Tuesday 22 May 2012

May Update

First up to get us in the mood for May and things celebratory Faith Through a Lens National photographic competition is a chance to win £1,000 worth of audio visual or photographic equipment for your faith group, charity or comunity group. In association with A Year of Service

News
The best material from the last 5 years of the Archbishop's inter religious speeches and dialogues have now been collected in to two special pages on the national Presence and Engagement Website The page Archbishop of Canterbury's Dialogues has the long transcripts of his meetings with the Buddhist and Hindu community recently and a shorter transcript of his speech to the Sikhs.The page Archbishop's Inter Religious Lectures The Archbishop's Inter religious Lectures links to the Archbishop's major speeches on his website.


Resources
See our earlier blog for some London 2012 Games related resources - Golden Rule; Prayer Vigil and bunting!
The Awareness Foundation has a new workshop helping Chrisitans to articulate their faith and understand the value of doing so Speak Out! is Free and easy to use.
Keele University  and the Dialogue Society are launching a new masters degree in Dialogue Studies. For details visit www.dialoguesociety.org/MA
A new online resource for those interested in Scriptural Reasoning is available from Cambridge Inter Faith Programme contact SRonline@interfaith.cam.ac.uk or visit the website.
The Maimonides Foundation is launching a new project for young people called ‘Interfaith Explorers’.  The project includes: a six week programme of cross-curricular activities; faith and cultural resources for pupils to explore online; a national competition providing opportunities for pupils to showcase their learning; prizes for winning schools; free teaching resources for primary schools; and support for pupils to develop skills, attitudes and values that build respect and understanding.  For further information, visit www.interfaithexplorers.com
Just a reminder to check the St Ethelburga's website - they have a new conflict coaching service available.


Events
St Mary Le Bow City Talks Tuesday 22nd May at 6.30pm  the Revd Gill College - ‘Voices from the margins – a report on Faith, Hope and Love amongst people who are homeless’. All welcome.


Wednesday 23rd May JustShare, the LSE, Penguin UK and St Paul’s Cathedral jointly present a free public debate at the Cathedral starting at 6.30pm (doors open at 6.00pm) with Harvard Professor and author Michael J. Sandel and Bishop Peter Selby. Tickets available on the door, but you should arrive early.

Friday 1st June  To mark its fifteenth anniversary, The Three Faiths Forum will run a variety of events for schools across London on 1 June. 3FF’s award-winning workshops (being offered for free and discounted rates for the day) will give students opportunities to learn about faiths and beliefs and improve intercultural communication skills. Schools on 3FF’s Faith School Linking programme will also celebrate the new relationships their students have forged.To find out more or to get involved, visit 3FF’s website: http://www.3ff.org.uk/3ffday.The next PEN event Tuesday 19th June Our Common Witness - day of dialogue in Radlett for Christians a Jews. Still places available book via pen@theology-centre.org


The International Council of Christians and Jews hold their annual conference in Manchester from Sunday 1st July to Wednesday 4th July this year. The last time they came to this country was 1991. This is a unique chance to meet on our doorstep the key players in Jewish-Christian Relations throughout the world. The thene is New Neighbours, New Opportunities:The Challenges of Multiculturalism and Social Responsibility. Visit their website for details.  Registration closes on 1st June.


The Ammerdown Centre near Bath is running a Three Faiths Summer School on the subject of ‘Pilgrimage’ from 3 to 9 July. The course, led by Rabbi Dr Michael Hilton, the Revd Dr Liz Carmichael and Sheikh Bashir Ahmad Dultz, is described as offering an opportunity to mix and relax with people of other faiths, to share and discuss, to learn and grow, to laugh and cry and to worship together.  The full residential cost is £485, but there are bursaries available for people on low income which reduce the cost to £323, and a limited number of free places are available for young people and students (maximum age 25). Visit the website or email centre@ammerdown.org


CHRISM (Christians in Secular Ministry) Sumer Conference July 13th-15th Ministry outside the Walls.The Kingdom is among us – at work, rest and play.Sharing experiences of Ministry and the Kingdom, wherever you have found it.Woodbrooke Quaker Adult Study Centre, Bournville, Birmingham



Advance notice and Call for Papers Monday 10 - Wendesday 12th September  Women, Authority and Leadership in Christianity and Islam  - Southlands College, University of Roehampton, London SW15 4EE
Abstracts of 250 words by 31st May to Caroline Matthews  c.matthews@roehampton.ac.uk or Lucy Parsons l.parsons@roehampton.ac.uk Conference fee, Non-residential £150/Residential £250 (10% reduction for thow who register by 31 May) Bursaries are available, details on request - bookings via http://estore.roehampton.ac.uk

The Games are Coming

Now that the Olympic torch is wending its way about the country it seems like a good time to mention a couple of resources and related events.

Churches Together in England have pulled together a number of resources around The Golden Rule 2012;
all of which can be downloaded from here The Golden Rule is the expression of the basic tennet 'Do unto others as you would have them do to you' as found in many if not all faiths.

The original Greek Olympics were preceded by a Sacred Truce, which enabled competitors to reach Olympia without being attacked and return safely afterwards. The 'Olympic Truce' is now enshrined in the United Nations expectations for the Games. From  11pm Friday 8th June to midday on Saturday 9th 2012 there will be a Vigil of Prayer in St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square. The vigil is divided in to  twelve hour sessions, led by different individiduals and groups and will include music, drama, silent reflecton and vocal prayer. For details of the programme and how to take part visit  http://www.peacelegacy.org.uk/ All are welcome, so do join in and encourage others to do so.

If you are organising a games related event in your area you might like to invest in a London 2012 Games Community Celebration pack (see picture above). For £99 (inlcuding vat) plus delivery you get 50 hand flags (10 each of five different colours, polyester) Two x 15 metre bunting strings (30 pennants per string, polyester) Flag and flagpole with fixtures (76.2cm x 1.5m flag, polyester) One horizontal banner (50cm x 2.5m, polyester) or you can buy the hand flags separately. Order 9 packs and get a 10th free! but hurry, orders will only be taken until June 15th. Go to www.gameslookbook.com/community to order. (You will be asked to register your details, including the group or organisation you are purchasing the Community Celebration Pack products for.)

Thursday 10 May 2012

Once in a Lifetime Experience

The Forum for Discussion of Israel and Palestine

Interfaith Study Tour to Israel and Palestine


27th December 2012 – 6th January 2013

  • Encounter the Holy Land – the geography, the people and, crucially, their hopes, fears and daily life;
  • Consider the issues;
  • Explore the spiritual possibilities which the Land has to offer;
  • Understand a little better the traditions of those with whom we travel.
FODIP is experienced in delivering top quality tours for Jews, Christians and Muslims together

“We shared times of shock, tears, amazement, spirituality and lots of laughter.”

“A wonderful 10 days that has had a profound impact on our lives!”

Tour leaders will be Pasha Shah and Rabbi Warren Elf, both FODIP Trustees and veterans of previous tours. The itinerary will include opportunities to experience worship in our holy places, visits to places of special interest, meeting the people and hearing the narratives. They will be working with MEJDI, an experienced company whose ethos perfectly matches our own: http://mejdi.net

Cost: £1550

For further information visit http://www.fodip.org/studytour.html

FODIP promotes positive and open dialogue among Jews, Christians and Muslims on the Israeli/Palestinian situation.