DOZENS ENJOY PILGRIMAGE ROUND CITY VISITING DIFFERENT FAITH COMMUNITIES

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Dozens enjoy pilgrimage round city visiting different faith communities

More than 40 people took part in an annual inter-faith walking pilgrimage in Clarendon Park, Leicester, at the weekend.

The event, which took six hours to complete, visited seven sites where pilgrims were welcomed by a different faith community.

The tour began at noon, at Guru Amar Das Gurdwara, before moving on to the Quaker Meeting House, then St John the Baptist Church, before being hosted by Baha'is in the Octagon Room, attached to St John's.

The walkers then visited the Neve Shalom Progressive Synagogue, The Art of Living Centre, in Toller Road, finishing at the Geeta Bhavan Hindu Temple and Community Centre, in Clarendon Park Road.

At each stage, the group was welcomed with a talk about the community hosting them and the place of worship. They also joined in a short devotional activity.

Barbara Butler of Christians Aware, which organised the event, said: "We spent a little time with Sikhs, Quakers, Anglicans, Baha'is, Jews and Hindus. We're grateful to those who played host to our group."

VEGAN FAIR SERVES UP A TREAT FOR VISITORS

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Vegan fair serves up a treat for visitors

A fair dedicated to vegetarian and vegan living welcomed scores of visitors.

More than 200 people attended the event at Avenue Primary School, in Avenue Road Extension, Clarendon Park, Leicester, on Saturday to sample vegan and vegetarian food.

A number of workshops were also held to teach people about crafts, such as making their own tote bags, and caterers Pocketwala were on hand to feed the hungry masses with healthy Indian food.

Richard Bonfield, resident poet for the Born Free foundation – an organisation which aims to combat animal cruelty – also entertained visitors with readings of his and Pollyanna Pickering's new book Wildness.

Organiser Ann-Marie Harrigan said: "It was a great success, we had more people than we anticipated and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves."

Avenue Community Church at Clarendon Park Summer Fair

I spend a pleasant hour or so this afternoon at the Clarendon Park Summer Fair. The photo above is of one of a number and variety of displays that lined both sides of Queens Road. This one is the Avenue Community Church stall, where I stopped for a few minutes and spoke to a very nice young woman called Gillian, who is from Kansas (and, yes, I made the obvious joke - and Gillian had the good grace to smile at it). I gave her my card and she gave me some information about the church's activities: most notably "Sunday in the Park", a week today (26 June, 1400-1700). Bearing in mind the title of that Stephen Sondheim musical, how can I refuse such an invitation?

Avenue Community Church was "planted" from Knighton Evangelical Free Church in 2005. They describe themselves as being made up of a variety of people, from toddlers to students to grandparents. They meet together on Sunday mornings (1030-1200) at Avenue Primary School for an informal time including singing, prayer, a talk based on a passage from the Bible, children's activities, creche, refreshments and chat. They aim to be family-friendly and accessible to visitors.