Faith Regeneration Unit

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Faith Regeneration Unit

Mission Statement

To engage with the churches and faith communities of Wolverhampton: to help them use their buildings to deliver projects and services to their community. To encourage, inspire, motivate and empower congregations and provide practical help in assisting them to care for the needy.

Meet the Team

John Waterfield - Lead Officer

I took over the role of Lead Officer in January 2006. I joined the FRU in February 2005 as Monitoring and Evaluation officer, a role I had previously held for two years with BBAP, a local area network. I find it both stimulating and challenging working with the faith communities of Wolverhampton and have been genuinely surprised by the amount of good work going on in our communities from our churches gurdwaras, temples and mosques, which make a real difference to peoples lives.

It gives me real job satisfaction when you can play a part in helping a faith group to develop a project from their faith building and see it delivering much needed services to their community. It’s great not going to bed on Sunday night and having that sinking feeling when you realise tomorrow is Monday and it’s back to work!

My previous experience was eighteen years in computer sales and I feel a lot of the skills and experience I learned in this time has been invaluable to me. Whether you are selling a computer or giving advice on project development you are dealing with people and you need to build trust and understanding. It’s important to me as a Christian, that the FRU is run with a strong Christian ethos and by doing this we are secure enough in our vision to work with other faiths in a manner of mutual respect and understanding.

I am married to Jan who is Team Minister for Stowlawn church and St Chad’s church in Bilston and as the FRU is based as a project in Stowlawn church you can imagine it’s difficult to keep conversation at dinner away from work. Although when our grandsons Joshua, 6 and Jordan, 5 come to visit it’s quite easy.

It was strange working in a church building at first but you do come to appreciate the quietness and serenity it has, even when the West Brom have played the Wolves (see Gareth’s article) the previous day.

Gareth Ralph – Project Officer

“Hi I’m Gareth and I have been working with FRU since it’s inception in February 2005. Prior to this I worked on various community based projects, most recently with Parish of Bilston Special Projects ‘Senior Citizen Link Line’ and ‘Teleresources’. This work helped to pave the way for the formation of FRU, proving the need for a dedicated unit to work with faith groups in Wolverhampton to develop projects – I found this very rewarding and enjoyable and is something I am proud to have been a part of.

I was christened in the Catholic Church but have to confess that these days I am of no particular faith – though I embrace and respect all faiths, and live my life sharing the same values evident in all mainstream religions. I am sometimes asked if it is appropriate me working within our multi – faith arena. I feel very strongly that infact I am often better placed to work with different faiths as I have no preconceptions or prejudices.

Outside of work my interests are wide and varied. I love most sports, mainly watching these days. I played Rugby Union for Walsall RUFC for many years until injuries took hold. I am still a keen spectator however. I also like cricket football – I am a West Bromwich Albion season ticket holder and was at the new Wembley Stadium recently to watch us lose in the Championship play off final (Ouch!). Monday mornings can provide lively debate and banter as John (my gaffer) is a Wolverhampton Wanderers season ticket holder… Hmm!!

My other big interest is singing – I was a professional singer with a Rock Band for ten years in the Canary Islands prior to my working in the voluntary sector. I still sing in a band, ‘Fresh’ based in Cambridge/Hertfordshire, and also sing solo up and down the country. I like to travel, both in UK and abroad. I think the UK is vastly underrated and has many beautiful regions – my favourite county is Devon.

I like nothing more than spending quality time with my children – Hayden (11) and Aneko (10). We share many of the same interests and would say that they are definitely my best friends.”