National Inter Faith Week: part 2

Among the many and varied meetings I attended during Inter Faith Week were:

Monday evening I attended a lecture organised by the Council of Christians and Jews at the House of Lords. The speaker was Shahid Malik MP, who is a minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government. After his speech he generously stayed for an additional thirty minutes, answering questions from the audience.

Tuesday evening I attended a consultation between representatives from groups in membership of the Inter Faith Network for the UK, and members of the British Humanist Association. The meeting was organised by the Inter Faith Network for the UK who together with the Department of Communities and Local Government co-sponsored Inter Faith Week, and held at Gresham College, London University. This was an important consultation and the first of its kind organised by the Inter Faith Network for the UK.

The member organisations of the Inter Faith Network include representative bodies from the Baha'i; Buddhist; Christian; Hindu; Jain; Jewish; Muslim; Sikh; and Zoroastrian communities; national and local inter faith bodies; and academic institutions and educational bodies concerned with inter faith issues. The consultation at Gresham College was an important opportunity for a meeting between people of faith and people of belief.

On the Wednesday I attended an event at the Zoroastrian Centre at Rayners Lane, Middlesex. I had previously been to other meetings at the Centre and the warm welcome and excellent food that I had experienced previously was replicated on this occasion. There were a variety of speakers, including Dr Harriet Crabtree, Director of the Inter Faith Network for the UK and Mr Warwick Hawkins who is a Civil Servant at the Department of Communities and Local Government. From the perspective of their different organisations, the success of Inter Faith Week owes much to the energy, enthusiasm and commitment of both Harriet Crabtree and Warwick Hawkins.

On the Thursday I attended an excellent evening for women at the Board of Deputies of British Jews. After some opening speeches, those present - about 100 people - went into groups considering different topics. I had previously decided to be a member of the group considering 'Women and Leadership'. It was a fascinating discussion as members from different faiths reflected on the concept of leadership in their own faiths. Some people were members of faiths that have an egalitarian theology while for others their faith had a clear hierarchy of leadership. Others present reflected on the difference between ordained and lay leaders in their faith. We also reflected on what we understood by 'leadership', and different kinds of leadership. Additionally, as women, we shared our experiences of leadership within our faiths and more widely. It was a fascinating evening that left me reflecting on several key issues that my group had raised, for example, situations where government organisations request a single representative from a faith which has an egalitarian theology and where congregations are independently organised.

On the Friday I had a new experience: I was a book! Warwick Hawkins had organised a 'Living Library' day at the Department for Communities and Local Government. [For further details of 'Living Libraries' see http://www.living-library.org//] There were 'books' who were members of the Baha'i, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Zoroastrian faiths. Before the day each of the books were asked to provide a photograph and a short paragraph about themselves and what topics they would be willing to discuss. Throughout the day the books were reserved by members of the Department for Communities and Local Government who, instead of reading a paper book, had conversations with their living books. I found myself answering questions about early church history, theological issues such as inspiration of scripture, the Trinity and inter faith relations, as well as more personal issues concerning my own Christian faith and how I became involved in Inter Faith Relations. By the end of the day I was both exhilarated and totally exhausted.

For details of some of the activities other members participated in during Inter Faith Week click on 'Inter Faith News' in the menu on the right hand side of the Inter Faith Relations pages.

Official launch of Inter Faith Week

The first ever National Inter Faith Week in England and Wales begins on November 15th.  The Week has been jointly sponsored by the Inter Faith Network for the UK http://www.interfaith.org.uk/ and the Department for Communities and Local Government.  Inter Faith Week is an exciting opportunity to showcase the many different inter faith activities that have been taking place for many years at local, regional and national level.

This was demonstrated at the launch event that took place on November 12th at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster.  Accompanying the launch there was an exhibition including stands by each of the nine main faiths in Britain - the Christian stand was co-ordinated by Churches Together in England although I ensured that there were Methodist Church Inter Faith resources available - together with Regional Faith Forums and international, national, and local inter faith groups.  Although I was representing the Methodist Church there were other Methodist inter faith practioners present including, for example Rev Gareth Jones, the Inter Faith Development Officer of the West Midlands Faith Forum and Rev Inderjit Bhogal, the Chief Executive of the Yorkshire and Humberside Faith Forum and a former President of the Methodist Conference. 

During the launch event there were speeches by politicians from the three main parties, including John Denham, M.P. the Secretary of State at the DCLG.  However the two highlights of the event were, first, a youth music group that fused Indian and western instruments.  Listening to them playing transported me - and from comments made other people present - to a spiritual realm.

The second highlight was short speeches from young people representing the nine main faiths in Britain.  The youngest was in year 11 at school and the oldest were university students.

One of the young people was  Esther Harrison, who is a member of the Methodist Church. While all their speeches were very well received, with her permission, below are the words of Esther's speech.

Hello, I’m Esti Copeland-Harrison.

Out in the exhibition you will see information about the work of many inter faith organisations. I’ve been asked to speak from my own experience about why inter faith dialogue and friendship is so important.

I was brought up in the Methodist church circuit in Newcastle and have always been part of services in the area. Like many, it was during Sunday School that I first began to ask questions. From a young age I was fascinated with the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of the lessons we were taught there.

The Girls Brigade (which is an international and interdenominational Christian youth organisation) seemed like a natural progression from Sunday School when I grew older, although my passion for asking questions had by no means diminished!

I have grown up as a practising Christian but from a very early age I have been embraced by the Jewish community. My mother has always been heavily involved with the Council of Christians and Jews and this has afforded regular interactions with the local Orthodox Jewish community. I celebrate Christmas and Easter but am also heavily involved in Chanukah and Pesach celebrations and greatly look forward to a Seder meal each year!

My favourite Jewish festival is Purim (which is, as it happens, the festival dedicated to Queen Esther!). This festival is the most fun of all the Jewish festivals, where all the congregation of the synagogue join in the service by dressing up, throwing sweets and shaking rattles at the mention of the name of Haman - "the baddy" in the Purim story.

The customs, traditions and beliefs of Judaism have not merely enhanced my own faith -- they have been invaluable in my understanding and contextualising of Christianity. It is very easy to forget that Christianity was born out of Judaism; Christ himself was a great Rabbi and prophet. A great amount of Christians (and others) may benefit from experiencing aspects of the Jewish faith. I am so grateful to my Jewish friends in Newcastle who have welcomed me to their homes, services and festivals and who have educated and inspired me.

For me, my own pilgrimage has not meant travelling to a Holy Temple or a journey to a Promised Land, but it has been through the people, the communities, friendships, customs and traditions of Judaism and Christianity that has ‘kindled a flame in my heart’. Next September I hope to be reading Theology at University and continue to enjoy a bilateral dialogue between Judaism and Christianity which will also encompass other World Faiths.

President of the Methodist Conference welcomes Inter Faith Week

As President of the Methodist Conference I warmly welcome the first national Inter Faith Week which begins on November 15th. Inter Faith Relations has and continues to be a priority of the Methodist Church and I am delighted that both its local Churches and individual members are contributing to the Week in a variety of different ways. As I have visited many towns and cities during my Presidential Year I have seen examples of the ways in which members of different faiths have worked together to help and support members of their local community. Inter Faith Week provides an opportunity to highlight the positive relations that exist between members of different faiths, both nationally and locally, and the ways in which they work together for the benefit of all people.

11 million takeover day

On November 6th pupils from local schools visited Methodist Church House as part of 11 million takeover day. Among the different activities that were provided, I organised a workshop on Inter Faith football. After matching pictures of footballers with their names - I had tried to make it more difficult by including some non-Premier League players but the eight year old pupils completed the task quickly - we then considered a case study where one of the player's responsibilities to his club had conflicted with his religious commitment. The pupils then discussed different possible responses to the dilemma. I was very impressed with the high level of reasoning and problem solving skills displayed by the pupils. We then considered the way it had been resolved and noted how respect to the other's situation had been shown by both the player and the club.

Moral Maze at Southwark Cathedral

About forty people attended the Moral Maze on 'Capitalism or Community; What have we learnedfrom the Financial Meltdown?' that was held at Southwark Cathedral on November 5th.  The panel consisted of [from left to right] Paul Morrison, a member of the Connexional Joint Public Issues Team, Tarak El Diwany, Rabbi Jackie Tabick [chair], Rabbi Janet Darley and Charanjit Ajit Singh.  The witnesses represented a range of viewpoints and panel asked some incisive questions.

Inter Faith Week

The first national Inter Faith Week in England and Wales is from November, 15th to 21st with a launch event on November 12th. The Inter Faith Week in Scotland is taking place from November 22nd to 29th.

For those of you in the London area, there are a series of events at Southwark Cathedral, London Bridge, SE1 9DA, three of which I am involved in organising.  These are:

i.  The Global Ethic Exhibition, which will be on display from October17th to November 12th.

ii.  A Moral Maze style debate: 'Capitalism or Community?  What have we learned from the Financial Meltdown?' It will start at 7.00 p.m. The event will be chaired by Rabbi Jackie Tabick.  The panel will be Rabbi Janet Darley, Charanjit Ajit Singh, Tarak El Diwany and Paul Morrison, who is a Policy Officer at Methodist Church House.  The experts will be Peter Challen, Professor Vince Daley, Duncan Law, Richard North at Atul Shah. Light refreshments will be available.

iii. Inter Faith Prayers for Peace on Remembrance Sunday, November 12, commencing at 4.30 p.m.

Special events, organised by local regional faith councils, are being organised throughout the England, Wales and Scotland.  For details of events in your area, go to the relevant website listed below.

Please send reports of events you attend, and photographs if possible, to the inter faith relations office at interfaith@methodistchurch.org.uk so that as many as possible can be included on the Inter Faith Relations pages of the Methodist Church website.

East of England: http://www.eefaithscouncil.org.uk/

East Midlands: http://www.ffem.org.uk/

London: http://www.londoncivicforum.org.uk/

North East: http://www.nerfn.org/

North West: http://www.faithnorthwest.org.uk/

South East: http://www.se-faithforum.net/

South West: http://www.faithnetsouthwest.org.uk/

West Midlands: http://www.wmfaithsforum.org.uk/

Yorkshire and Humber: http://www.yorkshireandhumberfaiths.org.uk/

See also the main Inter Faith Week website http://www.interfaithweek.org.uk/

Wales: http://www.interfaithwales.org/

Scotland: http://www.scottishinterfaithcouncil.org/ The theme of Scottish Inter Faith Week this year is ‘A Place of Home and Welcome’.

The British National Party

At a time when the controversy regarding the participation of Nick Griffin on the BBC programme Question Time continues, it is worthwhile remembering that the 2009 Methodist Conference approved the following motion:

SO 361A states: 'The Methodist Church believes that racism is a denial of the gospel. '
Conference notes:

Ca) with warm approval that the Church of England at their February General Synod voted to prohibit members of the clergy from being members of the BNP;
Cb) with deep dismay the recent electoral success of parties with nationalistic ideologies, in particular the BNP;
Cc) the certainty of a general election by June 2010;
Cd) the letter sent by the Equality and Human Rights Commission asking the BNP to make changes to its constitution to comply with the Race Relations Act 1976.*
Therefore Conference resolves:

1 that being a member of an organisation which promotes racism is not consistent with being a Methodist;
2 that the Methodist Council be directed to explore any changes needed to give fuller effect to the principle that being a member of any organisation whose constitution, aims or objectives promote racism is inconsistent with membership of the Methodist Church, or with employment which involves representing or speaking on behalf of the Methodist Church and, if so, to bring proposals to conference of 2010;
3 that the Connexional Team urgently identifies and makes available resources to enable all local churches, circuits & districts to engage with this issue, especially in the approach to a general election;
4 that the Joint Public Issues Team engage with Government and all church members addressing the social and economic issues that have created the current widespread disaffection with the mainstream political process;

5 that all members and officers of the Methodist Church be reminded of the gospel imperative to love and accept all God's children and to reject racism in all its forms. In addition, Conference asserts that those who support racist organisations are also God's children in need of love, hope and redemption.

*
Under the BNP Constitution the membership criteria limit membership to 'The indigenous British ethnic groups deriving from the class of 'Indigenous Caucasian' consist[ing] of members of: i) The Anglo-Saxon
Folk Community; ii) The Celtic Scottish Folk Community; iii) The Scots-Northern Irish Folk Community; iv) The Celtic Welsh Folk Community; v) The Celtic Irish Folk Community; vi) The Celtic Cornish Folk
Community; vii) The Anglo-Saxon-Celtic Folk Community; viii) The Celtic-Norse Folk Community; ix) The Anglo-Saxon-Norse Folk Community; x) The Anglo-Saxon-Indigenous European Folk Community; xi) Members of these ethnic groups who reside either within or outside Europe but ethnically derive from them.'