Our website is now called Norwichinterfaith.co.uk. Thank you to Lorna who is now managing it for us.
On Wednesday 22 April 2026, we had a very informative Zoom with global and local talks by three WWF members. Can I ask you to click on https://www.faithnaturehub.org/ to show the work WWF is doing with religions in different countries. Very impressive. A fuller report later.
From The Rt Revd Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich,
An invitation from faith leaders across Norwich and Norfolk to build hope-filled communities.
Most people want to live in strong, healthy, caring communities where everyone feels they belong. But at a time when people are struggling and feel fearful for the future, it can be easy for a story of decline and despair to set in. When that story goes unchallenged, it can become self-fulfilling, with people turning away from one another.
There is no doubt that we have faced tensions recently and, let’s be clear, there are people trying to divide us rather than bring us together. We have to stand against that. We also believe that racism, antisemitism, and the scapegoating of groups of people is an evil in our society and we deplore whenever and wherever this happens.
As faith leaders, we are not politicians but we care about the common good, which means strong, connected communities, and the well-being of everyone.
There is another story of Norfolk. We see it every day, in our churches, mosques and synagogues, in village halls and community centres. People working together to make things better. They volunteer at their local foodbank, they stop for a chat with someone who looks lonely, they coach their children’s football team, they look out for their neighbours, they bring their community together. Perhaps you are one of them?
When we do these things, we are not looking for thanks or recognition. We are not trying to score political points. We are simply doing what needs to be done.
Too often, these everyday acts of generosity, kindness and hope go unnoticed, while stories of division are in the spotlight. We want to change that.
That is why we are taking part in Hope Happens Here, a campaign that celebrates the everyday acts of kindness, care and connection happening across Norwich and Norfolk. Between 13 and 20 May, we will be helping to collect 1,000 Acts of Hope; simple, small acts of kindness or generosity that deserve to be seen and celebrated.
These contributions will help to tell a story of Norfolk at its best; neighbours quietly going out of their way to make life a little bit better for one another.
Norfolk is not a perfect place, and from our place at the heart of our communities, we know the intense pressure people are under, with increasing hardship, inequality and isolation. But the challenges that we face are shared, and they are best met by standing together.
As faith leaders, we know that there is far more that connects us than divides us. While the specifics of our individual faiths differ, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus and people of many other traditions are choosing to stand together, and this unity is itself an act of hope. We believe our shared commitment to one another can shape the story of this place.
The 1,000 Acts of Hope gathered during this campaign will be shared as part of a public exhibition during Refugee Week in June, in Norwich. It will be a chance to see, all in one place, just how strong and connected Norfolk already is.
You may feel that one small act can’t make much difference. But these stories, gathered together, have the power to change the narrative, and to remind both ourselves and others what Norfolk is truly made of.
We invite people of all faiths and none to take part – this is for everyone who calls Norfolk home. Share your Act of Hope online at https://linktr.ee/orangeheart or on an Orange Heart, which can be found in many faith spaces this week. Be part of a different story, and help inspire hope.
King Charles spoke to Congress in America: “For many here, and for myself, the Christian faith is a firm anchor and daily inspiration that guides us not only personally, but together as members of our community. Having devoted a large part of my life to interfaith relationships and greater understanding, it is that faith in the triumph of light over darkness which I have found confirmed countless times. Through it I am inspired by the profound respect that develops as people of different faiths grow in their understanding of each other.
Revd. David Hagan-Palmer • revdavepalmer@gmail.com informs us: “To celebrate the amazing contribution of volunteers, a Festival of Volunteering will run throughout June 2026 across Norfolk.”
A. Volunteering opportunities in Norfolk | Get InVOLved Norfolk Get Involved Volunteering website (Some faith groups/oganisations are already using this to recruit volunteers).
B. Get Involved Skills Volunteering and community skills, training and development website.
The Faith and Community group met last week with the Dean at the Synagogue. Afterwards
Revd Annie Blyth, a member of the group and NIFL, emailed: “I found this helpful in visualising faith groups doing something good and visible together on St George’s Day.”
NIFL expresses its sympathy and support to our Jewish members at this time. I had to remind a Christian group this week that the recognition of the common heritage of Judaism and Christianity was obligatory at all times and in all places.
On Sunday 26 April 2026, members of NIFL were invited by Ujjal to celebrate Vaisakhi with the Norfolk Sikhs. A festival remembering when the followers of Guru Nanak brought up as a Hindu in India, who taught that religious division was self-defeating since “there is no Hindu and no Muslim for God”, were persecuted so that a later Guru had to introduce the Sikh sword and turban for protection.
Photos below: Members: Sunita, Georgina, Ujjal; Seated to hear their sacred book read; Distributing the langar communal food to everbody; Lunch together.
“Exploring the Sacred in Human Relations.” All are warmly invited to this scholar–practitioner panel addressing how sacred stories and the arts can nurture a shared sense of the sacred, and help us imagine better futures.
Thursday 4 June 2026, 5:30–7:00pm
Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge
Refreshments from 5:00pm
The panel brings together a diverse array of scholars with a profound commitment to fostering interfaith relations including special guest Bill Vendley (Fetzer Institute & former SG of Religions for Peace), Ankur Barua (Hindu Studies), Giles Waller (Theology & Literature), Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz (Jewish Studies), and Riya Kartha (Education)—for an engaging conversation inspired by the Fetzer Institute’s Retelling Sacred Stories project.
More information about this 4 June event (via www.interfaith.cam.ac.uk)
Register for Exploring the Sacred in Human Relations (free) at cikh.civicrm.com
Heritage Open Days are happening again this year, when visits to important and interesting buildings are made possible from Sepember 11th to 20th. If you wish to register, the link is:
Keir Starmer invited Christian leaders to No 10
https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/keir-starmers-easter-message-praises-churches
The Anglican Church has some members who have formed a rival group to oppose same sex marriage and women church leaders, particularly now that the head is a woman.
Gafcon leaders met in Nigeria as splits widen in Anglican Church over Sarah Mullally – BBC News https://share.google/nwlmF2q5RyQ6AFIrz
Liz Hoffbauer of the Quakers has initiated a first meeting to discuss the possibility of establishing a Peace Centre in Norwich. It was decided the first stage was to identify all the current groups (religious, political, protest, etc) involved under the broad heading of Peace. Could you therefore send details of your group or others you know of, so an initial list could be compiled.
Liz Hoffbauer: melizhoff@gmail.com
The Bishop of Leicester Martyn Snow has told the Church of England’s parliament/general synod that the C of E is not resourcing interfaith work properly. “Interfaith work is not just about dialogue, but about action”. He has been asked to convene a meeting of interfaith leaders so the government minister responsible for the implementation of the Child Poverty Strategy can find out what faith groups are doing to address poverty.
The The Rotary Club of Norwich is holding another ceilidh at St Andrew’s Church Hall, Eaton, in the evening of 16th May. It occurred to me that some members of Norwich InterFaith may be interested in coming along. Tickets are £20 per person, which includes food (choice of cod, scampi, sausage, chicken or vegetarian spring roll – all with chips). If anyone would like to join us for that event, could they email me directly, including their choice of food, at milesneville@aol.com . It should be a really fun evening!Together Alliance march went ahead on Saturday March 28th. Daphne and I went by coach to Marble Arch to join the hundreds of thousands of others from all over the UK, from all sorts of backgrounds and religions and representing all sorts of causes. We moved down Park Lane to Picadilly Circus past Trafalgar Square to Whitehall to the Speakers. As a Christian it felt like the Palm Sunday crowds when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey greeted by palm branches waving, and desperate people looking for any Messiah who was rumoured to be able to solve all their political, military, social, personal problems. Hope was in the air. There was a strange report later that “1000 christians had attended”, who had started together with a service at a church with two bishops; as though their Messiah could not be the one to solve the cries of any of the other 499,000 who were also there, including us.
The AGM is on Sunday June 14th. t 2pm to 4pm. Venue: Christian Methodist Church, Small Hall, Wessex Street, NR2 1SD. (Central Norwich, off Chapelfield Road, driving from St Stephen’s roundabout)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/NqbcmnXbQJqRbYi67?g_st=am
Reports. Elections. Speaker: Nikki McGee from the Inspiration Trust. What young people can learn from Religions today? What is your worldview?
A BIG THANK YOU TO SIRAJUL AND THE NORFOLK MUSLIM COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION for hosting and sharing their Iftar meal with us on Sunday March 8th at their new community centre on Dereham Road. Neighbours joined members at a very special event. There was prayer, Sura, followed by a meal and sharing of company and conversation.
Norwich InterFaith Link 