Inter Faith Week challenge to build friendships
InterFaith Week begins with an urge to build relationships and challenge stereotypes
David Urquhart, bishop of Birmingham, has issued a community challenge for national Inter Faith Week urging people of different faiths to build friendships and challenge stereotypes.
Inter Faith Week, which this year takes place between Sunday 18 and Tuesday 27 November, has in the past highlighted the good work done by local faith, inter faith and faith-based groups and opened up new possibilities for partnership.
The bishop said: ‘Friendships that build bridges between people of different faiths and ethnicities are really good for us as individuals, enriching our lives, challenging our stereotypes and broadening our imagination.
‘They are also good for communities, strengthening them, removing prejudices and healing fragmentation. Friendships have the potential to move us from distant respect to deep appreciation, from mere tolerance to full participation in founding healthy, peaceful and generous communities. Most of the major faiths urge us to love God and love our neighbours. Let us together build friendships that change us and transform the places in which we live.’
The three aims of Inter Faith Week are: to strengthen good inter faith relations at all levels; to increase awareness of the different and distinct faith communities in the UK, in particular celebrating and building on the contribution which their members make to their neighborhoods and to wider society; and to increase understanding between people of religious and non-religious beliefs.
Comments
We may further need to say as faith groups we do not require special privileges e.g. Public funding for faith schools, Bishops in the House of Lords. Our faith/s open us to a greater appreciation of diverse humanity and cultures and can unite us in social projects that can unite and engage all members of our communities.
By Rycro1 on 1st December 2012 - 1:53
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