INTER FAITH WEEK 2011, DAY 6: HIGHCROSS EXHIBITION

Day six of our week-long exhibition in Highcross, showcasing the eight communities represented on Leicester Council of Faiths: Bahá'ís, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Jews, Muslims and Sikhs.

All week long I've been in the process of setting up a visit to the exhibition by Jon Ashworth MP (Labour, Leicester South). Jon's been supportive of the Council of Faiths and our work on several occasions and I was pleased to be asked to set up an informal meeting between him and members of some of our member faith communities. That's Jon in the photo above (3rd from left), with (from left to right) Minou Cortazzi (Bahá'í representative), Gursharan Thandi (Sikh representative), Cllr Manjula Sood (Hindu - and Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths), Cllr Inderjit Gugnani (Sikh representative), Ajay Aggarwal (Co-ordinator at Leicester Council of Faiths), Father John Lally (Christian representative). Jon is able to visit for about an hour. There's enough room within the display area to make a circle of chairs for him to sit and talk with the group there.

Early today, I share a couple of hours on the display with Dr Ruth Young, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Leicester and one of the principals behind the "Mapping Faith and Place" project which has led to the Faith Trail walking map in Leicester city centre. We've borrowed the pop-up banners and booklets for these, to help smarten up our exhibition here.

Other visitors and volunteers on the exhibition today include Rev. Sally Martin (Lead Chaplain for the Pastoral and Spiritual Care Team at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust) and Anjala Farmah (to the right and left, respectively of Cllr Manjula Sood in the photo above). We also receive a visit, late this afternoon,  from Cllr Ted Cassidy MBE, Assistant Mayor and Cabinet Lead for Economic Development, Culture and Tourism (in photo below, along with Beverley Farrand, from Leicester Cathedral and Shane Bordoli, from Nagarjuna Kadampa Buddhist Centre). I delivered handwritten invitiations to the exhibition for the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and all Cabinet members to the Town Hall on Tuesday morning; Ted tells me that he only received his through the internal mail this morning!

INTER FAITH WEEK 2011, DAY 3: HIGHCROSS EXHIBITION

Third day of our week-long exhibition in Highcross to celebrate Inter Faith Week, showcasing the eight communities represented on Leicester Council of Faiths.

I call in at the Welcome Centre first thing and write out invitations to visit the exhibition for the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Assistant Mayors I hand them in at Town Hall for distribution through the City Council's internal mail service.

Ben Jackson of BBC Radio Leicester pays an unannounced visit to the display this morning, where he records interviews with Anne Fishenden, local Quaker and Vice Chair of Leicester SACRE (Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education), Amy Marsh (of the student team from University of Leicester, School of Archaeology and Ancient History which created the Faith Trail) and me. This is for a segment of Ben's breakfast show that will be broadcast on Friday morning.

Bharat Patel, of Pukaar News, contacts me by phone, to ask if he and a camera crew can visit the stall tomorrow to film an interview with our Chair, Cllr Manjula Sood, and our Vice Chair, Fayyaz Suleman. To make sure that all goes well, I immediately seek written permission for this from Highcross management - which I promptly receive, glad to say.

In the afternoon, we receive a brief visit from City Councillors Sundip Meghani and Barbara Potter. Sundip has encountered the Council of Faiths on more than one occasion, but I've never met Barbara before. Sundip sends out a supportive tweet to his 1,423 followers:

Just visited the excellent Leicester @counciloffaiths Inter Faith Week exhibition at the Highcross shopping centre. Well worth a visit!

Follow Councillor Sundip Meghani on Twitter: @Sundip

Final volunteers on the stall this evening are Yasmin Surti and Deirdre O'Sullivan (in photo above). This reflective log entry was made by one of them (I'm not saying which one, but she's not sitting on the right):

"Another cold and dark evening lightened by George's 'sense of humour' - looking forward to the next round."

I like how "sense of humour" is in "inverted commas". I find that very "reassuring" - wouldn't you, "faithful reader"?

INTER FAITH WEEK 2011, DAY 2: HIGHCROSS EXHIBITION

Second day of our week-long exhibition in Highcross to celebrate Inter Faith Week, showcasing the eight communities represented on Leicester Council of Faiths.

The dynamic of the exhibition is beginning to become clear. The new location and layout mean that we're shifting more of free literature than in previous years. While it might seem that, on the other hand, fewer people are stopping to talk this time round, I don't think that's so. In terms of people approaching the stall, the arrangement of the banners is definitely more appealing and effective than before (and we're able to rotate them every so often, to keep it fresh). Putting the free literature on the trestle tables at the sides of the display space allows people to approach and take what they want in relative safety from the volunteers inside the display. You never know how it's going to work out until you see it in action. The dark semi-circle on the floor that marks the outer edge of the display space marks a safe boundary for the public. If you're brave enough to cross that line, then you're fair game!

There's some discussion with members of the public today about the content of the University of Leicester Faiths Trail, the banner and booklet for which are included in our exhibition here. A woman queries (strongly and at length) why the Cathedral was passed over in favour of St Mary de Castro, while a man objects to the omission of Neve Shalom, the Leicester Progressive Synagogue on Avenue Road. The simple answer to the former is that St Mary de Castro is older and has a more interesting history as a building, especially its relation with the Castle (and, after all, the team who compiled the information and created the trail are second year undergraduate students in the University's School of Archaeology and Ancient History). The answer to the latter is that Neve Shalom wouldn't fit into the schedule of a walking tour - although it may well have to in future, given that the Orthdox Synagogue on Highfield Street is up for sale.

I have gentler chats with Marlene from the Salvation Army and David from the local Eckankar group (whom I first met at the launch event for Leicester Speaks last month in Humberstone Gate).

Here are some comments entered in the reflective log by volunteers on the exhibition today:

“I found it particularly difficult to convince the cynics that true interfaith co-operation can be achieved regardless of the political situation. Also a lot of people had issues with the Faith Trail especially the synagogue which is for sale and Orthodox Jewish community in reduction and also the fact that the Mandir has moved. Otherwise a pleasant experience as I enjoy being a social butterfly!” 

“Even though it was early and Monday morning, several people came and took leaflets and brochures; some of them were very keen to get involved and discuss their personal experiences regarding both individual faiths and the wider religious community, Some very useful comments and suggestions were received from the members of the Jewish and Christian communities.” 

“Several people paused and glanced at the display. A couple or three stopped and chatted. There seemed to be a general acceptance of the display.” 

“Many people have passed by. Some have taken an interest. Leaflets have been taken. Wanting to know about neighbour’s religion. Interesting talking amongst ourselves on the subject of spirituality.” 

“I have rather enjoyed talking with the other volunteers. I get a sense of other space within the little enclave that is made from the tables with flyers and the tall boards showing each faith. A smallish sense of discontent from the retail world around us. And that sense disappears as I go and get coffee. I like that just by my presence I help to show others that there are joyful relations between the faiths.” 

“Some very interesting discussions with three separate individuals, related to faith communities generally and in once case personal experience of the journey to having a full time spiritual life. The siting of the display seemed much better this year in terms of the ease it provides for engaging with passers-by – a sense of it being less intrusive and offering a range of different encounters.”

MAPPING FAITH & PLACE: FAITH TRAIL LAUNCHED

At New Walk Museum and Art Gallery this evening for the launch of the University of Leicester’s Faith Trail. Today’s event marks an important stage in the development of Mapping Faith and Place, a project based in the university's School of Archaeology and Ancient History. Today is the day the project goes public.

Leicester Council of Faiths has lent occasional assistance to this project over the last year or so. Most recently, I’ve had the chance to make some slight amendments to the text of the printed booklet that goes with the Faith Trail and to ensure the use of a decent version of our logo.

Here’s an extract from the address given by Deirdre O’Sullivan, who is project leaders (along with Ruth Young, from Archaeology).

“Mapping Faith and Place has grown out of our shared interests in the archaeology of the great World Religions and the ways in which places of worship are understood, and used, by both members of faith communities and people outside those communities. Be they fellow citizens, tourists and visitors, or archaeologists seeking to understand placed in the past. 

“The study of religious monuments occupies a substantial section of any archaeology curriculum, From the temple complexes and shrines of the ancient civilisations of both the old and new worlds, through the abbeys, churches and cathedrals of Western Christendom, to the beautiful mosques of the Islamic world, archaeologists have recorded an enormous range of buildings that have served faith communities in both the past and the present. Understanding such places, however, requires more than familiarity with architectural terminology, or carefully scaled admiration for the skills and resources of their architects, builders and decorators. The meanings of such places need to be accessed in some way.

“The range of contemporary faith communities in Leicester offers a remarkable  opportunity to do just this. Over 400 different places have been used for worship in the city. Many of these buildings have disappeared; others have changed hands and moved between different faith communities, or in some cases, been adapted for secular use. All of the major contemporary world religions are represented.

“It is an educational axiom that in order to explain something you must first understand it yourself. Although the world seems unfortunately rather full of people trying to explain things that they don’t understand.  Our educational ambition is simply the development of understanding of places of faith in the present, and in the past. Not just the whats and wheres, but they whys and hows of what things mean in Leicester, which is so remarkable as a successful multi-ethnic community in 21^st century Britain. If we are to explain this success, we must first understand how it works.

“The event today focuses on our first concrete outputs from the project, the creation of a Faith Trail by a group of undergraduates in Archaeology and Ancient History and an interactive map of all the places of faith in Leicester alive and dead prepared by Dr Chris Green, which will enable anyone to construct their own maps and trails. Resources from the University’s Knowledge Exchange programme were provided which allowed us to employ an independent heritage consultant, Heather Lomas, to co-ordinate and steer the word over summer and, indeed, organise this launch today,
“These are not just for the purpose of academic enquiry; they are also openly accessible on the web and we hope that we can create useful tools and resources for developing ongoing dialogues within Leicester for a whole range of purposes, not least among faith communities themselves.”

Two of the students take the podium to speak about their work on the project. During this short talk they give a big credit to the Council of Faiths (a bit bigger than I think we deserve, but I’m not going to complain). We do have quite a visible presence at this occasion, with one of our pop-up banners on display at the front and the full range of our leaflets out among the material published by the university.

There’s a very convivial atmosphere among the 50 or so attendees and everyone seems pleased and satisfied with the work so far – as well as being keen and optimistic about future developments.

There’s going to be a series of workshops furthering the Mapping Faith and Place project and the Council of Faiths has been asked to be involved.  I’ll be away in Glasgow when the first of these takes place (Tuesday 18 October) but Rosemarie Fitton will be taking part.

I ask if we could incorporate the exhibition materials on display this evening and the printed Faith Trail booklet into our exhibition at Highcross during Inter Faith Week (20-26 November). The request is met favourably – I think it will be a very good contribution!