Our Work
Below you can find more information about the key areas of work that support the mission of the Conference of Religious, with links to relevant resources and materials from previous meetings and gatherings.
Collaboration Workshops
Our collaboration workshops bring together members to share good practice, explore common challenges, and develop practical solutions that strengthen religious life today. Throughout 2025, a series of workshops offered leaders, congregation members, and lay colleagues involved in congregational planning the opportunity to learn from one another, engage in discussion, and receive professional input. Topics included new ways of working, health care in local communities, legacy planning, inter-congregational support, and follow-up sessions from earlier themes.
The Collaboration Committee is now reviewing feedback and outcomes from the 2025 programme to shape priorities and potential topics for 2026. Workshops continue to take place throughout the year, with materials and presentations from past sessions made available.
Further updates from the Collaboration Committee will be provided in due course.
“Our collaboration workshops bring together members to share good practice, explore common challenges, and develop practical solutions that strengthen religious life today.”
“The Health and Care Group provides ongoing advice and support to members on all aspects of healthcare and community living.”
Health & Care Group
The Health and Care Group provides ongoing advice and support to members on all aspects of healthcare and community living. Drawing on the expertise of religious with professional healthcare backgrounds, together with experienced lay colleagues, the group offers practical guidance, shared learning, and a trusted point of contact for congregations seeking support.
Over the past year, the Group’s work has included both the monthly online Care Forum and contributions to two Collaboration Workshops. The first, the Eldercare Workshop, explored ageing and care within religious communities, covering models of care, managing health needs, closing care homes, and CQC guidance. The second, Care in Communities, focused on supporting congregations providing care in non-registered community settings, with sessions on adult social care, employment of lay staff, and practical approaches to community-based support.
Looking ahead, the Group is developing further initiatives on mental health and capacity, supporting those living with dementia, and good practice in the employment of lay staff. Its work continues to strengthen the quality of care within religious communities and to support congregations in responding confidently to evolving needs.
Online Care Forum
The monthly Online Care Forum is a regular networking meeting held on the last Wednesday of each month from 12–1pm, bringing together those who run or manage registered and unregistered care homes, as well as congregations providing care in community houses. The forum offers a valuable space to share best practice, explore common challenges, and support one another in delivering high-quality care.
Open to religious and their lay colleagues involved in care provision, the forum also contributes to developing a set of core standards for non-CQC registered settings. Participants are encouraged to attend regularly and to invite others who may benefit from the shared learning and peer support offered.
This is one stream of work that has emerged from the joint Safeguarding the Elderly project being undertaken with the Religious Life Safeguarding Service (RLSS).
Future forums will continue to focus on topics shaped by the needs and experiences of the group, ensuring that current issues in community care can be discussed openly and collaboratively.
“The forum offers a valuable space to share best practice, explore common challenges, and support one another in delivering high-quality care.”
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting is an important gathering for members of the Conference of Religious, offering time to come together as a community in a shared spirit before moving into the business and planning of the year ahead. It provides an opportunity for congregational leaders to connect, consider the wider context of our shared mission, and discuss the key developments shaping our work.
Vocations
The Conference of Religious continues to support and strengthen vocation promotion across England and Wales through its funding of the Religious Life Promoter role, delivered in partnership with the National Office for Vocation.
This collaboration helps to raise the profile of religious life, provide resources for discernment, and offer support to congregations engaged in vocation ministry.
