Faith With Its Sleeves Rolled Up

By Daniel Singleton

Faith With its Sleeves Rolled Up provides an answer to anyone who believes the voice of faith is inaudible or irrelevant. Representing a wide range of faith positions, the chapters assembled here consider the practical contribution that faith is currently making to twenty-first-century society, prompting a positive understanding of faith as: a solution-focused innovator; an agent of connectedness, neighbourliness and identity; a catalyst for engagement, involvement and mobilisation; a promoter of a whole-person focus; a source of hope.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781291525311

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Faith With Its Sleeves Rolled Up

Preface

About This Book

FaithAction

FaithAction is a national network of faith-based and community organisations. It works to provide support, advice and training for its members, as well as partnering with local and central government to highlight the contributions that these organisations make to their communities. It is also secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Faith and Society, which inspired this publication.

All-Party Parliamentary Group

In 2012, Stephen Timms MP launched the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Faith and Society in order to explore the practical contribution that faith makes to society, identify best practice and promote understanding of the innovations of people of faith.

Faith With its Sleeves Rolled Up

Faith With its Sleeves Rolled Up was launched in May 2013 by Stephen Timms MP and Secretary of State Eric Pickles.

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Twitter: @faithactionnet

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Credits

First published in 2013

Copyright © 2013 FaithAction

ISBN 978-1-291-38891-6

Editorial assistance, layout and typesetting by Jeremy Simmons

Cover design by LifeLine Design

Cover photograph by Martin Smith Photography

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

Produced by FaithAction

Acknowledgements

I would like to extend my thanks, first, to all of our contributors. There are a number of people whose input has been key to this project, but the most significant behind-the-scenes contribution came from Jeremy Simmons, who took on much of the legwork in putting the book together. Fresh out of university, Jeremy went above and beyond to facilitate its publication. Of course, there are many others in the background – family, friends and colleagues – who have assisted our work at FaithAction, but I would like to give special mention to Felicity Smith, Hannah Walker, Alan Fitch and Chris Miller, as the other members of the FaithAction team who have assisted along the way and helped make this happen.

--Daniel Singleton, London, April 2013

Contributors

Daniel Singleton is the National Executive Director of FaithAction and has worked at the forefront of faith-based innovative community projects for over 10 years. Initially working for a young charity in east London in the areas of adult and youth education and employability, Daniel now supports the work of organisations throughout the UK with public speaking, training and bespoke one-to-one consultancy.

Dr. Daniel Nilsson DeHanas is a Research Fellow in Sociology at the University of Kent. He has published research on issues including the Olympics mega-mosque controversy in Newham, young Muslim identities in Tower Hamlets and British Jamaican hip hop in Brixton. From 2010-12 he served as the research associate on the Muslim Participation in Contemporary Governance project at the University of Bristol.

Dr. Therese O'Toole is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Bristol. She is Principal Investigator on the Muslim Participation in Contemporary Governance project. She also leads Public Spirit, a new online forum on faith and public policy (www.publicspirit.org.uk). Her latest book is Political Engagement amongst Ethnic Minority Young People: Making a Difference (forthcoming 2013, with Richard Gale).

Dr. Nasar Meer is a Reader in Social Sciences and co-director of the Centre for Civil Society and Citizenship, Northumbria University.

Rt Hon. Stephen Timms is the Member of Parliament for East Ham and the Shadow Minister for Employment. He is also the Labour Party's Faith Envoy. Stephen entered Parliament in 1994 and held a number of ministerial posts under the previous Labour Government including Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Financial Secretary to the Treasury. Before entering Parliament, Stephen worked in the telecommunications industry for fifteen years. He is a member of the Ramblers Association and Chair of the Christian Socialist Movement.

Peter Gilbert is Emeritus Professor of Social Work and Spirituality, Staffordshire University, and Associate Fellow in Education and Development, University of Warwick. He is the Project Lead for the National Spirituality and Mental Health Forum, and Editor of Spirituality and Mental Health (2011).

Seeta Lakhani runs Peepal Care, a domiciliary care agency in London. She studied Anthropology at UCL and has written two textbooks on Hinduism aimed at Key Stages 1-4. She also provides intercultural tours at the Victoria and Albert Museum on South Asian art and culture.

Sonia Douek is the Head of Volunteering and Community Development at Jewish Care, the largest health and social care provider to the UK Jewish community. She has been instrumental in introducing a strategy for volunteering that identifies best practice in the recruitment and support of almost 3,000 volunteers. Most recently she was the co-author of an Agenda for Ageing Well in the Jewish Community, a call to action to ensure that older people feel connected and empowered to continue to be active members of their community.

Dr. Husna Ahmad OBE is the Group CEO of the Faith Regen Foundation, a Muslim-inspired multi faith charity working to empower disadvantaged communities in the UK and abroad. She is also the Secretary General of the World Muslim Leadership Forum. She is of Bangladeshi origin and has six children. Her particular interests are in environmental issues, engagement of faith communities in society and women’s issues.

Avril McIntyre MBE has been Chief Executive of LifeLine Community Projects since its inception in 2000, and has taken creative ideas from the drawing board to implementation with a focus on performance, growth and sustainability. LifeLine has developed a suite of services which engage some of the hardest to reach communities across London.

Raheel Mohammed is the founder and director of Maslaha and has recently been profiled as one of Britain’s 50 New Radicals in The Observer newspaper for pioneering creative change to some of society’s most difficult issues. Under his leadership Maslaha’s work with Muslim communities in the areas of health, education, culture and identity and social entrepreneurship has been actively used nationally and internationally. He has helped to set up other pioneering social enterprises and has been an award-winning journalist.

David Wood OBE is the Chief Executive of Attend, formerly the National Association of Hospital and Community Friends. Prior to this he was a Director of an Adult and Children’s hospice in Essex. At the Department of Health, he is a member of the National Strategic Partnership Forum and the National Leadership Network. In 2010, David was appointed a Fellow of the Clore Social Leadership Programme, and also a Fellow of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement. This year David has been seconded to Conservative Central Office.

Charles Oham is a Senior Lecturer in Social Enterprise at the School of Health and Social Care of the University of Greenwich. He is also a social enterprise trainer and practitioner.

Hugh Osgood is the chair of Action in Communities, a church-related charity which models Christian work on multi-faith refugee settlements in the UK.  He is also co-chair of the UK Charismatic and Pentecostal Leaders' Conference, and President of Churches in Communities International, a network for independent churches, ministries and networks. He holds a PhD on African and UK evangelical relationships from SOAS, University of London.

Matt Bird is the creator of Relationology, which analyses the art and science of relationships and how they drive business success. In line with this, he is a provider of specialist motivational, training and consulting services (www.relationology.co.uk). He is also the voluntary Chair of The Cinnamon Network which is passionate about strengthening the muscles of local churches for community transformation (www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk).

Francis Davis is an academic, journalist and social entrepreneur who has taught social enterprise and community development at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. He is Visiting Fellow in Civic Innovation and Enterprise at Portsmouth University Business School.

Essays

Introduction, by Daniel Singleton

In many ways, this is the right time to further the discussion of the value of faith to wider society. It is in the context of economic struggles and societal change, both of which are putting pressure on British people, that an examination of the contribution of faith is so important. And it is the activity of faith which motivates many of the contributors to this collection. Speaking for myself (and I am sure our contributors would agree with me) I dispute the idea that faith should be a private thing, as it forms the very essence of who I am. Faith gives us a reason to be, and provides a hope that motivates us to act in a way which does not put ourselves first. As such, people of faith make an important contribution to society, and in particular areas they are the lead contributors. In youth work, for instance, faith-based – and, in particular, Christian – work far outstrips that done by any other section of society, including the state. 

When Stephen Timms launched the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Faith and Society in 2012 he used a quote by Christopher Hitchens as a springboard for discussion:

[Faith organisations] don't prove any point and some of them are only making up for damage done ... they do involve a lot of proselytising, a lot of propaganda. They're not just giving out free stuff.[1]

The work of faith organisations, contrary to what this quote suggests, is not an excuse for winning converts; indeed, faith groups actively contribute to society, sometimes implicitly and sometimes explicitly, sometimes seen but often not. In fact, I believe that, when seeking to offer a helping hand with the problems faced by the world today, people of faith are often "first in and last out. This book looks at some examples of this contribution, but it only scratches the surface. It is not a list of answers, or a manifesto, but a conversation starter, and therefore sits neatly alongside the work of the APPG, which was set up to examine the contribution that faith brings to society and the ways in which these benefits can be shared, improved upon and magnified. This book, we hope, will be of interest not only to policy shapers, commissioners and funders but also to the faith communities themselves. As Jay Lakhani of the Hindu Academy said, Faith is not merely about going to the temples and collecting coconuts. At the London Mayor’s conference on interfaith in February 2011, Boris Johnson threw down a similar challenge to those present by quoting from the letter of James in the New Testament: faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."[2]

It is this purposeful, engaged faith that forms the focus of this book. Faith that is ready to get involved, that has its sleeves rolled up, we argue, can be of great benefit both to faith communities and society as a whole. There are some who would say, contrary to this, that in order to preserve its distinctiveness faith should take a step back from the problems faced by wider society (an attitude reminiscent, perhaps, of that which led to the creation of religious ghettos throughout history). Of course, it is important for faith groups to be distinctive, but this does not mean they should neglect to offer a helping hand. A balance should be struck whereby faith groups are able to make a difference whilst retaining the ethos and values that make them unique. Unfortunately, finding this balance can often be difficult. As the APPG has taken evidence from various faith groups, there has been a consistent perception that, although commissioners and funders appreciate – and, in some ways, marvel at – faith-based initiatives, the groups themselves often feel under pressure to make light of or even conceal their faith ethos, the very thing which makes them who they are and which undergirds their work.

My role with FaithAction gives me the opportunity to speak with many different people about faith and its role in twenty-first-century UK society, both adherents to faith and those on the outside. These conversations have highlighted a number of key roles to be played by faith communities, institutions and faith-based organisations (FBOs), and several of them are picked up by the contributors to this book. As we look at these different roles below, bear in mind that many of them overlap and interact.

Solution-focused innovation

It is often the case that FBOs find themselves dealing with people and situations that have been overlooked. Unable to just complain and advocate, although this is part of their role, FBOs look to intervene. Sometimes with an off-the-shelf community franchise, but more often than not with a bespoke response which is then developed into something more sophisticated as time goes on. Much of what faith groups do could be described as relief work, but there is also innovation and enterprise, borne out of a real understanding of the situation on the ground and access to the insight and expertise of faith communities, which can be channeled to produce a lasting solution and sometimes address the underlying cause.

Connectedness, neighbourliness and identity

There are many new, innovative ideas to come from faith groups, then, but connectedness of community is something they have been practicing for a long time. Time and again, we hear of the broken nature of British society, yet faith groups often make up communities within communities, providing intergenerational opportunities unrivalled beyond the football stadium. Essentially, what we have is extended family. There is identity, sharing and service against the backdrop of an individualist, consumerist society. Faith is shown to strengthen families and marriages and to keep young people in positive peer groups and away from the false family and belonging of gangs.

Engagement, involvement and mobilisation

When I speak to people of faith about their acts of service, it is interesting to note that many of them feel that what they are doing is ordinary when, in fact, it is very unusual. One only has to visit the Nishkam Centre in Birmingham, and hear about the way the community came together to build the community centre (in what amounted to 110,000 hours of work and £1.5m worth of volunteering) to be taken aback. On a personal note, my wife was very ill after the birth of one of our children,  and for a period of time she was even in a wheelchair, but our church community rallied round providing a hot meal every day for the whole family for a number of months, as well as extra child care. When this service spills out of the faith community into the wider society we see what mobilised faith can really achieve. It is the unsung volunteer army at the base of faith communities that provides such potential. Mobilised faith involves not only straightforward activities like litter picking but also the more specialised work of professionals and tradesmen within congregations, using their skills to mentor and aid others.

A focus on the whole

It is this focus on the person (people and church workers) rather than the plant (fixed and moveable assets) that led one group of Christians to describe church as not so much a building but more a way of life. Where the public and private sectors continually treat people as a collection of parts, those of faith see people as whole beings: body, mind and spirit, a point that Peter Gilbert expands on in his chapter. Yet if real lasting solutions are to be found for the ills of society we will have to address the whole person.

A source of hope

As Stephen Timms outlines in his chapter, faith and politics are both about hope for the future, about vision and values. There is a role for faith to play in holding our leaders to account and encouraging them to lead rather than respond simply to the lowest common denominator of perceived public opinion. Even in a literary sense, scripture can provide a greater source for political rhetoric than pop culture, references to which seem to frequently work their way into the interactions of politicians. Yet the longevity of faith and its absolute doctrine mean that people of faith are not shaped by the whims of society’s taste, but are encouraged to do right and act well even if unappreciated. The values and sense of hope that faith provides to many in key positions in society are important for the fast moving world we live in.

The chapters to follow are diverse in their exploration of the wide-reaching significance of faith ideas. We begin with Stephen Timms’ own experiences both as a Christian and an MP. Drawing on his ten years in government, Stephen Timms looks to challenge the assumption that faith and politics do not and should not mix, arguing instead that faith is a great starting points for politics, one of the best starting points there is. In highlighting the core values that underlie faith traditions, he puts forward the case that these values might act as a solid foundation for a compassionate politics.

Sticking with politics, Daniel DeHanas, Therese O’Toole and Nasar Meer chart, in their chapter, the development of a faith paradigm in public policy, tracing its emergence back to the latter half of the 1980s. In the light of this history, the writers analyse the differences between New Labour’s approach to faith and that of the current Coalition government, asking whether David Cameron’s label a Christian country is indeed a useful one in describing the nature of British religious life today.

Echoing Stephen Timms’ addressing of the tricky relationship between faith and politics,