David Gifford is the Inter Faith Adviser to the Diocese. Here he talks about some Inter Faith initiatives as part of the celebrations of Inter Faith Week 2025, which starts on Sunday, 9th November
In our diocese we may not be aware so much of other faiths that share our diocesan space with us. At The Bishop’s First Inter Faith Reception this week held at the Bishops Palace, 10 different faiths were represented. Perhaps you might guess what they were! (Answer below*).
Inter Faith Week – celebrated throughout the UK this coming week - aims to make us aware of the richness other faiths bring to our communities. A richness seen in different foods, different attire, different festivals and arts and culture; you might think of Chinese New Year celebrated on the streets of Birmingham. That and other festivals are a colourful tapestry that broadens and enriches our lives, expands our understanding of neighbours and allows new friendships to form.
Inter Faith Week also celebrates the community action which different faiths working together bring to our neighbourhoods. In Oxford, groups of Jews, Christians and Muslims will be walking together up a hill in the north of city. Each church, synagogue and mosque will be carrying fruit trees which they will plant on the hill. It is not just free fruit for people walking there in the future but addressing in a particular way the effects of climate change.
Next week in the north of our diocese the inter faith group in Craven Arms will be holding Craven Arms Soup. Christians, Jews, Muslims and Sikhs will be providing a soup and bread lunch at the Methodist Church Hall. Donations are collected and will be given to a local charity. Different faiths working together for the good of our community.
And that will be going on all over the country. Interfaith week makes our lives richer and brings our communities closer.
*Faiths: Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Bahai’i, Sikh, Hindu, Sufi, Humanist, and LDS.
– ENDS –