On a warm summer evening in July, a group of thirty people gathered at Birmingham Central Mosque for the Awards Evening of the Faith Guiding Course 2025. They all shared a commitment to a faith tradition, although they belonged to diverse churches, mosques, gurdwaras, and mandirs across the region.
The evening marked the culmination of a 7-week online training programme that brought together a group of 10 ‘learners’ every Tuesday evening for 2.5 hours.
This year, the group of learners included three Christians, three Sikhs, two Muslims, and three Hindus. Their learning journey took them each week on a virtual visit to a different place of worship, guided by a trained Faith Guide through Visiting Faith Videos. They then spent time with a faith tutor to explore how to present their own faiths to others. With the support from experienced faith guides, the group learnt to plan and deliver a tour of their own place of worship, which they presented in the final assessment.
This educational journey also included opportunities to reflect and to hear from dialogue practitioners about building interfaith relations in the community.
As we complete yet another course, I feel grateful to have had the privilege of once again coordinating a dynamic interfaith team that delivered sessions week after week—a group of knowledgeable and committed tutors who believe in giving adults and local faith communities the opportunity to learn and serve in their own places of worship.
Over the past 18 years, nearly two hundred people have completed the Faith Guiding Course and have gone on to become Faith Guides in their own right. The course is delivered by the Faith Encounter Programme (FEP), an independent organisation set up in 2007 to promote religious harmony and social cohesion for the benefit of the public.
The newly awarded Faith Guides belong to the following places of worship/organisations:
- Hindu Durga Bhavan Temple
- Ramgharia Gurdwara, Small Heath
- Shree Hindu Community Centre
- Rea Church
- English Martyrs Church
- The Dialogue Society
- Birmingham Central Mosque
- Christ Church, Selly Park
- Guru Nanak Gurdwara, Wolverhampton
Guided by the Holy Spirit, Columban Missionaries are committed to crossing boundaries of culture and religion to reveal, by word and by action, the Good News of Jesus Christ. In Britain, our ministry is rooted in Birmingham, a diverse city home to people from many cultures and faiths. After years of community engagement, we are deeply involved in grassroots initiatives that bring people of different religions and backgrounds together, with a particular focus on supporting those seeking sanctuary. By supporting local dialogue initiatives such as the Faith Encounter Programme, the Columbans in Britain contribute to build harmonious relations among diverse communities.
Worldwide, Columban missionaries recognise that addressing poverty, injustice, and environmental degradation is most effective when communities work together rather than in isolation. This outreach has led us into enriching encounters with indigenous peoples, such as the Subanen and Aeta in the Philippines, whose way of life is threatened by exploitation and overconsumption.
Columban Faith in Action volunteer, Abi Yendole was one of the ten who successfully completed the course this year. We wish to congratulate Abi and all those who journeyed with her on the course this year!
