The ChurchWorks Summit
27th February 2026
AtaLoss was delighted to attend the ChurchWorks Summit in London on Friday 27th February. The event brought together over 300 delegates from churches, charities and government representatives to celebrate the work that God is doing in and through his Church in this country.
The event was addressed by the Health Minister, who confirmed support for the wide contribution that faith groups make to society - and organisations were able to share updates and announcements on their work with Local Authorities and the NHS. Here is the text of the update from AtaLoss:
”Last year AtaLoss commissioned independent research into the well-being impact of our The Bereavement Journey® bereavement peer group support programme, run by Christians for their communities, in churches, hospitals, care homes, universities etc. The report showed outstanding results for understanding and processing grief, feeling less lonely, improved mental health and for coping and reengaging with life.
Due to its extraordinary impact the programme has spread rapidly to over 570 locations across the UK and is growing at a rate of one new location a working day. At least 33% of courses are being advertised through GP surgeries and 41% though Social Prescribers, - and the United Lincolnshire Health Trust, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in Wales, and NHS Wirral Talking Therapies, are all, amongst others, directing people to the programme.
AtaLoss has won several awards for our pioneering model of timely, holistic bereavement support in the three healthcare pyramid layers of awareness, signposting and community support - together taking pressure off therapists - and we have presented at the annual Bereavement Care conference for NHS Education Scotland and to NHS Lothian.
We are championing unsupported bereavement as a public health issue, as it contributes to mental ill-health, physical ill-health, under-achievement, relationship breakdown, job loss, homelessness, addiction and crime. To that end, we have recently piloted The Bereavement Journey® in 7 Prisons, including those operated by His Majesty’s Probation and Prison service (HMPPS), the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and private prisons. The report is about to be published but findings importantly point to more settled custodial sentences and reduced re-offending.”
Panels on Wellbeing, Children and Tackling Poverty followed, with plenty of time for delegates to visit the Marketplace. We had lots of productive and positive conversations with people who were interested in our work.
In the afternoon, Roger Greene co-led a workshop on Navigating the Health and Care System - a guide for churches, explaining some of the acronyms and structures in order to simplify routes to decision makers.