Acting Locally

On Saturday 27th March, 20 young people of different faiths from the Faiths Act Birmingham Hub joined together to volunteer at St Michael’s Church, Handsworth.   With litter pickers, rakes and bin bags in hand (kindly borrowed from the Gurudwara opposite), the bright and breezy afternoon was spent clearing the gardens and grounds of the Church.

Aneesa Ahmed, a Muslim member of Faiths Act Birmingham, had this to say:

"Saturday at Saint Michael's Church was great.  Clearing out the Church gardens was the task we embarked upon.  As we were working as a team we were able to get it done in no time and had a lot of fun whilst doing so!  This was one of our first practical tasks as a group and it was something everyone was looking forward to".

The grounds were being prepared in time for the opening ceremony of a new community garden which was held on Monday 29th March.  Representatives from the local communities, places of worship, and Birmingham City Council came together and prayed that the garden would inspire visitors to reflect on the beauty of God's creation.

Our volunteering day was a wonderful opportunity for us all to learn a little more about Christianity, especially since it was the start of Holy Week.  We learnt more about the importance of Easter and took inspiration from the Easter message of renewal and rebirth.  It was an opportunity for starting these new joint initiatives with the hope that it will inspire people to continue them into the future to foster shared service and real relationships across faith backgrounds.

Reverend Rowena Pailing from St Michael’s Church kindly wrote a letter of thanks:

"Thank you so much for all that you did at St Michael’s yesterday. The congregation are so grateful for your work and that of all the volunteers, so if you could pass on their thanks to all who took part I should be very grateful. Personally I was delighted to meet everyone and hear some of your experiences. I was particularly touched by the young Muslim woman who told me that she had been worried about people in churches turning her away because she wears a veil. It was great to be able to give and share hospitality with her and with everyone".

Sean Rose

Faiths Act Fellow