INTER FAITH WEEK 2011, DAY 1: TOGETHER EVENT AT BEAUCHAMP COLLEGE

As I was unable to attend the Together event at Beauchamp College this afternoon for more than a quarter of an hour, I'm glad that Michelle Benn (of Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation) has permitted me to include this short piece which she wrote for the congregation's newsletter.

Faiths Together 

On November 20th, whilst others were engaged with Mitzvah Day, I took along a collection of Judaica and Jewish books and spent a most unexpected afternoon at Beauchamp College's "faiths together" event. Sandwiched between a Sikh stall portraying the lives of the Gurus and a Hindu stall displaying stunningly beautiful saris and with a good view of the Muslim stall opposite, with posters of Jerusalem, I took time to reflect on how much I love being part of multi-faith Leicester and how easy and good it felt to celebrate that which unites us, instead of engaging in that which divides us. Also were local Oadby churches and Leicester Council of Faiths. 

It's funny how standing behind a stall displaying religious artifacts encourages people to talk. I had the most interesting, inspiring and deeply moving encounters with people of deep faith and none: a woman with Jewish roots in search of her ancestry; an atheist man grappling with issues of spirituality; a woman coming to terms with her loss of faith when her minister was unable to support her grieving and a woman vicar discussing gender-biased translations of the Bible. 

I had gone with the expectation of talking about Judaism and returned full of wonder having listened to people's life stories; people eager to share their thought and feelings about God, religion and the human heart. Having the time and a space devoted to faith allowed all sorts of people to stop and reflect on the meaning of life ... and enjoy a samosa.

PLANNING TOGETHER

At Beauchamp College, Oadby, this evening for the final panning meeting for the college's "Together" interfaith event on Sunday 20 November.

I'm glad to see that the newly elected of the Council of Faiths, Inderjit Gugnani, is here when I arrive (although he doesn't introduce himself as such when we go round the table at the start of the meeting). Inderjit is Community Development Worker with Leicestershire County Council's Library Service.

Leicester Council of Faiths has participated in this event from its second year onward. This is recognised in the meeting, unexpectedly, when Chris Swann (who has been behind the events) asks if we have any recommendations for improvement. All I can say is that they are cramming an awful lot into an awfully short time: the event last only three hours. Unfortunately, it can't start any earlier or it would eat into times of Sunday morning church services, so the only option is to extend the hours a little later in the afternoon. but not this year.

I grab a few minutes at the end of the meeting to speak about the Council of Faiths' activities and events for Inter Faith Week, distribute flyers to attendees and sign up a few more potential volunteers for the Highcrosss exhibition rota.