News and Articles

THE IMAM AND THE PASTOR

Recently St Botolph's Church showed the film The Imam and the Pastor which told how previously warring Christians and Muslims in Nigeria had learnt to work together for peace. FIW member Mary Billington saw the film and had this to say:

I found it so helpful, encouraging and uplifting. It proves what can occur when two people who start off  'on opposite sides of the fence' can take down that fence and work together.  Afterwards my thoughts were "Wouldn't it be helpful to show it to a wider audience, such as the Social Services and Police, who are dealing with people of different beliefs and opinions, to show how changes can happen and good can result". I wonder if any one else had similar thoughts after seeing the film?

Thank you for that, Mary. I also found the film profoundly moving and it would be great to show it to a wider audience. You can find out more about the film by clicking on this link:
The Imam and the Pastor

GREEN FAITH
News of the Recent Meeting at Worth Abbey

It was a pleasure to see some 120 people converge on Worth Abbey for the recent 'Green Faith' event organised by Faiths in Sussex. We were treated to a stimulating afternoon as four speakers, commencing with the Abbot of Worth, Christopher Jamison, spoke on faith responses to environmental issues. A recurring theme with all the speakers was just how important it was that as people of faith we did take the initiative on environmental issues. Indeed one of the most fascinating facts to emerge was that in a recent survey of environmental experts, commissioned by the Environment Agency the response of faith groups was identified as the second most important item in a list of 50 actions to stop climate change; food for thought indeed.

There were generous contributions of food from participants and the afternoon finished with a bring and share supper, a wonderful opportunity to make new friends while enjoying the delightful grounds of Worth Abbey. Thanks go to the community at Worth for hosting the event, and to Ian Lawton of the Brighton and Hove Inter Faith Contact Group for assembling a top class group of speakers.

FAITH IN WORTHING
Launch Meeting 16th April 2008

 We were delighted with the positive response from those present and conversation continued afterwards over light refreshments.

 Our thanks to Heather Mercer for hosting the meeting and to all those who helped to organise it. We look forward to meeting again soon!

Some of the speakers in front of Worth Abbey

 In the morning, chaired by Rabbi Jackie Tabick, we had a Jain and a Hindu summary of their faiths. Vinod Kapashi, from the Jain tradition told us how Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism had all started in India around the 6th century BCE in a search for inner peace.  There are similarities between Jainism and Buddhism.  Like the Buddha, Lord Mahira, born into a royal household in North India in the 5th century BCE, left home to seek enlightenment, and found it at the age of 42 mainly in the principle of non-violence (“Ahimsa”).   In our own time, Mahatma Gandhi, as a young lawyer working in South Africa, wrote to a Jain scholar for advice on how to tackle apartheid.  The reply was “You an only do it through Ahimsa – non-violence.”  And we know how it was Gandhi’s strategy of non-violence which won independence for India. Jainism goes further than non-violence - we should not harm either animals or plants, and should not rejoice when others go wrong.  He talked about some of the Jain food rules and the difficulty in interpreting them in a British setting – there are now30,000 to 35,000 Jains in UK.

The audience gathering in the Unity Room

 Jay Lakshmi from the Hindu tradition talked about two misconceptions about Hinduism. To him the hereditary caste system is an atrocity, but it arose from trying to make religion take into consideration people’s contexts and skills.  One set of rules does not necessarily fit all.  Also Hinduism is not polytheistic (having many gods) but pluralistic – allowing every individual to progress in the way which suits him/her best.  It also recognises non-theistic religions such as Buddhism and Jainism.

 In the afternoon we had two further presentations, chaired by Ian Lawton from the Brighton and Hove Group.  The venerable Chueh Yann, a Buddhist who comes from Malaysia and trained in Taiwan, talked abut Fo Guang Shen, a branch of Zen Buddhism which now has almost 200 branches around the world and is recognised as a NGO at the United Nations.  There is too much attachment in the world to such things as greed, anger and ignorance and we must instead try to say a good word and do good things.  She talked a little about meditation.  We need our work to express compassion, often through voluntary work, as in community work in Malaysia.

One of the discussion groups

 Perhaps the most important part of the programme was the discussion groups, held after both the morning and afternoon sessions.  We were each assigned to a different group on arrival and there were no fixed discussion questions, just a conversation, which in the group in which I was, led to a very useful discussion on prayer, led by a Muslim.

 Other highlights were a walk round the grounds ,led by Father Paul, and the opportunity to join in midday prayers with members of the Worth Abbey community.

 Altogether an excellent day, and I look forward to the next occasion.