London riots

In the midst of the violence and destruction of the past few nights, London's churches have been places of comfort, prayer and hope.  It is at moments like these that the church's local presence and engagement is most severely tested.  It has borne striking fruit.  Here are just a few of the stories from parishes on the front line:

• In Tottenham, St Mary the Virgin on Lansdowne Road has been helping those whose homes and businesses have been affected by the rioting - including distributing meals and providing hot water and mobile phone charging for those left without electricity, to ensure they can remain in touch with loved ones. Churches in Tottenham united with representatives of other faiths at a 300-strong prayer vigil for peace addressed by the Bishop of Edmonton 
• The role of social media in the riots and the responses has been much discussed. On Twitter, as the riots were at their worst, #prayforlondon overtook #londonriots as the most common 'tag' for comments. Churches such as St Peter's Walworth (http://twitter.com/stpeterwalworth) were tweeting prayer requests and using social media to advertise the times at which the church would be open for prayer.  Like many other churches in riot-hit areas, they also played a key role in the #riotclearup
• In Hackney, Fr Rob Wickham and the new Bishop of Stepney were on the streets helping those they could as panic and disorder spread. Yesterday, Bishop Adrian preached at a solidarity service at St John-at-Hackney.  Hundreds of people gathered - many of them young people who are involved in London Citizens' CitySafe initiative (see this feature on the main PEN website).  A similar gathering in Watney Market was chaired by St Paul's Shadwell ordinand Jude Padfield, and drew together over 200 people from local churches and Dar Ul Ummah and East London Mosques.  In both cases, the central role of churches in the community response grow out of their ongoing commitment to building relationships and trust across faiths, cultures and age-groups (see, for example, these Jellicoe blogs from Shadwell and Hackney)
• This ongoing work is vital as extreme groups such as the English Defence League (EDL) seek to foment division at a time when there has been a striking unity across faiths and communities in cleaning up and working and praying for peace.  The Bishop of Stepney and Area Dean Alan Green have played a key role in the campaign to stop the EDL marching in Tower Hamlets - another area where prayer is urgently needed.
• There is up-to-date news of vigils for peace, practical support and advice for churches, and messages from the Bishops in a special section of the Diocese of London Website, with a message from the Bishop of Southwark (the CofE's Bishop for Urban Life & Faith) and news of prayer vigils on the Southwark website. Today's speech by Archbishop Rowan in the House of Lords is also online.

Do keep on contacting us - whether with stories to share, or requests for advice and for prayer. We will be blogging and Tweeting on the longer-term issues and how Christians can best respond and bear witness to the Gospel of hope and of peace.

Almighty God and Lord of life,
we pray for the peace and flourishing of our city.
Protect the weak and vulnerable,
comfort all who have lost homes and businesses,
protect and guide the emergency services;
and all for your name’s sake. Amen

July Update

July is the month of new colleagues. Welcome to Tim Clapton, Near Neighbours Co-ordinator for Eastern London and good wishes to the Very Revd Adrian Newman as he becomes Bishop of Stepney.

The London Inter Faith Centre is running an exciting project with eight local faith based schools and sponsored by Cass Art London. The Art of Identity allows young people to express through art something of the complexity of the different parts of themselves – with faith being one of the significant components. It is hoped that this will become an annual competition. Contact Joseph Voelker, Project Administrator info@londoninterfaith.org.uk for more information.

Wednesdy 27th July The City Talk at St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, EC2V 6AU,will be given by Dr Karambu Ringera, Founder and President of International Peace Initiatives, on "Ubuntu leadership and listening. At 6.05pm, all welcome.

London Boroughs Faiths Network is encouarging us to plan the Olympics and Paralympics and be aware of tie in events. If your not sure why or how to get involved take a look at their what's on page for inspiration. Includes a helpful timeline and details of London Truce.

Faiths Together in Croydon ‘Faith in Film’ DVD project has been created by 25 young people of faith in Croydon who were trained on video production and video editing. The project, involved visits to a church, a sikh temple and a Mosque and encouraged young people to develop their ability to work in a team and to better understand other faiths. View the film.

And looking forward to September ...........

Saturday 10th September, Jewels in His Crown & South Asian Forum present an Asian Mission Partnership day at Elmfield Church, Harrow 89 Imperial Drive, Harrow, HA2 7DX (tube: North Harrow or Rayners Lane) for details and to book go to the Global Connections website.

Wednesday 21st September, 10 - 4pm at Toynbee Hall (28 Commercial Street E1 6LS) Religious diversity in modern Britain: how can history inform the present? hosted by the Building on History Project the event will explore interactions between different religions with special refernce to the East of London as a case study. All those interested in historical and contemporary religious diversity are welcome but places are limited and must be booked. Contact John Maiden j.maiden@open.ac.uk.

Thursday 29th September, in Euston Trustee Fair a joint event by Directory for Social Change and Small Charities Coalition for full programme, booking etc download the pdf

Project Mosaic Young Filmmakers - clips to watch

Project Mosaic is a
pro-tolerance, anti-hate charity created in memory of New York Firefighter Lieutenant David J Fontana, one of 343 firefighters who died
at the World Trade Centre on 11th September 2001.It uses education to promote interfaith and intercultural tolerance, multicultural good citizenship and integration of immigrant communities, and to combat group hatred and extremism.
Winners of their recent Youtube film competition have been announced. Both clips are inspiriring and excellent to kick off reflection or discussion.

1st prize: “Inspiration Through Faith” by Tariq Chowdhry
Runner Up Prize: “Two White Roses” by Timur Ahmet

To view use the hyperlinks above or go to www.projectmosaic.net/youtubecompetition.asp

Amazing Summer One-off offer! from FODIP

Would you – or colleagues - like join a session on group facilitation training for inter faith work?
FODIP - Forum for Discussion of Israel and Palestine www.fodip.org - are offering extra places on their course this week – Wednesday 6th July – from 4.15 pm to 6.45 pm In inter faith dialogue facilitation - Refreshments provided, including light vegetarian buffet – (Optional unit from 7.00 – 8.00 pm on an introduction to dialogue on the Israel/Palestine issue) At St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation & Peace, London – and delivered by staff there, together with FODIP. (This is part of FODIP’s training for specialist facilitators, but we would like to expand this group for training purposes.) Open to all; free of charge. To book your place – or for further information, please contact: info@fodip.org

More Job Vacancies

We have been asked to publicise the following:-

Praxis is currently recruiting for two new exciting posts:
Youth Outreach Worker (Ref: CDOYW11) 35 hours per week, including evenings & occasional weekends. Full Time, initially funded for 2 years. Salary starting at £26,258. The role is to build community voice within new communities, engaging with different groups and community leaders, building their capacity to effectively represent and advocate on behalf of their communities.
also
Services Development Coordinator (Ref: PSDC11) 35 hours per week - permanent appointment
Salary:£34,151 to £36,960. This is a stategic post which will enable the organisation to re-align its existing services to meet the requirements of the 'Personalisation Agenda' and to develop our practice in working with clients with community care needs.
For full details and an application pack please visit www.praxis.org.uk/recruitment or email recruitment@praxis.org.uk Praxis is based at Pott Street, London E2 0EF Tel: 020 7729 7985

Faiths Forum for London and The Fayre Share Foundation
seek to appoint a Senior Project Officer to implement an innovative programme of Inter-Faith and cross-sector social engagement in London Salary ca £32k; fixed one year contract(renewable) Further details here or from: info@faithsforum4london.org Application by letter (max 2 sides A4) and CV; to be returned to info@faithsforum4london.org by 11 July, 12 noon.

New worker for 'Near Neighbours' programme

The Revd Timothy Clapton (above) has been appointed Co-ordinator of Near Neighbours (Eastern London) – a project that will deepen relationships between the area’s many faiths and cultures. The Near Neighbours programme has secured £5 million of Government funding to work in four areas of England. It taps into the Church of England's unique parish system, which has presence in all neighbourhoods - and as the national Church, an ethos of care for all residents. In eastern London, it is being run by the Contextual Theology Centre (CTC) and builds on the work with local parishes through the Greater London Presence and Engagement Network (PEN). It will work across nine boroughs - Greenwich, Hackney, Islington, Lewisham, Newham, Redbridge, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.

From the autumn, a new Near Neighbours Fund will be launched. Faith and community groups will be able to bid for funding in partnership with the local parish church, with grants of up to £5000 being made to individual local interaction projects. A wide range of community, education, environmental, arts, and sports activities will be eligible, as long as they encourage involvement by local people from different faiths or none.

“I’m delighted that Tim is joining our team,” said CTC Director Angus Ritchie. “He has a great deal of experience of bringing together people across faiths and cultures to act for the good of their area. In east London, parish churches are the heart of a web of relationships in very diverse neighourhoods. Near Neighbours will help local people to deepen these bonds of trust and friendship – small-scale action which adds up to a big impact on our society.”

Tim Clapton said "I am really looking forward to being part of this exciting initiative - learning from the excellent work people are already doing across faiths and cultures, and helping it to grow and to be shared more widely."

June Update

Well the weather may not be scorching at the moment (isn't rain inevitable around Wimbledon fortnight?) but the month of June is hot with events and new resources.

First off, congratulations to Prebendary Philippa Boardman on her MBE.

Picking up where we left off last month:- read the statement published at The Christian Muslim Youth Forum event on Trade Justice. There is still time to apply for the vacancy at the Christian Muslim Forum.

Moving on but still related to CMF, Friday 24th June a day conference at St Anthony of Padua Community Hall, 115 Headley Way, Headington, OX3 7S on Minding the Gap? Caring, Faith and Diversity. Details and booking.

Theos - the public theology think tank, has a vacancy for an executive assistant, deadline 19th June. Also from Theos. two publications:- Freedom and Order: History,Politics and the English Bible by Nick Spence and Turbulent Priests, a report on the political interventions of the last three Archbishops of Canterbury.

Another new publication: - Discovering Through Death - beliefs and Practices by Suleman Nagdi from The Muslim Burial Council of Leicester (mbcol). This is one to have on the shelf to refer to but also give to healthcare professionals, police officers, teachers and lawyers in your community.

Talking of lawyers, this year the Annual Lambeth Inter Faith lecture was given by Professor Malcolm Evans, Professor of International Law at Bristol University and entitled Advancing Freedom of Religion or Belief:Agendas for Change.

Which leads nicely to working for social justice and JustShare's ongoing summer programme:- Tuesday 28th June, 1.05pm at St Mary-le-Bow JustShare Debate: 'Can you keep a promise? Spending 0.7% effectively on aid in the real world' The UK government has committed to spending 0.7% of gross national income on development aid. Is this enough? Too much? Is committing to a target level of spending sensible? How will the money be spent? Is aid effective anyway? Join Christine Allen, Director of the Catholic NGO Progressio, and Michael Green, author of Philanthrocapitalism, as they explore the issues. Also Wednesday 6th July at 6.05pm , same venue, JustShare Lecture on Christian Social & Political Thought
‘Good News for the Poor? Christianity and Overseas Development’
By Loretta Minghella OBE, Director of Christian Aid.

News in from Network members:- The Greenwich Peninsula Chaplaincy has just published its latest news letter and Malcolm Torry is writing another book this time on 'Managing Religion' - one to watch for. 4th - 17th July Commission 4Mission is exhibiting in the Crypt space of St Martin in the Fields. FiLE is working on an exciting initiative coming out of their seminars last Autumn. Check out their website for developments or see Revd Jonathan Evens blog Between. He's also blogged details of a Big Society event coming up in Redbridge on Tuesday 5th July...actually that blog links back nicely to the Theos report on Turbulent Priests see above.

Further ahead ........Wednesday 19th - Friday 21st October Love thy Neighbourhood: Creating sutainable Christ-like community work, Hothorpe Hall, Leicestershire. Lead by Livability's Community Mission Team, deatils and booking via the link
and farther afield ..........The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, EAPPI, is recruiting for 2012 but applications must be in by 23rd June. Details at www.quaker.org.uk/applyeappi

Last but most certainly not least this month, the interviews for the Near Neighbours Coordinator (CTC) post have taken place and we hope to blog an annoucnement about our new colleague in the next few days. Enjoy the strawberries!