A summary review of Norwich Interfaith Link activities during 2025
February 2025
The Coat of Hopes is a patchwork pilgrim coat, on a walk through Britain.
Made, worn and walked by many hundreds of people from the south coast of England to the gates of COP26, the UN climate summit in Glasgow..
The Coat of Hopes arrived in Norwich at the end of February 2025 and was seen by many before leaving for Lowestoft at the end of March.. Peter Belton, NIFL committee member with responsibility for environmental issues organised the hosting of the coat while it was in Norwich, The list of places that the coat visited can be seen here.
Were you at any of these events and would you like to share your thoughts with us?
We hope this will grow to become a record of the coat’sjourney by providing a collection of photographs, memories and experiences from those who were able to join it along the way and we would love it if you could share a few positive words or photos of your experience with the Coat of Hopes for us to add to the collection.
Please email your contributions to norwichinterfaith@gmail.com
July 2025
Interfaith members come together at St Peter Mancroft on July 11th in the centre of Norwich to sign a Pledge with MP’s on Nature and Climate
70 members of different faith communities who along with supporters and MPs witnessed the pledge being signed.
Faith leaders came together in Norwich with a pledge to act as role models to support nature and tackle climate change – and they called on politicians to do the same. Fran Abrams of the Local Storytelling Exchange, reports.
The event at St Peter Mancroft Church in Norwich was attended by three East Anglia MPs along with representatives from faith groups including Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Baha’ais and Pagans.
Its aim was to bring together different faiths to promise action on the climate and nature crisis, and to call on elected representatives to support nature and moves towards a greener future for the planet.
Three Labour Members of Parliament attended the event : Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South, Alice MacDonald, MP for Norwich North, and Dr Peter Prinsley, MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket.
Representatives of the six faith groups signed a pledge to work together for climate and nature. “We are deeply alarmed by the ongoing breakdown of our climate and the consequent impacts on nature and people… as faith communities we recognise there is an overriding duty to care for each other and the natural world on which we all depend,” it said. “This means investing in nature, supporting nature-friendly farming and recognising the health and economic benefits of the natural world It means backing UK jobs, securing a just, green transition and building a cleaner, healthier future for all.”
The gathering was hosted by Revd Fiona Haworth, Associate Priest of St Peter Mancroft in Norwich city centre. The church recently won funding to reduce energy use by replacing its entire interior lighting system and installing heat pumps as well as batteries and 48 solar panels.
“Faith communities have a vital role to play in tackling the climate and nature crises,” Revd Haworth said. “We have come together to share our passion, learning and commitment to a cleaner, safer, fairer future, and to call on our elected leaders to be brave.”
This is the pledge which was signed, and members and interested parties and supporters are invited to print it out and display it in faith communities and community groups, to give it the widest publicity and ask them to display their signed copy to show their commitment to the INTERFAITH PLEDGE.
Keir Starmer recently hosted a meeting of different faiths in Downing Street and hopes to do so every six months.
Norwich InterFaith Link 