Faith Minister launches national tour to celebrate the role of faith communities
The tour will commence with a visit to the Highway of Holiness Church in Tottenham and will be followed by monthly flagship visits across the country.
Faith Minister Lord Bourne today (4 December 2018) embarked on his latest national Faith Tour to shine a spotlight on the central role faith institutions play in building strong, resilient communities.
The tour – ‘Belief in communities: bridging divides and strengthening communities’ – will commence with a visit to the Highway of Holiness Church in Tottenham and will be followed by monthly flagship visits across the country to engage directly with faith communities.
This will include meeting volunteers and faith leaders to understand the key success factors that could be applied elsewhere.
Minister for Faith Lord Bourne said:
Large or small, faith communities are often at the heart of a local area – the glue that binds our society together.
The length and breadth of this country, faith institutions form community hubs and support centres, as well as places of worships.
The Highway of Holiness Church in Tottenham is a shining example of this – providing support to its community with a homeless shelter for those most in need.
Many faith-based organisations provide support to their community above and beyond their day-to-day work. Lord Bourne’s tour will serve to recognise and promote this, whilst strengthening and extending the positive impact many faith institutions have as this government continues to celebrate its faith communities.
This follows the launch of ‘Belief in communities: bridging divides and strengthening communities’. This report details Lord Bourne’s tour of 55 places of worship across 15 towns and cities throughout 2017 to 2018 and calls upon faith groups to ‘bridge the divide’ by strengthening inter faith networks.
Case study
The Highway of Holiness Church, Tottenham is a community-oriented Evangelical Pentecostal church working to support the most vulnerable in our society. Pastor Alex set up a 24/7 homeless shelter in 2009.
Predominantly funded through donations from the congregation, the shelter has helped 900 men in the 7 years that it has been open. The value of its work has been widely recognised with research showing that for every £1 invested in Highway House, £5 to £8 is returned to society.
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