One Family The Newsletter of the World Congress of Faiths July, 2006 Website: www.worldfaiths.org Charity Number:244096
Faith Meeting Faith: a rich resource for life The World Congress of Faiths seeks to bridge the almost unbridgeable: to make bonds of friendship based on knowledge and understanding and to celebrate the differences between religions. While accepting the differences of history and belief between faith communities, we affirm and support each of the faith groups represented at our gatherings. We seek to bring together those who are firm adherents of their own faiths, and who wish to learn from others in a non-judgemental and supportive fashion. In this way, hopefully, we work towards ending the destructive enmity that so tragically dogs the relationships between so many people of faith.
WCF future events - Dates for your diary: September 5: 5.30 p.m. to 7.45 p.m. Hebrew Manuscripts at the British Museum. Cost £6.00. There will be a very limited number of tickets to this event therefore it is essential that you book in advance as tickets are very limited. Further details: jtabick@lineone.net or the WCF office. September 10: An interfaith celebration of animals at Golders Green Unitarian Church. Further details contact: Rev Feargus O’Connor; ggunirev@aol.com; telephone 020 7837 4472. October 23-24: WCF anniversary conference: ‘Seeking Transformation of a Fractured World’ at Birmingham University. This is our major anniversary conference jointly organised with Birmingham University Department of Theology and Religion. The conference will address questions such as: * Will multiple religious voices be a cause for good or harm? * Will the insights of Prophets, Sages and Mystics help or hinder? * Is ‘Fundamentalism’ the problem? Register with Carol Babawi: Dept of Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham, Elmfield House, Selly Oak Campus, Birmingham, B29 6LG; c.a.bebawi@bham.co.uk; telephone 0121 515 8332 November 20: 7.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. ‘Morality without Religion?’: a Moral Maze Debate at Essex Unitarian Church, Kensington, London W8 4RT which will be chaired by the Rabbi Jackie Tabick. The nearest underground station to Essex Unitarian Church is Notting Hill Gate. Previous ‘Moral Maze’ debates have, with a panel from different religious traditions and ‘expert witnesses’ providing specialist input, have resulted in stimulating and thought provoking discussions. Audience participation is welcome. Whether you want to take part in the discussion, or listen to the range of opinions that will undoubtedly be expressed, come and join other members of WCF at Essex Unitarian Church. [Note: this is not the same place as the Unitarian Church in Essex Street, off The Strand, in London.] Further details: jtabick@lineone.net or the WCF office. For up to date details of all WCF events visit: www.worldfaiths.org

WCF 70th anniversary: Request for your memories. World Congress of Faiths is celebrating its 70th anniversary. Among the different ways in which the anniversary is being celebrated, we want to collect together memories from WCF members over the last 70 years. If you have any photographs of WCF events, especially those going back to the earlier times, or you have memories of them and would be willing to write a short account - about 250-300 words - please send them to: Dr Joy Barrow, 34 Shorediche Close, Ickenham, Middlesex, UB10 8EB or send them by e-mail on word document only please to JoyBarrow@aol.com Photographs will be returned after being computer scanned. Read future issues of One Family to discover other ways the anniversary is being celebrated.

International Interfaith Centre and Punjabi University, Patiala February 19-21, 2007: International Interfaith Conference at Punjabi University, Patiala. This is the second international interfaith conference at Punjabi University; the first one was jointly sponsored by the World Congress of Faiths and Punjabi University. Accommodation at the university, conference attendance and a short tour of Punjab including visits to Anadpur Sahib and Amritsar are included in the cost of £150. If you are interested in offering an academic paper at the conference, or attending it, or would like further information, please contact office@interfaithcentre.org, telephone 01865-202745.

Some members of the 2006 Executive Committe Alan Gadd, a new member Marcus Braybrooke, Tony Reese [WCF administrator] and Jackie Tabick Feargus O’Connor, the new WCF Secretary, Andy Burns, the WCF minutes Richard Boeke, the previous WCF Secretary and Secretary Fergus Capie.

	Are you a Blogger? Visit the WCF website – www.worldfaiths.org – and contribute to our blog site. On our home page there is a large blog spot; click on the blog spot and add your contribution to the discussion.
	Launch of ‘Trading Faith’ by David Hart at Essex Hall, Essex Street, London On a balmy June evening the doors of Essex Hall were opened to welcome over eighty participants to the UK launch of the WCF India Secretary’s fifth and latest book ‘Trading Faith: Global Religion in an Age of Rapid Change’, published by John Hunt of Winchester (O Books). It has already been launched in Sri Lanka and India, with the sister of the Maharajah of Travancore performing the ‘Release’ (as it is described in Indian English) in Trivandrum, where David now lives and teaches English. The hall was mixed with large groups of Indians, a sizeable East London Contingent of Malayalis headed up by one speaker, David’s Research Assistant, Deepak A. L. Moses, and an equally sizeable group from Haryana came down by car from Coventry. One felt as if we were sitting in a parliament of religions and races. The meeting was chaired by Rabbi Jackie Tabick, chair of WCF, and introductory speeches were given by WCF President Marcus Braybrooke, who had written the preface, and Richard Boeke. Richard compared David’s book with Karen Armstrong’s book, ‘The Spiral Staircase’ and observed the significance of Rumi for modern spirituality. David then spoke and explained that he did not intend to write an autobiographical book. It was not even mainly abut his recent conversion to the Hindu faith, although that case was explained and argued for within the book. Instead, his primary motive had been to write a paean for Kerela, whose hospitality and religious tolerance he had enjoyed and marvelled at now for over a year since moving there from England last summer. He explained that the hypothesis of the book is that there are only two types of interfaith encounter, which can be categorised as ‘trading’ and ‘conquering’. The former had more potential to create an equal playing field for the religions (David could be forgiven for using a football metaphor during the World Cup!) and were more appropriate to small coastal nations such as Kerela and Great Britain, which needed to use the surrounding seas to expand their tiny economies. The conquering type of faith re-emerged today with the larger American empire, and needed to be resisted if Britain was to regain its moral superiority in the world of faiths-encounter. London at its best knew how to do this properly: hence the WCF was indeed the oldest interfaith organisation in the world; a fitting topic then for the anniversary of 7/7 and a challenge for WCF in our seventieth year.
Local Interfaith Events The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay: August 7-11: Summer at the Abbey. Come and experience living and working in the community for a week. August 13-18: ‘The courage to be’, facilitated by Sharon Usher and Vivian Gladwell. Further details from www.nosetonose.info September 4 at 8.00p.m.: Rhythms dance classes begin September 5: Monthly Taize singing with Michael Bloom; also on October 17, November 7 and December 14. September 12-14: Rest and renewal retreat; also on October 3-5; November 7-9; December 5-7. October 5, 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.: Log fire evening – Jesus and Muhammad with Marcus Braybrooke. October 20-22: Out of Silence choral weekend October 27, 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.: Devotional chanting of Mantras and Bhajans with GOMA November 11, 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Harmonic Temple – sacred chants from different faith traditions. November 23, 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. Log fire evening – Jesus and Krishna with Marcus Braybrooke. November 28, 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.: Fred Blum Memorial Lecture: ‘Gandhi in the 21^st century’ with Professor Bikhu Parekh. Further details: telephone 01235-847401 or e-mail: admin@theabbeysc.demon.co.uk Alister Hardy Society: December 2: Annual Alister Hardy Memorial Lecture at Friends’ Meeting House, 43 St Giles, Oxford. Further details: Anne Watkins, telephone 01570 424821; fax 01570 424987; e-mail: a.watkins@lamp.ac.uk		Churches’ Fellowship for Psychical Spiritual Studies, the Alister Hardy Society and Religious Experience Research Centre: September 10-12: Ecumenical Conference on Christian Parapsychology at St Luke’s Campus, University of Exeter Further details: telephone/fax 01507 358845; email: gensec@churchesfellowship.freeserve.co.uk Expo Islamia: August 20: ‘A call to humanity’ Expo Islamia convention at the Manchester Evening News Arena Further details: telephone 0870 190 8000 or see www.acalltohumanity.com Faith Awareness: September 28 to December 7: Understanding Islam – a ten session course led by Dr Chris Hewer at Moullin House, 24-26 Mount Park Road, Ealing, W5. There will be two parallel courses held from 1.00 p.m. to 3.00 p.m. and 7.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m.; participates need to choose whether to attend the afternoon or evening sessions. Moullin House is five minutes walk from Ealing Broadway Underground Station; car parking is available. Further information from: ealingtrinity@moullinhouse.fsnet.co.uk Horsham Inter Faith 30 September: Gandhi Programme; speaker: Jay Lakhani 28 October: speaker: Tim Firth 21 November: ‘The Key Differences between Liberal and Orthodox Judaism’; speaker: Rabbi Sarah
Is your local interfaith group not included? Send details of your local interfaith group event to: JoyBarrow@aol.com or by post to 34 Shorediche Close, Ickenham, Middlesex, UB10 8EB.