Interfaith Relations
Walsall’s neighbourhoods are multi-faith spaces where people with different faiths and beliefs share the same public spaces and services. Projects within this category build bridges across communities and create hubs that are open to all.
BCUIM Ecumenical Urban Chaplaincy
BCUIM is a team of chaplains, from a number of Christian churches, offering support to businesses and their employees through regular visits to workplaces in the Black Country. They connect the church with the economy of the area. In communities of rich diversity, we are there for people of all faiths and none.
Revd Gilbert David
Revd Gilbert David, who is currently the Vicar, of All Saints Darlaston and Moxley Churches, supported by Community Leaders & volunteers organise annual ‘One Day Festivals’ as part of a celebration
of local cultures. He works closely with organisations to bring different cultures together. He has also introduced innovative projects, such as ESOL for communities, into the church. During the run up to the festival visits are undertaken to grassroots community organisations and places of worship throughout Darlaston as part of cultural exchange initiatives. Revd Gilbert David, creates wider opportunities to network and for the people of Darlaston to learn about each other’s cultures.
Grace Academy and Abu Bakr Boys School
Grace Academy and Abu Bakr Boys School have been engaged in School Linking for 3 years. The School Linking Programme matches students and classes from different cultural or faith backgrounds to explore issues of identity, community and belief. The programme is designed to help young people develop the skills needed to be able to communicate sensitively and effectively with anyone, regardless of beliefs or background. Through the programme students have the opportunity to build friendships and a greater understanding of different beliefs.
Guru Nanak Gurdwara Willenhall
Interfaith Open Day for 550th
Anniversary of Guru Nanak
This event brought together people from all parts of the community from Willenhall, Walsall and beyond, families of different faiths and backgrounds. It provided an opportunity to learn more of the Sikh Faith and included a Gurdwara Sahib guided tour. Information stands provided a detailed history of the impact of Guru Nanak's mission to bring together humanity as one. The family day also involved the Guru Nanak Langar Bus, turban tying, chapati making, Gurmukhi script writing and much more.
Art Sikh
Art Sikh provides a forum for artists to contribute to faith and belief related art which might not be as welcomed in mainstream art spaces. The team is dedicated to helping build, support and cultivate Art, Culture and Theology by supporting, encouraging and mentoring up and coming artists from around the world who face barriers in their artistry. The team also works locally to promote interfaith/belief activity, through working with community groups, religious groups and local authorities to support community cohesion projects.
Interfaith Twinning
St Gabriel’s Church & Aisha Mosque
Minhaj-ul Qur’n Mosque & Methodist Church
St Pauls & Farouq Mosque
In Walsall 6 places of worship are engaged in twinning. The aim of twinning is to bring together different communities to explore commonalities and learn about differences with graceful curiosity. Meetings involve exchange visits, social gatherings, opportunities to learn from each other and lots of food.
Emma Holton, St Paul’s
A volunteer at The Crossing at St Pauls and the University of Wolverhampton’s chaplaincy department, Emma has worked closely with Walsall Council and other strategic partners to advance interfaith and community Cohesion work within the town. From moments of tragedy such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters and holocaust remembrance events to marking happier times such as community cricket between faith leaders, Emma and the congregation of St Pauls have been at the forefront of championing the message of Walsall for All.
Mahendra Lad
Mahendra provides tours and visits for school children to Shree Ram Mandir in Walsall. This gives children with the opportunity to learn more about Hinduism in an engaging and memorable way. Mahendra is also a volunteer speaker as part of The Faith & Belief Forum’s Encountering Faiths and Beliefs programme. These workshops help to raise awareness of what it means to have a faith or belief and improves young people’s skills of empathy through opportunities for encounter with volunteers from a wide range of different backgrounds.
All Saints’ Church, Streetly
Over the last year All Saint’s Church has hosted a number of events with the aim of building interfaith relationships. In May, they were delighted to welcome members of the Walsall Gurdwara, who came to observe the form of an Anglican Service, and who joined them afterwards at Place of Welcome before touring the church and staying for lunch. In August they hosted an evening called ‘Reflections on Prayer’. The evening consisted of a dialogue between various faith representatives from Christianity, Sikhism and Islam exchanging ideas and their reflections on the meaning and importance of prayer within each faith, including an answer and question session with the congregation.
Other categories