Faith & Climate Network
The FCN is a Liverpool City Region wide ‘Faith & Climate’ partnership network. It principally enables members of different world faith communities to share, inform and inspire stewardship actions on climate change and in doing so influence their communities to live more sustainably.
Sharing resources (skills, networks, buildings, knowledge and communities, as well as local, regional, national & international funds) and developing relationships through common cause, values and commitment to caring for the earth and working together means we are more likely to continue to be active and achieve our aim.
Sharing resources (skills, networks, buildings, knowledge and communities, as well as local, regional, national & international funds) and developing relationships through common cause, values and commitment to caring for the earth and working together means we are more likely to continue to be active and achieve our aim.
Our Faith & Climate Network group on facebook is open to members of faith communities and partners to join. In the group, members share information, ideas and events. All are welcome. Join the Facebook group HERE.
Interfaith Week 2019
To celebrate Interfaith Week & Mitzvah Day 2019 we ran a climate themed event with our friends from different world faiths, hosted by Bishop Paul in the St Aidan’s Centre.
This was the first time that Mitzvah Day has been celebrated with different faith communities in Liverpool and it’s the first climate focused Mitzvah Day in the UK. Read more about Mitzvah Day https://mitzvahday.org.uk/vision-mission/
We started our day with lunch, bringing Mitzvah donations and went on to learn about the environment & climate actions from our Jewish, Muslim and Christian friends. Through the workshops each group discussed, developed ideas and committed to actions we will take on climate change in the city region.
This was the first time that Mitzvah Day has been celebrated with different faith communities in Liverpool and it’s the first climate focused Mitzvah Day in the UK. Read more about Mitzvah Day https://mitzvahday.org.uk/vision-mission/
We started our day with lunch, bringing Mitzvah donations and went on to learn about the environment & climate actions from our Jewish, Muslim and Christian friends. Through the workshops each group discussed, developed ideas and committed to actions we will take on climate change in the city region.
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Bronze Eco Diocese award
We're delighted to have supported Liverpool Diocese in becoming a Bronze Eco Diocese. We'll continue to work with Church communities across the region to keep growing faith community-led environmental action. Next stop, Silver!
https://liverpool.anglican.org/We--re-a-bronze-eco-diocese?mc_cid=b404a601b8&mc_eid=1ed5fc8066
https://liverpool.anglican.org/We--re-a-bronze-eco-diocese?mc_cid=b404a601b8&mc_eid=1ed5fc8066
Background
The initial impetus for the Faith & Climate Network (FCN) came from the Cool Wirral Climate Change strategy. A strand of engaging with faith communities, along with support from Wirral Council, enabled us to hold an initial Interfaith Week 2017 event to consider how we influence our communities on sustainable living and to establish a need for faith focused city region wide dialogue and action on climate change. We've now delivered 2 successful partnership Interfaith Week events, supported by partners including Wirral MBC, Energy Projects Plus, MET, Planet Heswall, Wirral Together, Wirral VCA, Merseyside Cycle Campaign and faith communities including Eco Churches and most recently the Wirral Deen Centre.
The focus for the 2018 event, supported with funding from Westhill Endowment and Merseyside Council of Faiths and hosted by the Wirral Deen Centre, was energy. The 2018 event was attended by almost 50 faith representatives from different Christian denominations, Mosques, Liverpool Ganesh Temple and Liverpool Baha’i community.
‘The event was a success! It was so beautiful that so many people of different faiths got together, sharing these wonderful ideas and all wanting good for our communities, it had such a powerful impact on social media!’
The focus for the 2018 event, supported with funding from Westhill Endowment and Merseyside Council of Faiths and hosted by the Wirral Deen Centre, was energy. The 2018 event was attended by almost 50 faith representatives from different Christian denominations, Mosques, Liverpool Ganesh Temple and Liverpool Baha’i community.
‘The event was a success! It was so beautiful that so many people of different faiths got together, sharing these wonderful ideas and all wanting good for our communities, it had such a powerful impact on social media!’
Action
The Faith & Climate Network is linked into other environmental and faith based actions, recognising the need to grow together in common cause across the city region. The Stakeholders Group met in mid - January 2019. We hosted Interfaith Week events in 2018 at the Wirral Deen Centre and 2019 with the Liverpool Diocese. We further hosted Food, Faith & Climate event at St.Cuthbert's Church. Parallel to these events, we continue to grow our Faith Network facebook group where all participants share ideas, events and information around climate actions in Merseyside.
We connected this work into the strategic level through presentations to the Faith Leaders Forum and Churches Together in the Merseyside Region. Liz Atherton, Faiths4Change, will now be taking up the newly created post of Interfaith Development Officer to work closely with and continue to grow the impact of the Faith Leaders network in the Liverpool City Region.
Alongside this, we continue to work with the Liverpool Diocese to actively and practically support their Eco Churches movement; offering support to help churches complete any stage of the Eco Church process. This work is complimented by our Water Stories resource book aimed at children and young people. The full resource can be found here.
We connected this work into the strategic level through presentations to the Faith Leaders Forum and Churches Together in the Merseyside Region. Liz Atherton, Faiths4Change, will now be taking up the newly created post of Interfaith Development Officer to work closely with and continue to grow the impact of the Faith Leaders network in the Liverpool City Region.
Alongside this, we continue to work with the Liverpool Diocese to actively and practically support their Eco Churches movement; offering support to help churches complete any stage of the Eco Church process. This work is complimented by our Water Stories resource book aimed at children and young people. The full resource can be found here.
Liverpool Year of the Environment
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Annie Merry, Faiths4Change CEO, is on the Steering Group working in partnership on Year of Environment 2019 LCR as part of the national Year of Environment.
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