Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, WCC explore how to share more widely “Serving a Wounded World”

Gathering for an annual meeting from 19-20 January, the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and World Council of Churches Office of Inter-religious Dialogue and Cooperation discussed ways of sharing more widely the document “Serving a Wounded World in Inter-religious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During COVID-19 and Beyond,” which was co-produced by the two offices in 2020.

“This is the most recent of a series of joint publications that the two offices have produced during the course of more than forty years of ecumenical friendship and collaboration aimed at promoting inter-religious dialogue together,” reads a communique from the meeting.

Earlier documents focused on Inter-religious Marriage, Inter-religious Prayer, African Religiosity, Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World, and Education for Peace.

The offices also expressed their ongoing commitment to grow in ecumenical communion as well as renew the common commitment to intensify their collaborative works in the realm of inter-religious dialogue by focusing on wider reception and implementation of the documents.

For more details, please see World Council of Churches Website

To read the full document, please click here; “Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During COVID-19 and Beyond”

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity calls for the reconciliation and unity in the Church and the worldwide human family

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) has been jointly organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity of the Roman Catholic Church since 1968 from the 18th to the 25th January every year.

This year, due to the pandemic, Churches Together in Luton has asked Christians to hold events online and show their support by adding the #wpcuwall to their Twitter posts.

 The theme for this year’s WPCU was “Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit”. It is based on the Bible passage from the book of John 15:1-17. It calls for the reconciliation and unity in the Church and the worldwide human family.

Christian Aid as usual provided the “Go & Do” action points for each of the WPCU daily reflections – backing up prayers with actions for the relief of poverty and advocacy of justice. One such actions point was getting informed about and taking action on refugee and asylum issues and campaigns, which are bound up with many other issues of conflict, climate change and Coronavirus etc.

Bob Fyffe, General Secretary, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland said “The ancient rhythm of prayer is an important gift for the Church today struggling with pandemics and lockdowns and more widely with other serious challenges of climate change, racism and poverty. Thank you for joining us in this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and entering into a place of community and blessing.”

A grim year but flashes of HOPE as we look ahead

Epiphany – a moment of revelation is a Christian feast that marks the end of the 12 days of Christmas and commemorates the three wise men's (Magi's) visit to Jesus.

Popular Epiphany customs include singing, chalking the door – having one's house blessed, consuming Three Kings Cake, removing Christmas decorations as well as attending church services, which is restricted for most due to the pandemic.

In an online event in Luton, Sr Maire Hayes, Inter Faith Coordinator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton, recalled that last month the planets Jupiter and Saturn had appeared closer and brighter than they have been in 800 years. It was called a “great conjunction”.

She reflected ‘The Star of Bethlehem’ that guided the Three Wise men may have been such “a great conjunction”.

Is this telling us something in 2020, which may have been a grim year but we know there have been flashes of hope.

Let us reflect on what stars have shone for us last year. Who have guided us? What has thrown light in our path? What vision or values have held us steady, when we were not sure of the way ahead? What were our moments of Epiphany?

After visiting Jesus, the Wise men were told to return by ‘another road’, for the old way was no longer safe or sustainable.

What will be ‘another road’ for us in 2021? We know it cannot be business as usual. It is not sustainable for us and our environment.

Animo! Bon Courage! Be steadfast!

The Rosca de Reyes (Three Kings sweet bread) decorated with candied fruit, popular in Hispanic countries

Moral Questions over COVID Vaccinations

As governments and international organisations work together to determine who will get the COVID-19 vaccine first and how quickly, several faith organisations and leaders have raised moral questions in policy discussions around vaccine distribution.

 The World Council of Churches (WCC) & the World Jewish Congress (WJC) have released a joint paper asking for global equity in the distribution of available vaccines, ensuring those living in poorer countries are not excluded.

 Maram Stern, Executive Vice President WJC, said “The document is drafted in a spirit of interfaith dialogue and cooperation, drawing inspiration from our respective Jewish and Christian traditions, which have helped to guide us through this life-changing time.”

 The paper urges religious leaders of all faiths to “consider confronting publicly the unsubstantiated rumours and conspiracy myths which undermine public trust in health authorities and services and in tested and approved vaccines themselves – and that thereby threaten an effective public health response to the pandemic. In some cases, such conspiracy myths have an explicitly antisemitic basis which should in any event be denounced,” reads the paper.

 Zafar Khan, Chair of Luton Council of Faiths said, “We hope and anticipate that sooner rather than later, we shall be able to get the virus under control. Reflecting on the past twelve months’ challenges, we must feel confident in the fact that despite our human failings, we have God-given inner strengths and fellow feelings as the most effective means to keep going.”

In the New Year, we light a candle of HOPE for a better world and better life for all

Near Neighbours Luton - INTERFAITH WEEK - ZOOM - Stories of Hope Event

During the Interfaith week 2020, and we would like to bring people together. 

We are pleased to invite you to join our Near Neighbours Luton Zoom event - Stories of Hope: sharing of life, community, projects, people, engagement 2020, see poster attached.

If you are able to join us next Tuesday 10th November from 11-1pm then please let me know via email or phone and I will send you the zoom invite. 

This is a sharing opportunity, and each person can have up to 5 minutes to share/talk, please let me know if you would like a slot, feel free to join without speaking.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Best wishes,

Kim Greig

Near Neighbours Coordinator (Luton)

c/o Grassroots Programme

47, High Town Road,

Luton, 

Beds.

LU2 0BW.

Tel: 01582 416946 / 07930601640

Report of a visit by the President of the Methodist Conference

On the first Sunday in Lent, the President of the Methodist Conference, Rev. Dr Barbara Glasson, began her visit to the Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire District. In view of Barbara Glasson’s longstanding interest in promoting interfaith relations, it was fitting that her programme in the Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire District included a visit to Luton to learn how faith communities in the town are working together to strengthen community cohesion. GRASSROOTS, started by Methodists more than 25 years ago and based at High Town Methodist Church, is widely respected for its ecumenical programme of community engagement. Here our co-ordinator, David Jonathan, and colleagues introduced the President to a few of the imaginative projects supported by Grassroots. Click the below link to read the full article!

https://www.behdistrict.org.uk/Articles/567114/BEH_District/features/Report_of_a.aspx?redirected=1

A Message Regarding Coronavirus...

Ever since the outbreak of pandemic Coronavirus, it is shocking to see how each one of us has had our lives and communities disrupted. There is constant advice on how to prevent and mitigate the risks and threats, but in such times of distress, self-isolation and social distancing, fear and panic is easier spread than Coronavirus.

On one hand we are recognising how much we need each other because we are created as social beings and on the other hand we see how when suffering bypasses race, gender, religion, and nation, leads us all into mutual solidarity.

We appreciate and admire all those in Luton working selflessly to reach out to those in need whether it is providing free meals for NHS staff, delivering supplies for elderly, cheering people online or serving people in any other way.

We remember the fragility of the most marginalized of people in prisons, homeless, refugees and our drivers, postmen, ambulances, nurses, doctors, risking their lives to keep society together.

May the spirit of our human solidarity continue to hold and sustain us through this difficult time and may it help us choose peace over panic, hope over hysteria and faith over fear. Let us hope this experience will force us remember eternally that love alone overcomes fear and that love is essential for survival of life in all its forms.

READ - A letter to Luton’s faith leaders from Luton Borough Council (click here)

World Day of Prayer 2020

Formerly called the Women's World Day of Prayer but now the World Day of Prayer drew millions together across 170 countries for a message of healing and comfort. The 2020 theme was “Rise! Take Your Mat and Walk,” based on Christian Scripture Reading from the Gospel of John 5:2-9a. The reflections and ways to conduct prayer services and other events had been prepared by the World Day of Prayer Committee in Zimbabwe. Each year, materials are developed ecumenically and collectively within a certain country in coordination with the World Day of Prayer International Committee. This year service booklet read: “The peoples from the land of Zimbabwe welcome all. Zimbabwe means house of stones. We greet all in the language of the Shona people—Kwaziwai! (kwuz-WHY), and in language of the Ndebele people—Salibonani! (sah-li-bo-NA-nee).”

In a tradition that has continued since 1927, among many celebrations taking places around the world is one hosted by Luton Christians too. This year it was held at St Mary’s Church in which Luton Zimbabwean women expressed friendship and respect for others in a Zimbabwean traditional and cultural way. As makers of human fraternity, all who had gathered prayed for the world peace and our environment. People also reflected on all that hinder our transformation and what does “Rise! Take Your Mat and Walk,” mean for us in our own respective living and working contexts. All were invited to write down commitments to support our communities with actions of love, peace and reconciliation.

Bringing Science and Spirituality Together

In an unprecedented step to mitigate Covid-19 fears and anxieties affecting people’s mental health, Ryad Khodabocus, Head of Community Relations & Development at Luton Council of Faiths (LCoF), and Jolel Miah, Founding Chair of Our Minds Matter have together produced Podcast on ‘Spirituality & Mental Health’ from different faiths perspectives, bringing science and spirituality together. 

Digital audio files can be downloaded FREE from https://anchor.fm/ourmindsmatter, to listen to guest speakers invited from different faiths, sharing how they apply spirituality to understand and manage mental health and overall well-being.

HM Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Helen Nellis VE Day Address

Dear Friends,

Each year HM Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Helen Nellis holds a Service of Thanksgiving to honour the thousands of people who volunteer and who play such a significant role in building kind and cohesive communities.

The service this year had to be cancelled due to the COVID19 pandemic therefore the Lord-Lieutenant has created on online service to pay tribute to our volunteers and to the 75th Anniversary of VE Day as the county of Bedfordshire remembers with gratitude the formidable generation who sacrificed so much for peace.

The service can be viewed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Urdq3JM2E0U and the Lord-Lieutenant very much hopes that you will take 30 minutes at some point today to watch the service so we can all be together in spirit, while viewing from your own homes.

Please feel free to forward this link to all your contacts so that everyone can join the Lord- Lieutenant in giving thanks and remembering.

The Lord-Lieutenant would like to record sincere thanks to Deputy Lieutenant Phil Fothergill for all his hard work in putting the service together and to all who appear in the service. We hope that you enjoy it.

Kind regards,
Lisa Hutchinson – on behalf of HM Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Helen Nellis

Daily Lockdown Activities and Mental Health Guidance

Click the links below to view some activity ideas and mental health guidance from Luton Council of Faiths for this challenging time of coronavirus:

Daily Lockdown Activity Planner

Supporting your Mental Health

Birthday Celebrations of Shri Guru Ravidass Ji

After the culmination of ‘Akhand Path’ (non-stop recitation of the Sikh Holy Scripture Shri Guru Granth Sahib) over a period of 48 hours, at Luton’s Guru Ravidass Bhawan, many dignitaries and community leaders joined in the auspicious birthday celebrations of Shri Guru Ravidass Ji, who was a great saint, philosopher, poet, social reformer and a prominent religious visionary of social equality during 14th and 15th century.

Through his spiritual devotion Guru Ravidass Ji was able to prove the essence of his beliefs and enhance the cause of equality, social freedom and justice for all. The princely courts were amongst his supporters, many of whom eventually became his disciples. Forty of his ‘shabads’ (sacred sayings) are included in the Sikh Holy Scripture.

Throughout the 48 hours of celebrations ‘Guru ka Langar’ (communal meal) was served, which is a remarkable commitment of those serving in the kitchen. Guests, visitors and worshippers feel nurtured physically as well as spiritually. Alongside the melodious ‘Kirtan’ (devotional singing), dignitaries were also invited to speak. Every one appreciated Luton’s Ravidassia community’s efforts to outreach and serve the wider community.

High Sheriff of Bedfordshire Meryl Dolling presented awards to many volunteers for their services. The former MP for Luton North Kelvin Hopkins was given a special honour for his support and encouragement to the community for over three decades.

In her message Sr Maire Hayes, Inter Faith Coordinator for Catholic Diocese of Northampton working with GRASSROOTS, quoted a famous Catholic theologian and thinker Hans Kung saying; No peace among the nations without peace among the religions. & No peace among the religions, without dialogue between the religions

She said, in Luton, we are fortunate that we have organisations like GRASSROOTS & LUTON COUNCIL OF FAITHS, which regularly brings people from different religions to dialogue over issues affecting our lives in this town. She congratulated the Committee and the Office Bearers of Guru Ravidass Temple for taking active part in the process of working together for peace and unity in our town.

Fairtrade Cake Baking Competition a Great Success!

During this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight held from 24th Feb to 8th March 2020, the Luton Fairtrade Steering Group, GRASSROOTS & LUTON COUNCIL OF FAITHS joined hands with St Christopher's Church (Round Green) for the second time, for a Fairtrade Cake Baking Competition. Contestants from across diverse backgrounds and age groups participated in the competition. The cakes were presented with recipe and the packaging as evidence of fairtrade ingredients used.

Everyone present tasted a variety of cakes and marked the score sheets. Later 3 prizes were given for the ‘Best Sponge Cake’, the ‘Best Fruit Cake’ and the second highest scoring cake for its presentation and taste. Two of the prizes were given in the memory of the Late Mr Natu Bhai Solanki, who was the Vice Chair of LUTON COUNCIL OF FAITHS and the Late Ms Maureen Borbone, a Catholic committed Fairtrade activist and Campaigner, who was also one of the Trustees of GRASSROOTS.

In her welcome address, Revd Anne Crosby, Vicar of St Christopher’s Church said it is good that we can respond to God’s call to love one another and love God’s creation in this way too. Later Cllr Tahmina Saleem invited all to attend the Deputy Mayor’s Fairtrade Afternoon Tea in the Luton Town Hall on 11th March from 2-5pm and she also invited the Fairtrade Cake Bakers, particularly the Winners, to bring in their Cakes, if they wished to.

It is great that Luton Borough Council has also issued a Press Release in support of Fairtrade, which can be found here:

https://lutonbcouncil-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/luton-celebrates-fairtrade-fortnight-1

Fairtrade Cake Baking Competition

If you are a budding baker or just want to give it go - why not enter our Fairtrade Cake Baking Competition?

You are invited to bring your cake, its recipe and the fairtrade packaging as evidence of any fairtrade ingredients you may have used in the baking of your cake on:

• Date: Saturday 29th February 2020

• Time: 2pm

• Place: St Christopher's Church Hall on Felix Avenue, off Stockingstone Road, Luton, LU2 7LE

You are welcome even if you are not a baker - you get to taste the variety of cakes!

For parking, the best option is Round Green Pay & Display Car Park, Ramridge Rd, Luton LU2 0TQ - OR - you can park in the neighbouring streets, but please do take good care of not blocking anyone's entrance. Alternatively, you can try finding the car park at the back of Jolly Topers Pub & Restaurant.

We look forward to seeing you there - with best wishes for the bakers as well as for the tasters!

Download full invite here.

CRCW (Church Related Community Work) Project Finale Event

You are invited to the CRCW (Church Related Community Work) Project Finale Event:

on

15th February 2020 at 2pm for 2:30pm start

At Holy Ghost Catholic Church, 33, Westbourne Road, Luton LU4 8JD

(Parking is available within the Church premises)

RSVP: GRASSROOTS, 47 High Town Road, Luton, Beds. LU2 0BW

Phone: 01582 416946 / Text: 07886 350 854 / Email: jgrassroots@btconnect.com

DOWNLOAD INVITATION HERE!

International Women's Day 2020 (Women Only Event)

Precious Pearls - Celebrating Women Across Faiths & Cultures

Theme: “Women Caring for Mother Earth”

Date: 5th March 2020

Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm

Venue: High Town Methodist Church Hall, 47 High Town Road, Luton LU2OBW

Parking - Wenlock St - LU2 0NN - FREE AFTER 6.00pm

The evening is about sharing the talents of Luton women, meeting women from different backgrounds, enjoying with multi-cultural entertainment and refreshments are also provided.

Please let us know by 28th February 2020 if you would like to attend.

Contact: Ghar se Ghar or Grassroots Tel: 01582 416946

Email: gharseghar@btconnect.com

DOWNLOAD POSTER HERE!

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!