Faith groups ‘at centre of Covid recovery’
Quakers took part in the ChurchWorks Commission for Covid Recovery Summit
Faith-based organisations will be ‘among the centrepieces’ of the country’s recovery from the pandemic, the government’s minister responsible for faith engagement, Kemi Badenoch, told a church summit last month.
Quakers took part in the ChurchWorks Commission for Covid Recovery Summit, chaired by Paul Butler, the bishop of Durham. The online summit brought together leaders from all of the major national church denominations for conversations with the government.
‘We recognise that will only be possible if we as a government deliver what we are calling a Faith New Deal,’ said Kemi Badenoch. ‘A deal to reset how the public sector engages with our faith organisations…Through the Faith New Deal pilots, we will be backing a number of projects with investment that will help blaze a trail for how the public sector and faith groups can work together towards specific goals.’
Kemi Badenoch said the government is in the final stages of assessing the proposed pilot projects and expects to announce the successful bids soon.
Grace Da Costa, public affairs and media manager for Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), said that a particular highlight was hearing a reflection by Sam Wells, vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, in London, focusing on love and generosity when practising faith. He spoke of ‘acts that suggest that something wonderful is happening in your heart that I’d rather like to be happening in mine’.
In the meeting on 11 January, MP Stephen Timms also read out a message from Labour Party leader Keir Starmer thanking churches for their work during the pandemic. He said that their willingness to work together as part of ChurchWorks shows how vital they will be to the recovery from Covid-19.
Grace Da Costa said the summit also considered ‘social isolation’ and how churches can take part in ‘social prescribing’ and help provide volunteers to the NHS. She said: ‘I made a point about the vital work churches do in helping relieve social isolation among people from migrant backgrounds, who often don’t trust the NHS and social care, so we should consider this and either build it in, or make sure new NHS-related work doesn’t detract from that work.’
Grace Da Costa told the Friend: ‘We’re planning to stay informed about what the ChurchWorks Commission is doing and input where relevant, but we aren’t planning to become commissioners.’
