Swanswell Festival

As part of the Coventry City of Culture programme, a weekend of faith-related events were held on 10&11 September 2021. Attached to the event was the TiA coordinated Swanswell Festival on Sunday 12^th September 2021.

The primary purpose of the Swanswell Festival was to raise the profile of the Coventry Sacred Space Initiative.

• Access local communities with the aim of obtaining their interest, engagement and how their needs, hopes would be best served by the Initiative.

• Honour the ‘ARRIVAL/WELCOME’ area of Coventry and imagine/design activities that transform the concept of Initiative into a reality.

• Celebrate and Exhibit diversity of cultures, faiths/beliefs, communities, generations thereby reinforcing cohesion and harmony in and between communities.

• Create an opportunity to discuss and debate matters (e.g., climate and environment, needs of young people, the Initiative, mental and physical well-being) that impact the lives of people across the city and beyond.

Celebrating COVID heroes

 TiA was involved in helping to organise a special Thank You Day to thank our COVID heroes in Coventry.

An interfaith service was held at Coventry Cathedral to thank and celebrate all those who have been working hard to keep us safe during the pandemic. Other events were held throughout the country.

The idea was originally proposed by a small group of people to pay tribute to unsung heroes and since then has been backed by a number of celebrities.

Julie Siddiqi MBE, founder of Together We Thrive and one of the original proposers for Thank You Day said: “It was wonderful for me to start Thank You Day at Coventry Cathedral.

“It is a place of special significance and being there with friends from all backgrounds was really inspiring”.

“Faith communities have done so much during this past difficult year; we have lots of people to thank.”

The cathedral’s dean, The Very Reverend John Witcombe, said the service was an “inspiring” event and had been “immensely moving”.

The campaign for Thank You Day was started by a small group of people from across the UK, including Debbie Matthew, a stroke survivor from Perthshire, and May Parsons, the nurse who administered the UK’s first Covid jab at University Hospital in Coventry.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson also hosted a barbecue for community leaders, NHS workers and representatives from the Royal Voluntary Service.

For the national perspective, please go to the BBC Website.

“I would like to add my thanks, and admiration for everyone… Thank you especially  to Deepak for playing an important part in bringing in some of our local faith leaders and briefing them. –The Very Revd John Witcombe MA MPhil, Dean of Coventry

Designed to help young people and young adults to become aware of their full human potential and thus enthuse them, lighting the spark that gives them the determination to make positive changes of benefit to them in the first instance, but also to their community and beyond.  Perhaps to suffering elements of the environment which have meaning to them and which they value.

Designed to help young people and young adults explore, with others, how Values, Beliefs and practice define us as individuals, families, communities, regions, nations and global society. The object of these projects will be to provide people with the opportunity to explore our common Humanity discovering the spiritual, natural and eternal energy that connects each one of us. 

Designed to encourage participants to identify and undertake community cohesion projects which work towards the positive acceptance and celebration of cultural and social differences. These should be seen as factors to be valued and treasured.  They broaden and strengthen the experience and understanding of the entire community, and not only of the individual.