Belonging

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

It’s Loneliness Awareness Week in the UK, and we’re keen to hear from you: what does loneliness mean to you and your organisation? How have you been tackling loneliness this past year? What challenges do you see in the weeks and months ahead? The background: […]

This experience that no one could ever have imagined that the world would go through… it has really made a lot of people appreciate the small things in life, the really small things, you know? Seeing people’s faces again. Going out for a coffee with […]

I was due to film a short video at a studio space adjacent to a local Men’s Shed. Max met me at the door. After a COVID-secure greeting, he enthusiastically showed me into his workshop and through to the room I would be using. We […]

When we embarked on the first lockdown, we knew it was going to be really important for people’s well-being to find ways to continue to connect. One expression of this has been adapting our Creative English programme to run online. Little did we know, when […]