Celebrating Faith in Bexley

Representative Deputy Lieutenant David Easton JP DL meets nominated groups in the Cohesive Communities category and presents the award to the winners: The Dialogue Society Welling

Bexley’s ‘Faith Awards’ were held last week (15 November).

The event is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the great work being done by faith communities across the Borough that makes a real difference to the lives of residents. More than 200 people from all faiths attended the event.

The event, held at Civic Offices, Bexleyheath was jointly hosted by the Bexley Interfaith Forum (BIF) and the Mayor of Bexley, Cllr Ahmet Dourmoush. Rev Trevor Wyatt, Chair of the BIF led proceedings on the night.

Earlier this year faith groups were invited to send in details of projects they had worked on in the community.

A panel of judges made up of Cllr Sue Gower MBE: Bexley Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing; Paul Thorogood, Bexley Council Interim Chief Executive; Dave Easton: JP Deputy Lieutenant for the London Borough of Bexley , Dr Sid Deshmukh: Chair of the Bexley Wellbeing Partnership Committee of the NHS SE London Integrated Care Board; Rt Rev Simon Burton-Jones: Bishop of Tonbridge (Church of England); Paula Dodds: Police Inspector Bexleyheath Neighbourhood Policing Team and Jattinder Rai: CEO of the Bexley Voluntary Service Council (BVSC) chose the best projects in each category to win an engraved glass trophy. Each of the groups who were nominated received a certificate from the Mayor of Bexley.

The categories and winners were –

  • Healthy Communities - Bexley Nepalese Community
  • Supportive Communities - Galaxy Club/Christ Church Bexleyheath
  • Successful Communities - Cribs – Christian Resources in Bexley Schools
  • Helping Others in the World - Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) In Bexleyheath
  • Cohesive Communities -The Dialogue Society (Welling)
  • Outstanding Team - Welling Salvation Army
  • Outstanding Individual - Guneeka Chitkara
  • Lifetime Award - Dr Faz and the late Mrs Faozia Rashid

Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Sue Gower MBE said:

We are extremely fortunate to have a number of active and enthusiastic faith groups in Bexley who provide so much for our local communities. This made the judging process an extremely difficult task for all of us.  
Their day-to-day involvement in the community makes a huge difference to those who need it most. It was great to have this event to recognise and celebrate their hard work and commitment.”

To find out more about the Interfaith Forum and how to get involved visit Interfaith forum.

The event and glass trophies were sponsored by GreenAcres Kemnal Park, F A Albins and Sons and W Uden and Sons.