Last updated 22nd April 2022

Cinnamon Network

Cinnamon Network aims to make it as easy as possible for local churches to transform their communities by reaching out and building life-giving relationships with those in greatest need.

Cinnamon Network began emerging in 2010 in response to growing social need, public sector reform, increasing recognition of the role of voluntary organisations and the economic cuts. 50 Christian CEOs and leaders were challenged to consider how the Christian community could deliver more local transformation at national scale and to do so at speed. They met together at The Cinnamon Club in London and Cinnamon Network was born.

They help churches respond to the most pressing needs in their community by providing a menu of best-practice Cinnamon Recognised Projects that can easily be replicated. Alongside the projects they offer advice, funding, support and leadership training. They recognise that we all achieve more when we work in partnership and so, through initiatives like the Civic Prayer Events and Faith Action Audits, they help churches build strong civic partnerships and demonstrate the great work they are doing within their communities.

Lyrics and Lynch began in Sept 2013 at St Thomas' Church, Lancaster, and after three years of steady growth and development won the inaugural year of the Premier Radio Love Britain and Ireland Awards in the category of Working with Older People in 2016. Later that year Lyrics and Lunch reached the finals of the Cinnamon Network Incubator Project competition. It is a Cinnamon recommended project.

Jonny Gios is the adviser for the north of England. E-mail: jonnygios@cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

In Cinnamon's Annual report for 2020/21, Martin Warner, Chairman noted:

"When we started this financial year in April 2020, we were a few weeks into the first national lockdown and only beginning to learn what the full extent of a COVID-19 global pandemic would mean. Most of us had little idea of just how much life would change, how church life would change, and that this past year would throw up so many challenges for us all. As we come to the end of this extraordinary year, it has been so encouraging to see Cinnamon adapt and position itself to serve and equip local churches effectively, remaining true to the core focus of equipping local churches to serve those in need in our communities... Despite the challenges of the year, the number of Cinnamon Recommended Projects has actually increased, with new projects addressing many of the emerging issues of the day. In addition to the significant amount of online training that Cinnamon was able to deliver, a huge amount of work was focused on developing the new Cinnamon Connect online learning community, which launched in April 2021."

As reported in the Guardian newspaper in May 2018, 'More than 3,500 churches and 200,000 volunteers are working on health and social care initiatives that are “plugging the gap” left by funding cuts and limited resources, according to the Cinnamon Network, a charity that connects faith-based organisations.

Sarah Mullally, the new bishop of London, said the charity’s report – called The Church’s Impact on Health and Care – showed the important contribution being made by the voluntary sector and specifically the church to promote health.

She said: “The NHS is under considerable pressure: increasing public expectation, increasing life expectancy, improvements in technology and limited resources. If we are able to improve our health and the health of the community, [the church] can contribute to the better use of those limited resources.”

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