Belonging

Café Connect – Welcoming Hong Kongers
We have been thrilled to see Café Connect groups launch in three regions of the UK to welcome Hong Kongers into the UK, by providing a place to practise conversational English, make friends, meet local people, find out about systems and services and learn about […]

You’d be daft not to!
Having been working at FaithAction for over a decade, I sometimes have to remind myself that not everyone knows of and appreciates the amazing things that faith groups do, day in, day out. When the APPG on Faith and Society commissioned the report, Keeping the […]

Faithfully responding to crisis?
As the shock of the first week of the Russian invasion of Ukraine starts to fade, we have opportunity to be more considered in our responses. Despite the warnings from Western governments and intelligence services, many of us were shocked when the full-scale Russian invasion […]

Café Connect: Welcoming new arrivals from Hong Kong
FaithAction are very pleased to announce we have been awarded three contracts as part of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Welcome Programme from the Regional VCSE Grant Scheme. The programme will be run through partner organisations in […]

Faith’s response to the Afghan refugee crisis
Faith-based organisation and places of worship have been quick to respond to the needs of Afghan refugees. In one example, Bushey United Synagogue was “swamped” with 3000 parcels of aid being donated in 3 days following what started as a small, private group Facebook appeal. […]

Faith, Hoops and Charity and the role of faith groups in levelling up
In the first of a new series of blogs, Will Watt, Founder of State of Life and co-author of the House of Good report for the National Churches Trust and contributor to FaithAction’s “Building Back Better: The Role of Faith” Conference last year, looks at […]

What brings togetherness?
As we look beyond the pandemic, much discussion centres on how we keep the community togetherness that’s emerged through the crisis. The pandemic has brought strangers and acquaintances together, finding creative solutions to meet immediate needs in terms of food, medication and loneliness throughout the […]

All together now… or are we?
Have you ever had a song that you can’t get out of your head, a brainworm that will not go away? All Together Now by The Farm has been that song for me. It was a Christmas hit about solidarity in the First World War—the […]

“Freedom Day”: a time for faithful neighbours
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that from 19th July 2021 most of the remaining COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted. Once we get past the predictable political back and forth, which forms the theatre of any government announcement, we see that the mismatch of […]

Sajid Javid—What now for the new Health and Social Care Secretary?
The arrival of Sajid Javid as the new Health and Social Care Secretary could signal a new opportunity for the government’s approach to health inequalities. At a Parliamentary event celebrating Creative English, Mr. Javid recalled attending doctor’s appointments as a child to interpret for his […]