SANDFIELD CLOSE PRIMARY PUPILS VISIT SWAMINARAYAN MANDIR

This morning I'm at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gipsy Lane, helping out with a visit of Year 5 pupils from Sandfield Close Primary. I arrive here hotfoot from BBC Radio Leicester, where I was recording a Thought for the Day earlier this morning (a Bahá'í comment on the upcoming G8 Summit in Northern Ireland).

This is the third of four visits in two days to local places of worship, arranged in association with The Mighty Creatives (a charity based in Leicester's LCB Depot, working across the East Midlands to champion young people's creativity and innovation).

The group is kitted out with cameras of different kinds (for stills and video), digital voice recorders and good old fashioned paper, pens, pencils and crayons. Artwork that the children produce as an outcome of their visits will be on display under the title, "Faith in Neighbours" in the Mezzanine at Curve as part of An Indian Summer later this month.

Our host today, Dipak Kalyan, wastes no time in getting us started on the guided tour. Photography and video recording is not permitted anywhere inside the mandir, so the children get the chance to do more drawing and sketching here than at the other venues.

One interesting topic that comes to the surface this morning is the symbolism of colours. Orange robes on statues of spiritual enlightened figures signify the fire that burns away worldly attachment, for example. We relate this to the bright red jumpers of the children's school uniform. Why is their top red, when other schools have other colours? How does it make Sandfield Close stand out? Does it make them different from other schools which have other colours? Does it make them better than other schools to be red?

A little correspondence that strikes a chord is when Dipak mentions about there being 108 beads on the rosary that devotees use, representing 108 names of God. There's a show on Cartoon Network called Hero 108 that might be said to draw on some themes of spirituality, oneness and the conflict between humankind and nature, which are not out of place with the kind of things we learn in the mandir today.

One of the children asks why we should remove our shoes in the mandir. Dipak starts with the standard answer, about not bringing (literal and metaphorical) dirt from the outside world into a sacred place. then he says that it's also because shoes are normally made of leather, which comes from a dead animal and we shouldn't bring that before the deities. Now, goodness knows how many times I've come into a place of worship and removed my shoes without thinking beyond the first of these reasons, the most obvious (most superficial?) one. It comes as a bit of a shock to realise that I usually wear a leather jacket and have never thought that I should remove it. Nor has anyone ever asked me to remove it in a place of worship either, I should point out. It's an uncomfortable moment of self realisation and as I speak about this, sharing my thoughts and feelings with the group, Bipin leans over and tugs at the shoulder strap of my leather messenger bag. Now that I know, it would be hard to carry on regardless. Later, someone asks about leather belts. I've never seen anyone remove their trouser belt in a place of worship. This reason for removing your shoes (and possibly other leather or suede items) won't apply in every place of worship of course, but still - food for thought I'm sure you'll agree, faithful reader.

This afternoon the group moves on to the Islam Information Centre, Highfield Street. Yesterday morning we were at the Jain Centre, Oxford Street; yesterday afternoon, Leicester Cathedral.

Our friends at BAPS Shri Swaminarayn Mandir were able to squeeze our group in this morning due to a last minute cancellation. Thanks to Narendra and Dipak for doing that.

HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE ATTEND LEICESTER'S FIRST MANGO FESTIVAL

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury. I should point out that the final six paragraphs appear in the online edition of the article, but not in the print version.

Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Keith Vaz MP and Bhai Jagtap with the elephants unveiled at the mango fesitval, in Cossington Street recreation ground

Hundreds of people attend Leicester's first mango festival

by David Owen

An Indian summer arrived early in Leicester today as the hottest day of the year so far coincided with the city’s first ever mango festival.

With temperatures reaching 22C (72F), hundreds of people visited Belgrave’s Cossington Park to enjoy the unique event.

Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, host of the hit Indian Masterchef TV show, was star attraction at the festival.

Greeted on stage to cheers and applause from the crowds, he said: “It’s a beautiful day to join you all here in Leicester. The reason we are here is because of the city’s hospitality – and the great taste of mangos!

“It’s an honour and a privilege to be here with you.”

Today's event recreated the world-famous International Mango Festival, which is held in Delhi every June.

Sanjeev treated festival goers to a cooking master class focusing on dishes using mangos. He was joined on stage by Bollywood choreographer Shiamak Davar and Bollywood movie art director and set designer Nitin Desai.

Other attractions included live music, dancing and children’s competitions.

Belgrave resident Avtar Kaur, 45, said: “In India the mango is king – it’s the national fruit and the most tasty.

“It’s such a lovely day and beautiful weather for everyone to get together in the park.

“I’m really enjoying myself with my friends and the weather couldn’t be more ideal.”

Vij Joraniya, 20, also of Belgrave, said: “I’m here to see Sanjeev. He’s the most famous chef in the whole of India and it’s so great to see him here in Leicester.”

Lavtar Singh Ruprah, 47, of Wigston, was enjoying a family day out with wife Reema and the couple’s two boys, Dhilan, two, and Harmeet, one.

“It’s a nice day out for the family and it’s nice to see people from all different communities in Leicester enjoying the sunshine and mangos,” he said. “You couldn’t have picked a better day for it, could you.”

The festival’s centrepiece was four ornately carved and decorated life-size wooden elephants – symbols of luck and prosperity in the subcontinent.

Thousands of delicious Alphonso mangos from the Kokan region of Maharashtra state were supplied courtesy of Indian producers who organised a similar festival in London on Sunday.

The decision to bring the festival here was made just 10 days ago after organisers approached Leicester East MP Keith Vaz.

He said: “It has taken a lot of hard work and organisation to put this festival together, but we did it in just 10 days.

“I’d like to thank the City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, the city council, members of the Belgrave Traders Association and everyone else for making this happen.”

The festival only went ahead after an appeal in the Mercury saw the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir temple, in Gipsy Lane, the Shreeji Dham Haveli temple, in Melton Road, and Leicester City Football Club agree to look after the elephants, which will be on show with two even bigger ones in the next few months.

Mr Vaz told the crowd: “These elephants will bring a great deal of luck to the city and in particular Leicester City FC, who play a very important match on Thursday.”

Speaking about today's sunny weather, Mercury weatherman Dave Mutton said: “It's more like India than Leicester. Ideal weather for our first mango festival.”

Organisers, however, have come in for some criticism after the supply of mangos ran out just 45 minutes into the festival.

“It was too short notice and not enough was done to tell local people what was going on,” said Gunvant Patel, 72, of Belgrave.

“About 500 people turned up at the park at 4.30pm only to be told it was all over. They went home feeling pretty disappointed.”

He added: “They called it a mango festival but it was more like a mango promotion, and in any case there were no mangos left by 3.45pm. Many people feel a bit short changed by the whole thing.”

LAST GASP GO-AHEAD FOR MANGO FESTIVAL

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Last gasp go-ahead for Mango festival

by David Owen

Leicester will host its first ever Mango festival on Bank Holiday Monday after 11th- hour plans came together just in time for the extravaganza to go ahead.

Organisations across the city answered Leicester East MP Keith Vaz's SOS call issued through the Mercury last week.

The politician admitted he cut it fine, but it has been confirmed that Belgrave's Golden Mile will replicate the world-renowned fruit festival held in Delhi every June.

Cossington Recreation Ground will be a sea of yellow and orange, with city residents from all communities invited to come along and join the fun.

In keeping with tradition, four giant ornately-carved wooden elephants will be the centrepiece of the festival, which will include Indian cooking demonstrations, dancing and music.

Mr Vaz hailed the staging of the festival an "organisational triumph" for the city.

"We really had our backs to the wall," he said. "But Leicester has been able to pull this together in just 10 days.

"It has been a magnificent effort and I want to thank the City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, the city council's festival team, the police, Belgrave Traders Association and others for pulling this together at very short notice.

"I am particular delighted that a home has been found for the six elephants that will come especially from India." 

The elephants that could have proved the sticking point, with Mr Vaz appealing for local organisations to provide a home for the giant wooden animals. "A number of local groups, organisations and individuals contacted me offering a home for the elephants," he said.

The four life-size carvings will arrive on Monday, with two 24ft by 12ft giants arriving the following week after the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir temple, on Gipsy Lane, Shreeji Dham Haveli temple, Melton Road, and Leicester City Football Club agreed to look after the elephants.

The Mango Festival will take place from 3pm, with activities for all ages, including cooking with celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, dancing with Bollywood choreographer Shiamak Davar and a visit by Bollywood movie art director and set designer Nitin Desai.

Dharmesh Lakhani, chairman of Belgrave Business Association, said: "It's taken a lot of hard work but the fact it's going ahead is thanks to the effort put in by Keith and everyone else involved.''

LEICESTER COUNCIL OF FAITHS AGM 2012

Leicester Council of Faiths holds its Annual General Meeting this evening at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gipsy Lane. These aren't the minutes of the AGM (which I record) but I've reproduced a few things here that are of relevance to me and (I hope) of interest to you, faithful reader.

Before the meeting proper begins, attendees are given a guided tour of the Mandir by Narendra Waghela (which I miss, because I'm laying out the room for the meeting) followed by refreshments (which I don't).

The meeting proper is opened by the Chair, Cllr Manjula Sood, who welcomes attendees, particularly our Patron, the Rt Revd Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester and his wife Wendy. The Chair asks Bishop Tim to offer an opening prayer.

The Chair singles out former Chairs and honorary life members attending this evening: Fayyaz Ahmad, TV Majoria and Dr Attaullah Siddiqui. She reminds attendees that this is Leicester Council of Faiths' 25^th anniversary year and describes some of the events and activities in Leicester over the past year in which the Council of Faiths has played a part or which have impacted on the organisation and our role in the city. These include changes in the funding landscape; higher profile of far right groups; the visit by HM The Queen to start her Diamond Jubilee in Leicester; the Olympics and Paralympics; public celebration of various faith festivals; active participation in the third national Inter Faith Week.

Bishop Tim gives his keynote speech on the topic, “The Recession and its Effects on Inter-Faith Relations”. His main points are listed below:

• Massive increase in dependence on food banks as practical indicator of effect of recession
• Ever-increasing pressure on those who are dependent on the State
• Poverty is a moral issue, a religious issue, particularly poverty affecting children
• Personal realisation of impact of Welfare Reform Bill in debate in House of Lords
• Media response focuses on why unelected, unrepresentative, privileged bishops should be speaking out on behalf of poor people; questioning the right of the bishops to speak out on this (or any other) issue
• Recession is being used to create conflict and suspicion among and between communities
• Ongoing tension at Thurnby Lodge estate is stoked by connection to national narratives
• “Marketization” of our lives gathering pace (e.g. in services such as education healthcare, and – in more extreme forms – in examples such as paid adoption and fostering, sale of body parts)
• Growing opposition in the public sphere to moral and  spiritual values
• The “floppiness” of our “spiritual muscle” because people of faith have not had to fight for the right, or contend with the prevailing orthodoxy like we have to do today.
• Three points to go on our agenda for attention in the immediate future:

• What are the practical expressions of our shared responsibilities?
• What are our educational responses in terms of creating civic character?
• What is our political (with a small “p”) positioning in relation to local governance? How does Leicester City Council experience Leicester Council of Faiths as a partner, a creative interlocutor in helping our city flourish in these difficult times?

The Chair thanks Bishop Tim for his presentation. He's able to respond to a few questions from the floor before he and Wendy give their apologies and take their leave of the meeting.

David Batchelor, Trustee of Citizen’s Advice Bureaux in Leicester, is given the floor. He has come to the AGM to encourage members of faith communities to assist Citizens’ Advice Bureaux by helping them tap into our networks, so that CABs can more fully reflect the make-up of Leicester today. The Chair thanks David for his presentation. He takes questions from the floor, then gives his apologies and leaves the meeting.

I briefly present my report of activities over the past year, which was included in the AGM papers. I refer members to a fuller version of this report to be found on his blog (where individual entries about most of the activities contained in the report are also posted).

I support the Secretary’s appeal that more members of the Council of Faiths make greater effort to attend meetings, many of which are routine and scheduled well in advance and would benefit from involvement of members from a variety of faith communities. This would free me to do the equality and diversity work, which has not decreased in its demands, despite my post being reduced to part-time from the beginning of October.

This leads to discussion of how to encourage the spirit of participation and sense of collective responsibility among members, to carry on existing work and extend it into new areas. There's a recognised tension of representation versus participation, “faith leaders” versus community workers, the role of paid staff in relation to volunteer members. As increasing opportunities have arisen for members of faith communities to take part in public activities (e.g. the exhibition in Highcross during Inter Faith Week, occasional schools visits, events held by our partners and funders) our members have more often than not been unavailable and representatives of faith communities have had to be recruited from outside our membership. Organisations and agencies with whom we work are often unclear about whether our members are representing the interests of their own faith communities or representing Leicester Council of Faiths itself. It's acknowledged that many of our members themselves may be unclear about this dichotomy. This has implications for our ability to justify continued funding from City Council and applications for future funding from other sources. It was agreed that the Board should make particular efforts to rectify this situation in the year ahead.

Funding has been reduced so that the only source of income is our support from Leicester City Council. This has impacted on the Council of Faiths' ability to retain staff, with both members of staff currently working on reduced hours (and reduced hourly rates). We have been assured that funding from Leicester City Council will continue until the end of 2012. This gives the opportunity to seek alternate and new sources of funding . In the meantime, there are two areas in which fundraising can be consolidated: payment of individual member subscriptions and asking members to approach their own communities (and the organisations within some of them) to ask for donations of at least £100 for the year.

Under Any Other Business, the meeting is reminded of the upcoming Faith in Family seminar (Tuesday 20 November 2012 at Leicester Police HQ, Enderby). This is our latest Open Meeting as well as part of our activity for Inter Faith Week.

Alex Keller informed the meeting of his retirement as representative of Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation. Chair thanked him for his long-standing involvement and valued contributions to the Council of Faiths.

In closing the AGM, the Chair thanks those who have given particular service to the Council of Faiths in the past year, including Officers (Fayyaz Suleman, Vice Chair; Inderjit Gugnani, Secretary; Kehar Singh, Assistant Secretary; Tony Nelson, Treasurer) and staff (Ajay Aggarwal, Co-ordinator;  Your's Truly). She proposes a special vote of thanks to our friends at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir for their hospitality this evening. The meeting thanked the Chair for her services over the past year.

PETERBOROUGH INTER-FAITH COUNCIL VISIT LEICESTER

Today Leicester Council of Faiths is hosting a visit to the city by our counterparts from Peterborough. Their party of 31 (including seven children) arrives an hour late due to circumstances beyond their control, as their coach has broken down not long after setting off, and they've had to wait for a replacement one to turn up.

In the photo above, Rosemarie Fitton and Narendra Waghela (both members of Leicester Council of Faiths) await the arrival of our visitors at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gipsy Lane. Narendra represents the local Swaminarayan community on our Council of Faiths and often acts as guide to visitors here at the Mandir. Rosemarie is Senior Lecturer in Interior Design at De Montfort University, her specialism being sacred spaces in public places (that's not what it's called officially, but I made up that diescriptionand I'm going to keep using it). Rosemarie's company, Heterarchy, designed the interior of the Mandir. She's on hand to speak to our visitors today about the work Heterarchy has done in this site - and both she and I will be accompanying the Peterborough group on the other stages of their visit.

Stage 1: BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

As the Peterborough group arrive an hour late, it's more of a speedy dash through the Mandir than we would have liked. Still there's time to take in some of its many pleasures and treasures and to whet the appetite for a return visit.

Stage 2: Masjid Umar, Evington Lane

Despite having lived in the area for a couple of years, I've never set foot inside Masjid Umar before today. We arrive just in time to observe worshippers taking part in afternoon prayer. By a happy coincidence, Fayyaz Suleman, Vice-Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths, is among the congregation today. He joins us for a Q&A session, responding to comments and questions from some of the visitors.

Stage 3: Jain Centre

Our final stop is the Jain Centre on Oxford Street. We arrive just at the end of a major event in the Centre, as the community has come together to celebrate the end of Paryushana, an eight-day period of fasting and one of the two most sacred periods in the Jain calendar. Smita Shah, past President of Jain Samaj Europe and a Director of Leicester Council of Faiths, shepherds the group round the centre (see photo above). I'm glad of the chance to meet some members of the Institute of Jainology, who are demonstrating their online resource, Jainipedia - and we're all glad to end the day by sharing in a vegetarian meal here, provided through the generosity of the Jain community. In the photo below, Smita Shah is talking with Jaspal Singh, Chair of Peterborough Inter-faith Council.

It would be remiss of me to end this blog post without mentioning a few things I noticed about this Peterborough group that distinguish it from ours here in Leicester.

Firstly, the size of the group: 31 is an impressive number, but even then their Chair, Jaspal Singh, informs me that there were would have been even more of them, if it were not for the fact that their local Buddhist and Jewish communities are involved in events of their own today, so have been unable to come along. A fortnight ago, we struggled to fill a minibus with less than half that number on our annual Peace Visit to three places of worship: and only three actual members of Leicester Council of Faiths were amongst that number.

Secondly, the composition of the visiting group: this was certainly different from any lineup that we could have drummed up from our membership. There were children present - seven of them. The only kids that show up at anything organised by Leicester Council of Faiths are mine! Once you subtract the children from the total number of visitors (leaving 24), a third or so of the adult members of the group were young people, of typical student age. Leicester Council of Faiths has long experienced difficulty in engaging young people in our activities (so much so, that we've recently been toying with the idea of appointing a volunteer position of Young People's Champion to try and get some movement on this issue). The Peterborough group had five Nepalese people, none of whom could speak English (one of the main group translated into Urdu, and one of the Nepalese women translated for their group from that).

Thirdly, membership and structure: Peterborough Inter-faith Council seems a looser and less formal entity than Leicester Council of Faiths - even, it might be said, less hierarchical and rigid. As far as I can see from today's visit and from the contacts leading up to it, the Peterborough group doesn't seem to have issues about who is there to represent local faith communities. The group appears to be made up of a diverse membership of people, brought together by their interest in finding out more about what other religions stand for and how their followers live. However, it might be fairer and more accurate to compare Peterborough Inter-faith Council with something like Dr Russell's Interfaith group in Leicester. Our more formal, more representative nature may be the key to opening doors for engagement with local authorities, service providers, schools, colleges and universities. Although it often gives cause for complaint, it may be the very thing that elevates Leicester Council of Faiths to the position where it can actually do some good for the city as a whole. It's horses for courses, innit?

PEACE VISIT 2012

Today Leicester Council of Faiths is holding our annual Peace Visit. This is one of what might be called our "signature" events for the benefit of the general public in Leicester (the others being our exhibition in Highcross during Inter Faith Week at the end of November and Holocaust Memorial Day in January).

There are twelve of us when we set off by minibus from Town Hall Square (after a brief welcome from Cllr Manjula Sood, Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths). The size of the group varies at each stop; at its height later in the day, there are 13 of us. It's a pleasant, sunny and warm day and we have a nice mix of old hands and new faces among us today.

Stage 1: Jain Centre

Our first stop is the Jain Centre on Oxford Street. The itinerary for the Peace Visit has changed each year (as has the name of the event, which has occasionally gone under different titles). The Jain Centre, however, has been a constant: and no wonder - it's surely the most distinctive among Leicester's many places of worship. I've visited it at least a dozen times and each time I do, something new has been done to the place. There's a nice panel display in a long corridor that's recently been opened up, conveying the history, beliefs, principles and practices of Jainism.

Stage 2: BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

This temple has been open to public worship for less than a year, but has already become a major attraction, not only for worshippers but also for tourists. We're shown around by Narendra Waghela, who is one of two representatives of the local Swaminarayan community on Leicester Council of Faiths. He explains a few of the technical secrets behind making the whole site function to award-winning standards. It really is a beautiful place, with something to delight all the senses as well as elevate the soul.

Stage 3: All Saints' Church, Kerrysdale Avenue

We emerge from Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, get into our minibus and cross the road to our next stop. The Church of All Saints serves Leicester's Asian Christian congregation. Originally St Gabriel's (the statue of the Archangel has been retained above the entrance, as you can see top right in the photo above), the church was closed due to falling number of Anglican worshippers and remained unused for two years until it was resurrected in June 2012 for this diverse community. I haven't been to this church today (in either of its forms). We're given a warm welcome (in what is a surprisingly cold building) by the Pastor, Sunny George, and a handful of the congregation.

Stage 4: Guru Ravi Dass Sikh Temple, Harrison Road

Final stop on our short tour is another place I haven't visited before. This temple is named for Guru Ravi Dass, a revered historical figure among Sikhs and Hindus, previously unknown to me. Guru Nanak is reported to have met him and some of his verses are included in the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. Today's been quite an education for me - as are most days in this job!

I reckon that, if we had the resources, we could fill a minibus on this kind of tour once a month. There's certainly variety among the places of worship that we could visit plenty of them with dreary repetition. With adequate promotion, we could surely get a dozen people on board, once a month. Ajay, who is Co-ordinator at Leicester Council of Faiths, organises our annual Peace Visit. I wonder how he'd feel about that ...

HOLI YATRA WALK 2012, STAGE 10: BAPS SHRI SWAMINARAYAN MANDIR

Tenth stage on the Holi Yatra Sponsored Walk with Leicester Friends of Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies: BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, at the corner of Catherine Street and Gipsy Lane. The goal is to visit 15 Hindu places of worship in Leicester on foot today.

Holi (Hindi: होली) is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus, also known as the Festival of Colours. It is primarily observed in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal and in countries with large populations from India or of Indian descent who follow Hinduism.

Yatra (Sanskrit: यात्रा, "journey", "procession"), in Hinduism and other Indian religions, means pilgrimage to holy places and is generally undertaken in groups. One who goes on a yatra is known as a yatri. It is desirable, but not obligatory, for a Hindu to go on a yatra. One can go on a yatra for a variety of reasons, including festivals, to perform rituals for one's ancestors, or to obtain good karma. To traditional Hindus, the journey itself is as important as the destination, and the hardships of travel serve as an act of devotion in themselves. Visiting a sacred place is believed by the pilgrim to purify the self and bring one closer to the divine. (Thanks to Wikipedia for these definitions.)

While we're here my iPhone battery gives up the ghost - and so do I. There are still five stages of the Holi Yatra Walk to go and it's already past 1700. Early promotion for this event said it would last from 1100-1700, which was later changed to 0900-1700, then while we've been on it, the end has been moved back again to 1900. At this point I think that's a bit optimistic - especially for me.

As my fellow yatris head off along Gipsy Lane toward the next stage, I make my way in the opposite direction uphill toward the 53 bus back to the city centre. I’m alone but for a matter paneer in nan with salad and chilli sauce, from the Blue Chippy across the road from the mandir. To the casual observer, at certain moments it would be hard to tell whether I'm trying to eat it or it's trying to eat me.

Here are the final five mandirs I don't get to visit today. I don’t know the order in which the Holi Yatra Walk is stopping at them, so don’t take this as a route.

• ISSO Swaminarayan Mandir, Loughborough Rd
• Shreeji Haveli
• Shree Ram Mandir, Hildyard Road
• Shri Siva Murugan Temple, Abbey Mill, Ross Walk
• Sri Vedmata Gayatri Pariwar, Rendell Road

SACRE AT BAPS SHRI SWAMINARAYAN MANDIR

At BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gipsy Lane, this afternoon for the regular scheduled meeting of Leicester SACRE (Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education).

I'm asked to remove my shoes as soon as I step inside the building. I confess to feeling suddenly despondent at this point, as I can't bear my feet being cold and it’s bloomin’ freezing today and I’ve walked almost an hour to get here. But - miracle of miracles - the temple has heating beneath the marble floor tiles!

For half an hour before the meeting, SACRE members are given a guided tour of the Mandir. Sadly for me, I’m late and miss this part.

In the meeting, we have the second presentation in our ongoing series, Faith Focus, in which one of the members of SACRE is given the opportunity to introduce the group to their religion or belief. Today, appropriately enough, it’s a presentation on Hinduism by Hiten Bhatt, with particular emphasis on the BAPS Swainarayan tradition.

Extracts from two DVDs produced by Leicester Youth SACRE ar shown. The first of these DVDs was filmed at the conference, Challenging RE, on Friday 4 November at Holy Trinity Church. The second, a more purely promotional DVD, in which Youth SACRE members express what they’ve gained out of being involved and in which small groups of members discuss various topics (e.g. identity and belonging; peace and conflict; Wills and Kate’s royal wedding; the killing of Osama Bin Laden; religious stereotypes; prayer; and arranged marriages).

Jill Carr (SACRE’s Secretary) makes a presentation on the place of Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural education (SMSC) in the new Ofsted framework (and its implications for schools).

In the past year there were anxieties about the position of RE. However, the new Ofsted framework was introduced in September and there is more emphasis on the inspection of SMSC (spiritual, moral, social and cultural education) and less on community cohesion. 

Inspections will judge how well the school promotes SMSC development of pupils. What matters most is how well schools ensure high standards of achievement, learning and behaviour for their pupils, as well as contributing to their SMSC development and take account for it. All schools should be promoting pupils SMSC development and preparing pupils for life.

“In the present inspection framework, SMSC development is regarded as an outcome for pupils, which is often aligned with judgements about pupils’ behaviour and the extent to which they contribute to the school and wider community.” The new framework proposes “to shift the focus so that consideration of how well the school promotes pupils’ SMSC development forms part of the judgement on overall effectiveness. Evidence to support this will be gathered from consideration of the quality of teaching, pupils’ behaviour and attitudes, achievement, and leadership and management.”

RE, art and music are some examples of subjects that promote aspects of SMSC provision. However, discussion with pupils and staff will provide an important insight as to how SMSC is planned as part of the curriculum in other subjects. Pupils’ spiritual development is shown by their beliefs, religious or otherwise, which inform their perspective on life and their interest in and respect for different people’s feelings and values.

Jill explained how school can promote each individual aspect of SMSC development. Overall, it was good news for RE. Pupils' attitudes have changed towards RE they enjoy doing it and GCSE numbers have increased year on year. On this evidence, then, we may concluded that the RE community is stronger than ever!

Draft copies of SACRE’s annual report were distributed (an electronic version was circulated in advance of this meeting). Jill Carr summarised key points:

Standards and Quality of provision of RE:

• One RE subject inspection this year
• 27 Section 5 inspections fewer than last year
• Fewer schools achieving higher grades for SMSC and Community Cohesion
• In Leicester number taking full course remained static
• Exam results improved A* and A brackets went up considerably

Quality Learning, teaching, leadership and Management:

• Some training offered
• Recruitment of staff is good
• Head teachers in primary schools keen to promote RE / SMSC

The effectiveness of the locally Agreed Syllabus:

• Embraced by schools
• Raising standards of RE in the classroom
• Adopted by Diocese and Blackburn with Darwen Education Authority
• Around 30 Agreed Syllabuses have been sold
• It will be amended in two years – runs for five years

Collective Worship

• SACRE has contributed to Collective Worship in schools
• There have been five new determinations
• New certificate in place
• In future, more SACRE input

Management of SACRE

• Generally well attended meetings in different settings
• Vacancies in groups B and D

Leicester Youth SACRE

• Continue to be difficulties in meetings
• DVD completed
• Strategies needed to consolidate membership and meeting times

SACRE & Community Cohesion

• Engaging with Faith Communitiess booklet
• Interfaith initiatives
• School outreach
• Sacred Spaces

Development Plan

• Clear priorities for this year 2011-2012
• To develop links between Leicester SACRE and schools
• To raise the profile of SACRE
• To support the work of Leicester Youth SACRE

See a slideshow of images of Leicester's BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir here.

PROCESSION MARKS OPENING OF NEW TEMPLE

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Procession marks the opening of new temple

Hundreds of devotees took to the streets of Leicester for a colourful procession which marked the opening of a new Hindu temple. 

Worshippers followed dozens of floats carrying murtis – sacred images of Hindu Gods – from Belgrave Road to the new BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Gipsy Lane, on Saturday. 

The images were placed in the temple and consecrated during a special ceremony yesterday. It is believed that by walking them through the streets, the city and its residents will be blessed.
Jag Patel, 33, from Gipsy Lane, said the ceremony had brought the Hindu community together. 

"Having this beautiful new temple on our doorstep is going to be absolutely amazing," she said. 

"It is not just a place of worship, but a place for all the community to gather, with lots going on for the whole family. We will be visiting very often." 

The £4 million temple was hand-crafted in India, and brought to the UK by boat before being assembled on site. 

It replaces a temple in St James, Street, Leicester, which the congregation had outgrown. 

Kirit Patel, the mandir's (temple's) lead coordinator said: "We've been building up to this moment for a while now, and the mandir is finally open to all. 

"It will play an important role in our society and we were absolutely delighted to see all members of our community come together and celebrate this momentous occasion with us." 

Mother of three, Claire Cummins, 26, who lives in Gipsy Lane, said she has been watching the construction of the temple and was looking forward to seeing the interior. 

She said: "The procession gives the wider community an insight into the Hindu community. 

"We have been seeing the construction of the temple and it is simply a work of art. 

"My kids walk past the temple every day and I will most definitely be taking them to see it inside." 

Passers-by watched worshippers in traditional Indian dress perform songs and dances as they followed the procession. 

Nisha Patel, 25, who works at Radha Sweet Mart on Melton Road, said the event transported her back to India. 

"The colours, the songs and seeing people having a great time has made me feel so much a part of the community," she said. 

"I have only been living in Leicester for a short time and it's nice to see so much culture." 

The long awaited opening of the mandir comes after three years of hard work and fund-raising by volunteers.

CHARTING THE DECLINE OF CHRISTIANITY

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Charting the decline of Christianity

While on the one hand I applaud the magnificent and biggest Hindu Temple in the Midlands, on the other, I wonder if the people of Leicester notice the demise of Christianity in our city.

This is not, repeat not, a racist view as many of my friends are Leicester Asians, but a statement of fact.

I was born and bred in Leicester and brought up in a Church of England School, Saint Barnabas, whose church is soon to be sold. I was married at St Alban's Church, in Weymouth Street, thankfully saved at the moment, but whose sister churches, St Gabriel's and St Peter's, Belgrave, full of history, are up for sale.

Add St Saviour's Church and that makes four churches up for sale, which I feel is only the thin end of the wedge.

The writing is on the wall for Leicester obviously sooner than later. Maybe even now we have more temples and mosques than churches and we Christians will be the minority.

After living here all my life, I now feel a total foreigner in my own city and am considering moving out!

G L Astill, Leicester