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Westminster Interfaith Newsletter
Addenda – January 2009
Religious festivals and events September – December 2008
A lot has happened on the interfaith front, both at home and abroad, throughout 2008, which was designated European Year of Intercultural Dialogue by the European Union and marked the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was also the 60th anniversary of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Many festivals have already been reported on elsewhere or in previous issues. I would like to refer to a few less publicised events that have taken place since September, which, as you may remember, was Ramadan, and the Muslim community was getting ready to celebrate Eid-Ul-Fitr, on the next new moon. The Jewish community, on the other hand, celebrated Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year, followed shortly after by Sukkot, the feast of tabernacles and Simchat Torah, which marks the completion of the annual cycle of readings from the Torah. At this celebration, the sacred Torah scrolls are paraded around the synagogue with dancing and singing. Wouldn't it be great if we did something similar in our churches at the end or the beginning of each liturgical year? This year, Roman Catholic Christians ended the year of Matthew on the Feast of Christ the King and began the year of Mark on the first Sunday in Advent.
Synod of Bishops
Not strictly interfaith, but worth mentioning because there is an interfaith connection. The Synod of Roman Catholic Bishops met, in Rome during the whole month of October, to deliberate on "the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church". The synod was attended by many lay people, especially from the new ecclesial movements, a number of Christians from other traditions, as well as experts from other faiths, all making useful contributions to the discussions. One major contributor was the chief rabbi of Haifa, Shear Yashuv Cohen – the first Jewish rabbi to address a Synod of Bishops in Rome. He was asked to speak about the meaning and the place of The Holy Scriptures, in Judaism and in our tradition of prayer, in the service of the worship of G-d, and in our role as leaders and educators of our congregations.
Sikh Celebrations
The Sikh community celebrated the tercentenary of conferring guruship on the Granth Sahib – the Sikh sacred scripture. This was followed shortly after by Divali – the festival of light, which usually lasts a few days and is dear to Sikhs, Hindus and Jains. You may have joined in with these celebrations or at least gone to the fireworks display. In November, Sikhs celebrated the Birthday of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion. Nanak preached worship of one God and the equality of humanity. He introduced the idea of 'langar', the communal free kitchen, where all can eat together, whatever their caste or status.
Remembering the dead
Towards the end of October and the beginning of November, we, Christians, celebrated All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, when we remember and pray for the dead. The Chinese also remember the dead, during the Buddhist celebration of Chung Yuan, 'the festival of hungry ghosts'. The Pagans celebrate Celtic New Year and the festival of the dead on October 31, which we usually refer to as Halloween – the eve of all Saints. In fact, Samhain is not a time of fear, of witchcraft and evil, but a time to understand more deeply that life and death are part of a sacred whole.
Centenary of Buddhism
Right at the end of September, the Buddhist Foundation celebrated 100 years of Buddhism in the UK at Brent Town Hall. In April 1908, Charles Henry Allan Bennett, a Londoner, returned to England, where he set up the Buddhist Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He had gone to Sri Lanka some years earlier to study Buddhism and was ordained as a monk in Burma (now Myanmar), taking the name of Venerable (Bhikkhu) Ananda Metteya. He passed away on 9 March 1923, aged 52 at 90 Eccles Road, Battersea, leaving his legacy to posterity.
Ahmadi Centenary of Khilafat
On Wednesday 22nd October, another important centenary was being celebrated by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. The Ahmadis were celebrating 100 years of Khilafat (spiritual leadership in Islam). To mark this historic event a special Parliamentary reception and lunch was held for the worldwide head of the 160 million strong community, His Holiness Hadhrat Mirza Masroon Ahmad, who was paying his first visit to the House of Commons, where he was welcomed by Justine Greening MP and many other members of parliament, just after Prime Minister's question time. His Holiness spoke about many topical issues from the Ahmadi spiritual perspective, whose motto is 'love for all, hatred for none', including the 'Credit Crunch', which he attributed mainly to greed and selfishness, quoting the Qur'an's statement to avoid interest. He added that money does not enhance wealth and health. Let us hope our politicians take this message to heart when deciding fiscal policy.
