November Update

New Initiatives & updates on existing ones

Nothing Holy about Hatred A forum inviting faith and community leaders and members  to sign a pledge decrying homophobia and the harm it causes.

Campus  Lokahi Grew out of the project Campusalam which began in 2008. Promoting understanding by building stronger bridges between student societies and university administration around issues of values and belief it is set to launch an online campus resource in 2013.

A Year of Service This weekend some tree and hedge planting events in St Albans related to Mitzvah Day. See the Year of Service Events Page or email info@ayearofservice.org.uk

I have been reminded that Chelmsford is one of the few Cathedrals to have a worked out and published policy on inter faith work.

PEN works within the umbrella of the Contextual Theology Centre . CTC produces a weekly blog on the forthcoming Sunday Gospel reading In a recent blog on Advent events and news you will find resources on faith and social action, details of a debate on the religious foundations of morality and the Rt Revd Dr Justin Welby's support for the Living Wage. CTC also has the latest on Near Neighbours projects in London.

Events

Friday 16th November at SOAS, Russell Square: College Buildings Rm 4418; 5.00-7.00pm The Sufi Factor in Pakistan Islamism - Dr Alix Philppon. Contact centres@soas.ac.uk or 0207 898 4893/2 9 Also see their series of music events latest email musicevents@soas.ac.uk or 0207 898 4500

Tuesday 20th November Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster's Faith Matters, last in the  Autumn series Finding God in other Cultrures and Religions 7.00 - 8.30pm in Westminister Cathedral Hall. Thisis an open event but to be sure of a place email faithmatters@rcdow.org.uk or 0207 931 6078 or online Free but suggested donation £3

Thursday 22nd November 5pm Woolf Institute Centre for Muslim-Jewish Relations lecture for Inter Faith Week, Westminster College Cambridge  Bridging the Great Divide:Teaching the Abrahamic Faiths Prof Akbar Ahmed, see details

Thursday 22nd November 6 - 11pm, The Red Gallery, 3 Rivington Street, EC2A 3DT, Festival Night from the Three Faiths Forum part of their Urban Dialogues 2012 series which runs 2st November - 1st December. Follow the Urban Dialogues link, above, for full details.

Tuesday 27th November  10.00am - 6.00pm (registration 9.15am) Day Conference  at the Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College. The Life and Thought of Louis Massignon (1883-1962): Comparative political and theological perspectives,  £20, book through j.flannery@heythrop.ac.uk or  see details

Tuesday 27th November 7pm Balham and Tooting Community Association (BATCA) a social get together with food for those of different faiths and cultures to celebrate Eid, Diwali and Christmas (sponsored by local traders)  at Jasmin's Banqueting Suite, 202 Upper Tooting Road SW17 7EW Free but  contact Kate Allan allanraallan@aol.com so they know how many to cater for.

Tuesday 27th November 6.30 - 9.00pm (for Christian and Muslim women) Christian Muslim Forum  launches the Come to the Edge Report at St Ethelburga's 78 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AG Contact Siriol Davies, siriol.davies@southwark.anglican.org or Tasneem Husain, tasneem.husain@southwark.gov.uk

Tuesday 4th - Saturday 8th December Wimbledon Library Gallery, 1st floor, Wimbledon Library, Wimbledon Hill Road, London SW19 7NB Commission4Mission exhibition to launch itself in South Lnndon. The gallery is accessed via the Library, open 9.30am-7.00pm (2pm on Saturday)

Courses

Tuesday 27th November at St Philips Centre, 2A Stoughton Drive North, Leicester, LE5 5UB (Only an hour and a half from London)  Christian- Jewish Faith Study Day 11.00am - 4.15pm with Fiona Hulbert and Rabbi Mark Solomon. Contact the Centre for more details  Tel: 0116 273 3459

The Woolf Institute has published details of its e-learning programme which runs February to June 2013 Jews,Christians and Muslims in Europe:modern challenges. The course costs £350 and applications close on 1st February see details 

Resources

Jonathan Evens has two new books available:- The Secret Chord is a study of the role of music in cultural life, written through the prism of Christian belief. Covering a range of musical styles and influences, from gospel music to X Factor, the book seeks to draw the reader into a place of appreciation for what makes a moment in a 'performance' timeless and special. 

The Secret Chord is available from: Lul, ATF, Kindle UK, or Kindle US and, with Henry Shelton a second collection of images and meditations on the Passion of Christ. Their first collection - Mark of the Cross - is available as a download from 12baskets  while this second collection is available initially as a doubled-sided A3 sheet containing all 14 images, meditations and prayers see here The aim of this collection is to pare down the images and words to their emotional and theological core. The A3 format is designed for ease of devotional use. Copies of this collection, price is £3.50 plus p&p, can be ordered from jonathan.evens@btinternet.com.

Archbishop of Canterbury sends Diwali Greetings

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has sent Diwali greetings to 'friends and co workers for peace in the Hindu communities'

The Archbishop reflects on the fourth ashrama or stage of life within Hinduism and the opportunities that older people in both Hinduism and Christianity have to deepen their spiritual commitment as worldly responsibilities are renounced or reduce.

Dr Williams mentions as one of the highlights of his dialogue with Hindu communities over the last ten years a visit to  the Sri Vallabha Nidhi temple in Leytonstone to meet those involved in the local Near Neighbours project.

The full text is on the Archbishop's website.

'Prison' - the play

Initiatives of Change present a showing of 'Prison' the one man play by Charlie Ryder
at The Initiatives of Change centre 24 Greencoat Place, Victoria, London SW1P 1RD
Date: Tuesday 20 November, 6.30 for 7pm (evening ends at 9pm)
Preceded by refreshments and followed by a Talkback panel discussion featuring:-
Charlie Ryder,
Micheal Kavanagh, Acting Head of Prison Chaplaincy
and Andrew Hillas, Assistant Chief Officer for Restorative Justice, London Probation Trust.
The Forum will be chaired by Anita Amendra, Sustainable Communities Project Manager, IofC UK.
RSVP to: reception@london.iofc.org  Tel: 020 7798 6000

Charlie Ryder is a Director, Producer, Filmmaker and Puppeteer. He currently works as an Outreach Worker at HMP Wormwood Scrubs Community Chaplaincy providing mentoring to support prisoners
on their release from prison.

The play is a true story told using puppetry, masks, physical theatre and dance to shine a light on his
eight months in prison after being involved in a violent protest against racism in October 1993. A moving performance depicting one man's traumatic story of prison.

October Update

Another busy month........so first some reminders about events already blogged:-

13th October - commission4mission Exhibition  the correct link this time!
17th October - Sharing Eden - Westminister Cathedral Inter Faith
23rd October - Why the Middle East Should Matter to Christians
24th October - 'A Common Word' five years on
September - November - His Story, Our Story: Jesus and the Storyteller's Art
26th - 27th October Non-Stop Turmoil or Global Spring
26th - 28th October 'The Spirituality of Dialogue' Retreat

Other Events 
Monday 15th October  Dr Iyad Zahalka - Qadi (Shari’a Judge) of the Shari’a Court, Jerusalem
In the Brunei Gallery (Room B202)at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, Greater London WC1H 0XG 6.00 – 7.30 pm
Qadi Zahalka will speak about his work as a judge of one of Israel’s Sharia courts and some of the challenges it involves. This is important for anyone who is interested in matters of law, Sharia law, Israeli society and its Arab citizens.
Thursday 18th October  Southwark Cathedral The Word in Dialogue: Inter-faith dialogue with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, Rabbi Natan Levy and Bishop Michael Ipgrave (part of a series bulding on last year's King Jame's bible celebrations) 7.30 - 9.00pm

Tuesday 23rd October Cheapside Debate at St Mary-le-Bow  Can We Afford Trident? with John Woodcock MP and Quentin Letts 1.05pm

Wednesday 24th October JustShare Lecture at St Mary-le-Bow  Prosperity Lost? -  A Christian perspective on the financial crisis and responsible capitalism with David McNair from Christian Aid 6.05pm

Issues
In a few weeks now elections will be held for Police Comissioners in some areas. The elected candidate will be responsible for running the police force in their locality. The Deputy Leader of the EDL is standing in Bedfordshire and Hope Not Hate is asking folk to be proactive with their Autumn Action Plan

NewsThe Theos Annual Lecture given by Archbishop Rowan Williams on 1st October is now available as a transcript or audio recording.

The Contextual Theology Centre has launched bi-monthly Community Bible studies for people interested in discussing theology, community and the struggle for justice in east London. Venues tbc next meeting Monday 3rd December 12 noon - 1pm in Departure

Lapido media have a new book out on Tablighi Jamaat , available from Amazon
Reports on the launch event at Frontline, to which the TJ came in numbers, are here and there’s a free sample of the book on the lapido website 

Vacancies
London Church Leaders are looking for a new Executive Officer from January (Elizabeth Simon has announced her retirement) Part-time post (28 hours) to sustain and develop work on behalf of senior church leaders in London working ecumenically on civic and social issues. Applications by 26 October. Interview mid/late November. Further information and application form available online from the London Churches Group website

Reminder
Inter faith Week and the final events in A Year of Service rapidly approach - check out the details.

Sharing Eden - Westminster Cathedral Interfaith Group

Sharing Eden: Green teachings from Jews, Christians and Muslims, is the title of a handbook written by Natan Levy, David Shreeve and Harfiyah Haleem. The book ‘sets out to show how respect for the environment is at the heart of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths’. It combines practical action points and ideas with reflections on key texts from sacred texts and from the wider writings of each tradition. Further information is available from www.sharingeden.org

The Westminster Cathedral interfaith group will be considering Green teachings from Jews, Christians and Muslims in a new series on “Faiths and the environment”. The group has been meeting for 6 years and the meetings will be held on the third Wednesday of the month from 4p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Hinsley Room, Morpeth Terrace on the right of the main entrance to Westminster Cathedral.  All are welcome and it would be helpful if you could read the book beforehand. Copies are available at £4.99 from http://www.sharingeden.org/  bookshops or Amazon.co.uk. The authors will be attending some of the sessions. Dates are October 17, November 21, January 16, February 20 and April 17. All are welcome Contact John Woodhouse 0790 8888 586 preferably by text for more details.

The Spirituality of Dialogue

Friday 26th October - Sunday 28th October 2012

A weekend retreat following in the footsteps of Bede Griffiths, Thomas Merton, and other Christians as they cross culturally traditional thresholds. We will explore themes of Christian hospitality, deep friendship, expressions of prayer and worship over the weekend.

Led by the Rev. Bonnie Evans-Hills, Anglican Priest & Inter Faith Adviser to the Bishop of Leicester, and Mary-Jane Burkett, a practicing Catholic who is Co-Director of St. Cuthman’s Retreat Centre and Inter Faith Advisor for the Diocese of Chichester.

The cost for the retreat is £170 full board. To book please call 01403 741220 or email: stcuthmans@dabnet.org.  For more information about St. Cuthman’s visit

St Martin in the Fields Autumn Education Series

All lectures take place at St-Martin-in-the-Fields Church from 7.00pm to 8.30pm. They are free and no booking is required. There will be a retiring collection to cover some of the costs of the programme. For more information go to www.smitf.org


Image is copyright The Estate of Stanley Spencer 2012 . All rights reserved DACS.