Inter-Faith Week 2019 - Join us for Hats of Faiths Storytelling!

This is a dramatic FREE storytelling event open to the public. It has been performed in many Luton Schools and across the country.

Families with children of primary school age will find it particularly interesting.

Join us and enjoy meeting with people of different faiths and cultures and learn about the names of many Hats of Faiths. Free refreshments served!

• Date: Thursday 14th November

• Time: 6.30pm - 8.30pm

• Place: Tokko Youth Centre, 7 Gordon Street, Luton, LU1 2QP

Limited spaces on first come first served basis. RSVP on info@lutonfaiths.org or call on 01582 416946.

Download the flyer here!

Annual Luton Peace Walk a Great Success!

The 23rd Luton Annual Peace Walk coincided this year with the International Peace Day on 21st September 2019. Nearly 200 people from across different backgrounds joined in visiting St Luke’s Church, Hockwell Ring Mosque, High Street Methodist Church and Al-Hikmah Prayer Hall.

Dignitaries included:

• Mayor of Luton - Cllr Tahir Malik

• The High Sheriff of Bedfordshire - Meryl Dolling

• Deputy Lord Lieutenant and Chair of the United Nations Association (UNA Luton) - Dr Nazia Khanum OBE

• MP Luton North - Kelvin Hopkins

• Bishop of Bedford - Rt Revd Dr Richard Atkinson, OBE

• Prof. Zafar Khan Chair - Luton Council of Faiths

Seven schools also added to the vibrancy of the day, which included Chantry, Southfield, Whitefield, Sacred Heart, Ramridge, Hillborough Junior & Bushmead Primary Schools.

Sacred Heart Primary School Children led a Heart-focused meditation using HeartMath technique synchronising the brain and heart for well-being.

Southfield Primary School performed a Circle Dance expressing coherence between the breath and physical energy.

Ashcroft High School students shared their learning experiences from Guidelines for Dialogue run by The Feast programme, an agency working with young people.

This year’s International Peace Day theme was Climate Change. This was expressed in the Peace Artwork Competition in which eight schools’ entries were exhibited on the day. St Martin De Porres was the winner with Southfield Primary and Ramridge Primary schools runners-up. All the judges were highly impressed with the quality of the artwork and gave a Highly Commended award to Chantry Primary Academy too.

The panel of Judges included colleagues from Luton Council of Faiths, Luton Culture, Grassroots Programme, Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) and the Near Neighbours Programme Luton.

A very encouraging video message was produced by Chantry Primary Academy interviewing Carlos Islam of Luton, currently working as a Special Events Manager at United Nations in New York. He sent his best wishes for the Luton Peace Walk.

All the participating schools were presented with the Peace Builder School Mark which took into account their engagement with the whole year’s work with Luton Council of Faiths, preceding the Peace Walk. This was awarded in partnership with the United Nations Association branch in Luton.

A special award was given to the Chantry Primary Academy for their participation in the Peace Walk for 5 consecutive years.

Pauline Cutting, an active member of St Luke’s Church was recognised by the Mayor, for years of her voluntary contribution in the service of Luton’s communities.

The organiser Luton Council of Faiths would like to express its heartfelt thanks to all the partners and volunteers who helped on the day.

The Audio Cookery Book – Recipes for the blind and partially-sighted

4th July 2019 saw the official release of the VIP Audio Cookery Book. This was the culmination of many months of dedicated work by a motivated group of people in the Luton area. The project has brought fun, education, increased confidence and team working to a local group of blind and partially-sighted Luton folk and made a great end product available to the wider community.

The VIP Group (Visually-Impaired Persons Group) is based in Luton and offers support, fellowship, group activities and a lot of fun to blind and partially-sighted people in the area. Last year they applied to Near Neighbours, an organisation promoting community cohesion and inter-faith relationships in Luton, for a small grant, to fund a very special project. Near Neighbours co-ordinator, Kim Greig, was most enthusiastic and able to provide funding to enable the project. Project Manager, Liz Aldous, was brought on board to facilitate the project, which involved booking and scheduling a number of professional chefs, arranging use of a suitable, well-equipped kitchen facility with suitable access, purchasing a wide array of utensils for up to 8 blind and partially-sighted cooks to use, handling all the paperwork, health and safety issues and finding a suitable sound engineer to record the sessions and produce a series of concise audio recipe episodes from around 20 hours of recordings. And that’s where I came in.

I met group organisers, Chris Randall, Phil Rutter and Simon Kanil-Jones, back in December of 2018. I was instantly inspired by their enthusiasm for getting VIP Group members involved in all manner of interesting and creative projects. The one in hand, to provide a series of cookery sessions, helping the partially-sighted community to gain culinary confidence and cook easy meals for themselves, really caught my attention. I am not only a sound engineer but am also partially-sighted, only recently having been forced to retire from my full-time work in the music, and latterly, audio forensic, industries. I am very aware of how loss of eyesight and career can cause loss of confidence in many aspects of life. The idea of recording the sessions in order to produce audio recipes which could easily be followed in real-time, in your own kitchen, was a brilliant one.

The sessions were booked throughout the months of January to May and generously hosted by St Margaret’s Church in Farley Hill, at their social club, where they have a large, newly-appointed kitchen. A number of local chefs came in, bringing their enthusiasm, expertise and a wealth of ingredients, in order to create the most appetising meals. Group members eagerly put their names down to cook (and eat, of course !) all manner of recipes from different cultures, catering for a wide range of tastes, cooking styles, complexities and dietary requirements. Included were, Lancashire Hot-pot, Vegetarian Lasagna, Chicken Stir-fry and Chicken Curry, a variety of Pizzas, Mixed Chicken and Seafood Paella, Gluten-free Sausage Risotto and Jerk Chicken, Macaroni Cheese and Fried Plantain. It is true to say that an excited buzz, not to mention a healthy appetite, developed within the group throughout the project.

Some group members were familiar with cooking in their own kitchens but interested to learn some new recipes and techniques, whilst some people had rarely attempted anything like this before. Many were surprised to find out how simple it could be to make tasty and interesting meals, being shown useful ways to safely chop, recognise when food is cooked and follow good kitchen hygiene. And everyone learned something, gained confidence, had great fun and came away well fed!

This project was always intended to benefit the wider community as well. The session recordings have been released on a 2 CD set called Audio Cookery Book. The instructional sessions have been edited to create eight concise productions which vary between around 15 and 25 minutes each and feature the chefs talking the participants through the preparation and cooking processes, answering questions and explaining methods. Each recipe is split into several short steps on the CDs, enabling the listener to carry out a few operations at a time and then pause the CD or easily skip back to hear the last set of instructions again. The CDs are presented in a durable plastic case with clear, black-on-yellow text and track listings. Diana Hurley of TwirlyPix generously gave of her time to devise and create the artwork for the project. Contents and track listings are also provided audibly on track 1 of each disc.

It has certainly been an inspiring and eye-opening experience for me to be part of such a motivated and positive group of people. I am proud to have been able to contribute to this project and hope it benefits many, many more people who are similarly inspired and encouraged by being able to cook along with the group.

Bon appetite!

By Tim Edwards

Join us for the 23rd Annual Peace Walk 2019

Join us for the 23rd Annual Peace Walk 2019 – an annual public demonstration of community solidarity to build a stronger Luton by fostering better understanding!

• Date: Saturday 21st September

• Time: 1:30pm - 5:00pm

Peace Walk Friendship Stops include:

13.00 Children Artwork displayed at St Luke’s Church (Leagrave High Street, Luton, LU4 9JY)

13:30 Starting from Luton St Luke’s Church (Leagrave High Street, Luton, LU4 9JY)

14:30 Hockwell Ring Mosque (13-17 Barley Lane, Luton, LU4 9HT )

15.20 Leagrave Methodist Church (104 High Street, Luton LU4 9LQ)

16:00 Al Hikmah School Prayer Hall (145 High Street, Luton, LU4 9LE)

17.00 Officially Ends

Please download the poster here - and share with your family, friends and others in your network. Thank you!

GRASSROOTS and LCOF say farewell and thank you to Jon Boucher, Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Police

After serving for more than five years, the Bedfordshire Police Chief Constable Jon Boutcher is stepping down. In a farewell meeting, the Luton Council of Faiths (LCoF) and GRASSROOTS, affirmed and commended how under his leadership, Bedfordshire Police has gone from being under special scrutiny to receiving positive reports nationally.

Conversations evolved around how this happened and what particular strategies were used to achieve this success.

Jon Boutcher said that relationship building in listening to Luton’s diverse communities has been the key to success. He affirmed Luton having the most generous communities he has ever come across in his career.

In appreciation of his services and commitment to Luton, Gulie Butcher, Vice Chair LCoF presented him with a gift bag of fairtrade goodies saying he has been a credit to the force and we wish him good health, happiness and success in his future endeavours.

WINDRUSH: With each suitcase began a story

Come and celebrate stories from the Windrush era:

• Saturday 22nd June 2019

• 3pm

• All Saints Church, Shaftesbury Road, Luton, LU4 8AH

There will be music, songs, stories, exhibitions, film and Caribbean refreshments!

Please book online at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/windrush-luton-2019-tickets-62361574147

For more info email allsaintscurate@gmail.com

Download the full poster here!

Mohammad Ryad Khodabocus of LUTON COUNCIL OF FAITHS wins 21 For 21 Award

“21 For 21” Awards launched jointly by the Church Times, British Muslim TV, and Jewish News, together with Coexist House, chose 21 young leaders — 7 Jews, 7 Christians & 7 Muslims – to receive awards at Lambeth Palace, for their inspirational and exceptionally outstanding inter faith work.

In his opening comments, the Award Presenter Alastair Stewart OBE of ITV News said, “Our daily bread contains news of conflicts between different faiths from around the globe. We forget these conflicts are conducted by the minority of people for the benefit of the minority of people. Majorities across all backgrounds just want to get on with their lives. Cooperation between faiths therefore is a key prospect of the 21st century.”

From among more than a 100 strong nominations received from across the country, it is a great honour that our colleague Mohammad Ryad Khodabocus, won the 21 for 21 Award for his innovative and hands-on inter faith work in Luton.

Ryad is exceptionally gifted with imagination, creativity and intrapreneurship. Born in the Paradise Island of Mauritius, Ryad has been living and working in Luton (UK) for the past 10 years, with LUTON COUNCIL OF FAITHS, in partnership with GRASSROOTS, a Christian ecumenical programme of community engagement in Luton.

Besides holding a Masters in Psychology and Management, Ryad has become a specialist in the fields of Spirituality, Diversity, Relationships, Personal Development, Psychology and Communication. He is also a

· Sport Coach specializing in Archery

· a consultant and coach in Human Energy Performance Management, licenced with HeartMath Institute

· and the author of his upcoming book ‘Unleash Your Peace Genius’.

He has pioneered many projects in the area of Community Development, Inter-Faith and Inter-Cultural work, with focus on environment and ecology, ethical & fair trade, sports and health, high quality youth leadership programme for 16-25, religious education linking with science and contemporary context.

He delivers well researched training and talks, seminars around diversity and leadership. He brings a wealth of knowledge dealing with human complexity and nature looking through the eyes of science and spirituality and contextual community development work. He is passionate about Emotional Intelligence, NLP, neuroscience, HeartMath and Peace Development.

We congratulate Ryad for this well-deserved recognition and hope he will continue to aspire and inspire for a better world that we are all striving for.

From the GRASSROOTS Staff Team

A Display of Solidarity at the recent Churches Together in Luton (CTL) AGM

In this years Annual General Meeting of Churches Together in Luton, Mr Tanvir Munir, General Secretary & Mr. Haji Mohammed Shafait, President of the Luton’s Central Mosque, accompanied by an Imam and 2 Muslim women leaders, said, “Following terror attacks in New Zealand & Sri Lanka, it is important for us to share our solidarity with one another. We are here to share the pain of our Christian brothers and sisters.”

President Mr Shafait, addressing Mgr Kevin McGinnell, Parish Priest at Holy Ghost Catholic Church, said, “I live on this street, so we are neighbours. It is our duty that we share our joys and sorrows together.” Mr Michael Singleton, Chair, Churches Together in Luton, appreciating the kind gesture of Muslim friends and neighbours, said it reminds him of the greatest commandments of all in The Bible, which talks of loving our neighbor as ourselves. May we continue to put our faith into action in this way!

Later Major Ralph Walker, Officer in charge of Luton Salvation Army Church, spoke passionately about their work, to help those who are vulnerable, homeless and in debt. He said Salvation Army is the largest social care and service provider after the government agencies and works in close partnership with Luton Food Bank, NOAH Enterprise, Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and Luton Casino Chaplaincy.

It was very humbling to hear of his experiences and motivation how despite being hugely under resourced and despite having been physically attacked and wounded, Major Ralph Walker continues to serve God in serving the humanity God created in His own image.

The Annual General Meeting of Churches Together in Luton concluded with reports and news shared and election of the officers.

Statement Following the San Diego Synagogue Attack

In the recent months, it has been very challenging as extremism and hate ideologies have resulted in terror attacks on the worshipers at two Mosques in New Zealand, then on Church worshipers in Sri Lanka. We were yet to recover from these attacks and there’s been yet another attack, this time on a synagogue in San Diego, California.

Any attack on a place of worship is attack on all. This is a reminder of the need to condemn extremist violence in the strongest terms and to continue to work together with even greater urgency against ignorance, prejudice and hatred.

Hatred targeting any community because of its faith and belief is a scourge that mustn’t be and cannot be tolerated.

As Luton Council of Faiths, we extend our condolences to the affected families and individuals. At such a time of tribulation, one can feel weak, vulnerable and fall in despair. Our message to our Jewish friends is that YOU ARE NOT ALONE. We stand together with you in sharing our collective shock, grief and pain following such a hate filled anti-Semitic crime.

Together, we must strengthen our resolve to continue working together for peace and unity in our world.

In solidarity with the Jewish communities in Luton, Bedfordshire and beyond.

LUTON COUNCIL OF FAITHS

You can download this statement here.

Buy Ethically Sourced Fair-trade (Halal and Tayyib) Medjoul Dates for an Ethical Ramadan 2019

Ahead of the month of Ramadan (Muslim month of fasting), you are being encouraged to kindly consider buying for yourself or buy as an ethical gift for someone the Fairtrade Zaytoun Medjoul Dates.

Zaytoun Medjoul dates are sourced from sun-drenched Palestinian farms around the ancient city of Jericho. When you choose Zaytoun Medjoul dates, you help Palestinian farmers and their families to make a sustainable living and to grow trade opportunities.

Medjoul dates, often called the ‘fruits of paradise’, because of their plump size and rich caramel succulence, are high in fibre, potassium and natural sugar. It is a nutritious way to break your fast and they also make a delicious ethical gift for friends and family.

Available in the boxes of

• 800g @ £10.00

• 5kg @ £48.00

• Or 5kg @ £45.00 (if buying 2 or more)

Place your order by contacting GRASSROOTS:

• VISIT: 47 High Town Road, Luton, LU2 0BW

• CALL: 01582 416946 or CALL/TEXT: 07897203939

• EMAIL: admingrassroots@btconnect.com

First come first served. FREE Delivery available on request.

PLEASE circulate this to your networks too - you can download a poster here!

(Ramadan Kareem)

Easter Brings Renewed Hope For Renewed Life

In our world scarred by war, violence, extremism and hatred, Good Friday brings a time of reflection for Christians to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and Easter brings hope for a new and renewed life.

In the ‘Good Friday Walk of Witness’ different Churches Together groups in Luton carried a cross and walked from one church to the other, offering prayers for all.

In a walk led by Bury Park Beech Hill Council of Churches, Karen Campbell, church related community worker, recited her own poem titled “was it worth it?”.

She encouraged that the love Jesus showed on the cross must turn our reflections into actions in enabling life and hope to flow in abundance for everyone.

On Easter Day Jesus rose again and it marked the end of his journey on earth: now we must continue our journey of challenging injustices and touching lives, with a self-giving love, just as Jesus did.

Farewell to @MrsFairtrade - and Thank You!

It has been such a privilege for the Luton Fairtrade Steering Group to have had the opportunity to work with and alongside Sue Bentley as one of our many enthusiastic and leading members. Now Sue is moving on in life, leaving life in Harpenden to settle up north in Scotland. 

A Fairtrade Gift Hamper was presented to Sue Bentley in the presence of Alex Mayer, MEP (Member of European Parliament), at a recent Fairtrade School Assembly which was co-led by Sue, Ryad Khodabocus and Sr Maire Hayes, during this year's Fairtrade Fortnight at St Margaret of Scotland Primary School, Luton.

It was an honour for us that Sue has since been to drop into the GRASSROOTS office for a chat and to handover a bag-full of Fairtrade Footballs and a lovely THANK YOU CARD!

For and on behalf of us all, we send our best wishes to Sue and her family for their future plans and are sure we all unanimously agree on this statement of fact that - WE WILL MISS HER BADLY.

THANK YOU Sue, for being part of us all and THANK YOU for bringing in your contributions, your energy, your passion to serve and promote the cause of Fairtrade in and around Luton. It has been a joy working with you. Stay blessed, healthy and active as ever!

For and on behalf of the Luton Fairtrade Steering Group, GRASSROOTS & Luton Council of Faiths

Sri Lanka Attacks - Vigil Outside Luton Town Hall on Wednesday 24th April 2019 at 12:30pm

With deep shock and sorrow on this Easter Sunday, Luton’s faith communities, Luton Council and Bedfordshire Police have unanimously expressed their solidarity with the churches and the people of Sri Lanka following the news of the bombings of churches and hotels on Easter Sunday. Over 200 dead, including British Citizens, and many more injured have been claimed, as the news keeps unfolding.

Zafar Khan (Chair, Luton Council of Faiths) said, “We are deeply saddened at this heartbreaking incident. While we still await information regarding the perpetrators and their motives, we strongly condemn this barbaric and inhuman act of terrorism against Sri Lankan people. Our heartfelt condolences go to all those who have lost their loved ones in this outrageously criminal and cowardly act.”

On behalf of the Luton Council of Mosques & the Luton Sunni Council of Mosques, Rehana Faisal said, “We extend our condolences to all, and particularly to our Christian friends who will undoubtedly be feeling a pronounced sense of loss and sadness. We stand united with all in grief and in resistance to hate and violence. It is particularly abhorrent that these attacks were carried out on a day, which holds so much significance to Christians. We utterly reject all ideologies of hatred and division.”

Expressing his sadness and utter outrage, Bedfordshire Police Force Executive Chief Constable Jon Boutcher QPM Mst (Cantab) said, “Our condolences go out to the victims and their families of these callous and evil attacks. We have zero tolerance for those that espouse hatred in whatever form and however subtly people might advance it. The ultimate consequences of those that promote division and hatred is being seen all too often in its most horrific form. Our differences are our strengths.”

Mayor of Luton, Cllr Naseem Ayub, said: "We are devastated to hear of this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the innocent victims of this senseless and heinous attack. This is an attack on humanity, and all communities in Luton will continue to stand united against all forms of violence. We strongly condemn these appalling cowardly acts of hatred and division.”

Luton Council will be opening a book of condolences at Luton Town Hall as from Tuesday where the public can express their grief and support. A vigil will be being held outside Luton Town Hall on Wednesday 24th April 2019 at 12:30pm. Members of the public are all invited to join to offer our heartfelt prayers for the victims and condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in these appalling acts of violence.

Seeking a Parish Administrator/Book Keeper

The Parish of Luton, St Anne with St Christopher is seeking a Parish Administrator/Book Keeper!

This role will be located at the Parish Office, Felix Avenue, Luton, LU2 7LE

Details:

• 9 hours per week (flexible, within core working hours)

• £9 per hour

• Holiday pro rata based on a 40-hour week

• Sick pay will be in line with statutory guidelines

Essentials for this post include good spoken English, the ability to work independently in a tidy and efficient manner, a variety of administrative tasks including creating and printing Orders of Service and posters, to meet deadlines and to manage hall bookings, invoicing and databases

To request an application form and pack email officestannechris@gmail.com!

For more information telephone 07795324046

Deadline for applications is at 12 noon on Friday 24th May 2019. Interviews will take place on Friday 7th June 2019.

This is a permanent post subject to a successful 3-month probationary period. This post is also subject to an enhanced DBS clearance.

You can download this information here.

How Many More? A reflection on the scurge of knife crime

Karen Campbell, a United Reformed Church (URC) Related Community Worker (CRCW) at GRASSROOTS, reflects on the tragic and violent loss of teenagers due to knife crime.

Karen’s poem (that follows) is a response to a Huffington Post article that lays bare harsh statistics which shows across London ‘the victims, and perpetrators [of knife crime], are mainly poor, and they are disproportionately black.’

For years, the families of murdered teenagers have appealed for more to be done to tackle the violence, and gang grooming, but to no avail.

In the year to March 2018, knife killings in England and Wales rose by 34% to a 72-year high.

Karen asks:

HOW MANY MORE?

One more for the statistics; One more laboured sigh;

One more half-hearted pause; One more half-hearted 'Why?'

One more young life is wasted - Countless futures torn apart;

One more fam'ly shattered; One more mother's broken heart.

One more damning indictment; Against the problem boys;

And their broken problem families, With their deaf'ning social noise.

One more time to count our blessings, Say 'Thank God, that isn't me!'

And 'Why, in heaven's name, won't they contain their savagery?'

One more time to turn our face away; One more issue to let slide;

As long as trouble doesn't knock my door, So many truths denied.

Some see the colour of the problem - Those who rage and those now dead;

But the colour of the problem, Is the blood which spatters red.

So, where’s the power, the resources, Or the will to foster change?

For the blinkered and the privileged, Such questions wax quite strange.

So just one more for the statistics; One more blood-soaked urban day;

One more tragedy unregistered, As one more child slips away.

© Karen Campbell, March 2019

In January 2018, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, mother of Stephen Lawrence who was stabbed to death in a racist attack in 1993, predicted that if more victims were white, only then would knife crime be taken more seriously.

The Revd Dr Michael Jagessar, URC Secretary for Global and Intercultural Ministries, says: ‘Following the tragic, violent, and senseless deaths of two teenagers – Jodie Chesney on 1 March, in Havering, and Yousef Ghaleb Makkie, on 2 March, in Greater Manchester – there are now high-profile calls for a knife tsar, increased policing, a petition for a Royal Commission to improve and protect policing, and Savid Javid MP, the Home Secretary, to make plans with police chiefs from the parts of the UK most affected by knife crime.

‘This is the response needed for these tragic situations, yet it leaves many wondering why this suggested action was not taken before?

‘All of these young lives matter. I pray that the response needed to tackle the violence is appropriate, addresses the systemic issues and is far-reaching so that no more lives will be lost in this senseless way.’

This article is reproduced from a United Reformed Church Article which can be found at https://urc.org.uk/latest-news/3001-how-many-more-a-response-to-knife-crime

Peace Vigil Takes Place Following Terror Attack in New Zealand

Over 300 people across different faiths and cultures, alongside representatives from Luton Borough Council, Bedfordshire Police, and local and regional media, joined together at short notice for a Peace Vigil on Monday 18th March 2019 following the horror of the New Zealand terror attack.

Revd Dr Andrew Prasad visits the work of GRASSROOTS

During his recent visit to Luton, Revd Dr Andrew Prasad, Moderator of the United Reformed Church (URC) Thames North Synod, applauded the work of GRASSROOTS Programme and particularly the Church Related Community Work (CRCW) Project led by Karen Campbell in partnership with Bury Park Beech Hill Council of Churches.

CRCW Project has been sponsored by the URC and supported by the Methodist Church, for nearly a decade. He was pleased to learn how Karen and others in Luton were able to create ‘Touching Places’, enabling people across faiths, cultures, ethnicities and nationalities to meet-greet and befriend one another, thus dispelling myths and prejudices about one another.

Acknowledging it is the Fairtrade Fortnight from 25 February until 10 March, he warmly approved the Fairtrade ethos and congratulated GRASSROOTS and Luton for achieving a Fairtrade Town status. He shared an aspiration to make URC Thames North Synod, a Fairtrade Synod.

David Jonathan, Director GRASSROOTS said, “It was a privilege for us to host Revd Dr Andrew Prasad in Luton. He was encouraging and inspiring as he shared some positive ideas of developing our work further, in the years to come.”

Near Neighbours Luton scoops Bedfordshire Police Cohesion 2019 Award

Near Neighbours Luton won the Strengthening Communities award at the Bedfordshire Police Cohesion Awards on 1st February 2019.

Near Neighbours is a national body, with Kim Greig as the lead in Luton (who is based at GRASSROOTS) and is known to care deeply for local communities.

Near Neighbours provides small grants for projects or one off events to bring people of different faiths and ethnicities together in local communities in order to build stronger relationships and develop understanding.

Near Neighbours Luton visit to the House of Lords

Hundreds across the country were welcomed at the House of Lords Last week organised by Near Neighbours programme. Friends, partners, faith leaders, activists, politicians were hosted as guest of The Baroness Eaton DBE DL for an afternoon tea. The evening was a show of appreciation for the work in local communities that promote positive integration and challenging hate and intolerance.

A delegation from Luton coming from Luton Council Faiths, Grassroots programme, the Luton Irish forum, ATTENTIVE Social Enterprise,Tokko Youth Space and Shri Guru Ravidaas Sangat represented Luton. The Near Neighbours director Paul Hackwood gave an overview of the national picture sharing some great examples as good practice while raising Brexit concerns over issues of relationship and friendship.

It was encouraging and affirming that Luton was mentioned in a very positive way, in the presence of Baroness Eaton, Lord Bourne and many others. Sanjeev Kumar from Luton spoke about Luton and shared the cooking book that the Shri Guru Ravidaas Sangat produced while working with the Luton Irish Forum. The team was cheered with a surprise visit by Luton North MP Kelvin Hopkins.

Join our Fairtrade Cake Baking Competition!

Simply bake a cake using Fairtrade ingredients and bring it along with the empty wrappers from at least THREE Fairtrade ingredients you have used!

There will be a Fairtrade prize for the best looking and best tasting cake - and a Fairtrade raffle too!

This Fairtrade Fortnight 2019 event is due to be held on:

• Date: Saturday 23rd February 2019

• Time: 2-5pm

• Venue: St Christopher's Church Hall, Felix Avenue, Luton LU2 7LE

For more details download the flyer here.