On Monday 27th August we held our 2026 Annual General Meeting at Cross Street Chapel. We would like to thank everyone who joined us in making it a special evening of sharing, reflecting, building and strengthening connections.

We started the evening with an opening prayer by our Trustee Manjari Patel who offered a Jain Prayer for Peace:

Namo Arihantanam: I bow down to Arihanta,

Namo Siddhanam: I bow down to Siddha,

Namo Ayariyanam: I bow down to Acharya,

Namo Uvajjhayanam: I bow down to Upadhyaya,

Namo Loe Savva-sahunam: I bow down to Sadhu and Sadhvi.

Eso Panch Namokaro: These five bowings downs,

Savva-pavappanasano: Destroy all the sins,

Manglananch Savvesim: Amongst all that is auspicious,

Padhamam Havei Mangalam: This Navkar Mantra is the foremost.

Warren Elf also offered a poem from the Jewish tradition called “I’m Asking God One Question” by Debra Robbins

Warren then presented the 2025/26 Report, highlighting the activities that took place since August 2025. As well as sharing the difficult financial position FN4M is in and unfortunately there were no easy answers.

Louise Mulvey was then introduced who was appointed Community Development Worker on 1st June 2026 and updated attendees on her work. Louise’s role is jointly managed by  FN4M and Manchester City Council (MCC), to facilitate the first phase of agreeing an effective and representative Faith, Belief and Interfaith Covenant between Manchester City Council and the many faith communities of Manchester. Some of these communities, although holding to a form of belief system, would not describe themselves as a religious group i.e. the Deaf Community or the Twelve Step Recovery groups. Louise Mulvey has begun to map out groups in Manchester and has met in person and online with several groups. She describes her main function at this stage as listening.

The special guest for the evening was Rev Dr Raj Patta who spoke on the ‘The Joys of Being a Trustee’. Raj is a Methodist minister and current Chair of the Greater Manchester Faith and Belief Advisory Panel. He summed up the joys of being a Trustee by highlighting the importance of:

• Being entrusted and building trust
• Listening more attentively
• Building friendships with one another
• Seeking a right Relationship with everyone and a Right Relationship with God.

Raj spoke of the pressing need to learn to trust each other and to worship God together, setting aside our personal discomfort and intellectual disagreements. This drew unanimous agreement from his listeners, with hopes for closer working between civic and faith groups. Raj left us with this question: Who is missing from the table and who is not in the room?

The next item on the agenda was the appointment of continuing Trustees. Sadly, Grange Williams laid down his Trusteeship and was thanked for his service over the past many years. And Manjari Patel, Clive Pyott, Amer Salam and Warren Elf were reappointed as Trustees from AGM 2026 to AGM 2029, although Warren is stepping down from the position of Chair. The search for new Trustees with relevant experience is now urgent and we will be sharing further information soon.

Warren brought the AGM to a close by reflecting on the work of Louise Mulvey, of the City Council, of the groups providing support for those in need and Faith Network for Manchester one goal: to build a more peaceful, harmonious and understanding community throughout Manchester.

Thanks were given to Nabila for providing the delicious feast we enjoyed while building personal connections. And greetings and thanks came from the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Shaukat Ali.

For more pictures of the 2026 Annual General Meeting, visit our social media pages @FN4MCR