National P&E Coordinator reflects on the job so far

 

Kat Brealey took up the role of Presence and Engagement National Programme Coordinator at the end of August. Here she reflects on her first few months in the job and looks to the new year.

Three months in seems like a good time to take stock and share some of my initial thoughts on what I’ve seen and heard since I arrived.  The post is 2.5 days a week, which I currently combine with my role at the University of Bristol Multifaith Chaplaincy. As Chaplaincy Assistant, I create opportunities for students to explore both their own faith and that of others, and to encounter the range of faith traditions found within the university community. Something you quickly learn is how to work within the distinctive environment of the University, and I was attracted to Presence and Engagement by its recognition of the importance of context. Mission and ministry in multifaith areas is not addressed by a ‘one size fits all’ model, but rather is about equipping Christians with the resources to discover for themselves what faithful witness looks like in their locality. I hope to explore over the coming months new ways that Presence and Engagement can empower both clergy and congregations for this task.

To this end, I have spent the past few months visiting different parts of the country to hear from those already involved in interfaith engagement about the opportunities and challenges this presents. In my hometown Bristol, as well as in Bradford, Birmingham and London I met clergy in Presence and Engagement parishes, to see the range of ways they are engaging with their local communities. I’ve also been visiting those who encourage and resource this work, spending time at each of the four Presence and Engagement centres to gain an insight into their differing approaches.

On my travels, I’ve heard so many positive example of engagement whether at parish, diocesan or regional level; however these often aren’t widely circulated. It would be great to begin to share stories and ideas more widely, and I hope that the Presence and Engagement website might become a place where this can happen. We have some things already lined up to share with you, but over the coming months I’ll be appealing for submissions too, so that this site can be a regularly updated source of encouragement and inspiration. At our gathering of Diocesan Interfaith Officers in February we’ll also be launching a Twitter account, where we’ll be sharing news and updates as well as articles and resources relating to interfaith engagement.

Looking to the future, we are pleased to welcome Rev. Mark Poulson as National Adviser for Inter Religious Affairs from January 2015. Mark is currently vicar of St John’s, Southall, and brings significant experience of parish ministry in religiously and culturally diverse settings. 2015 will also mark ten years since the original Presence and Engagement report was published. Together Mark and I, along with the other members of the Inter Religious Affairs team, will be exploring how we take Presence and Engagement forward in a way that is both relevant and sustainable for the decade to come. We want this to be a two-way conversation, and so I look forward to meeting more of you in the coming weeks and months, and hearing how Presence and Engagement can better serve you in your ministry and service in multifaith areas.

Are We Reflections of Jesus and Muhammad, or Distortions?

A guest blog from Julian Bond, Director of the Christian Muslim Forum introducing an upcoming event......

Abrar House, Crawford Place, off Edgware Road, Central London, 16 June 2014

Some times people imagine what might happen if great figures from the past met each other. Would they get on, would it be a great creative encounter or a bad idea? Our event on 16 June opens by asking – what might happen if Jesus and Muhammad met? For some this might be a quasi-blasphemous suggestion. But if our ‘founders’ are never going to meet, except on the Last Day perhaps, their followers certainly do.

 

Scripturally-based inter faith asks – What Would Jesus Do? (see my article Inter Faith for the Cautious) – convinced that in encountering people who are different we are not actually trying to do anything that is new or strange. We hope our opening speakers will grapple with texts and use theologically informed imagination to offer insights old and new, taking us through the questions arising from how Jesus and Muhammad might interact. I hope that alone will be enough to whet your appetite and that you will join us at Abrar House.

 

If that isn’t enough, we will also be focusing on the big question, are we reflecting or distorting the image of Jesus and Muhammad - good reflections, or poor ones? Are we following a path of engagement and challenges, or maintaining our purity and keeping separate, or do we feel that we have no path to follow in post-Christian, postmodern, secular, multi-religious Britain?

 

The event is themed into two sections, under ‘Distortions’ we will be looking at tendencies to segregate and isolate, as well as how minorities are treated in society as a whole, and by the security services, in the UK, France, Iraq, Egypt and Syria. Under ‘Reflections’ we will reflect together on harmony, peace and welcoming the stranger. Do ancient prophetic messages tell us how to build an inclusive society and how to relate to those who are different? Members of the London Peace Network (an inter faith coalition) and PEN’s Susanne Mitchell will share their outlooks on taking the radical road to reconciliation.

 

Join us if you can for a free event, with lunch included. Who said there’s no such thing as a free lunch? We’re very pleased to share details of this event as Greater London PEN is one of our partners.

Times and Booking  here



Practical Inter Faith Course - a student eye view

Susan Cooper shares her experience of the London Inter Faith Centre's latest course in this guest

blog......

Described as a new one-day-a-month ecumenical course for lay people and clergy to help equip them for Inter Faith engagement in their own environment in and around London. The course has been arranged by Rev’d Maggie Hindley and the Rev’d Laurence Hillel at the London Interfaith Centre at St Andrew’s and St Anne’s Church, Brondesbury. This was an area that I knew over fifty years ago when I went to school nearby.

We meet, monthly in different locations, as an interfaith group of twelve people, including Jewish, Muslim and Hindu participants as well as Christians from a range of denominations and one who is exploring faith. 

We were invited for prayers by the Shia Muslim Al Khoei Foundation in its mosque – which had been a synagogue when I was at school.  Brondesbury & Kilburn High School for Girls – that I attended - now houses the Al-Sadiq and Al-Zahra schools and the Al-Ghadeer Nursery.  Across the road in the old Kilburn Grammar building is the Islamia Primary School started by Yusuf Islam (former pop star, Cat Stevens).

A trip to Welwyn Garden City took us to the home of its Hebrew Congregation – an Orthodox Synagogue, the Quaker meeting house, and the Focolare centre where we were briefed on the activities of the Welwyn Garden City interfaith group.

A visit to Luton brought us in contact with the challenges of interfaith living in an urban situation. The work there has concentrated on social projects that different faiths have been able to tackle together, such as the Faith Woodlands Path in Dallow Downs and Runley Wood.  The faiths groups have supported each when there have been potential flash points in the community.

I missed the visit to Southall and the one to the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (Neasden Temple), although I hope to visit the latter through the good offices of a group member who volunteers there.

Our most recent visit was to the St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace in Bishopsgate in the City of London.  We met in the Tent, made of Goat’s hair, providing, in the round, a safe environment for encounter and discussion across divides such as different faiths or misunderstandings. For this session we were joined by others experienced in dialoguing to show us the advantage of using dialogue to get to know other individuals from different backgrounds.

In addition to our visits and the experiences arising from them, we have undertaken items of study.  An introduction to interfaith dialogue was given by the Rev’d John Parry.  We looked at papers relating to Jewish Christian dialogue – Dabru Emet from the Jewish community and Nostate Aetate from Pope Paul VI in 1965. We were introduced to scriptural reasoning by a Rabbi and a Christian minister and a Muslim. It was particularly interesting hearing the Rabbi’s contribution as she was able to share the Jewish interpretation given in the Midrash for a passage she chose from the book of Genesis.

Members of the group share their own researches, including a study of churches that have become places of worship for other religions and a paper on whether the Christian assertion of the uniqueness would be a hindrance to interfaith dialogue – sadly, I missed that discussion. In addition we have been encouraged to work on our own projects within our own communities.

I have found the meetings enriching as I developed new friendships and seen new horizons. There are only three more opportunities to meet and learn together, I trust that more will appear over those horizons after the course closes in July.

 

Reflecting on "Rev"

The latest series of Rev began with an episode called "Present and Engaged" - and it has provoked a flurry of debate and reflection on Christian ministry in multi-faith contexts.  In a blog for Fulcrum, Angus Ritchie (the Director of the Contextual Theology Centre) looks back over the various articles and letters in the Evening Standard, and argues that there are some important theological issues at stake.  You can read his article here; it also contains details of some research PEN is carrying out into church growth in multi-faith contexts, and PEN's event on 17 June with Bishop Stephen Cottrell, called What kind of growth?

Holistic Health

One of the first stories added to the PEN website was about health preachers in Waltham Forest - a group of faith leaders who had been trained together to promote key health messages in their respective congregations.

Two stories just in illustrate faith communities still have a role to play in promoting better health ..............

London is now the Tuberculosis capital of Europe and health services are again turning to faith groups to raise awareness and promote information about services. Monday 24th March is World TB day and there will be an event at Regent Hall, 275 Oxford Street, W1C 2DJ detailing how religious communities might take the lead in piloting new ways of working with health professionals in preventing the spread of TB and ensuring early detection. For details and registration sese the London Bourghs Faiths Network blog here

Meanwhile in Shoreditch a Christian run GP practice is developing it's work in 'whole person care'. Helen Moules blog on the Contextual Theology Centre website invites you to find out more at a breakfast meeting on  Thursday 20th March, 8.30am. This project is scalable and replicable -  in other words could happen in your area too.

Food, Fasting and Faith

Just as Lent was beginning and Christians were being called to fast, the Danish Government issued a ban on ritual slaughter, citing animal rights.

Jewish and Muslim lobby groups cried fowl and  the Agriculture Minister then apologised for not having consulted faith groups before the ban!

In the UK the president-elect of the British Veterinary Association, John Blackwell, was interviewed on Radio 4 re his challenge to ritual slaughter on the grounds of animal welfare.

The Joseph Interfaith Foundation issued a statement in response to his comments and a week later The Tablet carried an article on the subject which neatly summed up the debate; can faith groups who established a humane ways of securing a meat supply centuries ahead of society at large be encouraged to look again at their practice in the light of research which suggests further improvements are necessary to ensure the animal welfare.

Given that practices in meat production are flawed, becoming a vegetarian for Lent( if not permanently) seems like a good option.

Download a briefing paper with links here

Present without a Presence ..........some thoughts

A guest blog by Rev’d Craig Barber – Chaplain London Met University.

One of the great joys of University chaplaincy is the incredible diversity of activity that one finds oneself engaged in.
The pressures upon students, staff and related stakeholders in the wider community arising from ongoing periods of change experienced by Higher and other sectors of Education create something of a maelstrom. Being at the centre of this is part of the University the chaplain's role. More specific to London Met, the ever revolving door of students from many nationalities and faiths flowing in and out from semester to semester and the demands they bring in terms of advice, wellbeing, academic retention, employability demands and general life and faith support create an incredible pressure for any chaplaincy team (ie myself and a part-time colleague who himself has the pressure of being URC chaplain ‘at large’ across London) to carry. It is a joyful ministry – working with younger people always is but it is also an intense one encountering individuals at their most vulnerable, away from home or country, family and cultural/faith norms and in a fast moving and steady paced environment. 

That is something of the context in which I find myself fulfilling the call to be attentive to the presence of God. Attentiveness is vital in the role of university chaplaincy. Being able to read the various situations one finds oneself in and often having to contribute to decision making that falls way outside what one would consider the Priestly task is all about viewing the world of the University through a different lens – ensuring that the whole development of the student is a life building and changing experience rooted in the self as whole. Naturally like those engaged in other forms of ministry and support the demands are too varied and often just too much! Individual student and staff contact, management team meetings, policy development and research all eat away at that precious attentive task. I suppose it’s rather Benedictine to suggest that although at times these tasks are tiresome, they are of themselves prayer and presence. Somehow infiltrating the institutional structures in a slightly subversive manner to do your bit to ensure the care and development of the individual spiritually, academically and socially. All this is often undertaken out of sight of most people both within the University and The Diocese. It is a ministry of shadows – offering an ever presence without always being able to be physically present. (This is particularly true at London Metropolitan University with several campus sites to cover and 17,000 students or so with all students living off-site). It is a ministry of self-realisation – reading the context in all its complexity and realising that it isn’t possible to effect or affect as one may desire. A humbling Ministry as one struggles to create a legitimacy for chaplaincies existence both inward and to the wider Church. A ministry that relies upon a deep seated prayer life and daily sacramental encounter be that through The sacraments or in touching the lives of fellow humankind.

Fr Craig – Lead Chaplain c.barber@londonmet.ac.uk

Churches Reaching Out to Muslim Neighbours

Guest blog from a Curate in West London

Change of Attitude toward Muslims: From Fear to Love         

                                

The life of the late Nelson Mandela reminds us that we have a choice in reacting to those different to ourselves with either fear or love; and yet sadly many Christians follow the Western media’s lead in associating Muslims with fear. However at the centre of the Christian faith is not fear but the love of Jesus (1 John 4:18) and the wonderful privilege of sharing that love of Jesus with all peoples including our Muslim neighbours (Matt 28:18-20).

Mahabba means ‘love’ in Arabic and fittingly is the name used by a national network of Churches working to share the love of Jesus specifically with their Muslim neighbours. Through training courses such as ‘Friendship First’ and regular prayer meetings many Christians are learning to transform their fear into love and form deep friendships with their Muslim neighbours. Through these deep and loving friendships we have found that many Muslims are keen to discuss who Jesus is and furthermore when offered, some who wish to experience the love of Jesus for themselves and to follow Jesus.

For those who would be interested in getting involved, or coming to visit a Mahabba group in your area, or simply would like to find out more please do visit http://www.mahabba.co.uk/ or contact directly info@mahabba.co.uk

Mitzvah Day in Whetstone

Guest Blog by Revd Dr Gregory  Platten

 In my early months as Vicar of All Saints, Friern Barnet, I was approached by our neighbours at the Sha’arei Tsedek Synagogue to take part in Mitzvah Day, along with friends from the Muslim Community and Education Centre (MCEC) in Palmer’s Green. Mitzvah Day (Hebrew for command) is a Jewish day of social action and outreach, but it has branched out, seeking to build friendships between other faith traditions with ‘Mitzvah Interfaith Day.’

Our task, which was agreed mutually, was to work together to collect donations of food from the public outside Waitrose in the High Road, Whetstone for Homeless Action in Barnet, and also to collect donations of clothes from our three communities. The clothes would be given to Homeless Action in Barnet and the North London Hospice.

It fell on Sunday, 17^th November this year, and our three communities worked well together. The planning, though, began months before, and relationships were built through meetings and discussion. A visit by members of All Saints’ Church and Sha’arei Tsedek Synagogue to the MCEC on the evening of 10^th November, the week before, cemented these new bonds. It was a hugely enjoyable tour, during which we offered generous hospitality; we also spent the evening planning the tasks of the following week, with the great assistance of Daniela Pears of the Mitzvah Day Foundation.

Our Mitzvah Interfaith Day itself attracted a good number of volunteers from all three communities: from teenagers, to children, and older adults: Waitrose customers and passers-by-commented on how surprised and delighted they were to see young people and adults from the three Abrahamic faith communities united for the common good, and for the benefit of the least well-off in our society. As the shop collection carried on, other teams from the three communities were sorting clothes and packing them at All Saints’ Church Hall, so that they could be transported to the various charities.

We were overwhelmed with the generosity of donations. I think I speak for all three faith communities, too, when I say how much we have all gained from working closely together, united not by dialogue about difference, but in common purpose for God’s poorest ones in our locality.

It is a great way of building local links with other faiths, as you plan and work together. There were practical frustrations and problems, all of which were overcome, and through which stronger relationships emerged. It is highly likely that we will unite again, perhaps on Mitzvah Interfaith Day next year, perhaps sooner.

Further possibilities of connection and contact have also emerged. There is something unique about working together logistically and practically; it offers opportunities that cannot be found in the (extremely valuable) work of dialogue and theological discussion. In the end, working practically for the common good as one,  there is a feeling that one is able to fulfil God’s will for the poor in a tangible and immediate way.

Singing and Festivities

The Mixed Up Chorus Rehearse

What better way to cope with the long dark evenings, the damp and the cold than to sing? Two new choirs have sprung to life in recent weeks. The Contextual Theology Centre's own Tom Daggett has been working with Revd Niall Weir at St Paul's West Hackney. In just a few weeks the Cantignorus Chorus has formed, learnt a specially composed song, and made a recording at Angel studios. Due for release in a couple of weeks 'Holding Out a Helping Hand to You' hopes to challenge for the Christmas No 1 slot. What is really special about the choir is that it brings together people form diverse groups, many of whom are vulnerable or excluded. The enterprise is part of the wider SingSpire Community music project which aims to use music as a way of helping people value themselves and build up the wider community  across some of the barriers that often divide. Read Tom's recent blog post  for more details.
Meanwhile, the Three Faiths Forum has launched Mixed Up Chorus. Directed by Jeremy Haneman who also directs the Royal opera House Community Chorus. Mixed Up Chorus is not for the confused but for those who rejoice in the diversity of our great world city. Whilst Cantignorus Chorus is special to West Hackney, Mixed Up Chorus is looking for more members from all over London so if you are free on Tuesdays between 7 and 9 pm get in touch. The choir rehearses at Three Faiths Forum HQ and is part of their Urban Dialogues programme using the arts to connect people.

A third multi faith choir, Berakah,  has it's inaugural concert on 17th December at the London Inter Faith Centre (which has it's own annual music festival of the faiths) details here

As the noise of the Diwali Fireworks fade, Happy Hanukkah to Jewish friends and a Happy New Year to Christians this coming Sunday 1st December

Walks and Pilgrimages

Pilgrimage is common to several faiths. The month of Hijjah, pilgrimage, has just ended in the Islamic

calendar.Walking together as people of faith is also something which is growing in popularity.
This Sunday 10th November  (2.30 - 5.00pm) worshipers at the Al-Kheo Mosque, Shree Swaminarayan Temple and the shared Church of St Andrews and St Anne's will be opening their doors and warmly welcoming visitors and participants in the Brent interfaith Pilgrimage. All three communities have recently been exploring the story of how their community and place of worship came in to being, and a small exhibition of images and words will be on display at each location. Pilgrim visitors can also learn about Muharram - the first month in the Islamic calendar and thus new year, and Diwali - the festival of light celebrated by Hindus (also marked by Sikhs and Jains for slightly different reasons) and their new year. The pilgrimage starts at St Anne's and St Andrews, 126 Salisbury Road, NW6 6PB (nearest station Brondesbury Park , overground, or Queen's Park, Bakerloo line. For further details email jo.winsloe@stethelburgas.org

Meanwhile, The South London Inter Faith Group  has bagged the cafe area in City Hall (it's the curved glass building near Tower Bridge SE1 2AA 10 minutes walk along the River from London Bridge Station) to exhibit Sixteen years of Inter Faith Walks in London in words and pictures. The exhibition opens on Monday 18th November and runs until 29th November -opening hours Mon-Fri 8.30am - 6.00pm on Fridays). Apparently the cafe food is good too!

Community Heroes Awards - a story

 With thanks to Kate Alan of BATCA for this guest blog

The  ‘Community Heroes’ award events run by the Balham and Tooting Community Association are a marvelous opportunity to honour unsung heroes – people from all faiths and cultures who serve others tirelessly, often with little recognition. BATCA is a network of faith and non-faith bodies that works in Balham and Tooting to bring the different side s of the community together.

The awards began in 2007 and are now in their fourth round. This year’s awards celebration will be held on Thursday 28 November (see below).  We expect to welcome a two hundred strong crowd from across the community. It’ll also be a seasonal celebration, with food and entertainment at no charge to celebrate the major faith festivals of Eid, Diwali, Hannukah and Christmas.

This is how it works: the public are invited to nominate outstanding individuals and teams. The nominations are assessed by a panel of independent judges, who have included among others our local MPs, the editor of the local newspaper, and leaders of key organisations such as the police,  fire brigade and our local hospital. This avoids favouritism and the result has always been that the award recipients reflect all faith, ethnic and cultural groups.

The presentation evening has a great feel to it. It’s led by a lively compere  (Cof E clergymen seem to have the worst jokes).  The awards are presented by local VIPs such as the Mayor of Wandsworth, Councillors  the MP, the borough police commander and so on.  A little bit is said about each recipient and their organisation. Usually, there's generous publicity in the local press.  Entertainment plays an important part, with community and church choirs, and Bollywood and Bhangra dance part of the mix.

Previous recipients of awards have been mostly volunteers, including a brownie leader, a chair of school governors, local environmental activists, a refugee charity volunteer, those looking after old people through their church, a mosque bereavement officer, and many more. Team awards have gone, for example, to the Talking Book service for blind people and a group of young Special Constables. Those honoured in their job roles include an old people's centre manager, a milkman who always looks out for his customers and makes sure they’re all right, an Asian women's charity organiser and a local pharmacist whose shop is a community hub.

Celebrating outstanding volunteers strikes a chord in all communities. People from all backgrounds have responded each time and come together for an inspiring and fun evening of community spirit.  ‘When is the next one?’ is the call each time!

   BATCA Community Heroes Awards and Seasonal Celebration

Thursday 28 November at 7.00pm

Jasmin’s Function Rooms, 202 Upper Tooting Road, SW17 7TG

For more information, email Secretary@batca.org or contact Kate Allan at

allanraallan@aol.com or 020 8870 1550

Highlighting a New Course in Practical Inter Faith Work

Maggie Hindley at the London Inter Faith Centre (seen here with friends of LIF) is excited about the new course the centre is running from Tuesday 8th October for clergy and laity.

The key is in the title - this is about PRACTICAL inter faith work - and it's ecumenical.

Each of the ten sessions (one per month) takes place in a different venue and begins with an introduction to that venue's work and context. 

Participants will be enabled to develop a piece of inter faith work in their own locality and gain tools to help reflect on their own engagement.

The course costs £300, which covers travel costs from home (within reason) and a hot vegetarian lunch each session as well as speakers’ expenses and materials.

Participants are encouraged to apply for denominational grants.

The fee can be paid in installments by arrangement.

Bursary help is available for people unable to find the whole cost. Maggie says the centre's policy is that nobody should be excluded from taking part for reasons of cost.

The Course runs for Ten Tuesdays from  10am – 4pm on the following dates:-

8^th Oct, 5^th Nov, 10^th Dec, 14^th Jan, 11^th Feb, 11^th March, 8^th April, 6^th May, 10^th June, 7^th July

Participants are to commit to a minimum of seven out of the ten sessions.

To register or find out more contact maggie.hindley@londoninterfaith.org.uk or rev.hillel@aol.com or telephone 020 3732 1765 or visit the centre's website www.londoninterfaith.org.uk 

August Update

If it's August it must be Greenbelt. 

Presence and Engagement did not have a stall this year but that doesn't mean we weren't there. Task Group member, Revd Bonnie Evans Hills, demonstrated Scriptural Reasoning with friends invited by the Coexist Foundation.
An Associate Partner of this year's festival, Coexist sponsored a number of talks and sessions on topics around inter faith relations. Read more about Scriptural Reasoning and the texts considered at Greenbelt 

And in other news..............
Taking advantage of the relative peace an quiet the PEN website has been under going a series of updates. So.....the place to look for NEWS is back on the webpage.

Headlines this month are

• New term New Courses and - loads of excellent talks to inspire and expand your little grey cells
• Update on the Census figures - You can now find figures for your parish via your Diocesan website
• London Boroughs Faiths Network's new home - and an invite to visit
• Launch of Sophia Hubs  
• MP launches Community Noticeboard for Constituents - why not get yours to do the same

EVENTS share the news page(scroll down) but now appear in easy to follow calendars, one for the next month and one for happenings further ahead. Do still check the blog from time to time for events that appear at short notice.

RESOURCES have an added heading - artefacts. At a recent 'Theology on a summer's Evening' session, in a series on Relationships and Marriage, contributions from Jewish and Muslim guest speakers were enlivened by an opportunity to look at a ketubah, demonstration of how a tallit is used for the wedding canopy and samples of wedding service booklets from ceremonies for three or four different faiths. The Croydon Faith Education Resources Library is the only featured resource in this section at present but if you have other suggestions please contact pen@theology-centre.org  

In Our Time

An Exploration of the Dynamic Relationship between Christian Ecumenism and Inter
Religious Dialogue, its opportunities and challenges in the 21st Century

Thursday 12 September 2013, 11.00-16.00 at Heythrop College, 23 Kensington Square, London W8 5HN

Speakers:  

Revd Dr Keith Clements;  
                                  Dr Anthony O’Mahony; 
                                                                 Professor Peter Riddell

The Ecumenical Movement “Oikumene” refers both to the unity of all Christians and also of the reconciliation of the whole created order. Christians are called to pray for unity, and work so that the prayer of Jesus might be fulfilled “that they may be one”. However, with some of the enthusiasm for Christian unity dimmed and with some theologians speaking of “an ecumenical winter”, there has been some suggestion that the ecumenical endeavour has moved on and inter religious dialogue has become the fresh urgency. This thinking, however, may be misplaced. Inter religious dialogue, far from replacing ecumenism, is in fact a dynamic expression of the ecumenical movement that seeks not only the unity of all Christians but the reconciliation of all creation to God.
In this day conference we shall be exploring this theme in greater depth. In particular we will consider the following questions:

• What is distinctive about Christian ecumenism and why does it matter?
• What does inter religious dialogue tell us about Christian (ecumenical) self-identity?
• How does current Christian thinking develop and resource itself in a context that is both religiously plural and ecumenical?
• How ecumenical approaches relate to bi-lateral dialogues between denominations and faiths.

For further information or to register your attendance, please contact Revd Peter Colwell peter.colwell@ctbi.org.uk 

Ramadan, Eid and Looking Ahead

Although the Holy month of Ramadan ended a week ago it's not too late to celebrate the festival of Eid, which marks its completion.

Saturday 17th August in Trafalgar Square 13.30 - 18.00 with food from a variety of Muslim cultures and a full on stage programme courtesy of the London Mayor.
Full details here

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, issued his first message of Eid Greeting to Muslim communities on 7th August, describing the work of building Christian Muslim friendships as "joyful". The full text is on his website here

Meanwhile Professor Adam Dinham, Director of the Faiths and Civil Society Unit at Goldsmith's College, London, considers the possible effects of Ramadan coinciding with the Higher Education exam season for the next four years and whether and how academic institutions should respond. Full article here

Archbishop of Canterbury visits faith communties in Southall

Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby travelled to Southall this week and visited a Church, a Hindu temple, a Gurdwara and a Mosque. He witnessed presentations about inter religious work given by the community, and plans to found a new inter religious centre on the site of the old St John’s Church.

In his speech, Archbishop Justin stated: “Diversity is a gift, not a threat; it is a hope, not a danger. The kind of country I want to live in has as one of its best examples what goes on in this area. I don’t want to live  in something that is mono-cultural.”

After his visit to the Central Jamia Mosque, the Archbishop also condemned the recent wave of attacks on Muslims following the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby. He said, "I want to acknowledge the pressure that our Muslim friends and colleagues have faced over the last few weeks. There have been terrible attacks, I know that the vast majority of those in this country and especially people of faith would join me in condemning utterly any act of violence against anyone because of their faith.”

Full text of speech
The picture show Archbishop Justin meeting school children visiting the Sikh Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha  
Copyright  Marc Gascoigne.

Ramadan Invitations

SOAS (School of African & Oriental Studies, Univeristy of London) students are providing a ‘Ramadan Tent’ on campus to mark the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, Ramadan.
Ramadan, or Sawm, is one of the five pillars of Islam, which requires practising Muslims to fast from sunrise to sunset. Currently in the UK about 3am to 9pm. It is a complete fast which means no food or liquids.

During this month, it is said, the gates of mercy are opened and the gates of hell are sealed, and rewards for good deeds performed in this month are multiplied, sins forgiven and supplications responded to and answered.
  ‘Ramadan Tent’, a student-led project by both Muslim and non-Muslim students, and volunteers, invites the general public, students and staff to share the breaking of the fast, known as iftar, each day.
The purpose of the project is to give people a better understanding of the spirit and essence of Ramadan and create greater cross-community cohesion and understanding.

Project Manager and MA International Studies and Diplomacy graduate Omar Salha said: “SOAS celebrates diversity and cultures from around the globe and for that reason it makes sense to host ‘Ramadan Tent’ here and cultivate a healthy, nurturing relationship with the community.“This campaign is aimed at bringing the true spirit of Ramadan to life for all: the spirit of community, unity, compassion and mercy.”

Follow ‘Ramadan Tent’ on Twitter: @RamadanTent, #SOASIftar, #SOASRamadan or facebook.com/SOASiftar.

More generous invitations to break the fast ('iftar') with Muslim friends during the month of Ramadan:-
Wednesday 24 July The Old Kent Road Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre, 365 Old Kent Road, SE15 5JH has invited all who are interested to break the fast and to arrive at around 8pm. The invitation is to St Peter’s Church, Walworth, and other local churches. A walking party will be leaving St Peter’s Church at 7.30pm. You are welcome to just turn up, but it would be very helpful if you could let Sirol Davies (Diocese of Southwark)  know by email siriol.davies@southwark.anglican.org  or text 07913 470 816

Siriol reminds potential guests,

“This will be a great opportunity to witness a little bit of Ramadan and to enjoy the friendship which exists across our faiths. The generosity and hospitality of the local Muslim communities in making these invitations is a great example to all of us. Any visitors to the iftars are invited to fast for all or part of the day if they wish to.

Saturday 27th July 2013 The Sufi Centre for Spirituality and Cultural Advancement (CSCA) would like to cordially invite you to join them in this blessed month of Ramadan to break bread and share ’One Meal For All’. The event will be at 7.30 pm at the Manor House, Manor Lane, Feltham, TW13 4JQ If you plan to attend, please contact Farzana Kosa in advance farzana@spiritandculture.org.uk 

Saturday 27th July The Muswell Hill Bravanese Somali community in conjunction with Imam Al Khoei Islamic Centre, NW6 6TN, cordially invites you to the Big Iftar (fast breaking) function, 8.30-10pm. This event is a demonstration of solidarity with the Bravanese Somali community, whose venue was sadly burnt down a few weeks ago. It offers them the opportunity to put on their  large annual Iftar as they have done in previous years. You are asked to notify the Al Khoei Centre (020 7372 4049) if you intend to go along so they can make appropriate catering arrangements.


Sunday 28 July At Southwark Cathedral, London Bridge, SE1 9DA, the South London Inter Faith Group is marking the end of its photo-exhibition there celebrating 16 years of inter faith walks. All who are interested are invited to view the exhibition (7.30pm), to hear a short explanation of Ramadan and Iftar (8.30pm) and to join Muslim brothers and sisters for the call to prayer and iftar (around 9pm – 10pm). Download the flyer here. The Exhibition is open to the public every day from now until 28 July.

All Mosques are eing encouraged to offer hospitality to non Mulsim in the final days of Ramadan as part of the Big Iftar. Find a Big Iftar event near you If you can't get to an event this weekend why not sign up for another event promoted by HOPE not hate - Dine@Mine initiative where Muslim households host a meal for non-Muslims. You can sign up here

July Update

Update

Last time we flagged up the launch of the Business Plan Toolkit. If you have an historic building in need of restoration and a vision to develop its use for the community, a business plan is a must to win friends and influence people i.e secure funding. You can now down load a ‘how to’ guide via this link. 

News

Sophia Hubs  - A new faith-based business hub was launched recently at St John's Seven Kings. (see picture) The Seven Kings & Newbury Park Sophia Hub is the first pilot of what will become a network of Hubs building on the community engagement of faith communities.Whilst there are increasing numbers of faith-based social enterprises starting up around the country, and a new emphasis on missional entrepreneurialism, there is as yet very little joining up of the different projects and adding up of their value to advocate for greater investment and support. The Sophia Hubs network will provide a network organisation for existing faith-based business incubators as well as developing a model for starting them up and providing services to enable that process which builds on existing community engagement. 

People can get involved with the pilot as business mentors, start-ups, investors, management group members and timebank volunteers. An initial Sophia Course will aim to empower people in making connections with their faith and wisdom traditions, understanding the basics about social enterprise and considering the local context, identifying resources and issues of shared local concern to generate ideas for new social enterprises. For more info contact : sophiahubs@yahoo.com   tel: 07766 451316.

Events
Tuesday 16^th July until 28^th July  Southwark Cathedral. Exhibition on South London Inter Faith Group’s Inter Faith Walks see the events page on the PEN website.

Friday 19^th July 4pm at Lumen URC 88 Tavistock Place WC1H 9RS.  SYRIA How Can we Help & How best pray for its people? – Meet Mary Mikhael spokesperson for the Evangelical (ie Presbyterian) Churches of Syria and Lebanon and until recently President of the Near Eastern School of Theology in Beirut .

Resources
Initiatives for Change is a worldwide movement of people of diverse cultures and backgrounds, who are committed to the transformation of society through changes in human motives and behaviour, starting in their own lives. Read their latest newsletter, and you can subscribe to receive regular bulletins via the same link.

ARC The Alliance of Religions & Conservation has republished  Faith in Conservation by Martin Palmer & Victoria Finlay (first published in partnership with the World bank in 2003). The book can be downloaded from the ARC website.  ARC's biggest projects currently are The Green Pilgrimage Movement (including Hajj); Wildlife, forests and faith; and Family Education and Water.

Courses

Now is the time to plan your studies (and encourage others) in the new academic year. King's College London and the Westminster Abbey Institute, The London Interfaith Centre and St Ethelburga’s have new programmes for 2013-14. Details on the Courses pages of the PEN website in the next couple of weeks.