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Welcome to Faith Northwest

Launch of Cheshire Inter Faith Network

Following the sucessful launch event in Crewe on 19th November 2009, the following letter was sent to all stakeholders:

23^rd December 2009

Dear Colleague

Don't Lose Faith in Cheshire, 19^th November 2009
Feedback and Follow Up

I write on behalf of the Cheshire Inter Faith Network Steering Group to thank all those who participated in the first Cheshire wide inter faith event held on 19^th November, 2009 at the Municipal Buildings, Crewe. This letter gives a brief account of the meeting for those unable to attend, summarises feedback from participants and gives an initial sense of possible ways forward.

The aims of the November meeting were as follows:

to mark the first National Inter Faith Week with a Cheshire event
to create opportunities for people of different faiths to work together
to encourage statutory bodies to increase their engagement with faith communities
to highlight existing interfaith work in Cheshire
to begin the process of creating an inclusive mechanism for statutory bodies to relate to the increasingly diverse faith landscape
to launch a Cheshire wide Inter Faith Network and build its database as a first step towards achieving this aim
to raise the question of the most appropriate inter faith structures required by the reconfigured Cheshire Local authority boundaries
to present the latest research by the Northwest Regional Development Agency: Faith in England's Northwest: how faith communities contribute to social and economic well being (NWDA 2009)
to encourage local faith community engagement in existing publicly funded strategic faith initiatives such as Faiths4Change and the NW Multi Faith Tourism Association

The Conference was introduced by Mark Thompson, County Ecumenical Development Officer for Cheshire. He set the event within the context of the changing faith landscape in 21^st Century Britain and emerging opportunities for faith community engagement with statutory bodies. Monsignor John Devine, Churches' Officer for the North West gave a presentation of the recently published research Faith in England's Northwest: How Faith Communities Contribute to Economic and Social Wellbeing (NWDA, 2009). The research demonstrated how faith communities instinctively deliver many of the same outcomes sought by statutory bodies. This was followed by presentations on two publicly funded faith based projects Faiths4Change and the North West Multi Faith Tourism Association. Annie Merry and Joanna Booth explained how their organisations could directly benefit faith communities within Cheshire. At a local level, T K Al Jorani spoke a about the Harmony Project, Chester and Revd Stephen Kingsnorth summarised the approach adopted by the Warrington Council of Faiths and how elements of that might be replicated elsewhere.

102 attended, 119 registered (174 were invited). 74 individuals completed evaluation forms.

Feedback was extremely positive.

'Such a hopeful gathering. I feel encouraged and inspired by the inputs. A lot accomplished in a short space of time.' 'Encouraging event - thank you.' 'A good feeling knowing that faith is alive and well and such good work is being done in the North West.' 'The most informative and thought provoking session I've attended for a long time - thank you.' 'Good to learn of the variety of organisations out there and network with them. Will be using the knowledge of some of these organisations in my work.' 'Thank you for setting this up.' 'Given me lost of ideas.' 'It was a privilege to be here and meet people if only briefly.'
Some thought the event was too short and others too long! 'Could have been more beneficial if the time was a bit longer and included workshops.' 'The timing did not fit the publicity (originally suggested 12-2pm) on arrival the official finishing time was posted at 12.15pm.'
Some challenges were identified: 'Challenge will be to encourage faith leaders who have a restrictive gate keeping role and are reluctant to embrace a more community focussed role beyond their congregation - and also to recognise cultural diversity in the area.' 'There are already plenty of projects going on in Cheshire - we need a way of identifying them first - so don't get tempted to re-create the wheel.' 'I look forward to analysis and feedback.'
Some participants identified groups absent from the event who were in fact present or who had been invited and failed to attend. A list of those invited and those attending is attached to this letter.
An initial reading of the 74 completed feedback forms indicates support for a range of options. 19 were supportive of a Cheshire wide body; 36 favoured a combination of local and county wide, 4 suggested 'other' solutions while there were 2 abstentions.

Pending further discussion, the Steering Group have initially identified the following as existing or potential 'hubs' for future interfaith activity: Halton, Warrington, Chester and Ellesmere Port, Northwich and Winsford, Crewe, Congleton, Macclesfield. They feel that any future structures should cater for the particular needs of each locality and match local authority boundaries. Please feel free to send us your reactions to these initial findings. Please also let us know if there are any gaps in the list of those who were invited to or attended the November meeting so that they can in turn become part of the way forward. These lists form the database of the Cheshire Inter faith Network. This year the celebrations of Eid-Ul-Adha, Hanukah and Christmas almost converge. We wish members of all faiths and all people of good will every blessing at this time along with best wishes for 2010.

Yours sincerely

Rev Monsignor John Devine
Churches' Officer for the North West

On behalf of:
T.K. Al Jorani (Muslim), Chester Inter Faith Group
Trevor Beckett, Ellesmere Port Churches Together
Eric Bowers (Baha'i), Chester Inter Faith Group
Lakhbir Gossal (Sikh), Warrington Council of Faiths;
Rev Stephen Kingsnorth (Christian), Warrington Council of Faiths),
Cedric Knipe (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)
Keith Rycroft (Quaker), Chester Inter Faith Group
Carlo Schroder (Inter Faith Development Officer, North West Forum of Faiths)
Mark Thompson (Churches Together in Cheshire)

A link to this letter can also be found in the new dedicated page on this website.

http://www.faithnorthwest.org.uk/cheshire-inter-faith-network.html

Part 1 of the Regional Strategy was published on 4th January 2010 and will be open for an 8 week consultation throughout January and February 2010. To download the document and/or take part in the consultation please go to:

http://www.nwregionalstrategy.com/Home