July Update

Update

Last time we flagged up the launch of the Business Plan Toolkit. If you have an historic building in need of restoration and a vision to develop its use for the community, a business plan is a must to win friends and influence people i.e secure funding. You can now down load a ‘how to’ guide via this link. 

News

Sophia Hubs  - A new faith-based business hub was launched recently at St John's Seven Kings. (see picture) The Seven Kings & Newbury Park Sophia Hub is the first pilot of what will become a network of Hubs building on the community engagement of faith communities.Whilst there are increasing numbers of faith-based social enterprises starting up around the country, and a new emphasis on missional entrepreneurialism, there is as yet very little joining up of the different projects and adding up of their value to advocate for greater investment and support. The Sophia Hubs network will provide a network organisation for existing faith-based business incubators as well as developing a model for starting them up and providing services to enable that process which builds on existing community engagement. 

People can get involved with the pilot as business mentors, start-ups, investors, management group members and timebank volunteers. An initial Sophia Course will aim to empower people in making connections with their faith and wisdom traditions, understanding the basics about social enterprise and considering the local context, identifying resources and issues of shared local concern to generate ideas for new social enterprises. For more info contact : sophiahubs@yahoo.com   tel: 07766 451316.

Events
Tuesday 16^th July until 28^th July  Southwark Cathedral. Exhibition on South London Inter Faith Group’s Inter Faith Walks see the events page on the PEN website.

Friday 19^th July 4pm at Lumen URC 88 Tavistock Place WC1H 9RS.  SYRIA How Can we Help & How best pray for its people? – Meet Mary Mikhael spokesperson for the Evangelical (ie Presbyterian) Churches of Syria and Lebanon and until recently President of the Near Eastern School of Theology in Beirut .

Resources
Initiatives for Change is a worldwide movement of people of diverse cultures and backgrounds, who are committed to the transformation of society through changes in human motives and behaviour, starting in their own lives. Read their latest newsletter, and you can subscribe to receive regular bulletins via the same link.

ARC The Alliance of Religions & Conservation has republished  Faith in Conservation by Martin Palmer & Victoria Finlay (first published in partnership with the World bank in 2003). The book can be downloaded from the ARC website.  ARC's biggest projects currently are The Green Pilgrimage Movement (including Hajj); Wildlife, forests and faith; and Family Education and Water.

Courses

Now is the time to plan your studies (and encourage others) in the new academic year. King's College London and the Westminster Abbey Institute, The London Interfaith Centre and St Ethelburga’s have new programmes for 2013-14. Details on the Courses pages of the PEN website in the next couple of weeks.