LEICESTERSHIRE PARTNERSHIP NHS TRUST, SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT, FINAL REPORT

Following extended discussion and a number of meetings, a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between Leicester City PCT and Leicester Council of Faiths was signed on 31 March 2009. This contract ended formally on 31 May 2012. Here's an amended version of the final report on this agreement, that I submitted today. All these topics are covered extensively throughout this blog.

We were originally contracted to work with Leicester City PCT but got caught up in redeployment issues within the NHS locally, both of staff and of responsibilities. Management of our contract was put into the hands of the Integrated Equalities Team at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. Consequently (and through no fault of our own) it took longer than we would have liked for actual work to take place in furthering the aims of our SLA.

NHS Staff Multifaith Resource

Following a year and more of consultation among the eight member communites of Leicester Council of Faiths and a variety of other communities of religion or belief (Humanist, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormon, Pagan, Rastafarian, Spiritualist), Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust published a Staff Multifaith Resource. This pack provides the following information in the same order, for each of the communities of religion or belief included:

• Introduction and local information
• Mode of greeting
• Birth
• Examination of patient
• Particular sensitivities
• Washing, ablutions and personal hygiene
• Modesty and dress
• Special dietary requirements
• Fasting
• Family planning
• Abortion
• Care in serious (or final stages of) illness
• Blood transfusion / transplants
• Organ donation
• Spiritual advisor / counsellor
• Death
• Religious symbols
• Post mortem
• Burial / cremation
• General considerations for community nurses visiting patients at home

The Multifaith Staff Resource was officially launched during Inter Faith Week 2011 with three lunchtime meetings on consecutive days in the Brandon Unit, Glenfield Hospital. (Tue 22 Nov), Mansion House, Glenfield Hospital (Wed 23 Nov) and at Leicester General (Thu 24 Nov).

Shortly before the end of 2011, a programme of induction began for ward staff in the city, county and Rutland and for Community Teams in the same areas and for the Trust’s Spiritual and Pastoral Care Team. This induction programme was delivered alongside Abida Hussain, the Trust’s Equalities and Human Rights Officer.

Faith Community Health Ambassadors

The idea for this project originated in a full meeting of Leicester Council of Faiths at the Welcome Centre (13 July 2010), on the topic of health inequalities. This meeting was addressed by Deb Watson (Director of Public Health, Leicester City PCT) and her Assistant Director, Rod Moore.  Deb also presented a refined version of this proposal at the Council of Faiths AGM (21 Oct 2010). Since this programme kicked into action, around 30 short video interviews have been conducted with individuals from a variety of backgrounds of religion or belief for use in training of staff with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. In these videos, subjects answer questions about how their religion or belief impact on their health and how they access healthcare services. Contributors identified with a particular religion or belief as follows: 

• 2 Baha’is
• 5 Buddhists
• 4 Christians
• 7 Hindus
• 1 Humanist
• 2 Jews
• 6 Muslims
• 1 Rastafarian
• 1 Secularist
• 3 Sikhs

Equality Delivery System

We were invited to take part in community consultation on LPT’s equality objectives at two meetings: 10 March 2011 at the Towers and (with an extended group of stakeholders)  8 March 2011 at Mansion House, Glenfield Hospital.

These meetings led to progress on the development of LPT’s Equality Delivery System (EDS). I was asked to participate in a meeting with a variety of stakeholders to grade LPT’s Equality Delivery System at the Peepul Centre, Orchardson Avenue, Monday 27 February 2012.

The same individuals who were recorded for the Faith Community Health Ambassadors project were contacted and asked to take part in a community engagement review of LPT’s Equality Delivery System in a meeting at Merlyn Vaz Health & Social Care Centre, Spinney Hill Road on Wednesday 28 November. Although only two people turned up in person, several other responses were received by post.

Impact attendant on proposed closure of children’s heart unit at Glenfield Hospital

I was asked to coordinate the Council of Faiths’ response to impacts attendant on the possible closure of the children’s heart unit at Glenfield Hospital. Following a one-to-one briefing with Christina Marriott, ?? at LPT HQ, Lakeside, Grove Park, Monday 28 May 2012, members were canvassed for their responses, then a three page-long response was submitted, 30 May 2012. 

MISSION TO MELTON

A quick pop out and back again to Brooksby Melton College (Melton Campus) this afternoon, with some material and moral support for the events that the college will be holding during Inter Faith Week.

We're loaning the college the set of pictures we had produced for our Favourite Faiths Photo exhibition last year. They're not being used anywhere else during Inter Faith Week and it would be a pity for them to be left under wraps when they could be put to good use here. Well, not just "here": the collection will be split between the Melton and Brooksby campuses. These pictures were originally planned to be 16 in number - two for each of the member communities on Leicester Council of Faiths, one large, one small. I mentioned elsewhere on this blog (23 November 2011) that when these photos were digitally printed (direct onto thick mounting board) several of them were made too large to fit into the display spaces at Leicester People's Photographic Gallery. So the printer (John E. Wright) offered replacement copies at no extra cost and we were able to hold on to the originals too. We had no plans to use the pictures this year, so when Nicola Welbourne (photo above) of the college's Learner Services, asked if we had any visual material that could help beautify the room where their Interfaith Events Day is to be held next Wednesday (21 November) I jumped at the chance to offer these photos.

I'll be here for that day, with a display which will be "dual-badged" for Leicester Council of Faiths and Faith Awareness (the inter-faith programme of Christians Aware). It'll be a busy day for me: putting up the Council of Faiths table in the second Choice Unlimited at Leicester Tigers between 0630 and 0800; dashing out to the Melton campus for their Interfaith Events Day from 0930 till 1415; back to the Tigers, to front the display there till it closes at 1800; and keeping a watchful eye on the Highcross exhibition. I'm looking forward to it!

Even though the college is concentrating its Inter Faith Events Day into less than four hours on Wednesday, Nicola and her colleague Humera are already generating interest and enthusiasm around the college. They've prevailed upon staff in the Forestry and Arboriculture Department to provide an Interfaith Tree at both campuses on which students and staff are invited to hang heart-shaped labels bearing a wish, a prayer, a remembrance or something of that type. These will be collected for a blessing at the end of Inter Faith Week. You can see the Interfaith Tree to the right in the photo above. It's a big branch, spray-painted silver, stuck in an Oor Wullie style silver bucket; I'm going to see if we can get something like it for our exhibition in Highcross. And from Monday, prayers from different faiths will be circulated around the college, related to study, students or the theme of inter-faith dialogue and relations. I think they're doing a terrific job here.

PICTURE PERFECT

That's me walking out of Leicester People's Photographic Gallery this afternoon with our Favourite Faiths Photo exhibition under my arm. These are the sixteen pictures (two for each of the communities represented on Leicester Council of Faiths) which were put on display during Inter Faith Week at the end of November last year. They've remained on display in the gallery till this week: that's the better part of nine months. Thanks to Ian Davies and his guys at the LPPG for their support. I can now officially declare Inter Faith Week 2011 closed - just three months to go till the next one!

ISLAM: DESIGNED FOR LIVING

Fronting a table for the Islam Information Centre this afternoon is my friend Zubair Sidat. I got to know Zubair in his capacity as a Director at De Montfort University Students' Union. He and I have worked together on a few projects over the past couple of years, such as Discover Islam Week at De Montfort University, DMU Students Community Fair and the Inter Faith Week 2011 exhibition in Highcross.

I admire Zubair’s relaxed, personable way of interacting with members of the public. He’s able to put people at their ease and impart a good amount of information without making it feel like he’s lecturing them. One woman spends some time chatting with him and flicking through the literature on display. Her sister has recently converted to Islam after marrying a Muslim and she wants to know more about their beliefs.

The table is set up outside Clark's Shoes in Humberstone Gate and yes, I deliberately caught that text in the top left corner of the picture. That’s my kind of coincidence and it fits in with the style and tone of this blog, wouldn't you agree faithful reader? Got to love those Union Flags too, one at each corner of the table. It's Diamond Jubilee Weekend after all and everyone is flying the flag, all over town.

On the table is a wide range of pamphlets on diverse topics. Many of these are new to me and I'm glad to add them to my growing collection of such material. Now I should make time to familiarise myself with the contents. They're all published by Islamic Dawah Centre International. The titles on display are:

• Answers to Non-Muslims' Common Questions about Islam
• Concept of God in Islam
• The Hijab: Reflections by Muslim Women
• Human Rights in Islam
• Islam at a Glance: Muslims' Belief in a Nutshell
• Jihad in Islam
• Life After Death
• The Mercy of Allah
• The Muslim Woman's Dress: According to the Qur'an and Sunnah
• The Position of Women in Islam
• Three Men, One Mission: Moses, Jesus, Muhammad (Peace be upon them)
• The Truth About Jesus: A Muslim Perspective
• What does Islam say about Adultery and Fornication
• Who was Jesus? (Peace be upon him)

I mentioned at the top of this piece that this display is being done for the Islam Information Centre. Here's some information about the Centre, taken from its Facebook page:

The centre is located at 45 Highfield Street in the heart of the multicultural city of Leicester. It’s within a short walking distance of the railway station, City Centre and both Universities.

When the property was acquired it was in a very poor structural state. Through the will of Allah, the help of generous private donations and efforts of the local Ulamma (Islamic Scholars) the property has been transformed into a purpose built Islam Information Centre.

The centre consists of a large ground floor area accommodating a reception area and a permanent Discover Islam exhibition area with a kitchen and ablution area to the rear.

The first and second floor consists of spacious seminar rooms and a resource centre.

The IIC is operated entirely on a voluntary basis and is funded through regular donations from Muslims both locally and nationally. It is principally operated by a group of local Ulamma (Islamic scholars) who are articulate and possess a wealth of knowledge between them about Islam and modern day issues affecting Muslims and non Muslims alike. The centre consists of a large ground floor area accommodating a reception area and a permanent Discover Islam exhibition area with a kitchen and ablution area to the rear.

The first and second floor consists of spacious seminar rooms and a resource centre.

The IIC is operated entirely on a voluntary basis and is funded through regular donations from Muslims both locally and nationally. It is principally operated by a group of local Ulamma (Islamic scholars) who are articulate and possess a wealth of knowledge between them about Islam and modern day issues affecting Muslims and non Muslims alike.

I hope to be able to visit the Islam Information centre before long. When I do, I'll write it up here of course.

PROGRESS REPORT AT HIGHCROSS

A meeting early this afternoon with Jo Tallack, General Manager of Highcross Leicester. Canon Barry Naylor and Julie-Ann Heath are involved in the meeting too. Two topics for discussion:

• Inter Faith Week (2001 and 2012)
• Multi-Faith Prayer Room

The Multi-Faith Prayer Room has been in active public use for just over a quarter of a year now (it opened at the end of the last Inter Faith Week, in the last days of November 2011. There's been an overwhelmingly positive response: Highcross hasn't received a single negative comment about it, either from users criticising its location or the fact that it's been converted from its previous use as a disabled toilet or from anyone opposed to it in principle. It has proved popular with customers and is virtually in constant use. At certain times on certain days, people have even been prepared to queue to use it.

A number of prayer mats have been left in the room, which have been collected in Lost Property. No one has claimed any of them. It may be the case that users of the room have left these deliberately, as Highcross decided from the start not to provide prayer mats in the room.

Some users have taken it upon themselves to mark on the wall the direction of Mecca (someone keeps writing Qibla (Arabic for "Point of Adoration", the direction to be faced when offering the Muslim salat, or Obligatory Prayer). Highcross staff have been cleaning this off, only for it to be done again. They'll be putting on some permanent, professional-looking mark to indicate this direction shortly.

Signage throughout Highcross will be upgraded soon and this room will be included, making it accessible and visible from all over the site.

Hammersons has looked upon this as a test case and they're very pleased with how it's gone so far. They'll now ensure that all new-build properties have a similar facility provided from the get-go and that suitable space is provided in existing sites.

On the topic of Inter Faith Week 2012, some tentative ideas were floated regarding making the display even more attractive and interactive. possibly involving live music and dance, as well as planning visits by school parties. There's a constant stream of schoolchildren coming to the site every week as part of the ongoing "Learn Highcross" project; during Inter Faith Week this could include a planned visit to our display. Watch this space for further developments!

I'm grateful to Jo for accepting posters and fliers for REDP's forthcoming Choice Unlimited event, that she'll ensure are put on display around Highcross.

FAITH WITHOUT FRONTIERS

This article is published in the February edition of From Dusk 2 Dawn (FD2D) magazine:

Faith without frontiers

by Alastair Ballentyne

As part of my continuing mission to explore the diverse melting pot that is Leicester, I have inevitably come to a part of our community that is rarely discussed and often considered taboo - faith groups.

In recent times, religion has garnered a bad reputation partially through attempts to legitimise war and unpopular foreign policy.

There is an as-yet unexplored gulf between religion, belief and blind faith and in this day and age I believe it is important to question which one of these terms most accurately refers to the code of conduct by which believers live.

It’s interesting that something that has been part of civilisation for thousands of years has become such a taboo in the sensationalist times we live in, but then a person’s beliefs should never become their social bracket. I am more interested in what people in the ‘faith communities’ are doing to help improve the quality of life for the wider community as a whole.

To fairly represent this I met with two individuals - Pastor Samuel Gapara, founder of the Emmanuel Apostolic Gospel Choir who are currently based at DMU and my father, George Ballentyne the equality and diversity officer of Leicester’s Council of Faiths. Both of their organisations are different but ultimately their common goal is to assist in sustaining healthy relationships between all citizens of Leicester, and keep the people of the city well-informed about the diverse society they are part of.

The Emmanuel Apostolic Gospel choir began by chance when Keith Vaz, MP for Leicester East visited Aylestone leisure centre. He stumbled upon Pastor Samuel holding a service there, as he and his compatriots don’t currently have a church building of their own. Vaz’s mission was to find singers for his mother’s funeral and asked if the congregation could provide the voices he was looking for. As a result they started rehearsing as a choir. They remained on good terms with Vaz after performing at his mother’s funeral, and he has since invited them to sing at different functions for dignitaries and celebrities such as Ed Milliband, Cherie Blair and Jackie Chan! After this the choir members embarked on community projects to help people who had fallen into prostitution and drug addiction.

The choir is open to people of all ages, religions and ethnic backgrounds and by Pastor Samuel’s own admission he feels that religion can segregate people and wants the choir to transcend this boundary. As testament to this he told me about how they once had a member of the Hindu community playing Tabla to add a different musical dimension instead of it being religiously motivated.

Ultimately the choir experience is about more than just religion – it is to maximise happiness and enjoyment in people’s lives rather than the beliefs that may govern them.

Of course part of the choir’s purpose is to spread the message of belief but Pastor Samuel feels that if people are introduced to faith groups in this way, then it allows them to maintain an open mind and form an unbiased opinion of their work.

Being based at DMU, Pastor Samuel feels that universities are key to the development of the choir and DMU has allowed them to use campus facilities to provide educational resources to disadvantaged individuals. During our conversation he placed emphasis on the importance of receiving good quality education, which unfortunately in this day and age is still not available to all.

The choir have been engaged in many fundraising activities and have been known to sing late into the night in the city centre at the weekends as they wish to raise enough money to build a church. Their vision is that it will be a beacon to those in need regardless of their background. The church will be open 24/7 (Pastor Samuel stressed that the building will never be locked) for anyone who needs a place to go regardless of their circumstances. It will also house recording studios and classrooms for tuition in subjects ranging from the academic to the artistic. This is of the utmost importance, as the Pastor explained that people from different ethnic backgrounds might find it hard to attend higher education institutions and their educational needs are not always adequately met.

Whatever your preconceptions of a gospel choir may be, it is impossible to deny that they are working to improve the quality of life and facilities available for individuals living in the community. Their work is not just Leicester-based; I was informed that they have members working far afield as Zimbabwe, Ghana and Jamaica. They are operating on a scale that most local philanthropic organisations could only dream of.

As Leicester is a city of multi-faith, I felt it necessary to discuss the work of the Leicester Council of Faiths, which is currently celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary and is a very important, yet often unsung local organisation. It doesn’t make interfaith events happen or claim credit for such events but it provides a public face for activities that might normally go under the radar. It is made up of community leaders from each of the different faith communities (Christians, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Baha’i’s). It brings together and encourages interaction of the different faith communities to promote a peaceful co-existence; it also helps bring together white British culture with modern Asian culture and within that bringing Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs together. It also importantly acknowledges the differences within the different religions as people too often put all members of a faith under one umbrella without regard for their cultural differences.

Leicester is one of the most diverse European cities and that is something to be celebrated. The Council of Faiths promotes the idea that everyone is human with different hopes and ideas that can transcend cultural boundaries.

It is also interesting that people of Leicester are happy to partake in different cultural festivals such as the Mela, Divali and the St George’s day regardless of their heritage. It is as if they are able to do this because they share a common ‘spiritual heritage’ just by being from Leicester.

Last year, the EDL cast a dark shadow over Leicester’s proud multi-faith community when they descended on the city. It brought people from different backgrounds together as a community because they love and value Leicester’s multiculturalism and united when it came under threat. There was a rather touching "peace vigil" in the cathedral the night before the march where people from all faith communities gave readings from all manner of religious texts. So well attended was the vigil, there was only room to stand. Over the past three years the Council of Faiths has held an exhibition in the Highcross shopping centre with the main purpose being to present a ‘fuller and accurate’ understanding of faiths in the city. The exhibition takes place as part of ‘Interfaith week’, which ran from November 20-26. It is an important event in the local calendar as people seem to be wary of interfaith dialogue but as the exhibit is manned by a constantly changing group of people from different communities, it is a change to see cross-cultural cohesion in action and allows people to find out more about what each religion is about. Although the work of the Council of Faiths is important for the community, it is run on a shoestring budget and is the only organisation of its kind in Leicester.

It is important not to write off the faith communities’ efforts in our perceptions; their work in developing the resources available to all of us is invaluable. Groups like the Emmanuel Apostolic Gospel Choir are more honest and committed to their aims than a lot of groups offering some similar services that are nothing more than self-styled professional time wasters. The Council of Faiths is important because it campaigns for social issues such as better healthcare and provides a platform for people’s voices to be heard and encourages multi faith dialogue by engaging directly with the city as a whole.

CREATIVECOFFEE CLUB

At Phoenix Square Film and Digital Media Centre this morning for CreativeCoffee Club. Another good turnout, with just as many, maybe more, as at the last session a fortnight ago (at least two dozen people today - including, for the first time, a babe in arms). A very positive feeling about the session today, a palpable buzz in the air - and that's not just thanks to the caffeine!

Patrick Welsh (Marketing Manager at Phoenix Square) and I have an interesting discussion about "ownership" of CreativeCoffee Club. What's the relationship between CreativeCoffee Club and Phoenix Square? Is this a loose, informal group of people who met for a while at DMU Graduate Bar, currently meet at Phoenix Square and at some time in the future might meet somewhere else? Is CreativeCoffee Club an integral part of Phoenix Square's programme? Who runs it? Who makes it work? What can be done to make it work better?

We don't reach any conclusion about this, but it's an interesting question to ask, with obvious implications for promotion and publicity, retaining the existing membership (if it can be said to have such a thing) and bring in new people. Take, for instance, blogging. At the moment, that's only done here, by me, attached to the Council of Faiths website. So it reflects my interest and involvement - and that of the organisation for which I work. But there's more to Creative Coffee Club than just what I see in it and what I get out of it. Should it have a blog of its own? If so, who would do that? Can it be done collectively?

One veteran of CreativeCoffee Club (and of the late, lamented - by me, at least - Amplified Leicester) tells me that this shouldn't be thought of as a networking event any more; that we might as well be meeting in the pub. My response to that is that if we were meeting down the pub at 10 o'clock on a Wednesday morning, then it would say something very different about us as a group! My feelings are that CreativeCoffee Club is that it's loose, relaxed and low-key (which, for some people, can mean it's frustratingly baggy, shapeless and unmanageable) and that it doesn't work to try and mould it into some other shape followed by other groups and meetings of which we might have experience or knowledge. There are other networking events happening in and around Leicester - and some of us take part in those too. If CreativeCoffee Club is a square peg, it can't be battered into a round hole.

Since I keep telling anyone who's interested (and plenty who're not) that I'm the longest-serving member of CreativeCoffee Club (having been here since the second-ever meeting at DMU in the autumn of 2007) I think I'm entitled to take the long view. Some folk questioned why I was coming to CreativeCoffee Club at all (including some of my employers), but from my point of view it's paid off, in spades. I don't have a product to promote, or a service of the kind that others have here. It's been a process of building credibility, trust, even friendship - that others attending see my open hand, understand my agenda (and don't think there's a hidden one). In the context of attending and supporting CreativeCoffee Club at Phoenix Square, that paid off for me (and for Leicester Council of Faiths) with the Faiths Film Festival during Inter Faith Week 2011. Getting that put on was the perfect example of pushing at an open door. Phoenix Square even went the extra mile by having one of our banners on display for a whole month leading up to that event and for the week of the festival itself.

I have an interesting chat about social media with one chap, here for the first time today, which reflects on the nature and purpose of CreativeCoffee Club itself. Twitter, for example, could be said to be dynamic, non-hierarchical, to evade standard ideas about management and ownership. Get the picture, faithful reader?

Listed below are some of today's attendees. These are live links; click on them to go straight through to the relevant website or Twitter account.

• Bipin Anand touchRainbow Productions @touchRainbow
• Kim Campion The Alternative @AlternativeKim
• Craig Clarke @Beatroot
• Doug Cubin GIS Coordinated Ltd @gisco
• Ian Davies Leicester People's Photographic Gallery @IanDai
• Shell Edwards Make-Up Artistry @_makeupartistry
• Emma Fay Emma Fay Make-up & Concept Artist @EmmaFayMua
• Cheryl Gill LCB Depot @lcbdepot
• Dave Johnson Silverleaf Studio @Silver_DJ78
• Toby Jones The Awesome Consultancy @awesomeforhire 
• Olga Kras OK-CreArt @OlgaKrasCreart
• Cheryl Leadbetter Povric @PovricByCherylL
• Trevor Locke Artsin Productions @ARTSIN
• Ben Ravilious Ultimateweb Ltd @benrav
• Farhana Shaikh The Asian Writer @farhanashaikh
• David Sinclair Sinvision @sinvision
• Edd Smith Purple Claw @purple_claw 
• Jed Spittle Manic Music Productions @manicmusic 
• Mohan Subra Subra Designs

STUDENTS TAUGHT ON VARIETY OF RELIGIONS AT ROADSHOW

From today's Leicester Mercury:

Students taught on variety of religions at roadshow 

Students and volunteers got together to take part in a faith roadshow. 

More than 1,300 young people from Gateway College met with religious representatives from eight faiths at the Religion and Belief Roadshow. 

It was aimed at teaching students about a variety of religions including Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Humanism and Islam. 

The event was organised at the college, in Colin Grundy Drive, Leicester, by the St Phillip's Centre, based in Stoughton Drive North, in Evington. 

Riaz Ravat, from the St Phillip's Centre, said: "The Religion and Belief Roadshow is an important part of our Inter Faith Week programme because it will reach hundreds of young people. 

"Students saw several world views all interacting with one another and spreading inter faith messages of compassion, respect and peace. 

"This is a powerful statement which they can use as an example to tackle intolerance and promote peace."

In photo above: Carrie Potter, of Gateway College, Buddhist the Venerable Amitha and Gateway students Anil Chohan, 18, during the religion and belief roadshow

TIME TO GO HOME

Our banner has been on display in the foyer at Phoenix Square Film and Digital Media Centre for exactly a month now, lending support to their Faiths Film Festival during Inter Faith Week. It's been in a prominent position at the Reception, clearly visible to anyone and everyone entering the venue and buying tickets. Now that it's all over, it's time to pack it away and take it home.

I'm really grateful to the staff at Phoenix Square for having the banner displayed so prominently all this time. It was a genuinely unexpected bonus. I'm particularly grateful to Programme Manager Andy Jones, who suggested that we have it there for this extended period.

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 5: HIGHCROSS EXHIBITION

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

Yesterday was a relatively quiet day compared to this one: it's very media-intensive today, in three distinctly different ways. Around 0945, Bharat Patel arrives with a crew of two, to film some material for Pukaar News. He does some straight-to-camera stuff inside the display area, interviews Fayyaz Suleman, our Vice Chair, for 20 minutes or so, then records a few minutes with me. After they're finished filming at Highcross, they head off for the City Council buildings on New Walk, to film an interview with our Chair, Cllr Manjula Sood.

Early this afternoon, Rebecca Bryers, Production Assistant on John Florance's Sunday morning show on BBC Radio Leicester, arrives on the scene to record an interview with Jo Tallack, General Manager at Highcross and with me - first about our presence there during Inter Faith Week, then about the Multi-Faith Prayer Room. I took the above photo when the three of us were inside the prayer room. It's just about ready to go into use, but today the piped music was still playing in there. Rebecca's interview with Jo will have Dionne Warwick's "All the Love in the World" all over it when it's broadcast this coming Sunday.

Around 1600, we have our long awaited "speedfaithing" event that we seem to have waited the best part of a year for. However, a number of factors conspire to make it something of an anticlimax. I was hoping we'd have at least half a dozen people of different backgrounds of religion or belief here but there's only three of us (Noel Singh, Martin Stern and myself). Several of those whom I hoped would be joining in are out at Gateway College doing the Religion and Belief Roadshow organised by St Philip's Centre and there's no chance of them making it back here in time. There's a similarly small number of young reporters (Holly, Christina and Vickie in the photo above) and I'm not sure all of them took part in the "pre" event at Phoenix Square during Leicester Speaks. We make the most of it though - and the girls certainly seem to get something positive out of it - but I wouldn't call it our greatest moment.

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

“Spirituality or shopping? Seems this morning consumerism and the offer of sales is winning!”

“Lots of people glanced at the displays and wider literature. A few read with greater attention and one picked up lots of leaflets to help with her educational consultancy work. So the stall is doing its work in many ways including giving us volunteers the opportunity of meeting across the faith boundaries.”

“I found that it was an interesting experience being able to find out myself about other faiths and being able to talk to other volunteers. I realised it is hard to grab the attention of passers-by to invite them into the space to talk about interfaith week but didn’t want to feel as if I was pestering them. A few people took occasional glances as they walked past, but only a couple stopped. I feel the space would benefit from a more interactive environment which would encourage people to enter the space and not feel afraid of talking to people with the aid of hands-on experience / interactivity rather than just leaflets and banners. The Highcross although deemed an ideal location to gather large quantities of people, at the time of year in particular you find that people are rushing around the shops and don’t have time to stop.”

“I enjoyed volunteering at the Interfaith stand. I learnt more about religion and found it very interesting. Although quite a few people looked at the stand from afar, there wasn’t actually many people who wanted to come up and talk. However I did speak to a couple of people who were quite excited when I told them about the film festival. Although the stand in Highcross meant more people knew about interfaith week, I think it would be a good idea to hold an interfaith festival in one of the parks which would attract lots of attention.”

“It has undoubtedly been a wonderful experience visiting and volunteering at the interfaith stand."

INTER FAITH WEEK 2011, DAY 5: ISLAM 101

At 1500 we’ve scheduled the eighth of ten public meetings for Inter Faith Week, under the series title, "Communities of Faith or Belief in Leicester". We're putting on two talks per day in the Adult Education College (or, more precisely, in the Leicester People's Photographic Gallery which is attached to the Adult Education College).

This was to have been a Beginners' Guide to Islam - or Islam 101 - but despite a vigorous search and what I thought were firm promises, the speaker I was hoping would be here hasn't turned up. Thankfully, no one has turned up to listen to the talk either, so there's no need to make apologies this time.

The photo above is one of two images representing the Muslim community included in the Favourite Faiths Photo exhibition launched this week at the People's Photographic Gallery. The picture was taken at an Imams vs Vicars cricket match held at Grace Road, home of Leicestershire County Cricket Club. Just to ramp up the inter faith quotient, the picture includes Hindu and Jewish umpires.

Photo sourced from St Philip's Centre for Study and Engagement in a Multi-FaithSociety, with permission.

INTER FAITH WEEK, DAY 5: NHS STAFF MULTI-FAITH RESOURCE BRIEFING AT DAISY PEAKE

At the Daisy Peake Building, the Towers, this afternoon, promoting the NHS Staff Multi-Faith Resource that Leicester Council of Faiths has helped produce for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT).

I'm here with Abida Hussain, Equalities and Human Rights Officer in LPT's Integrated Equality Service and Revd. Sally Martin, Lead Chaplain of LPT's Spiritual and Pastoral Care Team, as we continue the process of briefing members of LPT staff most likely to use this resource.

This is the last of three lunchtime briefings this week which we (and LPT) are counting as part of our respective activities for Inter Faith Week.

INTER FAITH WEEK, DAY 5: JUDAISM 101

At 1200 today we have number seven in a series of ten public meetings for Inter Faith Week. These hour-long introductions to “Communities of Faith or Belief in Leicester" are being held in Leicester Adult Education College (or, more precisely, in Leicester People's Photographic Gallery, which is part of the Adult Ed College). Leicester Council of Faiths is hosting these meetings in association with Leicester Adult Skills and Learning Service (LASALS).

The speaker for this Beginners’ Guide to Judaism – or Judaism 101 - is Dr Martin Stern, of Leicester Hebrew Congregation.

The photo above is one of two images representing the Jewish community in the Favourite Faiths Photo exhibition, launched at Leicester People's Photographic Gallery during Inter Faith Week. The picture shows a detail of the Town Hall Square Fountain, a gift to the people of Leicester in 1878 from Sir Israel Hart (1835-1911), prominent member of the city's Jewish community and four times Mayor of Leicester (photo sourced from Kiran Parmar, with permission).

INTER FAITH WEEK 2011, DAY 4: HIGHCROSS EXHIBITION

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

Halfway through the day, I refresh the layout of the pop-up banners (for "refresh", read "fiddle about with"). For the first half of the week, I've laid them out in alphabetical order: Bahá'ís backing on to Buddhists; Christians backing on to Hindus; Jains backing on to Jews; Muslims backing on to Sikhs. I'm always saying that the alphabet is God's gift to even-handedness and that's what we usually follow, to avoid any disputes about who goes first or last and why this one goes next to that one. But it strikes me today that we could lay out the banners so that, when approaching them from one direction, one would see the Abrahamic faiths lined up in historical sequence (Jews, Christians, Muslims, Bahá'ís) and if approaching from the other direction see the Dharmic faiths lined up in historical sequence (Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh). Not that I believe anyone will notice particularly (although I do make it my business to tell those whom I think will be interested). I guess I'm just one of life's inveterate fiddlers!

Here are some comments entered in the reflective log by volunteers on the exhibition today (none of which mention the order of the pop-up banners):

“Good number of individuals passing by to read the banners and some taking literature from faith communities. One young man left his card to be invited to panel discussions on faiths in future. The same person engaged in a useful conversation with us.”

“It’s so wonderful to be in the presence of individuals who are so committed in bringing goodness to others. I feel humbled in taking part.”

“Few people approached us. The one who did knew already something about the activities of the Council of Faiths and collected leaflets to distribute around. All in all it has been a positive experience for me. I have met interesting people. I wish the wonderful job that the Council of Faiths does could be more appreciated.”

“So glad to be part of this – to be able to talk to a few people about the importance of faith and how different faiths can and do work together. Wonderful for me to reflect more on the beliefs of others, my interactions with those of other faiths and how actually our care values are shared – the difference between ‘faith’ and ‘religion’!”

“It was good to be the small space of relaxation and interest within the bustle surrounding the exhibition. So many glances, a few good conversations and questions. The whole exhibition speaks to those who pass by. Very worthwhile.”

“I’ve met some very friendly and interesting people. I’ve also learned things about other faiths and cultures that I didn't know before. To be part of something that encourages people to live side-by-side in harmony regardless of their beliefs makes me feel proud to live in Leicester.” 

“Many people simply looking – but the sheer presence of a Christian and a Sikh standing together in unity was an incarnated message in itself. Wonderful.”

“Most of the people just look around, pick up the leaflets on different faiths and go. But some like to talk. One young man called Ross asked about euthanasia and Sikh belief. I had to take his details to let him know because I have no idea. Another lady wanted to know about Sikh faith and she was from Buddhist faith.”

SACRE AT EVINGTON VALLEY PRIMARY SCHOOL

At Evington Valley Primary School, Evington Valley Road, this afternoon for the scheduled meeting of Leicester SACRE (Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education).

Today we have a new feature of these regular meetings, in which members will take a quarter of an hour or so to present some basic information about their religion or belief for the benefit of the rest of the members. For a kick-off, Anne Fishenden, Vice Chair of SACRE, gives an introduction to Quaker history, beliefs and practices.

The main part of today's meeting is given over to hearing the request for a determination by our host today, Evington Valley Primary School.

I'm also able to get a few minutes at the end of the meeting to speak a little about Inter Faith Week.

INTER FAITH WEEK, DAY 4: NHS STAFF MULTI-FAITH RESOURCE BRIEFING AT MANSION HOUSE

At Mansion House, Glenfield Hospital this afternoon, promoting the NHS Staff Multi-Faith Resource (or "Multisave" as its billed on the whiteboard in reception) that Leicester Council of Faiths has helped produce for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT).

I'm here with Abida Hussain, Equalities and Human Rights Officer in LPT's Integrated Equality Service, as we continue the process of briefing members of LPT staff most likely to use this resource.

This is the second of three lunchtime briefings this week which we (and LPT) are counting as part of our respective activities for Inter Faith Week.

INTER FAITH WEEK, DAY 4: HUMANISM 101

At 1200 today we've scheduled the fifth of ten public meetings for Inter Faith Week, “Communities of Faith or Belief in Leicester" at Leicester Adult Education College (or, more precisely, in the Leicester People's Photographic Gallery, which is part of the Adult Education College).


The speaker for this Beginners’ Guide to Humanism – or Humanism 101 - is Dr Allan Hayes, Director of Leicester Secular Society.


Unfortunately, due to ill-coordinated information about the venue, Allan is unable to deliver the talk. Through no fault of his, he's not directed to the right place, where at least a couple of people are waiting to listen to him. I'm sorry about this and offer our apologies for a good opportunity having been missed. This is especially regrettable as Humanists are not one of the communities of religion or belief represented on Leicester Council of Faiths and they have not taken part in any of the activities that we've organised for this annual event in previous years. I had deliberately put this public meeting in this year's programme of activities to help rectify this and to help bridge the gap between us - and Alla was the first speaker to commit to the talk out of all ten scheduled.

INTER FAITH WEEK, DAY 4: FAVOURITE FAITHS PHOTO EXHIBITION

You may be wondering, faithful reader, what's become of the Favourite Faiths Photo Exhibition at the Leicester People's Photographic Gallery. This is part of our fourfold presentation for Inter Faith Week (and the gallery is also the venue for the afternoon introductory talks that we're presenting in association with Leicester Adult Skills and Learning Service under the banner, "Discover Communities of Religion or Belief in Leicester").

Due to a technical hitch or two, it's taken longer to get the photos printed than we'd hoped. Then Ian Davies, Director of the Leicester People's Photographic Gallery, was rushed into hospital by ambulance on Monday afternoon with sever chest pains. That threw everything out of kilter at the gallery, including our display. So I'm glad (indeed, relieved) to get a message this morning from our contact at John E Wright (the digital printing company which produces everything displayed in the gallery) that our pictures are ready and have been delivered to the gallery. I ask Arthur Winner (who's come along to help out at the exhibition in Highcross) to come up to the gallery and cast his professional photographers' eye over the pictures. I haven't decided on how the photos are going to be displayed, which ones should go together and so on. But after th ten minute walk up to the gallery, we're greeted by Rob Howden, who tells us that the photos haven't shown up there. So Arthur and I take another ten minute walk over to John E Wright in Marble Street, only to be told that the pictures aren't there, that they were definitely delivered to the Adult Education College this morning. Ah, right so ... this is part of the problem with this new venue. No one knows what it's really called (or what it's supposed to be called, since no one wants to refer to it as the Old Central Lending Library - which is the way you end up describing it when you have to accept that no one knows where it is or what you're talking about!). So Arthur and I head over to the Adult Education College in Wellington Street where - lo and behold - our photos are sitting waiting for us, protected by the biggest swathe of bubble wrap I've ever seen *POP!*


We carry the collected 16 photos (printed on board which is rather too big and unwieldy to carry through the streets) up to the gallery, unwrap them and lay them out along one of the walls, so we can judge how they can be displayed (as in the photo above). I have to say that I'm disappointed in how a few of them have turned out. I'd hoped for better results to be honest (Arthur describes the colour in some of them as "punchy" - I'm not sure what that means, but it doesn't sound positive). In the end, I leave decisions about the order of display in the capable hands of fellow Scot John Toye.


When I come back round to the gallery later this afternoon (to meet the speaker for the Jain slot at 1500), John has been trying to hang the pictures, but tells me that all but one of the larger ones just don't fit! Rather than the whole area of the photo plus white space around it being A2, the picture alone has been printed A2 then additional white space added around. This makes them too big to fit in any of the allotted spaces at the gallery. This is strange and somewhat inexplicable, as the printer (John E Wright) does all the production of these prints for the gallery and should have been working to a set standard. John asks me to leave it with him to contact the printer and talk it over. By the end of the afternoon, John E Wright has committed to printing again the anomalous pictures, to the right size this time, at no extra cost to us. Since the bigger versions are now going spare, I take them down to the exhibition at Highcross, where we can use them to add a splash of colour to the display.