At Luminary, our ethos is to ‘love our neighbour as ourselves’. Our Founder and the original team of volunteers were all part of a church community and were inspired by their faith to create opportunities for women. The Christian faith motivates the Luminary vision and culture of: Believing in the impossible, focussing on hope, going the extra mile for our trainees, believing in potential in everyone, showing love and compassion without conditions. We have a Trustee responsible for looking at Luminary governance from a faith and inclusion lens. A Christian faith is not required in order to work or volunteer with us, or to benefit from our services. All can find a place to belong in the Luminary community.

For team:

• It is advised that job applicants be comfortable working within a faith-based organisation and be respectful of all faith views.
• We work hard to offer inclusive spaces for all faiths, respecting all religious festivals and practices.
• The team will sometimes have a time of prayer together but this can be used as a time of reflection if preferred, and inclusivity is a key value to the facilitation of this.

For trainees:

• The programmes we run are nondiscriminatory and trainees are treated equally no matter what faith background or interest in a faith journey they have.
• Women can fully participate in all core aspects of the programme without engaging in anything which has faith content.
• We do recognise that spirituality is a part of the human make-up and as a faith based organisation, acknowledge the unique opportunity we may have to offer support for those who are looking for a female focussed, trauma-informed, Christian community.
• There are optional ways for women to engage in offers of spiritual support, which come from a Christian faith perspective, but always with the aim to be accessible no matter what you believe. Where women have other faiths, we work to connect her with external relevant services to access specialist support in her own faith community.
• If a woman would like us to pray for her from a Christian perspective, or provide ‘chaplaincy’ style support, specific team members are happy to facilitate this - particularly our volunteer Chaplain. For these roles, holding a Christian faith is an occupational requirement and will be outlined in the job description.
• Faith perspectives are discussed when initiated by the trainee, keeping in mind power dynamics. In discussion, we respect other world views and do not pass judgement or impose our views on others.
• Examples of optional offers are: An open prayer board for requests & gratitude, a weekly online prayer & reflection time, access to 1-1 sessions with our volunteer chaplain, Wellbeing Sessions with a faith focus, trip to Christmas carol concert.

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” — Mother Teresa