Bristol Multi-Faith Forum (BMFF) is an organisation instituted by the Bristol City Council in 2004, for inter-faith community cohesion and inter-cultural social harmony; and to promote community health and well-being. BMFF was formed, following consultation with the city’s faith communities and the voluntary community sector, considering the wider city objectives. Funded initially by the City Council, BMFF became an independent body in 2007. BMFF acts as the voice of the people of faith and promotes the interests of faith communities in Bristol and the West of England region.
BMFF encourages all religious communities to stand together in fraternity and fellowship for peace and justice. The Multi-Faith Forum aims to provide opportunities for communication and relationship building between people of different faiths and enable people of diverse communities and traditions to engage together in the direction and development of the city. In recent years, the Multi-Faith Forum has started to spread its wings to encourage partnerships working with faith and statutory organizations to engage in the building of a strong, diverse community. We talk to one another and together talk with the wider community of Bristol and the West of England region.
BMFF organise the ‘Diverse Doors Open Day’, which is an annual event that offers people the opportunity to visit a wide range of places of worship and learn about the many faith communities in Bristol. We also play a collaborative role in organising the Bristol Lord Mayor’s Inter-Faith Civic Celebration conducted on an annual basis. We also arrange ‘Faith Trails’ that enable people to connect with various places of worship.
BMFF also actively promotes the health and well-being of the communities. We act as the lead partner for NHS BT’s Blood and Organ Donation campaign in the West of England region, the British Science Association’s British Science Week programmes as well as an agency to promote health walks, reduce social isolation and loneliness, create awareness of dementia, to support counselling services for bereaved families, to inculcate social awareness, to eradicate hate-crime and to enhance ecological preservation amongst various communities in Bristol and the West of England region. 
Bristol Multi-Faith Forum believes that it is in building understanding, friendship, and cooperation that people of different faiths come to recognize that, while there are differences, we hold a lot of values and hopes in common as well as a conviction that life is a sacred gift. We believe that careful building of good relationships, which the Forum exists to pursue adds to a more peaceful and robust society.
BMFF Executive Board:
Cllr Tom Aditya – Chairman
Cllr James Hackett – Treasurer
Adv. Tripti Megeri – Secretary
Mr Abdul Tariq – Facilitator
BMFF seeks to achieve its aims by:
- Giving a voice for people of faith following a decade where faith has been greatly sidelined.
- Serving as a forum for faith communities to enter into dialogue with each other and with relevant organs of the statutory, private, and voluntary sectors in Bristol and the West of England region.
- Developing and nurturing leadership in the faith communities, in partnership with those communities, to do the above and also to be a platform for focus on commonalities and shared objectives amongst the faiths.
With this in mind, the Forum will seek to:
- Promote interests and concerns of faith communities in the City of Bristol and the West of England region.
- Provide representatives for, and participate in the decision-making of, citywide partnerships and other bodies where joint faith communities’ representatives are required by statutory or other agencies, or where faith community representation is optional and the Forum decides to participate.
- Develop relationships with key people in the statutory, private, and voluntary sectors.
- Maximise the take-up of appropriate statutory and other funding by faith communities.
- Encourage joint faith social action where practical to respond to opportunities and needs in the communities of Bristol and the West of England region.
- Act as a channel for consultation by statutory and other bodies that seek views of faith communities.
- Work in collaboration with “the Inter-Faith Network UK’ and other inter-faith organisations.
- Promote intra-faith and inter(multi)-faith dialogue.
- Support the development of faith forums, or similar bodies, for each faith community.
- Be active in influencing policy and providing responses to government and other consultations.
The Forum is not exclusive. Individual faith groups and establishments are welcome to be involved. However, we do have an objective to establish forums for the larger denominations to give a united voice. The first of these, the Muslim Forum, has already been established and is functioning.
All of our events and activities are publicized in our e-bulletins as well as through our Facebook Page www.facebook.com/BristolMultiFaithForum and our Facebook Group. We also produce news magazines and our annual report. The best way of keeping in touch is to sign up for our mailing list. As an individual, you can do that by following this link here and filling in your contact details. Organisations can sign up to receive our newsletter and find out how to work in partnership with us by following this other link. In each case, please remember to click the button at the end of the form, permitting us to add you to our mailing list.
