It’s Inter Faith Week 2024!
This week is Inter Faith Week 2024, a special week providing a focal point for the fantastic work that is being done across the country by faith communities and others, helping to open inter faith activity up to a wider audience so that more people are made aware of the importance of this vital work and can participate in it.
Despite the Inter Faith Network, who brilliantly organised previous Inter Faith Weeks, having to shut their doors earlier in the year, Inter Faith Week 2024 was still able to go ahead, with events being held across the country.
Inter Faith Week is a busy one for the FaithAction team. We don’t run our own events, but we love to take the opportunity to attend and support events taking place across the country. Here’s a brief overview of what’s been happening.
Monday 11th November – Brighton and Hove re-sign the Faith Covenant
Many local areas use Inter Faith Week as an opportunity to celebrate the work that has been happening between local authorities and faith groups by signing, or re-signing, a Faith Covenant, a set of principles guiding engagement and promoting open, practical working on all levels.
On Monday evening, Brighton and Hove held a ceremony to re-sign their Faith Covenant. First signed in 2018, the Faith Covenant in Brighton has allowed critical engagement between faith groups and the local authority. The Covenant was able to come into its own during COVID, where it was able to provide a mechanism for faith leaders to gain accreditation as Faith Chaplains, allowing them to go into hospitals and other care settings, providing those in need with support.
Tuesday 12th November - Tower Hamlets Inter Faith Forum holds event
Tower Hamlets Inter Faith Forum held an event in Whitechapel to celebrate Inter Faith Week. The event focused on communities living together in harmony, and looked at the how the community and faith landscape of the borough has evolved over time, courtesy of Tower Hamlets Libraries Archives, and speakers reflected upon their own experiences of being part of faith communities. Tower Hamlets Council shared an update on their community cohesion plan, and attendees then had the opportunity to network and visit the stalls hosted by various local organisations.
The FaithAction team is very proud to support THIFF and the team were on hand to support the smooth running of the event.
Wednesday 13th November – Cornwall signs Faith Covenant for the first time and Brent re-signs with a Parliamentary event.
Wednesday was a busy day for Faith Covenants. In Cornwall, FaithAction’s National Executive Director, Daniel Singleton, joined representatives from Cornwall Council, Cornwall Faith Forum and others to celebrate signing a Faith Covenant. Cornwall becomes the 33rd area to sign a Faith Covenant, and the first predominantly rural area to do so. Cornwall is also the first area to have a bi-lingual Covenant, with Cornish appearing as part of the Covenant text alongside English.
On Wednesday evening, members of the team were able to attend a Parliamentary reception to celebrate Brent re-signing their Faith Covenant. The event featured Brent Multi-Faith Forum’s Co-chairs, Rabbi Dr Frank Dabba Smith and Mustafa Field as well as leader of Brent Council, Cllr Mohammed Butt as well as two of Brent’s MPs, Dawn Butler and Georgia Gould. All of the speakers praised the role of Brent’s faith community in making the borough a vibrant and safe place. The event also included young people from the borough.
There was an opportunity to thank outgoing Chair Danny Maher for his hard work with Brent Multi-Faith Forum, and attendees also received an opportunity to tour the House of Commons chamber.
