Category Archives: Places of worship

Faith and Place in Sweden

Jul 21, 2016Migration, Places of worship, TransnationalismDr Anne Kubai, Fittja Mosque, Hallundakyrkan, Immanuelskyrkan, Pastor Sam Nweze, Pingstkyrkan, Stockholm, Uppsalaandrewrogers2014

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The network leaders, Andrew and Richard, visited Sweden at the end of February 2016 to examine how Faith and Place issues are configured in some Swedish contexts. Hosted by network member, Dr Anne Kubai of Uppsala University, we visited churches and mosques in Uppsala and Stockholm, with Anne providing rich contextual detail en route.

We spent time with the pastor of a historic Pentecostal church in Uppsala (Pingstkyrkan) with its own premises and restaurant next door, then headed off to a large ecumenical church in Stockholm (Immanuelskyrkan) which was partnered with a hotel, also next door. Sunday saw us at a Turkish mosque in an outer suburb of Stockholm for most of the day, receiving a very warm welcome, where we witnessed prayers, talked with members and interviewed the imam. Interspersed with our time at the mosque was a visit to an African majority church nearby that shared its premises with many other congregations. Interviewing Pastor Sam of Hallundakyrkan helped us to see how issues for some migrant groups in Stockholm at least were not so different from other European urban centres. We took away pictures, impressions, observations and interviews that we will be reflecting on further in our writing about faith and place, both the resonances and dissonances across the UK and Europe.

Briefing in Church Times

Nov 2, 2015Briefing, Faith and Place network, Places of worship, Planning, Policy, ResearchDudley Metropolitan Borough Council, Dudley Mosque Association, Faith and Place network, House of Commons, policy briefingandrewrogers2014

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The Faith and Place network policy briefing was featured in the Church Times on 30th October 2015, under the headline ‘Council planners “should embrace faith groups”‘. See the article here.

Commons launch

Oct 22, 2015Briefing, Faith and Place network, Places of worship, Planning, PolicyFaith and Place network, House of Commons, Jubilee room, policy briefingandrewrogers2014

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RTPI backs briefing

Oct 21, 2015Briefing, Faith and Place network, Places of worship, Planning, PolicyKathie Pollard, policy briefing, Royal Town Planning Instituteandrewrogers2014

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The Royal Town Planning Institute published its support for the Faith and Place policy briefing on 20th October in The Planner, its official magazine. Kathie Pollard, policy and networks advisor (pictured), said:

“We are very pleased to have been a part of the creation of this paper as it is an incredibly important and timely piece of work which planners and faith communities should engage with.

“It helps planners and decision-makers to make the most well-informed choices to create great places for communities to live, work and play in – including places of worship. We believe that it is a good guide for conversations between faith groups and local authorities on how to use space and to engage in the planning system.”

For the full list of messages of support, see the Support tab.

Policy briefing launched

Oct 16, 2015Briefing, Faith and Place network, Migration, Places of worship, Planning, PolicyDr Andrew Rogers, Dr Richard Gale, House of Commons, Mustafa Field MBE, policy briefing, Rev Katei Kirby, Stephen Timms MPandrewrogers2014

The Faith and Place network policy briefing was launched at the House of Commons on Thursday 15th October 2015. The evening was opened Stephen Timms MP reflecting on faith and place, followed by the network leaders giving an overview of the briefing recommendations. Responding to the briefing were Mustafa Field MBE (Faiths Forum for London) and Rev Katei Kirby (Ruach City Church). A panel was convened to discuss ways in which the recommendations will be taken forward. Video of the evening will soon be available on the website video tab. Click on the image above to download a copy of the briefing.

Archbishop and DCLG Minister endorse briefing

Oct 14, 2015Briefing, Faith and Place network, Migration, Places of worship, Planning, PolicyArchbishop of Canterbury, Brandon Lewis MP, Department of Communities and Local Government, Dr R David Muir, Faiths Forum for London, Justin Welby, Mustafa Field MBE, National Church Leaders' Forum: A Black Christian Voiceandrewrogers2014

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The Faith and Place network’s policy briefing, launched on Thursday 15th October at the House of Commons, has already been endorsed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby; the Minister for Housing and Planning, Brandon Lewis MP; Mustafa Field MBE of Faiths Forum for London and Dr R David Muir of the National Church Leaders’ Forum.

For full details of the endorsements click here or for details of the launch click here.

Faith and Place in the Netherlands

Jun 25, 2015Heritage, Members, Migration, New Black Majority Churches, Places of worship, TransnationalismChurches for Churches, De Kandelaar, Hillsongs Amsterdam, Pentecost Revival Church, Samen Kirk in Nederland, Task Force Future Church, Victory Outreach Church, VU Universityandrewrogers2014

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The network leaders, Andrew and Richard, recently visited Amsterdam and the Hague to get a sense of how faith, place and planning issues play out in the Netherlands. Meticulously organised by Dutch network member, Rev Dr Rens Schalkwijk, we met faith group leaders, policitians, architects, academics and spent Sunday at church. It also felt like we had cycled round the whole city!

Ruud Schurmann from Task Force Future Church (translation) explained to us his organisation’s work in preserving historic church buildings, and the parliamentarian, Cynthia Ortega-Martijn, explained some of the political realities for faith groups in Dutch cities. We gained a strong impression of many issues being similar to those faced by faith groups in the UK. We visited network member, Pastor Felix Asare, of Victory Outreach Church in the Hague, who spoke to us movingly of the church’s community outreach programme in drug rehabilitation. Pastor Emmanuel Koney met with us, pointing out there were over 300 ‘migrant’ churches in Amsterdam. He told us the story of the Kandelaar in Amsterdam South East, a purpose-built multi-hall centre for the use of up to 15 faith groups, as well as the trials and travails he had experienced in making this initiative happen. One of their projects with the police department was a ‘Reporting a crime without worries’ card for illegal aliens.

Sunday morning saw Richard and I heading for Escape – the largest nightclub in Amsterdam – right in the centre of town on Rembrandtplein. This is where Hillsongs Amsterdam meet, running four services a Sunday, so as to include all their members in worship. As for many churches who rent premises, whether small or large, setting up and setting down takes many hours of volunteer effort (especially as it was operating as a nightclub into the early hours of the morning). We headed south-east in the afternoon, and joined the Ghanaian majority Pentecost Revival Church, to see the Kandelaar for ourselves first-hand. Called on to speak to the church as a double act, we explained the purpose of the network and our visit, and were very warmly received.

There was time to visit VU University to meet with network member, Professor Hijme Stoffels and colleagues. This proved a very useful opportunity for making connections with their work in urban theology and human geography. A quick tour of faith based business and community initiatives concluded our visit, with Andrew then having to run at top speed through Schipol with all luggage, in order to be the last one on the ‘plane.

‘God Bless South London’ – Faith and Place through the artistic lens

May 13, 2015New Black Majority Churches, Places of worship, Theology of placeBosse & Baum, Chloe Dewe Mathews, Tate Modernandrewrogers2014

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This panel discussion takes place at Bosse & Baum, Copeland Park Industrial Estate in Peckham, South London – at the geographical heart of African Christianity in the UK. The panel features perspectives from the faith, local authority and arts community, and includes Faith and Place network investigator, Andrew Rogers.

The panel will be engaging with the work of Chloe Dewe Mathews, whose work is being exhibited at Bosse & Baum. Commissioned by Tate Modern, ‘Congregation’ is a video installation which explores collective religious experience and the nature of expressive worship in south London’s African majority churches.

Taking place from 6.30-8.30pm on Tuesday 2nd June, further details are available at Tate Modern and Bosse and Baum.

Critical Themes for Explorations event

Feb 7, 2015Events, Faith and Place network, Heritage, Migration, New Black Majority Churches, Places of worship, Planning, Report, Theology of place, TransnationalismWoodbrooke Quaker Study Centreandrewrogers2014

Following on from the first network event, Perspectives, and the subsequent report (see previous post), Andrew and Richard have identified four critical themes to be explored in more depth at the upcoming Explorations event on the 19th March 2015 in Birmingham. These themes are set out below or you can download them here. Continue reading Critical Themes for Explorations event →