Members of South Shropshire's Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and Christian communities gathered last Saturday to celebrate Inter Faith Week with a shared meal that combined fellowship with fundraising. The event raised £255 for Empathy, a Craven Arms-based charity supporting children with additional needs and working with the wider community.
The event, held last Saturday, saw members of the Muslim, Jewish and Sikh communities prepare vegetarian soup, while the Mennonites donated bread from their local bakery. Sam Goddard from Empathy spoke about the charity's work, and Nicky Kershaw DL presented a cheque on behalf of South Shropshire Inter Faith.
The Shropshire Interfaith Forum has been holding soup events every two months during winter, with previous gatherings raising money for the local food bank, Severn Hospice and youth work. The events typically attract local Christians and Muslims, with smaller numbers of Jews, Buddhists and Sikhs also supporting the group.
The inspiration for these gatherings came from "Detroit Soup," which became a major fundraising activity for the voluntary sector in that city when the motor industry collapsed in 2008. Revd David Wiseman, who initiated the south Shropshire event, had previously run a similar project with various organisations while serving as Area Dean in Northampton.
"I love that we can show our local community that different faiths can do things together despite our differences and still make good soup" said Revd Wiseman. "We also highlight some of the good work going on in our community.
"People of any faith and none will understand each other better when we can meet, talk, become friends and cooperate.
"My wife and I have spent our entire married life in diverse communities from East London, Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Manchester and Northampton and one of the attractions of Craven Arms when we looked for a home to retire to was that it has multiple faiths living alongside each other amidst the beautiful Shropshire Hills. Like many Christians across the world, it seems the most natural part of life to live alongside people with different faiths."
The success of the soup events demonstrates the power of simple, shared activities to build understanding and support local communities in need.