VCS CEO LEADERSHIP NETWORK

An early start this morning with a breakfast meeting of the Voluntary and Community Sector Chief Executive Officers (VCS CEO) Leadership Network. We're meeting at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL), starting at 0745. I've been in Caffe Nero, Market Street, since half an hour before, going over the paperwork.

I've mentioned before that we don't have a Chief Executive Officer at Leicester Council of Faiths. It might appear daft if we did, with only 1.5 full time equivalent (FTE) staff (the likely CEO being the 1). However, not all the organisations involved in this network (certainly not all of those here this morning) have someone with the actual title of CEO, so I'm not the only one in this position (also, I've got the agreement and support of our Chair to do this).

When I attended the last meeting of this network, I was the only one (well, the only male) not in suit and tie. In keeping with that well known phrase, "If you can't fight, wear a big hat" (a good piece of wisdom that I first heard from one of my ex-mothers in law) I've decided to raise my game, sartorially, for this one.

As well as ourselves, there are ten VCS organisations represented here this morning:

• Action Deafness
• Action Homeless
• Apex
• Care and Repair
• Community Advice and Law Service
• Emerald Centre
• Giving World Online
• Leicestershire Aids Support Service (LASS) 
• LeicestHER Day Trust
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Lighthouse Learning
• MRC Community Action
• The Race Equality Centre (TREC)
• Stride

We review notes of our meeting with the Mayor (Sir Peter Soulsby) and Deputy Mayor (Councillor Rory Palmer) at our last meeting (at LASS on 18 August) and a number of actions decided on then and shared among the members.

Beyond these, we discuss what this network is for and how it should go about achieving its aims as it expands. When asked to consider the question, "Why are we here?", these are the answers that spring to mind from my perspective with the Council of Faiths: Leicester's faith communities are often isolated - not only from each other, but also from other agencies, groups and organisations in the city; even the networks that faith communities have established among themselves tend to be isolated from other networks; faith communities are too big, too important and make too distinctive a contribution to the image, life and reputation of Leicester to continue to be isolated in this way. They should have someone here who can represent them and speak up for them.

This network may work best by sharing support and learning for its members. We consider how formal it might need to be in order to serve these ends. in the end, we agree that it's better for us to be driven by interest and action rather than the "gubbins" of running an organisation.

We finish shortly after 0930 - just in time to dash across the road to Voluntary Action LeicesterShire and join in the latest in a series of meetings on Transforming Local Infrastructure.

CHRISTIANS AWARE COURSE ON THE PSALMS: 1

At Christchurch, Clarendon Park Road, this evening for the first session in a new course on the Psalms. The course is offered as part of Faith Awareness, the Inter Faith programme of Christians Aware.

There are 32 people in attendance, the largest number I've seen here. The room is packed - so much so that it's decided we'll be meeting in a bigger space next week.

Our speaker is Father Fabian, of Leicester's Dominican Priory. Barbara Butler intoruces him as a theologian who works with young people in the church, with a special interest in international students.

Father Fabian started by reading the 23rd Psalm, arguably the best known and most popular of all the Psalms (in the translation from the Book of Common Prayer):

The Lord is my shepherd;
 therefore can I lack nothing.
He shall feed me in a green pasture,
 and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.
He shall convert my soul,
 and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness for his
  Name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
 for thou art with me;
 thy rod and thy staff comfort me.
Thou shalt prepare a table before me in the presence of them
  that trouble me;
 thou hast anointed my head with oil,
 and my cup shall be full.
Surely thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the
  days of my life;
 and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Father Fabian asks us to hold in our minds two basic truths about the Psalms: that they are poems and that they are Jewish.

As poems, they speak in images, they don't use everyday terminology or style (but use rhythmic, heightened language, not everyday terminology or style). As a reader or listener, you're not standing on the outside looking in. In the case of a poem, you're drawn into the lived experience. Poems have an unbounded sort of quality, in that they are open to meaning beyond that immediately intended by the author.

As Jewish texts, their origins and meanings have to be understood and appreciated in the context of Jewish culture and history. While he does not intend to mean that we can't do anything with the Psalms without being an expert on Judaism, Father Fabian does ask us to consider in what ways a Christian (or anyone of religious affiliation other than Jewish) can relate to the Psalms. This is clearly a topic of special interest to me (all the more so in that I'm giving a talk on the Psalms from a Bahá'í perspective in a fortnight's time). I'm rather sorry that we're not going to be listening to anyone offering Buddhist, Hindu, Jain or Sikh appreciations of the Psalms as part of this course.

Father Fabian gives us a historical tout of the place of the Psalms in Christian worship and how this has changed down the ages - with particular reference to the changes he has seen in his own lifetime.

In her closing remarks, Suzanne Jones thanks Father Fabian for his talk, which she describes as having set out a "groundplan" for the rest of the course.

Future sessions will include perspectives on the Psalms from Bahá'í, Jewish and Muslim perspectives; evenings devoted to Christian and Jewish singing of the Psalms; hands on experience of Creative Writing and Letterpress Printing based on the Psalms.

In the photo above: Father Fabian with Beate Dehnen.

RAISING OUR BANNERS AT LEICESTER UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' UNION

At the University of Leicester Students' Union this morning, where I'm helping folk from the International Chaplaincy set up their stall at the start of a three-day welcoming event for international students.

Our friends at the International Chaplaincy have borrowed the whole of the Council of Faiths exhibition and have put it up as part of their exhibition in the Queen's Hall at the Percy Gee Building.

I'll be back on Wednesday afternoon (along with a few other volunteers from our various faith community members) to help boost numbers on the stall during the International Students Welcome Fair.

SEWA DAY

Today is the second annual Sewa Day. Here's some information from the Sewa Day website. There's lots more of interest and inspiration to be found there.

Sewa is a universal concept, which involves performing an act of kindness without expectation of reward. It is performed selflessly and without ulterior motive.

As a concept, Sewa in embedded in Indian traditions, and is actively promoted by different cultures and faiths - as the core belief is the same - to sacrifice your time and resources for the benefit of others without wanting anything in return. 

On Sewa Day, thousands of good-hearted people across the world come together to perform Sewa and experience the joy of giving in its truest sense. By participating in this collective endeavour, we hope that the seeds of Sewa are watered so that acts of kindness and public service are performed more often. Sewa Day is a catalyst in making this happen. 

Previously, participating groups have organised Sewa Day volunteering projects in old people’s homes, homeless shelters, schools in disadvantaged areas, hospitals and hospices, country parks, conservation areas and city farms – all with an aim of making a positive difference to someone else’s happiness and prosperity. Join us this year to make our dream a reality.We’re all concerned about disadvantage, deprivation and ignorance. Sewa day provides an opportunity to do something positive that makes a meaningful difference to someone else’s quality of life. 

We discourage all projects that involve fund-raising; as the purpose is to give your time. So, let’s focus on that. 

It really doesn’t matter if you’re a pensioner or a young child, whether you’re physically able or not, or whether you black, brown or blue. 

All that matters is that you commit to doing a good deed on Sewa Day, which takes place on Sunday, 25th September 2011. 

Sewa UK is a secular, non-political UK registered charity.

While Leicester Council of Faiths is not, itself, participating in or promoting any particular activity for Sewa Day 2011, I couldn't let the occasion go by without reflecting on how selfless service is treated in the scripture or inspirational texts of our eight member faith communities.

In the extract from the Sewa Day website above, it states, "As a concept, Sewa in embedded in Indian traditions, and is actively promoted by different cultures and faiths - as the core belief is the same - to sacrifice your time and resources for the benefit of others without wanting anything in return." This does not suggest (indeed, it counters the suggestion) that such a concept and practice is the domain of the faiths, religions or philosophies of Indian origin alone. They can surely be said to be common to all religions, sometimes being expressed in more general terms as "The Golden Rule"). But whether it is called sewa, service, charity, caritas - or some other term - it is one of the core principles, central practices and essential virtues of the spiritual life. It may be expressed in a myriad forms and practices, but its presence enriches the world and its absence devalues religion itself.

Here are some quotations from each of our eight member faiths that I have found myself. No doubt you could come up with many more, faithful reader.

Bahá'í

"This is worship: to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of the people. Service is prayer." ('Abdu'l-Bahá)

Buddhist

"The greatest quality is seeking to serve others." (Atisha)

Christian

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:9-11)

Hindu

“Give. Give with faith. Do not give without faith. Give with sensitivity. Give with a feeling of abundance. Give with right understanding.” (Taittiriya Upanishad)

Jain

"In making a gift one gets over greed, which is a form of Himsa, and hence gifts made to the worthy recipients amount to a renunciation of Himsa (i.e., amount to observance of Ahimsa)." (Purusharthasiddhi-upaya)

Jewish

"He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing." (Deuteronomy10:17-19)

Muslim

"Worship God, and join not aught with Him in worship. Be good to parents, and to kindred, and to orphans, and to the poor, and to a neighbour, whether kinsman or new-comer, and to a fellow traveller, and to the wayfarer, and to the slaves whom your right hands hold; verily, God loveth not the proud, the vain boaster" (Qur’án, 4:40)

Sikh

"A place in God's court can only be attained if we do service to others in this world." (Guru Granth Sahib)

THIS WEEK'S VISITORS (1,571)

Regular update on the number of pageviews received from different parts of the world in the week just ending.

1. United Kingdom 560
2. United States 519
3. Russia 122
4. Brazil 72
5. Germany 69
6. Palestinian Territories 54
7. Switzerland 50
8. France 50
9. Ukraine 42
10. Ireland 33

This week's total: 1,571 (last week's: 836). These are aggregates of figures from the top ten countries only. Blogger's stats software doesn't show me numbers of pageviews below the tenth-ranking country.

This is the highest number of pageviews in a single week since the blog began. Occasionally somewhere in the world features in the list for the first time - and that's the case this week. I don't normally highlight or comment on this, but there's an unexpected synchronicity between this week's visitors and today's world news. Whether or not the United nations recognises certain parts of the world, perhaps Blogger leads the way. Nuff said?

The world map at the top of this post is the graphic that I see on the stats page. The darker the green, the more pageviews from that country. I can see different versions of that map for "now" (whenever that is), "today", "this week", "this month" and "all time" (which seems to mean the last 12 months). They're updated each time I look at them.

LEICESTER SPEAKS 2011 STEERING GROUP

A meeting of the steering group for Leicester Speaks 2011 this morning at Leicester Adult Education College, Wellington Street. As well as Leicester Council of Faiths, there are participants here today from:

• Citizens' Eye Community News Agency
• Leicester Adult Skills and Learning Service
• Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce
• Novas Scarman Group
• TouchRainbow Productions

WORSHIPPERS UNITE FOR TEATIME TREAT

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Worshippers unite for teatime treat 

Worshippers of different faiths united yesterday to give help to people in need. 

Volunteers from Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh organisations gave out food and spent time with members of the West Indian Senior Citizens' Project, in Highfields, Leicester. 

The event, Talk Over Tea, was held in the run-up to Sewa Day, an annual day of volunteering which sees thousands of people of different faiths around the world doing good deeds to help others. 

The group in Leicester was also joined by staff from Bobby's Restaurant, in Belgrave Road, who helped to give out food and refreshments. 

As well as giving help to people in need, Talk Over Tea aimed to build bridges between people of different faiths. 

St Philip's Centre, a charity in Evington which works to build bridges between people of different religions, helped to organise the event. 

Riaz Ravat, who works at the centre, said: "It has been a special day for us. The number of people of different faiths who have put a smile on the faces of those who came has been fantastic. 

"There was so much enthusiasm from all the volunteers." 

Volunteer Kartar Singh Bring, who is Sikh, said: "Working hand-in-hand with other faith communities in Leicester to celebrate our shared values is a great way to bring people closer together." 

Sewa Day itself takes place on Sunday.

In the photo: Stephenie Spiby and volunteer Vandana Patel share a joke and a cuppa at the West Indian Senior Citizens' Project, in Highfields, Leicester, during yesterday's Talk Over Tea event. Picture by Will Johnston

THE MATRIX

Downstairs in Phoenix Square's cafe bar, after the launch of Listen to the Boys, I sit with Simon Parker and Steve Beverley (cue shameless plug for their radio show, The Jazz Shambles) for a brief and amusing chat about Scandinavian crime fiction. I'm taken by surprise to see the Council of Faiths logo appear on the cafe bar's matrix screen. The logo is attached to our tweet about the upcoming Faiths Film Festival during National Inter Faith Week, which is on display on the screen - there then follows half a dozen or so retweets from different sources (@breadandvirtue; @Clarendon_Park; @IFWeek; @me_positive; @My_MECFSPortal; @sky_like_you; @things2doinleic).

The matrix screen is displaying tweets of all sorts that mention Phoenix Square in an animated, multi-colour dynamic display. Nice idea! Quite a lot of my tweets mention Phoenix Sqaure, as you can imagine, faithful reader. This will only encourage me to do more.

LISTEN TO THE BOYS

At Phoenix Square Film and Digital Media Centre this afternoon, for the launch of Listen to the Boys: Family Action Post Sexual Abuse Project.

In the photo above: Simon Parker of Citizens' Eye Community News Agency and Tina Barton of Wot Box Particpation, both of which are actively supporting this project.

REDP CORE PARTNERS TAKE STOCK

Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) is the venue for this morning's meeting of the Core Partners of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP) with Dennis Fisher, Grants Officer at The Big Lottery. It's The Big Lottery's Basis Fund that bankrolls REDP and Dennis is charged with overseeing our project. We've met with him several times in different settings over the past couple of years; he's here today to talk about our work so far and how we're going to make progress in the final year of this intial funding period.

Round the table for this meeting with Dennis are the Chair of REDP, Iris Lightfoote (The Race Equality Centre), Dee Martin (Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living), Ian Robson (Leicester LGBT Centre), Laura Horton (Project Manager, REDP) and myself, of course, representing Leicester Council of Faiths.

Ian, Iris and I are here until lunchtime, to join in an overall discussion of the project. Dennis spends the rest his visit with Dee (since LCIL is the accountable body for REDP) and with Laura.

We all get the chance to speak this morning; Dennis asks me directly about the "diversity" dimension of REDP.

There's a convivial atmosphere in the meeting today and our funders seem pleased with how REDP has performed.