Church Breathing Spaces Success

The Friends of St. Luke Farnworth were delighted to hear in June that they had been successful in their bid for a grant from Heritage Lottery Breathing Places. The grant of £9,965.00 will part fund a project of £25,000.00 where funding has also been received from Mersey Forest and a Landfill Tax grant. The project will provide a wider access gate to the churchyard at St. Luke’s churchyard, relaying of some of the pathways, equipment for maintenance including a multipurpose mowing machine and brushcutters, benches, planting of hedgerows, wildflower areas, habitat boxes and control of vegetation with training and equipment being provided for specialist work. This project is part of a bigger project which seeks to restore the churchyard as being a place of peace along with an environmental and heritage site.

PEACE comes to Ayres Road.

St John the Evangelist, Ayres Road, Old Trafford, Manchester worked in partnership with Groundwork Salford, Manchester, Trafford and Tameside to create a banner for Peace. 26 different languages were used in a collage for a banner spanning the length of the church’s tower. Karen Andrew, Faiths4Change’s Manchester Project Officer actually has her office in the vestry of St John’s Church, and works closely with the St John’s centre next door. For more details about Faiths4Change in Manchester, contact Karen by email on karen@faiths4change.org.uk

Bee Happy Day!

Helen Dawson Merseyside Project Officer for Faiths4Change, has been busy arranging a training day for faith groups and local residents of Walton, on the theme of Bees. Rev Trevor Latham, Rector at St Mary’s Church, Walton, and and Bee Keeper in his Rectory garden , teamed up with up with local bee keeper and complimentary therapist, Yvonne Matthews, to deliver a fun training day on Bee Keeping and the health benefits of the hive.

The day was held on Saturday 12th July in The Rectory Garden, and 20 people attended the training, representing groups from the URC Church in Wallasy, St Mary’s West Derby, St Aidans and St Marys in Walton. We were priviledged to have Barbara and Malcolm Roderick from the Northwest Beekeepers Association, who brought educational material and shared their extensive knowledge of keeping bees.

Save Money & Help The Environment

Are you a member of a faith community who would like to find out how you can save money and help protect the environment? If so then read on for details of how Faiths4Change could help you…..

Details are currently being finalised for our environmental audit training days which will be available free of charge to any faith communities. A professional trainer will be available to spend a day with members of your community to share knowledge of cost effective ways to reduce your environmental impact. We will even provide lunch!!

The event would take place in your place of worship or community hall and would include a practical session conducting a survey of the building and creating an action plan of improvements.

Many suggested improvements will be very simple with little or no cost and could lead to significant savings in a short period of time. These could include turning down thermostats, installing signs to raise awareness or fitting draft excluders and energy saving light bulbs. Where appropriate advice can also be given on more costly measures such as energy efficient heating systems.

Following the session support will be available from Faiths4Change staff to ensure changes are implemented and to secure funding if needed.

It is anticipated that the sessions will be ready to deliver from mid July 2008. Demand is expected to be high so if this sounds like the opportunity you have been looking for please contact Tom on the details below to register your interest as soon as possible.

Tom Fyson
Faiths4Change – Preston Project Officer
Tel: 01772 901014
E-mail: tom@faiths4change.org.uk

Long Lane Garden Centre

Faiths4Change has been pleased to support the growing gem of a garden centre, sited on Warrington Business Park, off Long Lane in north Warrington. Long Lane Garden Centre is a lovingly developed offshoot of the Walton Lea Project in South Warrington, which supports adults with learning difficulties, physical and mental health issues. Over the past six months Long Lane Garden Centre has come a long way, supporting 15 clients, employing 6 staff and has 7 volunteers.

They have made the most of growing and selling a large variety of plants in five polytunnels that are in urgent need of re-covering and Faiths4Change is delighted to provide funding for this renovation. We have also supported them with funds to make the site accessible to wheelchairs and to improve the drainage at the entrance.

Faith and Environment

“ It is He who produces gardens both cultivated and wild and palm trees and crops of diverse kinds and olives and pomegranates both similar and dissimilar. Eat of their fruit and pay of their dues on the day of their harvest and do not be wasteful. He does not love the profligates”. (Quran 6-142)

Contact details

Please contact me for further information or for an informal discussion about your ideas or networking opportunities.

E-mail: samia@faiths4change.org.uk
Telephone: 01282 441522
Mobile: 07894 423246
Burnley Borough Council

Contact details

If you are a member of a faith group and are interested in helping to transform your local environment physically, economically and spiritually and are based in the Manchester area, please contact me. I am here to help you with training, funding support, sustainability and networking.

Pride in Our Neighbourhood

Pride in our Neighbourhood

Pride is a joint initiative of Groundwork Manchester, Salford, Trafford and Tameside together with Old Trafford Neighbourhood Management. They are working together to make Old Trafford a Cleaner Greener and Safer place to live. This initiative is advising, encouraging and supporting residents and groups to make Old Trafford a better place to live and work and play in.

Networking in Preston

The end of 2007 was an exciting time for me in Preston, I’ve been busy raising the profile of Faiths4Change in the local area.

Following a successful lunch time launch event that attracted more than 25 people including representatives of the Lancashire and Preston Faith Forums, Local Authority Neighbourhood Management Officers and others in late November, I’ve been attending a number of events to meet with members of local faith communities. Events have included a regeneration event at Fishergate Baptist Church in Preston city centre, a partnership session delivered by the police Community Tension Team and the Lancashire Council of Mosques and the annual event of the Preston Faith Forum.

Contact details

If you would like to find out more about Faiths4change, or have a project idea to discuss, please contact Tom at tom@faiths4change.org.uk or on 01772 901014 or 07894 423249.
Links

St Augustines Avenham Centre