2020 programme

Westminster Cathedral Interfaith Group

 meet in the Hinsley Room, Morpeth Terrace SW1P 1EP from 4 to 5 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month.

All are welcome and there is no charge.

Jan 15 Sister Emmanuel Bac Nguyen on “The challenges and hopes for the Church in Vietnam”

Feb 19 Zionist and Jewish speakers from Stand with us return to consider how we can help the Israel/Palestine situation

March 18 Revd Alan Gadd on his interfaith work

April 15 Speaker from Aid to the Church in need on the persecution of Christians and other faiths

May 20 Revd Hannah Neale on “God’s rainbow church, symbol of oneness in Christ?”

June 17 Jeremy Rodell of the British Humanist Association

Sept 16 a speaker from the  Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. 

Nov 18 Father Tiziano who was a missionary in Malawi

To find the Hinsley Room stand in front of Westminster cathedral and walk to your right past St Paul’s bookshop and the school.

 Look for a fenced garden between the playing fields.

Contact John Woodhouse 0790 8888 586 (by text) woodhousesopten@btinternet.com

A Catholic reflects on interfaith

Could you focus on your experience of the interfaith involvements;

              1. how it has changed your perception?

              2. how it challenges your Catholic faith(positive and negative)?

              3. what is the future you foresee of interfaith relations in the UK? (this is more of your hypothesis!?): how, why etc.

       

What does it mean to be a Catholic to be involved in interfaith work?

First a little about myself. I grew up in Johannesburg and was educated at the Anglican St John’s College. We were given a thorough grounding in Christianity but heard nothing about other faiths. I did have Jewish friends but I do not remember much discussion with them about religion. Having completed my university education I worked in Johannesburg public libraries for 3 years including a year in Soweto. This was a turning point for me and I travelled to England via the Holy Land, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Germany and Denmark. On this journey I visited mosques and synagogues.

On arriving in London I met my wife and became a Catholic shortly before we married and we celebrate 40 years of marriage this year. I worked until I retired as a public librarian and was able to arrange various meetings about religion. I particularly recall organising talks by a wonderful Jewish woman who had been saved by Belgian Catholics at the start of the war and her message was one of reconciliation.

At one stage I had a majority of Muslims in the staff team and one of them began to challenge my position with a view to converting me. He remains a very good friend! I realised I knew very little about other faiths. With clergy support I founded the Westminster Cathedral interfaith group 9 years ago and we began by studying Understanding Islam with Dr Chris Hewer. From this we went on to invite speakers about Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Zoroastrianism. The group particularly enjoys visits to temples and mosques, which have included the Neasden Hindu temple and the Jain temple at Potters Bar.

Westminster Interfaith, which is the official agency of the diocese of Westminster, has taken a keen interest in the group from the beginning and I have become involved in its work. I also attend interfaith forums in South London and for London as a whole. Last year I completed an MA in Christianity and Interreligious relations at Heythrop and we were fortunate to have Fr Xavier in our class. The class itself was most stimulating particularly as it included 2 who had converted from Islam to Christianity.

My major purpose now is to deepen the dialogue with the other. Many interfaith encounters are pleasant but go no further than drinking tea together. A particular way in which we can learn together is on peace walks and Westminster Interfaith organises an annual pilgrimage. Last year this included a Druid ceremony and a visit to a beautiful Buddhist monastery. It is an ideal time to get to know each other.

The secret of interfaith is personal relationships. If I get to know you, I can begin to have the courage to ask the questions I really want answered and I can learn to listen to the answers I am given with greater understanding.

But how has all this changed my perception? Firstly I recognise common humanity and common ground between us. This does not imply that we will always agree.

Secondly I have become much more aware of the spiritual riches which we can share. A good example is the practice of Christian meditation in silence as advocated by John Main. Here one can see the clear influence of Buddhist and Hindu practice but the meditation remains rooted in Christ.

When I go my weekly tai chi and qi gong class I am very aware of the simple use of breathing to still the body and mind. We are all such busy people nowadays and these times of quiet are so precious.

Thirdly, I want to share my own experience and learn from other’s experience. Why do we believe in God? A humanist might say that all religion is a human construction. But is this really the case? I have certainly had wonderful moments of revelation. I think particularly of the Eucharist in the Calvary chapel in the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem when the organ suddenly burst forth. As an organist myself this was a wonderful moment as I did not even know there was an organ in that great church so sadly divided between Christians. On that same journey there was the extraordinary experience of climbing Mount Sinai on a camel and on foot and being helped to reach the top. I realised I needed help to reach the summit. So often on our journey we cannot go it alone!

When my parents died in Sydney within a week of each other, I felt the net of support from so many people. That experience was a life changing moment. The Oberammergau passion play was another revelation. Last year Cardinal Tauran came to London and there was a beautiful ceremony when all faiths spoke about peace. I had the privilege of welcoming many of the guests and I realised how many of them I knew. How important that first welcome is when we come to a gathering!

How does all this challenge my own Catholic faith? I am a sinner like everybody else and I often fail. But I can say that my faith has been much strengthened by these encounters and by visits to so many beautiful places of worship. I recall arriving at the Buddhist Amaravati monastery in Hertfordshire and actually not wanting to leave to continue the pilgrimage. Here was a place of beauty and serenity.

For me it is the liturgy which strengthens my faith. The Eucharist is central to this and I love the beauty of great churches and cathedrals and the music not least the hymns of faith, many of which I know by heart. Morning and night prayer also play a major part in my life.

It is so important to acknowledge the truth of what my Muslim brother or sister is saying to me. The Christian/Muslim forum organises encounters called “Conversations for the soul” and I have found these discussions about aspects of faith most stimulating.  When I have attended prayers in mosques I have been much impressed by the warmth of the greeting between believers at the end of the prayers. How I wish we saw a similar warmth in many of our churches! We exchange the Peace in a formal way but do not know each other’s names!

In discussion with Muslims we agreed that it was worship and community which mattered most to us. One often encounters the comment “all faiths are the same – they are all based on the Golden Rule”. While this may be partly true, we do have our differences. Certainly those in government would like us all to sing from the same hymn sheet. But the metaphor of an orchestra is a better one. We all have our part to play in a great symphony of praise to God.

I have also encountered challenge to my position. Those who speak most to me are those who challenge me to speak from the heart. It is too easy to approach faith matters in an intellectual and almost distant way. My Buddhist and Muslim friends challenge me to speak from my heart rather than my head.

The only negatives I can identify are occasions when I would not go one more step. A good example is the prayers for peace at Battersea Park peace pagoda and on that occasion I did not feel it right to burn incense before the statue of the Buddha. Since then I have offered lotus flowers to the Buddha in Bangkok so I think I have changed my position!

What are the prospects for interfaith in the UK? A great deal of work has been done especially since the tragedy of 9/11. The National Interfaith Week in November is firmly established and there are plenty of opportunities to interact with each other. For Christians, interfaith has in many ways overtaken ecumenism. I send on many emails to my network and I am aware that you could attend an interfaith event in London on most days of the year!  However we must not forget that many rural areas of the country have little opportunity for interfaith work.

Pope Francis in Evangelium Gaudii 238 following “The Joy of the Gospel” gives us powerful encouragement to continue the dialogue. In 250 he writes “an attitude of openness in truth and love must characterize the dialogue with the followers of non-Christian religions… Interreligious dialogue is a necessary condition for peace in the world.” He quotes the Bishops of India “being open to them, sharing their joys and sorrows”. Do read the whole of this document –it is very easy to read and full of wonderful insights. Engaging with “the other” is a duty for Christians!

What I would like to see is a deepening of dialogue and a sharing of spiritual riches. From this might come common action especially in areas of justice and peace.

Radicalisation

What have we learned about radicalisation? 7^th March 2012

Replies to the 3 presentations which are on the website.

Mehdi Hassan Guardian journalist

1.       Religion is not the cause of radicalisation. Since 9/11 politics not faith is the main cause.

2.       Very few Muslim terrorists 99.9% of Muslims refute terrorism.

3.       Cameron has misread the conveyor belt idea about radicalisation.

4.       It’s the violence that matters.

Ed Husain author of “The Islamist”

What is the nature of the problem? “The process of adopting theopolitical ideas that can lead to violence”. A certain reading of religion can inform politics. Very small minority of Salafi are involved.

New Islam/Old Islam dichotomy is important.

He questioned poverty as a motivation e.g. in Bangladesh there is very little radicalism. Some terrorists are wealthy. Violence is too late for us to intervene. We should tip off the police. We should challenge bigotry.

The problem lies in 1. Prisons. 2 University campuses including some trying to influence Islamic societies. 3. Some mosques. 4 The internet.

5 ideas lead to suicide bombing 1. God’s rule. 2 Taqhir (spelling?) can even lead to believe that other Muslims are not Muslims. 3. Vigilante jahidism. 4. Martyrs. 5. Loyalty to other Muslims.

He said there was hope  - these ideas were being challenged even in Saudi circles.

A question about teaching radical students – deal with it just as you would deal with anything else the teacher disagreed with.

A need for religious literacy. Chris Morris “Four lions” film was recommended.

Problem NOT in mosques but among the young men expelled from mosques.

The need for money to be spent on deradicalisation.

Sorry these notes are a bit sketchy – may have got things wrong!

John Woodhouse

IS

What can we do about IS?

The GlobalNet21 debate in the Wellington room of the House of Commons attracted a large audience and plenty of online comments. The title was “Does bombing an ideology ever work?” Richard Bacon MP was unable to be present. It must be said that the debate did not really answer the question.

Michael Stephens is the Research Fellow for Middle East studies and Head of Royal United Services Institute, Qatar. He commented that the policy now is to contain IS rather than destroy it. U.K. budget cuts mean that we no longer have the people on the ground to anticipate attacks like that on Mosul. He gave 4 root causes of the conflict.

1.       A second generation of Muslims in the West who see a gap with their parents’ perceptions and wish to escape marginalisation,

2.       A crisis in Islam both between Sunni and Shi’a and within the divided parts of Islam and no central authority,

3.       Nobody knows where Western intervention will lead to and there are double standards about where we intervene,

4.       Globalisation and technology.

Michael suggested that strategic patience was sometimes needed and we were reaping the results of a huge error in 2003. Governments chose to drive Sunni and Shi’a apart and played on the fault lines of the Arab spring.

Ellie Geranmayeh from the European Council for Foreign Relations is a visiting fellow for the Middle East and North Africa Programme in October 2013, and joined as a policy fellow in May 2014, working on European foreign policy in relation to Iran. She commented that the EU was not united and recent developments in Germany had not helped. Criminals were stepping into power vacuums and skilfully using technology to spread their murderous message.

In answer to my question about control of the internet, Michael commented that control of forums in Saudi Arabia was very severe. The hidden role of multinationals and oil companies was also mentioned. The Israeli elections in March may bring some change in the region. It was clear that our domestic policies do affect foreign policy.

What we can do is to encourage dialogue and add to the discourse to address the fear that many feel. This was a wide ranging and informative debate and I can only give a flavour of it. Too often the West has misunderstood developments e.g. do Arabs want democracy as opposed to human rights? The Wahabi policies of the Saudis remain a puzzle with tight security on the one hand and support of change on the other.

The Westminster debate on  “How far should concern with religious freedom shape foreign policy?” in the library at RUSI picked up many of these themes and was ably chaired by Professor Linda Woodhead.

Andrew Copson is Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association and he underlined the importance of human rights in the debate. Brian J. Grim, the founder and president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, spoke about how business can engage. Intercultural understanding, religious freedom, free speech and free association and freedom of the press are all tied up. He pointed to success in Brazil and Japan and gave examples from India, Australia and Brazil where companies which have a religious basis have a large impact socially.

 Erin Wilson, Director of Centre for Religion, Conflict and the Public Domain at the University of Groningen said that what we do at home affects what we promise abroad. There must be a connection between the two policies.

 Professor Debra Mason is Director, Center on Religion & the Professions at the University of Missouri and she began by pointing to the challenges of  the use of language in the media. For example Al Qaeda claim that democracy is a religion that the West wishes to impose on the Arab world.

Nicholas Coombs, career Diplomat, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, spoke of the difficulties of finding the right people to deal with on the ground and how often foreign policy was reactive.

Erin pointed to the correlation in people’s minds since 9/11 that “immigrant=Muslim=terrorist” and how this thinking needs to be changed.

I was left feeling that things were not getting better and the thought that we all need to engage with humility. The tone of how we address issues is important.

The Christian Muslim forum organised a day on “The family:challenges and benefits” at St Augustine’s Kilburn and the Islamic Centre of England. Fr Colin Amos  (the vicar of St Augustine’s) began by defining family. 1. Grandparents. 2. Geography. 3. History. 4. Chosen family through baptism and god-parenting. 5. Faith family which is an unchosen gift.

He asked to what extent challenges are born of our historic and biological differences? The challenges we face are 1. Abuse and  most of it is within the family. 2. Business/work/faith/life balance. 3. Parenting and children with absent father or mother. 4. Communication, not eating together. 5. Financial pressures and materialism. 6. Suicide.

Shaykh Saeed Bahmanpour (Islamic Centre of England) gave the Islamic perspective. He spoke of interdependence, love and kindness and the need for tranquillity. He outlined the challenge of lust rather than love, cohabitation rather than marriage,. Muslims did not see this as progress. He said that children needed to be educated about male/female differences. His main idea was “one for all and all for one” in the family.

Revd Maggie Hindley (Co-director of the  London Interfaith centre) brought a United Reformed church perspective and spoke on the role of women. She saw the family as a springboard for mission and the fight for justice and she spoke of the open family spreading loving kindness in the community.

After an excellent lunch at the Islamic centre Bishop Paul Hendricks  (Co-Chair, Christian Muslim Forum) spoke about the benefits. He said that our purpose is to learn to love. He said that in the family everyone is important all share in the meal. All should be accepted. Love is hard work and “home is a holy place”. He commented on individualism and who the elderly can be shipped off to a home. He stressed that this is God’s world and God is in the mess of families.

Dr Mohammed Ali Shomali (Director, Islamic Centre of England ) spoke how people married and still behaved as though they were single. It is important to get rid of the ego and the idol within ourselves.  It is difficult to be lonely. He stressed the importance of keeping young people at home even when at university until they married. In discussion the influence of TV and the internet was mentioned and that mosques were often out of touch with the youth. The loss of Sunday as a day for the family was also seen as a major challenge.

It was a pity that the discussion groups were divided into men and women as I feel that mothers are the centre of the family and the men needed to hear directly what the women has to say.

What has all this to do with IS? A great deal because we cannot face the threat of radicalisation without better communication within the family and in the community.



John Woodhouse

Westminster cathedral interfaith group

Vincent Nicholls

The visit of Archbishop Vincent Nichols to South Hampstead synagogue

One of the advantages of studying for a M.A. in Christianity and interreligious relations at Heythrop is finding out about interesting lectures and events. On Sunday 4^th December Archbishop Vincent Nichols and retired Archbishop Kevin Macdonald answered questions about Israel and peace from Rabbi Shlomo Levin at South Hampstead synagogue. The Archbishop began by saying that this was the only second time he had spoken in a synagogue and he was grateful for the warm welcome from a packed synagogue. The questions were hard hitting but were answered frankly and clearly and there was much good humour. The Archbishop referred several times to his recent visit to the Holy Land and spoke of the 84 Palestinian families who had recently lost their homes near Bethlehem.

The Rabbi referred to the Protestant churches who gave great support to Israel and was answered by the comment that the Catholic church was more dynamic about Israel than Protestant churches with the Pope affirming the right of Israelis to the land of Israel. Archbishop Kevin spoke of the importance in interfaith dialogue of laying all concerns on the table. The Rabbi highlighted the contrast between the Christian claim that Jesus is essential to salvation and the historic attempts to convert those of other faiths and the desire of the Catholic church to enter into dialogue. He contrasted the Pope’s positive actions and also negative comments like the Williamson affair and the prayer on Good Friday. Archbishop Vincent replied that the Catholic church does change and does make mistakes. He pointed to the success of interfaith dialogue in Birmingham changing the local council’s view with the example of a Nativity scene now reinstated in the public square.

In reply to a question about decline in the face of secularism, he said that we should talk to each other more and be more ready to engage in public debate which is open to the voices of religion. We need to find the language and the images which will convey our message clearly and spoke of the gap within ourselves - “mind the gap” as we here on the Underground! We should be aware of our insufficiency rather than our selfsufficiency. He quoted the case of a church where the local radio station rang the priest to ask if he would like his church advertised on the radio. The priest said “Why would I do that? I have 2000 attending every Sunday. Would you like me to advertise your radio station at Mass?”

The Chief Rabbi had recently given the first Pope Benedict XVI lecture at which he mentioned his forthcoming meeting with the Pope and how much he shared with the Pope in his analysis of Western culture.

 In reply to a question about the search for spirituality among younger Jews, the work of monasteries was mentioned and the profound silence during some of the Papal visit services which has been reintroduced at Mass in many places. It was a pity that the valuable work being done by laity in churches to promote silent meditation was not mentioned.

Archbishop Vincent said that the country would be poorer without an established Church and that we had a radical right to follow and express faith. There were also questions about marriage between Catholics and those of other faiths with the emphasis now being on the Catholic partner to promise to do their best to bring up children in the faith and about education with mention of the recent Coloma case. Some felt that Israel had been singled out for criticism at the recent Lambeth Palace conference with claims that the number of Christians in Israel itself is increasing. Archbishop Kevin said that representations were made to the embassies of Arab countries about the treatment of Christians and Israel was not being singled out at all.

On a more light hearted note I recorded 2 of the rabbi’s sayings. “You are not paranoid unless you recognise that people are picking on you” and a Jewish atheist “I’m an atheist, thank God!”

The evening concluded with refreshments and an opportunity to meet those of other faiths. I was very glad that I had gone to the meeting!

John Woodhouse

Westminster cathedral interfaith group which now meets on the third Wednesday of the month from 4pm to 5pm in the Hinsley Room, Morpeth Terrace – all are welcome.

Sharing Perspectives

The second “Sharing Perspectives: Muslims and Christians in the Holy Land” course at St George’s College, Jerusalem led by the Rt Revd Richard Cheetham, Bishop of Kingston and Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra 18-27 March 2015

The course was supported by the Christian Muslim Forum and was attended by 10 Christians  and 8 Muslims from the U.K. and one from the U.S.with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of one another’s theology and perspectives.

Bishop Richard began by setting the course within a global context and stressing that the way we live together is vital. By the end of the 10 days we had certainly done that and gained a new group of friends! This was a special opportunity to ask the right questions and begin to see the Holy Land through each other’s eyes. This article can only attempt to bring out some themes from a wealth of experience.  We met with Palestinians and Israelis notably Rabbi David Rosen.

Shohel Ahmed from East London writes: “For me one theme which stood out was Hospitality. Beginning with the college itself, and the staff at the college, we were greeted with large smiles, firm handshakes and good food. Walking around the markets, it was usually a ‘welcome’ and offering of tea in most stalls and shops. In the mosques it was ‘salamwalaikum’, and a sense of serenity which comes from familiarity. In Dr Mustafa’s house, and in parallel most houses, it was ‘Ahlan wa sahlan’ with excellent food, company and hospitality from young and old alike.

Wherever we went, I felt that the Palestinians were most happy to have us and host us, and share their wonderful country with us. For me that was striking and apparent from the outset.”

David Kesterton from Luton on his first visit to the Holy Land focused on Place.”What does it mean to share holy spaces? We saw a number of strained and forced efforts. Perhaps we need a version of the Pact of Umar for the 21^st century?

Christian devotion earths the ministry of Jesus, his birth, ministry, passion, death and resurrection, ascension.  The specificity of this “earthing” has resulted in places of pilgrimage and intense devotion. This course has helped me to recognise this fact. Whether these sacred spots on the earth have a genuine claim to “be the place” or are merely in the right general area doesn’t matter and the ultimate point is that it happened somewhere rather than nowhere.

Long before the days of Mission Action Planning in the Church of England, when I was a team vicar in the 1990’s– we thought about strategy and one of the five foci was “Place”. What was the distinctive sense of place about each of the areas in our team ministry? What were the stories that made them unique? It was never possible or desirable to adopt a one size fits all approach to mission. Somehow visiting the holy places on the course reminded me of the importance again of place in the context of parish life.

One of the areas the course did not find time to address in a structured way – was how we deal with the theological differences at the heart of the two faiths. The contrasting approaches to prayer and the nature of the obligations which are inherent in the faiths brings the same question to the surface –“What does it mean to talk about Freedom in Christ and how do we share this central theme of our faith with our Muslim neighbours”.



Overall it was a great privilege to attend this course and it has deepened my understanding of Islam and my awareness of the historical roots of the ministry of Jesus.” David  commented “I found myself walking down the Mt of Olives with a Muslim colleague asking me about the Christian the understanding of salvation. Is everyone going to heaven? I began explaining the theories of atonement and found myself saying “There are a variety of views”.  I think this is a phrase that will come more than once and I wondered if this sounded “too woolly” for my Muslim friend.”

Another theme which was always present was Prayer.

It was valuable to visit the mosques as well as the churches. Throughout the time together we were very conscious of our Muslim friends going  very early in the morning and at every opportunity to the Al Aqsa mosque to pray. This is the third most important site for them and prayers there are multiplied 10,000 times. It was an enormous privilege to go into the Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock together. They are both astonishing building of great beauty and steeped in devotion.

For the Christians the liturgies in St George’s cathedral and the college helped to bond us together and there was a memorable Eucharist by the sea outside the Church of the Beatitudes attended by the whole group. Going early on Sunday morning to the Holy Sepulchre we were able to experience Coptic, Armenian and Ethiopian Orthodox liturgies. At the final station on the Via Dolorosa just outside the Holy Sepulchre outside the Coptic Orthodox church there are large banners showing the martyrdom of 21 Copts in Libya – a chilling reminder of the on-going persecution of Christians.

David Kesterton commented “Our group attended the Sunday Eucharist at St Georges Cathedral – with the sermon delivered in Arabic and English. The only word in the Arabic sermon I recognised was “Facebook”! It was odd that the Muslim sitting next to me followed more of the sermon than I did. “

Visiting Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum  and the Sea of Galilee put things into a different context. At Nazareth we heard passages from the Quran about Mary. At the sea itself our Muslim friends washed and prayed at the sea shore while others paddled or spent time in contemplation. For all of us this was a very special place.

Finally a theme which shone through was Hope. There was a message of hope in our encounters with Archbishop Suheil Dawani, the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem and his wife . We heard of the work of hospitals and clinics and of local interfaith work where Christians have a vital role. Religion can be part of the solution not the problem. The visit of Pope Francis had sent a powerful message of peace. The Archbishop stressed the importance of embracing the Middle East. The West must not neglect the Christian presence in the Holy Land who are living stones and many are suffering poverty because there are no jobs. But the 15 year old Muslim and Christian students expressed solidarity. Being Muslim or Christian did not matter. They had great hope for the future and wanted to make Palestine the best country in the world!

We learnt a lot and we grappled with difficult and sensitive issues. The message of this time together is that we can share so much and live well together. We need to build on what is already in existence and promote more local joint projects. The Palestine/Israel issue needs to sensitively addressed in our interfaith forums. It has tended to be overshadowed by IS but until this is resolved there cannot be peace in the region.

The course will be repeated 10-17 March 2016 at the college which is an excellent place to stay. www.sgcjerusalem.org

John Woodhouse

Westminster Cathedral Interfaith Group

Evil

The problem of evil and suffering

On Ash Wednesday Jeremy Rodell addressed the Westminster cathedral interfaith group on the subject of evil from a humanist viewpoint.

He began with a quote from Stephen Fry and went on to a long quote from “Faith and Unbelief” by Stephen Bullivant. “Even God gets murdered.” Bullivant outlines the following

 1. Forgiveness but the question is forgiving what?

2. Augustinian understanding is that evil is a consequence of free will. However this does not apply to natural disasters unless you resort to original sin.

3. The natural order cannot be changed. But that would be incompatible with miracles or any other kind of divine intervention.

4. We don’t know the answer but we do know that Jesus suffered.

Jeremy said that for the humanist there is no “problem of evil” in the sense of a misfit between a benign deity and the fact that there is suffering in the world. We have to accept that this is the way things are. He listed the following aspects.

1.       Suffering can come from the bad actions of people.

2.       Personal illness.

3.       Natural disaster.

4.       Accident.

5.       Bad luck.

We cannot escape the fact that we will all die. We can reduce the causes and mitigate the effects. He said that saying “I thank God for saving me” from a disaster seems illogical if it has killed others.

He did equate evil with bad human action as we all have the capacity to behave selfishly or in a kind and loving way. There are moral absolutes, based on our shared humanity. In discussion inequality of education was mentioned and the need for a standard of morality to be taught. Stephen Pinker has written about the world has become less violent but there may be an upswing in violence as a result of IS.

John Woodhouse

2014 events

Some recent interfaith events

The Westminster interfaith group heard an account of Gandhi’s involvement in interfaith from William Rhind of the Gandhi foundation. He gave us some quotes from Gandhi.

“Religions are different roads converging to the same point. Denial of God will not liberate me from his operation. The only way to find God is to see him in his creation and to be one with it. God is light not darkness. God is love not hate. God is truth not untruth. The only devils in the world are those running about in our own hearts, and that is where all our battles should be fought.

Without needing to be a Christian, I can testify to what Jesus means in my life.” Gandhi saw Jesus as the ‘finest flower of Judaism’.

Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi addressed a meeting in Brixton of Faiths together in Lambeth and spoke on the issue of violence. He said that humiliation leads to extremism. Most fringe groups are not in mosques and there needs to be a united stand against ISIS to find a non-violent solution to violence. Muslim men are well integrated into society in the United Kingdom . However some see themselves as victims. Centralisation of Muslims prevents radicalisation.

What we can do is to invite our neighbours, interact with children, improve our public relations and promote our activities on local radio and in local papers.

The British Humanist association promoted “Looking for common ground: how can Muslims and humanists live and work together in 21^st century London?” at Conway Hall. This was the first dialogue of its kind and Alom Shaha did an excellent job asking questions of 4 different speakers. It was pointed out from the floor that the “conservative” Muslim was not represented.

Yasmin Rehman spoke against pigeonholing by government. She finds it offensive to be described as British Asian Muslim. All the speakers stressed the great diversity within Islam. Yasmin spoke against the violence against women and children and stressed that all needed protection from English law not sharia law.

Huda Jawad spoke from the Shia perspective. She said that people should be empowered to ask Muslims the right questions. Manadou Bocoum spoke about the differences of African Islam and the problem of multiple identities. Muslims should be brave and speak honestly and he felt that the understanding of the Qu’ran should be higher than the Qu’ran itself.

Sara Khan spoke passionately about her fight for justice. “Can you be a Muslim feminist?”  She is amazed that she has been described as Islamophobic. “Your identity influences your interpretation  of the text”. She mentioned the difficulty of reconciling modernity and Islam but there did seem to be common ground with humanists.

Questions from the floor included the question of faith schools and homophobia from Muslims. It was hoped that this was the first of many similar encounters.

I sang at “Whichever way Love turns” the 850th  anniversary of Ibn’ Arabi in music and sound  concert/event at Brunei gallery SOAS. We all received a warm welcome from  Amin Hussain and Thalia-Mari Papadopolou. There was a varied programme  including Flamenco guitar, singers, poetry , the whirling dervishes of West London, Muslim Zikr chant from the Mevlevi Threshold society,  Sikh, Jewish (my good friend Stefan and Arjan) and a marvellous Orthodox St  Nektarios choir member singing Agios O Theos with drone on  harp.

 I sang Ubi caritas (God is love) and Sanctus from the  Requiem mass which is probably our oldest chant linking back  to the synagogue and Jesus may have sung it. Ubi caritas is particularly suitable as it means “Where charity and love is, there is God”.

The whole concert had a beautiful atmosphere of calm and contemplation. It was sponsored by the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi society www.ibnarabisociety.org, the Beshara Trust www.beshara.org and St Ethelburga’s www.stethelburgas.org.

One of the highlights of 2014 was speaking to over 300 at the Ramadan tent near University of London Senate House. I told the audience that I could not improve on the words of Pope Francis “Interreligious dialogue is a necessary condition for peace in the world, and so it is a duty for Christians as well as other religious communities.” (Evangelii Gaudium 250) and I presented a copy of the document to the organisers.

John Woodhouse

Westminster cathedral interfaith group

Israel

Reliigons for Peace organised a fascinating lecture by Professor Rabbi Dan Cohn-Sherbok who was Professor of Judaism at the University of Wales  and is now a research Fellow at Heythrop. There was a large audience in the Westminster Cathedral hall and Bishop John Arnold chaired the meeting.

The Professor argued for a two state solution for Israel on Jewish biblical grounds. He began by outlining the history of Zionism as a political movement. Zionists wanted a “country from which we cannot be expelled”. He pointed to Jewish anti-Zionism in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Both Orthodox and Reformed Jews rejected Zionism.

The Orthodox saw Zionists as usurping God’s will that there would eventually be Messianic redemption in Zion. The Reformed Jews wanted emancipation and liberation in the societies in which they already lived.

Gradually the Zionist idea which had originally been supported by a few became the mainstream orthodox view. The Biblical concept of “The land is ours” led to the view that all the land belonged to the Jews.

Professor Dan went on to give his own view based on Jewish scripture.  He based this on Exodus and the Kingdom of God. The message of liberation is that now we Jews are free, we must engage with all the oppressed. Who are the oppressed in Israel? The Palestinians.

The Kingdom of God concept points to divine justice for all. Crucial to this is the concept of the right to return. Jews have it but Palestinians do not and they want it. The question of settlements must be addressed.

The Professor answered the many searching questions with humour and wisdom. He remains hopeful that a solution to a seemingly intractable problem can and must be found.

John Woodhouse

2915

The Westminster Cathedral interfaith group meets every third Wednesday of the month in the Hinsley Room, Morpeth Terrace from 4 to 5 p.m.

We got off to a splendid start in June 2007 with a talk by Alfred Agius, then Westminster diocesan Interfaith advisor. His successor Jon Dal Din has regularly attended our meetings.  

We began by studying Catholic documents on relations with other faiths and spending time in silent meditation. 

We have regular outings to venues important for our intentions.  For instance, a group of 14 enjoyed a tour of the British Library exhibition “Sacred”, where we also had a conducted visit of the Jain exhibition, with an excellent Jain guide.

From January to March 2009 we studied Christianity and Islam.  This course had been designed to give an appreciation of the inner dimensions of Islam and the way that it shapes the lives of Muslims, so as to have a better understanding of Muslims in the West.  This is paramount if we want a meaningful dialogue with our Muslim fellow citizens; we need to understand something of their world view, beliefs, and history and theology of Christian-Muslim relations.

The course consisted of ten two-hour sessions, including a visit to a mosque.  It was given by Dr Chris Hewer, the St Ethelburga Fellow in Christian-Muslim Relations, who has been involved in the study of Islam and in Christian-Muslim relations since 1986.  Bishop John Arnold who was then responsible for interfaith relations for the diocese visited the group and met Dr Hewer.  We also spent 3 sessions looking at the document sent by Muslim scholars to the churches about Love of God and neighbour.

Brian Appleyard of the Buddhist society gave us an interesting overview of Buddhism.

I was involved  in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference session with Muslims and in the Westminster Faith Exchange which looked at 6 different faiths’ attitudes to body and health.



I have continued to attend interfaith forums especially and make useful contacts notably the enthusiastic Rachel Heilbron of the Three Faiths forum.



The group has had several visits to Initiatives for Change, 24 Greencoat Place, to enjoy Chinese New Year meals and see the film “The Imam and the Pastor”.



We have welcomed Muslim, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist and humanist speakers.

Rabbi Mark Solomon and Sister Margaret Shepherd of the Sisters of Sion                   spoke about relations between Jews and Christians.



We take part in the annual Westminster interfaith peace walk and used the booklet “Conversations for the soul” for ongoing dialogue with Muslims and Buddhists.



We have visited the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir temple in Neasden and the Jain temple in Potters Bar. The Bishops’ conference document “Meeting God in friend and stranger” which we studied in detail is a most useful and essential guide in our troubled world.



We also studied “Sharing Eden” a booklet on Faiths and the environment produced by Christian, Jewish and Muslim writers.



In 2014 we had talks on the Commonwealth contribution to World War 1 by Hugo Clarke of the Curzon Institute, the first Imam to the armed forces, Raheed Salaam a Muslim who works with youth and William Rhind of the Gandhi Foundation on Gandhi and interfaith, as well as a well-attended talk by  a Zoroastrian.



Future meetings are  Dec 17 Alan Rainer on unity of faiths

Jan 21, 2015 Revd Jim Walters chaplain to London School of Economics on their pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Feb 18, 2015 Stefan Byron on yoga

March 18,2015 Jeremy Rodell humanist on the problem of evil

No meeting in April

May 20^th 2015 Sally Reith of Shared Interest on investing in a fairer world

June 17, 2015 Joan Salter on being saved from the Holocaust





John Woodhouse Organiser of the group which is open to all

woodhousesopten@btinternet.com  0790 8888 586 by text

Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King’s Dream: How can we end racism today? St Paul’s cathedral 4^th Dec 2014

This event commemorated the speech Martin Luther King gave in the cathedral on 6^th December 1964. The chair was the Dean of St Paul’s and the speakers were Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Dr Heidi Safia Mirza of Goldsmiths College, University of London and the journalist Hugh Muir. Corey Samuel of the Renaissance Foundation introduced the evening by speaking of the influence Martin Luther King has today on young people.

Dr Mirza outlined the 3 dimensions for a complete life in Martin Luther King’s 1984 speech. Firstly the length of life and the inner care of self. You should have pride in what you do and say “I am somebody”. She pointed to the fact that black people are 5 times more likely to be in prison in the UK and far less likely to be in boardrooms and university.

Secondly, the breadth of life in the sociological aspect involving the care of others. She spoke of attacks on migrants, asylum seekers and Muslims and asked whether globalisation can help.

Thirdly, the height of life and the need for spirituality.

Hugh Muir noted tremendous changes since 1964 and racist election at Smethwick. He pointed to increase in mixed heritage and 100 different languages spoken in London boroughs. He was optimistic in the shared pride in events like the London Olympics. But he commented on the poor relationship with the criminal justice system of many black people and the large number of over-qualified unemployed. He said that in Canada there is a minister for multiculturalism. Governments can set the tone.

Baroness Lawrence spoke her hopes and dreams for a precious future. She said that she saw despair and poverty. She said that the arguments of UKIP need to be addressed by an “army of love” informed by an army of knowledge just as unsung women domestic workers did in the civil rights movement. It is important to tell the opposing facts and to get into the system to change it.

” A child born in Richmond and Peckham having the same IQ when born and at age 5, but not at age 15. “The Peckham child will not have the same opportunities as the Richmond child.

“We need to see a sea change of progress. What does inequality do to our children?” “We're not at the mountain top. We're climbing, we're striving, and he (MLK)  would be encouraged by that.” “Where there is no passion, no hope, there is only despair. It lowers ambition. It is a danger to our community.”

Dr Mirza urged us not to walk on eggshells but to speak out.  I left feeling that we could all do something to bring about change. It was a truly inspiring evening.

John Woodhouse

Wesminster Cathedral Interfaith group

Sharing Eden

LBFN June 20^th 2013

John Woodhouse

Westminster Cathedral Interfaith Group

The group has been in existence for nearly 10 year and consists of about 14 Catholics and And Anglicans (I don’t ask – it’s open to all) We meet once a month from 4 to 5 p.m. on a Wednesday (see attached article)

I want to discuss our latest project Sharing Eden. I found out about this book as a result of attending a talk by Mary Colwell at Heythrop college where I am studying. This fired me up to do something about faiths involvement with the environment.

The book is written by 3 authors Christian, Muslim and Jewish and I arranged for the authors to attends our first 2 sessions. Some members of the group had problems getting copies but I arranged for Church House and St Paul’s bookshop to stock the book (cost £2.50) and in a  couple of cases bought copies myself and was reimbursed by group members.

We all found the book most stimulating, well  illustrated and worth reading. At the later sessions we worked through the questions after each chapter and made notes for the Cathedral works manager which were submitted. He was in the end unable to attend our meeting but sent a full response to our numerous ideas and I am due to write an article “How green is the cathedral?” Answer As green as it can be in view of the age of the buildings (mostly 1902).

We had a visit from Karen Lawrence of Peterborough Environment initiative and she spoke enthusiastically about Peterborough’s bid to be green and faith communities involvement.

This week we are to have a talk by a rep from the World environment movement about their green initiative.

Laudato Si

Laudato Si’ Our care for our common home is Pope Francis’ latest encyclical. The title comes from St Francis of Assisi’s hymn of praise to the sun. It is a remarkable document ranging from scientific evidence to Teilhard de Chardin, St Francis of Assisi, the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew and even a Sufi poet.

The Westminster Cathedral Interfaith group will be spending 2016 studying the document with the help of CAFOD’s guidance booklet and a range of exciting speakers from the different faith traditions and a humanist. It is thought that this has not been done so far so this should give all who take part a new perspective on a common concern.

 Archbishop Kevin McDonald who is the Roman Catholic bishop responsible for interfaith has said  about the encyclical that “ it is not just a matter of humanity being united in respect for creation and of the way in which that becomes a dimension of communion among Churches and religions, there is also the fact that the earth is shared with other creatures -  with plants and animals who share the gift of life and it is precisely here that other religions have much to teach us.” 

Archbishop Kevin who is the retired Archbishop of Southwark will begin the series on Jan 20. The group  meet in the Hinsley Room, Morpeth Terrace SW1P 1EP from 4 to 5 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month.  All are welcome and there is no charge. The other speakers are as follows:

Feb 17 Marilyn Mason (Co-ordinator, Humanists for a better world)

March 16 Brian Cuthbertson (Head of environment and sustainability, Anglican Diocese of London)

April 20 Sheikh Ramzy (Director, Oxford Islamic Information Centre)

June 15 Carol Gould (Jewish journalist)

Oct 19 Farhan Mayer (Senior Researcher in Islamic Studies, Quilliam Foundation)

Nov 16 Roy Sutherwood (Executive Director,  Jamyang Buddhist centre)

Dec 21 Man Mohan Gupta (Vedic)

Copies of the document are available from CTS £4.95 also on the Vatican website. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

As this is the Jubilee Year of Divine Mercy, the speakers have been invited to comment briefly if they wish on the theme of Mercy. To find the Hinsley Room stand in front of Westminster cathedral in Victoria Street and walk to your right past St Paul’s bookshop and the school and look for a fenced garden between the playing fields.   The nearest station is Victoria. Contact John Woodhouse 0790 8888 586 (by text) woodhousesopten@btinternet.com



John Woodhouse

Conversations for the soul

Conversations for the soul

We met at South London Islamic centre in a converted fire station near St Leonard’s Streatham. Mr Mohamed Ijaz provided sandwiches and tea and Zahra Imame from the Christian Muslim forum set the ground rules and facilitated our conversations. The idea is to talk in pairs about subjects from the St Ethelburga’s booklet. There is a wide choice ranging from food to more difficult issues like faith and violence and the topic is chosen by your partner and yourself. There is no need to feedback from the conversations which are confidential.

 A month later we met again and this time we were joined by a Buddhist. Through him we were able to organise to meet at the SGI-UK Buddhist South London National Centre 1 Bernays Grove Brixton on June 26^th and July 3^rd. The plan is to return to a South London mosque in the autumn.

I have taken part in these conversations at Bethnal Green, Whitechapel Idea store and St Ethelburga’s. The booklet is excellent and offers a lot of choice and I have found the conversations most stimulating. Pope Francis says in Evangelium gaudii The Joy of the Gospel (which is very well worth reading and an easy read) “Interreligious dialogue is a necessary condition for peace in the world, and so it is a duty for Christians as well as other religious communities. This dialogue is in the first place a conversation about human existence or simply, as the bishops of India have put it, a matter of ‘being open to them, sharing their joys and sorrows’. In this way we learn to accept others and their different ways of living, thinking and speaking. We can then join one another in taking up the duty of serving justice and peace…. These efforts can also express love for truth”. (para 250)

It took a lot of negotiating and patience to set up these conversations and the help and support of the Christian Muslim forum and the South London interfaith group were vital. I came away stimulated and inspired by the encounters.

John Woodhouse

A sppech at the iftar

Iftar July 15^th

Salam Aleichum

I am honoured to be speaking tonight. I have been following the Ramadan tent on Face Book and looking forward to coming and joining with you. Thank you for this opportunity and for your hospitality.

My theme tonight is dialogue and I begin with a quote from Pope Francis Evangelium gaudii

238

A little about myself and then I will talk about the Westminster cathedral interfaith group and Conversations for the Soul.

I was born in England but lived in Johannesburg until the age of 25. I was educated at St John’s College, an Anglican school but we learnt nothing about other faiths. I often say apartheid was a massive success in some ways as real conversation between black and white never happened, It was not until I was in charge of the libraries in Soweto that I engaged in dialogue with educated librarians of African, mixed race and Asian background. I recall a conversation soon after I started.

“Mr Woodhouse you’re a good man” “I try to be, Mr Makudu” (note we always called each other Mr this or that never first names) “You will never understand us because we speak English to you and you do not know what we say about you in our own language”. Very true.

Another life-changing moment. I was invited to tea with Mr Pewa, who was the doyenne of the library service and due to retire. I was presented with tea and condensed milk which I somehow managed to drink. “How many rooms in this house, Mr Pewa” “4” How many people live here?” “16” “Why?” “They have nowhere else to go” “But you are due to retire you and your wife should liv ein comfort now”. I went home and told my Mum that I could no longer live in South Africa where the elderly were not respected and people were homeless.

So I came to London and shortly before I married Liz I became a Catholic and this year we celebrate our Ruby wedding. When I worked in Wandsworth libraries, I worked with a good friend and a fine man Zia. He tried hard to convert me to Islam but we did have some wonderful conversations. He did not want to know what I thought about the faith, he wanted to know what Rome taught. As a result I realised I know nothing about Islam and so the Westminster cathedral interfaith group was founded 10 years ago.

We began by studying Islam with the wonderful Dr Chris Hewer and went on to consider the documents of the church and “Meeting God in friend and stranger” the Bishops conference document (worth a read). We have visited mosques, temples and synagogues and had many fine speakers. This year we welcomed the first Imam to the forces who answered our questions with great patience and care. We are mostly Christians but welcome all.

Tomorrow we will be discussing with our humanist friend Jeremy Rodell the question “Can you be spiritual without being religious?” We meet in the Hinsley Room next to Westminster Cathedral in Morpeth Terrace on most third Wednesdays from 4 to 5 p.m.

Later this year we will again meet our friend Raheed Salam who is a Muslim worker. I have some fliers if you are interested.

Once I had retired from the library I was able to go to Heythrop college to study part-time for a M.A. in Christianity and Interreligious relations. Here we studied the relationship between Christianity and other faiths in particular Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. I have always found that my many interfaith meetings have led to many contacts and indeed friendships.

Last year I began going to Conversations for the soul in the East End, firstly at the Christian/Muslim forum and then at Whitechapel Idea store. The idea grew of starting these conversations in South London and eventually 2 meetings were held at Streatham Islamic centre (the converted fire station). 2 further meetings were held at the SGI Buddhist Nam Myoho Penge Kyo, 1 Bernays Grove  Brixton which has the great advantage of being near Brixton station. The evening begins with refreshments and then we set ground rules e.g. confidentiality, no attempt to convert, listen. We then go into one to one conversations choosing a topic from this excellent booklet which covers everything from food to violence and suffering. I would so much like to have more Muslims involved in these conversations. The booklet comes from St Ethelburga’s centre in the city famous for it’s dialogues in the tent.

I wonder why we do not get more Muslim involvement. We are all busy people but I have found that my own faith is deepened by having to explain my position and l learn so much from the people I meet. It does require trust and understanding. I am hopeful that we will be able to set up these conversations at a mosque in South London later in the year. In the meantime we are at the Buddhist centre Tuesday September 16 and Thursday November 6

7 – 8.30 p.m.

Light refreshments available from 6.45 p.m. Again I have a few fliers so see me afterwards!

I close with more from Pope Francis. The Popes have done so much to foster dialogue and if your local Catholics are not dialoguing with you, you need to ask why this is not the priority for them that the Popes have stressed! If you have not read this document I recommend it – it’s like your Dad giving you the best advice and it’s easy to read!

250. 252. 253.

Interfaith harmony

Celebrating UN World interfaith Interfaith harmony week February 2019

The week began with a civic service at Southwark cathedral for the Boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth the themes being Together in health, youth and faith. Amir Eden, Chair of Living Bankside gave an inspiring address about the interfaith work around the terrorist atrocities in Southwark. The youth speakers, Police cadets and Fire Cadets were all most impressive and Steve Chalke spoke on “Who are you? Why are you here?” I particularly enjoyed learning a South African song Te Dumela and we raised the roof in “Amazing Grace”. The Bishop of Southwark led the Act of Commitment.

The next day I was at committee room 19 of the House of Commons for “Building Bridges Through Interfaith Dialogue” chaired by Toaha Qureshi MBE, Chairman, Forum for International Relations Development (FIRD) and Chairman, Ash-Shahada Housing Association (ASHA) with Dr. David Dangoor DL – Chair, Lord Lieutenant of Greater London’s Council of Faith, The Lord Hylton – Founder and Trustee, The Ammerdown Centre, MPs, Mark Fox – President, West London Synagogue,  Dr Marcus Braybrooke – President, World Congress of Faiths and Lt. Col. Arnel David – Chief of Staff, Army Future Studies Group, US Armed Forces. A wide range of subjects was covered but I was particularly struck by a young speaker who spoke of the decline of faith in under30s. 

Bushra Nasir, CBE, the first Muslim woman head teacher, followed this by speaking of the decline in religious education classes. Religious education is no longer a GCSE subject. In conversation with her later she spoke of the lack of parental involvement in supporting schools and children. I spoke about the need to defend faith schools together and the importance of teaching about right and wrong. How is that a young person can think it OK to take a knife in order to attach somebody? Have we not lost fundamental values about the right to life?

The next morning I enjoyed the breakfast at Streatham Drop-in for asylum seekers and migrants which is a lovely facility next to English Martyrs church. Again the conversation turned to education! In the evening I went to Farm street church hall for a Faith matters meeting about violent crime and what we can do about it. Barry and Margaret Mizen spoke movingly of the death of their son Jimmy and the wonderful work they have been doing in schools and prisons. Fr Michael Holman SJ gave us a wider perspective about the cuts to youth services and schools. The arts and sport, work experience, counselling and mentoring have all been cut in many schools. The universal credit system has left many in poverty. 8% of violent crime is committed by 10 to 14 year olds. Social media gives out mixed messages about drugs and violence. Barry underlined the importance of dealing with behaviour at primary school. Bullies tend to be those wanting attention and love. Add to this split families, absent fathers and overcrowded housing.

However the Jimmy Mizen foundation send out a powerful message about forgiveness, peace and hope and it is important to hold this in our minds. Bishop Richard Harries made the point at his St Paul’s cathedral talk that his generation wanted to make the world better but the younger generation now needed to stop the world getting worse. There is hope but we need to build community and as Margaret said, we need the young people themselves to call an end to violence.

John Woodhouse

Educating the whole person

Interfaith and educating the whole person. A meeting of the London group of the Alister Hardy Society for the Study of Spiritual experience

Alan Rainer began by speaking of the bewildering array of gods available to the young person and the danger of secularism. There is very little information about religion on TV. The modern desire for connectivity does not bring happiness or companionship. Students are under enormous pressure from adults and social media. In the end it all comes down to what you see the human being as.

The UK education system is assessment led with such an emphasis on exams that the whole concept of the “love of learning” has been lost. He spoke of too many ideas men at the centre of the system, the breakdown of families and how some have turned to home education as a partial solution.

Marianne Rankin spoke of the study of other faiths being seen as anthropological and there is not much linking up of religions in this study. There needs to be an emphasis on the meaning of life and how to live. Religious education teaching has suffered by being downgraded and lowered in status. While churches are emptying, 73% report having spiritual experiences, including near death experiences. We need to return to silence as a start. She spoke of the trust which Anthony Seldon had built up with his pupils at Wellington College leading to greater interaction with young people.

Nothing is sacred now but everything is sacred. Perhaps the most useful comment was the suggestion that “well-being” should be promoted to teachers as a way forward as advocated by Gus O’Donnell.

John Woodhouse

Westminster Cathedral Interfaith group

A speech to the Catenians about interfaith

An after circle talk on interfaith dialogue by the President of Norwood Catenians (Catenians are Catholic professional men who meet monthly to support faith,  friendship, family and fun)

To be frank I am not sure how to present a wealth of experience in 15 minutes! I could say a lot about the many interfaith gatherings and visits I have made and Westminster cathedral interfaith group and “Conversations for the soul” at mosques and now at Brixton Buddhist centre. I have combined part of a speech I gave to 200 Muslims at the Ramadan tent with an article I wrote about my position.

I was born in England but lived in Johannesburg until the age of 25. I was educated at St John’s College, an Anglican school but we learnt nothing about other faiths

.When I worked in Wandsworth libraries, I worked with a good friend and a fine man Zia. He tried hard to convert me to Islam but we did have some wonderful conversations. He did not want to know what I thought about the faith, he wanted to know what Rome taught. As a result I realised I knew nothing about Islam and so the Westminster cathedral interfaith group was founded 7 years ago.

By studying Islam with the wonderful Dr Chris Hewer I was able to deal more confidently with my Muslim staff. For instance one of the women insisted on having tea break at a certain time so that she could pray. I discovered that there was in fact quite a large timeslot for prayer and so we were able to accommodate her needs to the needs of the service. We also avoided situations where we walked in to the staffroom to find staff praying on the floor.

One Christmas I decided that we would go to a Muslim restaurant for our outing. To my surprise we had no sooner ordered than 3 of the women announced that that had to go to the mosque to pray. This was strange as women are often not expected to go to the mosque. Zia was clearly embarrassed by this and in fact we found that people were praying in the restaurant itself! I sat there thinking “This is really odd. I have given up going to Saturday evening Mass to come here and accommodate my staff and now this happens.!” Any way they returned and we had an enjoyable evening but I can’t help thinking that they were making a point. When one of them left she wrote a lovely note saying how much I had done to understand her position.

Once I had retired from the library I was able to go to Heythrop college to study part-time for a M.A. in Christianity and Interreligious relations. Here we studied the relationship between Christianity and other faiths in particular Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. My class were wonderful including brilliant theology graduates, teachers, a retired diplomat, an Anglican curate, Southwark Anglican diocese interfaith contact and 2 converts from Islam to Christianity. Professor Michael Barnes was the reason I went to Heythrop and he supervised my dissertation on “Meister Eckhart and Buddhists; what is the attraction?” Damian Howard and Tony Carroll are both outstanding teachers.  I have always found that my many interfaith meetings have led to many contacts and indeed friendships.

The secret of interfaith is personal relationships. If I get to know you, I can begin to have the courage to ask the questions I really want answered and I can learn to listen to the answers I am given with greater understanding.

But how has all this changed my perception? Firstly I recognise common humanity and common ground between us. This does not imply that we will always agree.

Secondly I have become much more aware of the spiritual riches which we can share. A good example is the practice of Christian meditation in silence as advocated by John Main. Here one can see the clear influence of Buddhist and Hindu practice but the meditation remains rooted in Christ.

When I go my weekly tai chi and qi gong class I am very aware of the simple use of breathing to still the body and mind. We are all such busy people nowadays and these times of quiet are so precious.

Thirdly, I want to share my own experience and learn from other’s experience. Why do we believe in God? A humanist might say that all religion is a human construction. But is this really the case?

Last year Cardinal Tauran came to London and there was a beautiful ceremony when all faiths spoke about peace. I had the privilege of welcoming many of the guests and I realised how many of them I knew. How important that first welcome is when we come to a gathering!

How does all this challenge my own Catholic faith? I am a sinner like everybody else and I often fail. But I can say that my faith has been much strengthened by these encounters and by visits to so many beautiful places of worship. I recall arriving at the Buddhist Amaravati monastery in Hertfordshire and actually not wanting to leave to continue the pilgrimage. Here was a place of beauty and serenity.

For me it is the liturgy which strengthens my faith. The Eucharist is central to this and I love the beauty of great churches and cathedrals and the music not least the hymns of faith, many of which I know by heart. Morning and night prayer also play a major part in my life.

It is so important to acknowledge the truth of what my Muslim brother or sister is saying to me. The Christian/Muslim forum organises encounters called “Conversations for the soul” and I have found these discussions about aspects of faith most stimulating.  When I have attended prayers in mosques I have been much impressed by the warmth of the greeting between believers at the end of the prayers. How I wish we saw a similar warmth in many of our churches! We exchange the Peace in a formal way but do not know each other’s names!

Another aspect of interfaith is the wonderful food usually vegetarian and delicious!

In discussion with Muslims we agreed that it was worship and community which mattered most to us. One often encounters the comment “all faiths are the same – they are all based on the Golden Rule”. While this may be partly true, we do have our differences. Certainly those in government would like us all to sing from the same hymn sheet. But the metaphor of an orchestra is a better one. We all have our part to play in a great symphony of praise to God.

I have also encountered challenge to my position. Those who speak most to me are those who challenge me to speak from the heart. It is too easy to approach faith matters in an intellectual and almost distant way. My Buddhist and Muslim friends challenge me to speak from my heart rather than my head.

What are the prospects for interfaith in the UK? A great deal of work has been done especially since the tragedy of 9/11. The National Interfaith Week in November is firmly established and there are plenty of opportunities to interact with each other. For Christians, interfaith has in many ways overtaken ecumenism. I send on many emails to my network and I am aware that you could attend an interfaith event in London on most days of the year!

Pope Francis in Evangelium Gaudii 238 following “The Joy of the Gospel” gives us powerful encouragement to continue the dialogue. In 250 he writes “an attitude of openness in truth and love must characterize the dialogue with the followers of non-Christian religions… Interreligious dialogue is a necessary condition for peace in the world.” He quotes the Bishops of India “being open to them, sharing their joys and sorrows”. Do read the whole of this document –it is very easy to read and full of wonderful insights. Engaging with “the other” is a duty for Christians!

What I would like to see is a deepening of dialogue and a sharing of spiritual riches. From this might come common action especially in areas of justice and peace.

My challenge to you is “How well do you know your staff and neighbours? How much do you really know about Islam? Are you willing to ask those of other faiths the questions you want answered?”

There was a lively discussion after the talk. Among points raised were “Do we worship the same God?” I refer to Pope Benedict who says that we do.

 “Do the Bishops and Cardinal support this dialogue?” The answer is a very definite Yes and I work closely with Katharina Smith-Muller the interreligious advisor to the Bishops’ conference and Jon Dal Din of Wesminster Interfaith.

“Why do we never see people of other faiths speaking to us at Mass?”

Canon law says that only a Catholic priest or deacon may give the homily but a priest could invite others to speak at the end of Mass. I myself have only ever heard 3 homilies which mentioned interfaith, notably our two Cardinals.

Barry Mizen of the Jimmy Mizen foundation made the valuable point that we need to come out of our little groups and acknowledge that we have a common humanity, for example that we are all Londoners. He spoke of the support that his family had received from local Muslims.

Perhaps the greatest lesson for me was the need to address our Catholic community about this issue which is so often neglected in our liturgies and the Catholic press.

John Woodhouse

MA Christianity and Interreligious relations 2013

My article about Palestine 2016

“The y took our land, our homes, our clothes, our food, our culture, then they took my friend who was not involved in politics and his burnt body was found 2 days later”. So said a 15 year old Palestinian student and he also spoke of how he did not feel safe on the streets or at home. But he and his fellow students expressed solidarity. Being Muslim or Christian did not matter. They had great hope for the future and wanted to make Palestine the best country in the world!

We also met staff and students at Al-Quds University and heard about pointless check points within the West Bank itself. We were very aware of the separation wall and the enormous difficulties it creates.

Rabbi David Rosen spoke of two traumatised nations with a breakdown of trust. He compared the current situation to a badly arranged Catholic marriage. He said that It was unjust to expect the oppressed to engage but the parties could be encouraged with wise carrots to take the risks.

It was astonishing to hear that international intervention has consistently ignored the local religious leaders who in fact  often do work together. He said that the situation could not be compared to South Africa as it was not based on race and ethnicity. He said it was closer to Northern Ireland. The problem of settlements in the West Bank must be addressed. We saw for ourselves the situation in the mosque in Hebron where a synagogue has been placed next to the tombs of the patriarchs.

There was a message of hope in our encounters with Archbishop Suheil Dawani, the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem and his wife . We heard of the work of hospitals and clinics and of local interfaith work where Christians have a vital role. Religion can be part of the solution not the problem. The visit of Pope Francis had sent a powerful message of peace. The Archbishop stressed the importance of embracing the Middle East. The West must not neglect the Christian presence in the Holy Land who are living stones and many are suffering poverty because there are no jobs.

“The settlers are on the hills but the Arabs are in the land. “ We heard too from local women about the harassment they face and the illegal demolition of homes. The message was “be strong and be patient”.

A disturbing visit to Yad Vashem the Holocaust memorial and museum was followed by an encounter where we learnt that the museum is built on the site of a Palestinian village. There is nothing in the museum to suggest this. One began to get an understanding of the Jewish transference of the holocaust experience into an attack on local Palestinians. We went to Deir Yassin where the massacre of Arabs happened in 1948.While it is obvious that all of the millions of refugees (and many have been refugees since 1948!) cannot return, some solution must be found. These are very complex issues and it would be wrong to draw simplistic conclusions but would it be too much to ask for apology and some reparation?

The discussions on the place of Jesus in the two faiths, prayer  and the lecture on the historical context given by the course director Revd Rodney Aist all helped to stimulate discussion and dialogue.

Can holy places by shared? We visited the Chapel of the Ascension , the tomb of Mary, the tomb of Lazarus  and Hebron. It was valuable to visit the mosques as well as the churches. Throughout the time together we were very conscious of our Muslim friends going  very early in the morning and at every opportunity to the Al Aqsa mosque to pray. This is the third most important site for them and prayers there are multiplied 10,000 times. It was an enormous privilege to go into the Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock both astonishing buildings.

For the Christians the liturgies in St George’s cathedral and the college helped to bond us together and there was a memorable Eucharist by the sea outside the Church of the Beatitudes attended by the whole group. Going early on Sunday morning to the Holy Sepulchre we were able to experience Coptic, Armenian and Ethiopian Orthodox liturgies. At the final station on the Via Dolorosa just outside the Holy Sepulchre outside the Coptic Orthodox church there are large banners showing the martyrdom of 21 Copts in Libya – a chilling reminder of the on-going persecution of Christians.

Visiting Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum  and the Sea of Galilee put things into a different context. At Nazareth we heard passages from the Quran about Mary. At the sea itself our Muslim friends washed and prayed at the sea shore while others paddled or spent time in contemplation.

We learnt a lot and we grappled with difficult and sensitive issues. The message of this time together is that we can share so much and live well together. We need to build on what is already in existence and promote more local joint projects. The Palestine/Israel issue needs to sensitively addressed in our interfaith forums. It has tended to be overshadowed by IS but until this is resolved there cannot be peace in the region.

The course will be repeated 10-17 March 2016 at the college which is an excellent place to stay. www.sgcjerusalem.org