faith community or religious organisation may be able to take on a large service contract while another community in the same area, or the same community or organisation in another region, may not yet be ready to do so.
March 31, 2010 • 5:09 pm Comments Off
The March edition of the Growth in Cambridgeshire e-newsletter is just out. Follow the links to read the stories:
Growth sites planning appeal dismissed by Secretary of State
New town gets £1.5m jump start
Housing needs helped by grant funding
New education centre arrives at Paxton Pits
More affordable homes in South Cambridgeshire
House builder on board for Trumpington Meadows
Wicken Fen highly commended in Accessible Britain Awards
Filed under: community
March 16, 2010 • 8:58 am Comments Off
The 2010 People’s Millions competition will give communities throughout the UK the opportunity to win local public support and share in £3.8 million of Lottery funding.
Grants of between £20,000 and £50,000 will be provided for projects that transform local environments and offer opportunities or facilities for people to take part and enjoy their local area. This will include initiatives focusing on buildings, amenities, public and green spaces and natural habitats.
Voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, local authorities, schools and health organisations are invited to apply.
Head-to-head competitions will take place in the local ITV regions in November, when the public will be able to cast their vote for the projects they want to win. There will be a total of 75 winning projects this year; four awards and one bonus award for the runner-up in each of the 15 ITV regions.
Timetable:
More details can be found at: http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/about-the-peoples-millions
March 8, 2010 • 6:48 pm 2
GCP have issued their March 1020 newsletter, which is online here. They lead with their quarterly economic report read more .…
Filed under: community, Current affairs
January 24, 2010 • 12:00 pm Comments Off
Earlier this month the Government announced the appointment of a new panel of experts to advise the Secretary of State for Communities, John Denham, on faith matters. The 13 new advisers come from a range of backgrounds and faith perspectives. They include serving Bishops, academics and local activists.
Photo: Jenny Kartupelis being interviewed by Owen Spencer-Thomas MBE, who was himself recently awarded the degree of DLitt by Westminster University for services to broadcast journalism.
One of these new panel members lives in Cambridgeshire and works closely with the Diocese of Ely. Jenny Kartupelis is Director of the East of England Faiths Council, which represents faith interests to government and actively supports faith and interfaith work in the community.
Jenny is also a Fellow of the Faiths and Civil Society Unit, a national centre that brings together policy, practice and research relating to faith in the public realm. She spoke to Owen Spencer-Thomas about her recent appointment.
OS-T Jenny congratulations on your appointment. How did you react to the news?
JK I was very pleased. As I come from one from the regions where so much work is happening ‘on the ground’, it gives me the opportunity to contribute an additional interfaith voice with practical experience.
OS-T Were you surprised?
JK Well, yes. Certainly surprised to have been chosen as I believe there were several hundred applications for the 13 places. The new advisers come from a range of backgrounds and faith perspectives and include serving Bishops, academics and local activists. I gather we were selected for our commitment to faith and the diverse experience we have had in our chosen careers.
I first heard about the appointment in late December, and it was formally announced on 6 January.
OS-T Of course, you’ve already had considerable experience as Director of the East of England Faiths Council.
JK Yes, we represent faith interests. The Council gets actively involved with faith-based social action and local interfaith groups by providing training and networking. We’ve produced our own publications, for instance, Planning Guidance for Faith Groups and also information for local authorities on working with a range of faith traditions.
OS-T You’re now a member of the Panel, what will be involved?
JK We’re working on the finer details, but overall the remit is to enhance Ministerial understanding of the faith perspective. For instance, we’re being asked to advise on big issues, such as social justice, the economy and climate change.
Our task is to provide a ‘sounding board’ and give advice on how to encourage a deeper and broader relationship between the Government and faith communities nationally.
OS-T What do family and colleagues think of the appointment?
JK I have been so touched by the many kind words people have sent, on learning of the appointment. I do hope I can live up to the responsibility to bring something of use to the Panel. Certainly for me, it will be a real learning experience, to hear the views of people who are very knowledgeable in their field – I’m certainly looking forward to working with them.
OS-T Interestingly, you have a Public Relations background.
JK Yes, I established a PR consultancy in Cambridge back in 1987, which went on to win a number of national awards. I still retain an active interest in PR.
OS-T What one piece of advice would you give the Churches of our region?
JK The church leaders in this region have really led the way in inter faith matters, by inviting leaders of other faiths to join them in forming the East of England Faiths Council, and by supporting its work in so many ways. They’ve done much to dispel the largely unfounded belief that faith has created divisions in society.
I wouldn’t presume to give them advice, but I would urge all churches to continue to look outwards and seek ways of working with other faiths that bring benefits to our society as a whole and especially its most vulnerable members.
OS-T Thank you very much, Jenny. We wish you every success in your new appointment and look forward to hearing how your new role develops.
20 January 2010
The members of the panel are:
Owen Spencer-Thomas can be contacted on owen.spencer-thomas@ely.anglican.org
Filed under: community, Current affairs, faith, Diocese of Ely, East of England
December 7, 2009 • 5:46 pm Comments Off
Electronic Bulletin –December 2009
Welcome to the FaithNetEast e-bulletin: news, training, funding opportunities and events for faith groups and those with an interest in faith issues across the East of England Region. Please let us know if you have events planned for the coming months that you would like to see included, or post your events directly on the new noticeboard facility on the FaithNetEast website www.faithneteast.org
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Community Empowerment: The Regional Empowerment Partnership is holding a range of events to help people get involved in local decision making, such as Councillor Briefings, Learning Events, Project Visits.
A full listing of the events can be viewed at http://www.inspire-east.org.uk/listofevents2009-2010.aspx?Area=NETWORK6.
Holocaust Memorial Day, 27 January 2010
marks the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp.
HMD is an opportunity for people of all faiths to come together to remember those of their own and other faith traditions who have been victims of hatred, exclusion and genocide.
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust has produced a series of Faith and Inter Faith readings from a number of religious traditions and includes suggested prayers and readings which focus on individual experiences and beliefs. You can download this document from the website http://www.hmd.org.uk/resources/item/346/
If you are planning on marking HMD 2010 you can order a pack free of charge http://www.hmd.org.uk/campaignpack.php – this includes information and resources to assist you in commemorating HMD.
There is also a short film for HMD 2010 narrated by Daniel Radcliffe available free of charge which can be ordered by calling 0845 838 1883 or emailing enquiries@hmd.org.uk – the film features three Holocaust survivors including Iby Knill, a Christian who was arrested for her resistance work and remains an active member of her Church today.
Contact the HMDT Team if you would like to know more: Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, PO Box 61074, London SE1P 5BX
Tel: 0845 838 1883
PEACE CHILD ALPHA OMEGA: an intercultural journey through faith, Ely Cathedral, 31 January 2010, 7.30pm
Peace Child presents a new musical show that links people of different faiths, through a discussion of current threats such as climate change, war, racism and other issues to see how faith may help to find solutions. With Ely Choral Society and choirs from local schools. Multifaith dialogue is encouraged throughout the evening – there will be an exhibition featuring different faiths during the performance and after the event there will be a question and answer session with faith leaders and refreshments will be served.
Tickets for the show are now on sale and may be purchased online at www.tickets.elycathedral.org, by email at BOXOFFICE@ely.cathedral.org or by telephone at 01353 660349.
Akashi, Many Voices, One World Festival, Cambridge, 21 March 2010, 2-6 pm An inspiring showcase of ideas and action in response to climate change at the Many Voices One World Festival at Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge CB2 8HE. Akashi are planning contributions from many faith and cultural with family-friendly activities, art, drama, workshops and presentations. They are looking for enthusiastic people to get involved in all aspects of this exciting event. Call Siobhan on 01223 971353 if you would like to be part of it.
Faithworks Conference 2010, ‘360° – Building Whole Communities’, Enfield, London, 26-28 February 2010
Around the UK Christian projects and churches are working together with schools, local authorities, health professionals and the police to bring 360° – social, spiritual, emotional, educational and physical – transformation to their communities.
Visit the website for further information on the conference including details on seminars and prices, to book on line or to download a booking form: www.faithworks.info/form.asp?id=3838
Book by phone on: 08456 522511
The Faiths in Action ROUND TWO – Funding Application Round is now open. This is a great opportunity to get funding for your inter faith projects!
Faiths in Action funds both new and existing projects. Projects that support women and young people are particularly welcome. Groups can also apply in partnership with another group or organisation if this helps the project.
There is no deadline and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis but funds must be spent by March 2010. For more information and to find out how to apply, please visit
http://www.cdf.org.uk/web/guest/faiths-in-action
Any queries, call the helpline on 01223 406533 or email fundingadmin@cdf.org.uk
If you feel that you would benefit from an ‘advice surgery’ to help with your FiA application, please do let us know. If there is enough interest we can work with CDF to provide a guidance event.
The Henry Smith Charity
Offer a range of grants for projects that could be relevant to you e.g. projects providing culturally appropriate services to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities; including those that promote integration and access to mainstream services and projects providing advocacy, advice and support to refugees and asylum seekers, and those promoting integration.
Visit: www.henrysmithcharity.org.uk for further details.
Funding Central, the NCVO-run website that lists funding opportunities for charities, has started a matchmaking service designed to help third sector organisations find partners so they can jointly bid for grants or contracts. More information on ‘Find a Partner’ is available at http://www.fundingcentral.org.uk/page.aspx?SP=Find_Partner
The Lloyds TSB Foundation Community Programme funds small and medium underfunded charities working at the heart of communities to tackle disadvantage. They would particularly welcome more enquiries from Bedfordshire and Suffolk. To view the full guidelines for charities applying for a grant, and to find out if your charity might be eligible, please visit www.lloydstsbfoundations.org.uk
Faith and governance: The Charity Commission has published a report for all faith-based charities to help them establish strong trustee bodies and good practice. You can access the report at http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/tcc/faithgov.asp
You are invited to participate in FaithXchange, a new network for researchers, research-minded practitioners and policy makers working in the area of ‘young people and faith-based social action’. The network is hosted by the Faiths and Civil Society Unit at Goldsmiths College in partnership with DeMontfort University.
More information including details of a forthcoming meeting at Derby Multifaith Centre see: http://www.fbrn.org.uk./news/you-are-invited-participate-faithxchange
Equality Practice Survey commissioned by MENTER
Please take time to complete this short survey of employers operating in the private, public and the third sector. This survey is being conducted to find out more about current equality practice in the East of England Region.
By completing this survey you will help shape future services and employment practice in the region.
The survey takes less than ten minutes to complete and you will be entered into a prize draw. To access the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=1cB_2fJ_2bVfrUFdERNkg4YEmA_3d_3d
For more information contact: equalitiesintheeast@googlemail.com or visit www.menter.org.uk
Free Faiths IT Helpline for the East of England
To support faith and inter faith groups who want to overcome IT barriers, the East of England Faiths Council has teamed up with i-TRUST – a social enterprise specialising in support for voluntary bodies – to provide straightforward, personal advice on IT. If you need assistance, advice or training, call 07865 971221 between 10am and 12 noon Mondays and Thursdays, and between 3.00pm and 5.00pm Tuesdays.
Send email queries to faithsithelp@i-trust.org.uk
The Diocese of Hereford has launched a Toolkit - A Community Development Approach to the Use of Church Buildings - which takes churches through the whole process of opening up their church for wider community use. Most of the material is of equal relevance to this region and any form of community building both in a rural or urban setting. The Toolkit can be downloaded from the Diocese of Hereford website:
http://www.hereford.anglican.org/churchgoers/community_partnership_and_funding/about_us_and_latest_news/toolkit.aspx
The Advancing Assets for Communities programme offers expert support to local authorities and their third sector partners to develop joint plans for community asset transfer.
It can help Councils processing requests made by communities to transfer land and buildings into third sector management and ownership. It can also provide practical support from community enterprise practitioners to demonstrate the feasibility of community asset transfer.
If you would like to discuss the programme in greater detail, or if you require any other information, advice or support in relation to community asset transfer, please contact the ATU team:
www.atu.org.uk or 0845 345 4564 or info@atu.org.uk
Advancing Assets for Communities: Round four is now open for applications. Submission deadline: 22nd January 2010.
The ATU is offering an appraisal service for all applications, if you would like to take advantage of this service forms must be received no later than 22nd December 2009.
And Finally…
The DFID Community Linking Programme (DCLP)
DFID are carrying out a survey to find out how many community groups in the UK are already in touch with a community group in a developing country, what activities they do together and what support they would like. The survey findings will help shape the DFID Community Linking Programme (DCLP), which will launch in 2010.
There are concerns that faith groups may be under-represented in the survey, so do take the time to feed in information so that faith projects are better supported in the future.
Take part in the survey at: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB229P53DDJRH
DCLP is a new programme funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and is delivered by a consortium of British Council, the Institute for Community Cohesion (iCoCo), the Inter Faith Network for the UK (IFN) and Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).
For more informationon the programme please contact dclp@britishcouncil.org; phone 0161 957 7790 (10am-4pm, Monday to Friday); or visit www.dfid.gov.uk/dclp
Filed under: community
November 13, 2009 • 3:20 pm Comments Off
Come and hear Mike Clargo of Reconxile speak on how local churches can use their goodwill and business knowledge to save third world lives. Using Reconxile’s excellent training material they can give a community in the developing world not just a hand-out but a hand-up. 30th November 7.30pm at All Saints Church, Hartford.
Filed under: Christianity, Church of England, community, World Development
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