Faith Covenants must ‘dovetail’ with new Civil Society Covenant
Daniel Singleton, the CEO of Faith Action which encourages faith groups to engage in social action on the front line, has welcomed the government’s Civil Society Covenant, which was launched last week. The initiative aims to enable partnerships between government at all levels, charities and volunteer organisations, “the eyes, ears and voice of the people”, to work together on projects for “long-term, systemic change”. The Covenant idea is similar to Faith Covenants, promoted in recent years by Faith Action, committing local authorities and faith groups to work together for similar societal impact. Mr Singleton is now a member of an advisory group to steer the work of the new Civil Society Covenant, along with Fadi Itani, CEO of the Muslim Charities Forum and 13 other civic leaders. In a comment on Faith Action’s website, Mr Singleton says: “the Civil Society Covenant should work well within a context of Faith Covenants, but it will be important for local Faith Covenant areas to look at how their work can dovetail with that of the Civil Society Covenant. Faith Covenant areas have a responsibility to be a pathfinder for the expression of Civil Society Covenants locally”. He has raised questions about future funding, saying that “Local partnerships” is a new idea and wonders whether this means “there will be resources for funding things like Faith Covenants”. But despite these concerns, he is encouraged by the government’s initiative, because there is a large-scale buy-in from ministers and cabinet members, and he believes it is genuine in intent. He has identified the challenges of all involved being able to disagree on policy, the importance of understanding roles on all sides and the need for mutual trust.
Charities’ link with faith ‘baked into the framework’ of law
British Muslims contribute £200 million to charitable projects each year, an indication of how the Muslim faith and charities are “inextricably intertwined”, according to the chief executive of the Charity Commission, David Holdsworth. Addressing the Muslim Charities Convention, where 300 Muslim led charities gathered to explore the contributions and challenges faced by British Muslims in the charity sector, he said the bond between faith and charity “has been baked into the framework of the law that has defined charity in the UK for centuries”. Fadi Itani, chief executive of the Muslim Charities Forum, which runs the convention, issued a challenge to attendees: “We need to stop being delivered by fundraising, by numbers, by how many people have been fed and so on, We need to be led by smarter impacts for our programmes that change lives.” Read Maira Butt’s report on the Convention here
Churches urge reform of ‘failing’ criminal justice system
The Prison Advice and Care Trust, which speaks for the Church of England, the Catholic Church, Quakers, the Free Churches Group and others, has issued a report calling on the government to tackle a failing criminal justice system. The report, “Picking up the Pieces”, urges the government to invest in initiatives to tackle the root causes of crime – many of which, it says, are already being delivered by faith communities. It calls for more support for the children and families of prisoners, investment in restorative justice which help reduce re-offending, and more resources for faith-based communities already engaged in this work. Church Times report here
Attacks escalate against Christians in the West Bank
The Telegraph carries a report by foreign news reporter, Iona Cleave, on the plight of Christians in the West Bank and Gaza, who face repeated attacks by Israeli settlers. The Rev Bashar Fawadleh, the parish priest of the Church of St George in Taybeh, the last majority Christian town on the West Bank, told the story of a fire fanned by leaf blowers which almost reached the church, followed in subsequent days by men arriving with assault rifles. He said this was designed to frighten Christians and ten families have left within he past two years. The report says “The once-flourishing Christian community in the West Bank has dramatically shrunk to less than two per cent of the population as many emigrated abroad to escape the violence and religious discrimination”. The report is here
Jewish comedians’ Edinburgh fringe show cancelled
Jewish comedians Rachel Creeger and Phillip Simon have been told their performances at the Edinburgh fringe have been cancelled due to safety concerns. Jewish News reports there were concerns because of additional security measures required over threats to Jewish acts. Ms Creeger said this was part of an ongoing problem faced by Jewish performers: “We are being cancelled and often silently boycotted.” She has previously written that “since October 7, virtually every Jewish performer I know has witnessed antisemitism in the industry and in recent months the situation has escalated. I’ve seen threads on social media targeting Jewish performers and warning them that Zionists are not welcome, that they should beware of setting foot in Edinburgh”.
Story of the Jesus Army told in BBC documentaries this weekend
The story of “The Jesus Army”, a cult which was founded in 1987, with members who lived in a commune in Northampton, evangelised on the streets from a double decker bus and ordered its members to live according to rigid moral codes, is to be told in a BBC documentary this Sunday and Monday evenings. In advance, the Guardian speaks to a former member who went on to start a Facebook group in which multiple cases of abuse came to light. The founder, Noel Stanton died aged 82 in 2006 and Northamptonshire Police launch Operation Lifeboat to investigate the allegations. Investigators found that one in six children within the Jesus Army community experienced sexual abuse. 539 individuals were named as alleged perpetrators, and the trust accepted responsibility for 264 of them, including 61 per cent who were former church leaders. The Guardian article is here. The BBC programmes are on iplayer here.
Year of enlightenment at Lichfield Cathedral
Lichfield Cathedral is launching an annual festival of talks, interviews and discussion entitled “Enlighten at Lichfield”, considering what dialogue looks like in a contested world. Speakers including Prof Diarmaid MacCulloch, Prof Alec Ryrie, BBC journalist Nick Higham, and Sarah Ogilvie former editor of the Oxford English Dictionary will address “the pressing issues of our day, from truth and technology to justice, division, and belief”. Canon Dr Gregory Platten, leading on the festival, said: ‘We live in a contested age, and we urgently need spaces for rigorous, respectful, and even uncomfortable conversation. The Enlightenment spirit was never about easy agreement—it was about a courageous seeking after truth. This festival seeks to revive that same spirit, and whilst in the values of faith, open to everyone.”
Crowdfunding campaign to buy Cwm Rhonda chapel
A crowdfunding campaign has been set up to buy Capel Rhondda in Hopkinstown, near Pontypridd, the chapel where Cwm Rhondda, or Bread of Heaven, was first sung. The Guardian reports that the composer John Hughes wrote the hymn in 1907 to celebrate a new organ at the chapel, but dwindling congregations meant the Baptist Union put it up for sale two months ago, for £47,000. A local group is trying to buy it back for the community by raising funds online, with a deadline of Monday. Guardian story here
