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Newsletter
for MAY TO JULY 2008

At a recent training day at the Centre, one of our Muslim speakers shared an important story from the life of the Prophet. The Prophet was giving advice to Muslims and told them that if they were invited to the house of a Christian, for a meal, it was not appropriate to enquire whether the food was halal or not.

To me, this illustrates the profound importance of humility, generosity, compassion and wisdom. It is about that point where certain rules or practices may need to be, occasionally and respectfully, laid aside in order to practise the most important rule of all - loving kindness.

I remember many examples in my own and others' lives when this has not happened and when the observance of a seemingly minor rule or belief has been uppermost and the opportunity to move closer, in the spirit of friendship, is missed and lost. A Christian monk once said that, "You cannot violate your own faith in order to practise it". This captures the dilemma perfectly and provides an insight into the reasons why so often people of all faiths can get it badly wrong and why religion is all too often part of the problem rather than part of the solution to the challenges we face in the world.

But in our rush to be more compassionate and generous we must be careful - wisdom is required! This is not a licence to jettison, without due regard, the rules and discipline at the heart of all faiths. It is through discipline and the associated practices that we discover the wisdom of knowing when the moment is right! Without this wisdom religion and religious practice can seem inflexible, otherworldly, remote and irrelevant. Wisdom is what brings religion to life here and now. Wisdom enables us to see the way the world is and how we can become a positive agent of help and healing. But it takes lives deeply lived to mine the rich vein of wisdom that lies within each faith. The challenge for all of us is to be wise.

Jonathan Marshall

CENTRE NEWS

We have still not been able to resolve the situation around the appointment of a new Administration Assistant - meanwhile we are delighted that Linda is continuing to hold the fort for us on a temporary, part-time basis. For the Trustees and I this has also raised concerns about the longer term development of the Centre and how best to secure it so our work continues to flourish. In some ways there is an interesting parallel here - on the nature of religion itself - once it begins - how best to organise it!?

Over the past six months I have been working with a small group of girls from three different Secondary Schools. We have formed a Two-Faith (Christian and Muslim) Forum and are now putting the final touches to a DVD that we hope will provide some insight and discussion on a range of faith issues. The funding for this project has kindly been provided from the Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund and although now completed the work will continue. I hope to expand this group over the coming year to include other faith representatives. The understanding, friendship and fun generated so far has been wonderful to behold and that should give great hope for the future.

One of the main aspects of our work is providing Faith Speakers, drawn from the major world religions, to go into schools to share something of their particular religion and its practices. We are always looking out for 'new recruits' so if you or anyone you know might be interested please get in touch. An induction/training programme is provided for all new Faith Speakers to enable them to make a significant contribution to the teaching and learning of Religious Education in our Plymouth schools.

Last term our Faith Speakers went into schools on over fifty occasions, each time providing the opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of faith and practice. A great deal of respect and community building flows from these visits.

In addition, Solly Irving, a Holocaust Survivor from London, came down in February for his annual four-day visit. During this time Solly visited twelve of our secondary schools speaking to year groups of between 120-200 students.

I am always moved by the students' responses - they sit quietly and fully engaged as Solly shares his personal story. Each time I realise that this is the best kind of education - heart to heart communication. The impact of such meetings cannot be underestimated and after Solly's visit a number of students always write to offer their thanks. This year Sarah, a year 9 student from Eggbuckland Community College, wrote: "To be able to stand in front of hundreds of children and tell his story over and over again must be so hard. To bring back all those horrid memories of losing his family can't be easy but he does it. He does it so that the world will know. I think he is amazing."

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Fiery Clockface, who performed at the Centre last December, have a CD available containing a lively collection of traditional music. The cost is £8 including postage and a donation towards the Centre. Contact the Centre for further details.

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