coming out, crossing over

After the meeting of the Equality and Diversity Partnership at the LGBT Centre, Ian Robson, Director of the Centre asks if I can hang on for a few minutes so we can talk about something we've been trying to fit in for several weeks now.

We've been tentatively discussing how to bridge the perceived gap between our respective "protected characteristics": religion or belief and sexual orientation. It's assumed by many people that these two areas are - even that they should - be mutually antagonistic. Since we started working together through EDP and REDP, Ian and I have taken every opportunity to puncture that myth. It is true, though, that there are people in both camps who don't think before they speak and cause offence for no good reason. We acknowledge that unfortunate fact but also acknowledge our mutual wish to transcend it. We can't change doctrine, but we might make a dent in dogma and at least work toward a situation where we accept that getting along together is more important than scoring political or religious points off each other.

Ian tells me that the LGBT Centre has been receiving an increasing number of enquiries from people from a variety of faith backgrounds, concerned about coming out (or about family members coming out) and how that might be received in the communities to which they belong.

We have a wide-ranging and open conversation on this and commit ourselves to helping build up greater trust and understanding on both sides. I remind Ian of how these two equality areas work together in Glasgow, as I saw on a recent visit to the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. A programme of public meetings was being held addressing the crossover between religion or belief and sexual orientation, involving organisations such as Affirmation Scotland, Imaan and Sarbat. It's no surprise if I see Glasgow, my birthplace, as being in the lead on issues scuh as this, but similarly it should come as no suprise that I would like to see my adopted home town of Leicester catching up!

FAITH TO FAITH AT ST MUNGO'S MUSEUM OF RELIGIOUS LIFE & ART

In Glasgow, I picked up a leaflet for this monthly series of public events, held on Sunday afternoons at St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art and really thought it worthwhile recording here. This series is part of St Mungo's Museum's remit to promote mutual understanding and respect between people of different faiths and none. Many of the topics are clearly of interest to me in my post as Equality and Diversity Officer with Leicester Council of Faiths, but they also make me feel pretty proud as a Glaswegian for the progress my home city is making in recognising, celebrating and promoting the diversity of its people.

I'm noting not just the events still to come (in case any readers within reasonable distance of the museum want to attend something coming up) but the ones that have gone by. They're all interesting. If any are of particular significance, faithful reader, you've got the chance to look up details online. I wonder where else in the UK some of these discussions could take place today? I'll pass this leaflet on to my mate Ian Robson, Director of Leicester's LGBT Centre and fellow Core Partner at the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP) - just to show it can be done!

Affirmation Scotland (6 Sep 2009)
Affirmation Scotland members speak about LGBT issues in the Church, and consider how Christian communities can be inclusive. A Roman Catholic mother will also share insights about having a lesbian daughter.

Sarbat.net (4 Oct 2009)
Sarbat.net is a webiste for LGBT Sikhs. Jay Singh, the group's moderator, will speak about what Sarbat offers to help LGBT Sikhs reconcile their faith and sexual orientation.

Transgender and Faith (1 Nov 2009)
Rev. Maxwell Reay will facilitate a sharing up to three transgender people, who will talk about their personal and faith experiences, followed by an open discussion.

Imaan - the support group for Muslim LGBT people (6 Dec 2009)
Pav Akhtar, the Chair of Imaan, will speak about the realities and challenges of being an LGBT practising Muslim, what Imaan does to support its members and the opportunities presented by the Single Equality Bill for LGBT communities.

A Journey through the year - Pagan rites and rituals (24 Jan 2010)
Pauline Kennedy Allan will talk about festivals celebrated by the Pagan community, beginning with Imbolc. She will explain the importance of the natural world within Paganism and touch on the importance of spirits and deity.

Stella Reekie and Interfaith in Glasgow (28 Feb 2010)
Hear and share memories of Stella Reekie, who brought together people of different faiths and who started interfaith work in Glasgow.

Quakers - Glasgow, the friendly city (28 March 2010)
Paul Burton will talk about the Quakers, members of the Religious Society of Friends. He will discuss what Quakers believe, and discuss Quaker history in Scotland and Glasgow, from the beginning of Quakerism in the 1600s to the present day.

Religion and Art - Victorian depictions of death (25 Apr 2010)
Glasgow University's Dr Joanna Meacock will discuss the relationship between art and religion. she will explore Victorian artists' interpretations of spirituality, death and the afterlife.

Traditional Spirituality of the Gaedl (23 May 2010)
Fionntulach, from the Order of Celi De, will talk about both Pagan and Christian Gaelic spirituality. She will discuss what myths they have in common, and what archetypal motifs they share with other traditions across the world.

Spirituality and Poetry (27 June 2010)
Join the Seeds of Thought Urban Poetry Group for an afternoon of poetry and music. This event will include a workshop, so put your creative hat on!

Godless Morality (25 July 2010)
Tim Maguire from the Humanist Society of Scotland will discuss humanist morality.

Mind you, after making a fuss about the "equality and diversity" aspects of these meetings, if I could have chosen to attend just one of them, it would have been that on 28 February this year: "Stella Reekie and Interfaith in Glasgow". I came into inter faith work in 1979 at the age of 19, when the "Sharing of Faiths" was based at the International Flat, Glasgow Street, in Hillhead, near Glasgow University. The flat was Stella's home, but you'd hardly have known it. I only knew her and worked by her for the last few years of her life, but she's someone whom I think of frequently and of whose influence I am conscious to this day.

Read a pen-portrait of Stella Reekie by Sister Isabel Smyth, who was a mainstay of the Sharing of Faiths in those days. Sister Isabel led "Time for Reflection" at the Scottish Parliament (10 Mar 2010), celebrating International women's Day, an appropriate occasion on which to pay tribute to Stella. An article by Ron Fergusion, recalling Stella's life and work, was published in The Herald, 15 October 2007.