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The agency of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster for Interreligious Dialogue |
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A print edition of Westminster Interfaith Newsletter is published five times a year and is available by subscription, currently £15.00 per calendar year from :-
Westminster Interfaith,
Westminster House,
Watford Way,
Hendon,
NW4 4TY.
Cheques should be made payable to 'Westminster Interfaith'.
Go to Current Newsletter
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The Derasar at Potters Bar
Addenda
When preparing the printed Newsletter we sometimes have items that do not make it into print for lack of space,or maybe the subject is no longer topical by the time of the next issue. Some that we feel may nevertheless still be of interest are offered here.
Back Numbers of Newsletter
Issue 60 – January 2009Issue 59 – November 2008
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The Peace Event at Tooting Broadway
Westminster Interfaith Newsletter
Issue 65 – February 2010
"Meeting God in Friend and Stranger"
The new Catholic teaching document
on inter-religious relations
from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
will be launched on
St George's Day 23 April 2010.
Editorial – Designers and builders of Peace
Dialogue is not optional but a necessity
"Meeting God in Friend and Stranger"
Brother Daniel's Diary (10)
Welcome by Yogivivek Swami - Hindu Mandir Neasden
Archbishop Vincent Nichols' address at Hindu Mandir Neasden
Inter Faith Week 2009
'Religious Philanthropy & Social Action
Welwyn Hatfield Interfaith Group
Barnet Multifaith Group
Balham and Tooting Community Association Peace Event
Visit to the Hindu Caribbean Centre
Dacorum Interfaith Group, (Hemel Hempstead)
Borough of Lambeth LIFE project
Music from the Faiths
Appointment of new faith advisers
Jain Temple Visit
'Sharing of Faiths' (Dacorum)
Encouraging dialogue, Widening Horizons, Confronting Prejudice
Vatican Appeals for Indigenous People
Jewish/Catholic Dialogue
Chinese New Year - Kung Hei Fat Choy!
On religious freedom and conversion
Minaret Ban threatens Peaceful Coexistence
Forthcoming Events
Calendar of Religious Festivals
Fanaticism – Anthony de Mello
Designers and builders of Peace
We wish you a holy and peaceful 2010! We thank readers for the many greetings we received over the Christmas period, for the contribution of articles and especially for the donations and subscriptions to cover the costs of printing and postage of the Newsletter....
Full article here or Return to Index
Dialogue is not optional but a necessity
Jakarta, 27 November 2009
On his first visit to Indonesia, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue met with Muslim leaders of the two largest Islamic organizations in Indonesia – Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah...
Full article here or Return to Index
"Meeting God in Friend and Stranger"
Recently, diocesan inter faith coordinators were invited to a meeting at Eccleston Square by Katharina Müller, the newly-appointed secretary to the Bishops' Committee for Relations with Other Religions, to discuss the launch of the new Catholic teaching document on inter-religious relations: "Meeting God in Friend and Stranger"...
Full article here or Return to Index
From Brother Daniel's Diary (10)
14 July 1987. Today, Sunday, I went to the Guru Purnima at 48 Sutton Lane.
I sat for an hour praying. After one hour I got up to go. The Guru said to me: "Can't you stay five more minutes?"...
Full extract here or Return to Index
Welcome by Yogvivek Swami – Hindu Mandir, Neasden
On the occasion of the Visit of the Archbishop of Westminster to BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Neasden, London, Saturday 21 November 2009...
Full address here or Return to Index
Archbishop Vincent Nichols' address at Hindu Mandir Neasden
Dear brothers and sisters,
Let me thank you first of all for the generous invitation and warm welcome that I have received in your unique and beautiful Mandir. I thank your spiritual leader, Sadhu Yogvivek Swami and the trustees of the Mandir...
Full address here or Return to Index
Inter Faith Week 2009
The Launch: With Jon (Dal Din), I was at the Launch of this week, a week which really seemed to catch people's imaginations. This Launch at the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre in Westminster was quite a prestigious affair...
Full address here or Return to Index
'Religious Philanthropy & Social Action'
On Wednesday, 18th the Zoroastrians pulled out all the stops for the seminar on 'Religious Philanthropy & Social Action' at their Rayners Lane Centre – in conjunction with FbRN (Faith-based Regeneration Network)...
Full address here or Return to Index
Welwyn Hatfield Interfaith Group
National Inter Faith Week 15-21 November 09 across Welwyn Hatfield has seen a wonderful week of learning, love and laughter. Faith communities of the Borough have opened their doors to those of other faiths and none ...
Full article here or Return to Index
Barnet Multifaith Group
One question asked of the panel at the Barnet Multifaith group whose meeting at Hendon Town Hall was a joint venture with FbRN (Faith-based Regeneration Network) on Monday, 16th was 'What are you going to do NEXT week?'...
Full article here or Return to Index
Balham and Tooting Community Association Peace Event
An unusual and dramatic sight greeted commuters and passers-by outside Tooting Broadway underground station on the evening of Wednesday 18th November when an event was held to mark the National Inter Faith Week ...
Full article here or Return to Index
Visit to the Hindu Caribbean Centre
On Thursday, 19th November, members of South London Interfaith Group were invited to lunch at the Hindu Caribbean Cultural Centre in Streatham ...
Full article here or Return to Index
Dacorum Interfaith Group, (Hemel Hempstead)
The Dacorum Group began as a result of a meeting arranged by a member of the Dacorum Borough Council who had previous experience and had invited speakers from several different faiths...
Full article here or Return to Index
Borough of Lambeth LIFE Project
The Local Initiative for Faith and the Environment (LIFE) has been created as a bridge between faith-based networks and environmental action in the Borough of Lambeth...
Full article here or Return to Index
Music from the Faiths
Multifaith events to foster inter faith harmony have become quite common in many parts of the country in recent years...
Full article here or Return to Index
Appointment of new faith advisers
Communities Secretary John Denham, who has responsibility for public policy on faith, has announced the appointment of 13 new faith advisers who will act as a 'sounding board'...
Full article here or Return to Index
Jain Temple Visit
Towards the end of the last century, I remember seeing a grassy field with birds fluttering in the occasional tree. The terrain sloped gently away towards other fields and woodland in the middle distance...
Full article here or Return to Index
Encouraging Dialogue, Widening Horizons, Confronting Prejudice
Harrow Inter Faith Council (HIFC), in Partnership with Harrow Council was delighted to celebrate the diversity of faith in Harrow...
Full article here or Return to Index
Kairos Palestine Document: Christian call to end occupation
A group of Palestinian Christians representing a variety of churches and church-related organizations issued an animated and prayerful call for an end to occupation...
Full article here or Return to Index
Vatican Appeals for Indigenous People
The Vatican urged the United Nations to confront human rights violations in indigenous populations by teaching the people of their inherent dignity...
Full article here or Return to Index
Jewish/Catholic Dialogue
The Bilateral Commission of the Holy See and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel released a communique at the conclusion of their 17-20 January 2010meeting in Rome...
Full article here or Return to Index
Chinese New Year – Kung Hei Fat Choy!
14th February 2010 will welcome in the next Chinese New Year – the Year of the Tiger!...
Full article here or Return to Index
South East England Faiths Forum
2010 Annual Conference
Thursday, 8th April, 9.30am–4pm
Lecture Theatre Building, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH
Event free, open to all.
Registration essential. Booking forms from:
www.se_faithforum.net, or contact@se-faithforum.net, or Tel: 01483 790 324
On religious freedom and conversion
The archbishop of Mumbai, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, at an Indian Mission Congress, attended by 1500 participants from 160 dioceses, emphasized the basic "human right" to freedom of religion and conversion...
Full article here or Return to Index
Minaret Ban threatens Peaceful Coexistence
The Swiss bishops expressed concern over a referendum in which over 57% voted to include the ban of minarets in the Swiss Constitution...
Full article here or Return to Index
Forthcoming Events
These are the events / organisers we know about, the list is not exhaustive:
February 2010 – Forthcoming Events or Return to Index
Calendar of Religious Festivals
Multifaith Calendars are seldom complete, ours is made to fit on an A4 page – you may find more celebrations listed and explained online by following some of the addresses on our Resources page.
Calendar: February 2010
Return to top or Return to Index
Fanaticism
My friend and I went to the World Fair of Religions. Not a Trade Fair. But the competition was fierce, the propaganda loud.
At every stall, the religious group made strong claims that their faith was the best.
On the way out I asked my friend what he thought of God. He replied, "He's bigoted, fanatical and cruel".
Back home, I said to God, "How do you put up with this sort of thing? Don't you see they have been giving you a bad name for centuries?" God said, "It was not I who organised the Fair. In fact, I'd be too ashamed to visit it".
Adapted from: The world Fair of Religions in "The Song of the Bird" by Anthony De Mello.
By kind permission of the publishers, Gujerat Sahitya Prakash Anand, India
