Why Faith in Partnership Week?
Faith in Partnership Week is entering it’s fourth year. Over the previous 3 years, the week has seen faith groups, statutory organisations, and even a Faith Minister or two, coming together to celebrate the value and success of faith groups working together with their local councils, their local NHS, their local police force and other statutory bodies.
But why is this important? As we build towards Faith in Partnership Week in September, why do we want a week focused on this topic?
The place of faith as a partner for statutory bodies has been hard won. From a place of squeamishness and a perceived reluctance for working with faith, we are now in a world where faith is able to take its place as part of the VCFSE sector within our local communities and can be part of how a difference is made to our communities. This was never more apparent than during COVID which was a massive catalyst for faith groups working to provide vital help and support, providing their skills and experiences reaching out to communities, and providing access to those who wouldn’t normally have access to messaging.
But this place needs continued maintenance. Relationships need to be sustained; new services need to be convinced of the role that faith can play in reaching communities.
Faith in Partnership Week is about making this case. To celebrate what has already taken place, to challenge us to consider what could happen next. How have you worked in partnership within your community? Who do you want to work with in the future? How will you make this happen? But we don’t want you to feel like you are approaching this on your own. Faith in Partnership Week is also about finding out more, learning from the work done by others in the faith community and considering how this might apply to your own work.
So why not get involved. Run an event celebrating Faith in Partnership in your community. Get involved in someone else’s event. Let’s learn, grow and celebrate the amazing success that we’ve achieved and want to continue to achieve as we work together to make a real difference to our communities.
