The Inter Faith Network

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COVID-19 Online dialogue and other inter faith activity

This page includes examples of some of the ways that Inter Faith Network member bodies are continuing inter faith dialogue, meetings and activity during this time.

 

2021

 

2020

  • The Council of Christians and Jews participated in Yom HaShoah UK's national commemoration by delivering an online learning session on Christian-Jewish Relations in the Aftermath of the Shoah. CCJ were joined by two alumni of CCJ’s Yad Vashem seminars for church leaders, who reflected on the ways they are encouraging their Christian communities to remember the Holocaust and engage in positive and meaningful Jewish-Christian relations. 
  • The Council of Christians and Jews have introduced a new initiative called 'Hope for a Tree' to promote Jewish-Christian relations during this time. They will be providing scripture reflections, book reviews, and resources for further study on particular topics. They are also encouraging others to join in the conversation from home and inviting them to share scriptures that are sustaining them during the lockdown. 
  • The Faith & Belief Forum has worked with Barking and Dagenham Council throughout May to deliver six 90-minute online Faith Inclusion workshops to 50 LBBD staff members in order to learn how to support residents from different faith and belief backgrounds. 
  • The Woolf Institute held a webinar on 'Sustaining Communities during COVID-19' on 5 June to discuss the impact of the Coronavirus on local, regional,and national communities from various faith perspectives. Speakers include Dr Ed Kessler, Revd Dr Rowan Williams and Sayeeda Warsi. 
  • Tower Hamlets Inter Faith Forum held their first online forum meeting on 1 June on the topic 'Faith, Communities & Coronavirus'. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tower-hamlets-inter-faith-forum-faith-communities-and-coronavirus-tickets-103912880222?fbclid=IwAR2USh7VJhDSS4tPyB6s34fylezWRHt8wjS7PkhCqf1J2AYbDGEirhLEtvo
  • Faith Network 4 Manchester ran a series of online inter faith dialogue sessions https://www.facebook.com/FN4Man/photos/a.580259045329671/2999828166706068/. The first of these, on 22 April, explored ways to cope with COVID-19 and the closure of faith buildings.
  • South London Inter Faith Group held their monthly lunch meeting virtually via Zoom, beginning with reading prayers from various faith traditions and then sharing inter faith news and experiences.
  • Building Bridges Pendle are continuing to run their #TalkingSociety programme virtually on Zoom on a weekly basis. 
  • York Interfaith Group held their first virtual monthly meeting in May on Zoom and discussed faith, social media and the internet. They ran another Zoom meeting in June to discuss ideas for Inter Faith Week and the 2021 programme. 
  • Altrincham Interfaith Group held a social Zoom meeting on 16 April to share the ways that different communities are keeping in touch with each other, practising their faith and carrying out social service during these unusual times.
  • Building Bridges Pendle held a Virtual Arts & Music Show live on Facebook on Tuesday's and Friday's which started on 19 May. https://www.facebook.com/buildingbridgespendle/photos/a.273684849438185/1786061054867216/?type=3&theater
  • Faiths Forum for London, in partnership with Barnet Multi Faith Forum, Womens Interfaith Network and Barnet Council, held a Virtual Iftar Event on Wednesday 20 May at 8pm on Zoom. The theme of the event was 'Celebrating Barnet and building stronger inter faith and community links after Covid' and featured Barnet faith leaders. https://www.facebook.com/IftarForHeroes/posts/3246236098754686
  • Tower Hamlets Inter Faith Forum, in collaboration with East London Mosque, Tower Hamlets Homes and Canary Wharf Group PLC held an Interfaith Virtual Iftar on Thursday 21 May from 8pm to 9pm via Zoom. 
  • Barking and Dagenham Faith Forum held a Mental Health Webinar for Faith and Community Leaders on Tuesday 19 May from 2pm to 3:30pm. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mental-health-webinar-for-faith-community-leaders-tickets-104966810556?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=estw&utm-source=tw&utm-term=listing
  • The Faith and Belief Forum have started a new podcast series on 'Faith during the pandemic', consisting of interviews with people from faith and belief communities across Britain about how they are dealing with this crisis. The latest podcast can be heard here https://faithbeliefforum.org/podcast-simon-keely-bateson-from-riverside-vineyard-church/?fbclid=IwAR1EUpKt0A1MX8FI3KTu32RsGX-b3mt9UScKptcI2hjlhVbsDtYbEOVz30Q
  • Faiths Forum for London, in partnership with Faiths United, hosted a Multi-Faith Virtual Iftar on Monday 18 May on the topic of 'Unity and Solidarity'. The event featured key workers, Muslim and other faith community leaders, and other special guests. https://www.facebook.com/IftarForHeroes/posts/3249730748405221
  • The Faith and Belief Forum, in collaboration with Open Iftar, hosted a virtual event on 'A Storytelling Journey of Faith, Belief and Identity' on Monday 18 May at 7.15pm. 
  • Faiths Forum for London, along with a number of other organisations, hosted a webinar on Wednesday 20 May from 1-2pm exploring prejudice during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.facebook.com/FaithsForum/photos/a.620712874639386/3067970173246965/?type=3&theater
  • Barking and Dagenham Faith Forum held a virtual meeting on Friday 22 May from 2-3pm for faith leaders to discuss the impact that government restrictions have had on their places of worship. They also held a second meeting to discuss planning for places of worship on Tuesday 9 June at 5.30pm. 
  • Luton Council of Faiths, in partnership with Our Minds Matter, have produced a podcast series on 'Spirituality & Mental Health' from different faiths perspectives in order to bring science and spirituality together. The aim of the series is to mitigate fears surrounding COVID-19 and anxieties affecting people’s mental health.
  • Luton Council of Faiths held their first Zoom stakeholders meeting on Tuesday 26 May.  
  • Medway Interfaith Action held their first online open forum meeting on Thursday 11 June from 7.30pm - 9pm. The Baha'i documentary film 'Dawn of the Light' was shown. 
  • Building Bridges Pendle joined a virtual meeting hosted by Pendle Council on Thursday 11 June with local church and mosque representatives, and a number of other partners. The topic of the meeting was to discuss the complexities of re-opening places of worship. 
  • The Faith and Belief Forum held an online launch event for the new short film 'Ways of Connecting' on Wednesday 24 June at 6pm. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ways-of-connecting-film-screening-poetry-discussion-registration-108970543830?fbclid=IwAR3R33RDb8hD6iFQZxxyMKBPs5dtL64ENF_UoGmFSpJcVWpR3hpYcWN8eeI
  • Faith Network for Manchester (FN4M), together with We Stand Together, held a Difficult Dialogue session on Monday 15 June on the topic of 'Making sense of it all'. https://www.facebook.com/FN4Man/posts/3145110342177849?__tn__=-R
  • Preston Faith Forum and the Faith Covenant held a vigil on Thursday 4 June. 
  • Cornwall Faith Forum held a Prayer Meeting via Zoom on Thursday 2 July at 12pm.
  • Barking and Dagenham Faith Forum held a number of events online. It held an online event on 'Reflections on hope in a time of collective crisis' on Tuesday 30 June from 2pm - 3.30pm. It also held a webinar on Wednesday 8 July on the topic of 'Finding motivation in the new normal'  from 2pm - 3.30pm. It also held a webinar on Tuesday 14 July from 2 - 3.30pm on 'Violence Against Women and Girls and faith coalition'. This webinar was delivered by London Borough of Barking and Dagenham's Domestic Abuse Commissioner and the Forum's Trustees.
  • Watford Interfaith Association held a Zoom meeting on Tuesday 23 June on the topic of 'Why Are We Here?'. 
  • Leeds Faiths Forum, together with Faith Action, held a webinar on Thursday 2 July to discuss safe opening of places of worship. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/faith-covid-response-safe-opening-of-places-of-worship-tickets-110971889910?aff=efbeventtix&fbclid=IwAR3XxY6RFpEzNrnlTlvDfi8VGnK1rUEFTtRB_yEjKEuXIZewSBC_8Lpqtcc
  • Barnet Multi Faith Forum held its AGM online on Tuesday 7 July at 7pm. 
  • Faiths Forum for London, in collaboration with a number of other inter faith organisations, held a Domestic Abuse Webinar on Tuesday 30 June on the impact of easing lockdown restrictions on domestic abuse victims. 
  • Watford Interfaith Association held a Zoom discussion on the topic of 'Is there a life after this life?' on Tuesday 30 June at 8.30pm. 
  • Faith Network 4 Manchester held 7 Black led online workshops on the topic of 'Faith in Black Lives Matter'. The first workshop took place on Monday 29 June from 6-7pm with guest speaker Rev Fujo Malaika. 

Last updated: 07/05/21

Note: IFN's pages on COVID-19 are being updated regularly. Listings may not be exhaustive or include all possible examples, and IFN makes no guarantee as to the accurary of information linked to.  

From 8 May 2024, except where otherwise noted, text on this website is now licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License. Copyright of any other material (such as photographs) remains as stated or remains Copyright 2024 the Inter Faith Network for the UK. Copyright of publications is as stated on the Publications pages.

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