OLD Inter-Faith home NEW CIFG home page: www.cam.net.uk/home/interfaith

We arrange occasional visits to faith communities in the region. The programme below also includes selected events organised by others [in grey and smaller headlines].

Fri. 26 Jan: Hare Krishna Festival: chanting, feasting, prashadam, 7pm

Fri 26 Jan: "Everyday Life" talk by Lama Ato Rimpoche, 7:30pm

Tue 30 Jan 2001: Dharmachari Ratnagarbha (FWBO): "Tolerance: a Buddhist virtue?", 8pm Wesley Church

Sun 18 Feb 10:30am: visit to the Unitarian Church Cambridge

We are kindly invited to attend a Sunday Morning service, led by the new Minister Andrew Brown. Usually inspiring texts from different religions or sources are read. After the service everyone is welcome for a chat with tea or coffee in the Unitarian Hall behind the church. For more information see the home page of the Unitarian Church www.cam.net.uk/home/unitarian/.
VENUE: Unitarian Church Cambrdge, Emmanuel Road / Victoria Street (next to the central bus station)

Tue 27 Feb: "Fasting in religion" - panel discussion, Wesley Church, 8pm

• Jewish: Larry Navon (Beth Shalom)
• Islamic: John Butt (Cambridge University Muslim Chaplaincy)
• Christian: Bishop Lynwal Williams (Bibleway Church)
• Baha'i: Virginia Barnes, South Cambridge Baha'i Group

Sat 10 Mar Rainbow Party! 6-11pm

Sun 18 Mar 10:20am: visit to the Friends Meeting (Quaker), Jesus Lane

We are kindly invited to attend a Sunday Morning Meeting in the Quaker style: we will sit in silence and listen to the still small voice within for one hour. Sometimes, when somebody is inspired, he or she will stand up and speak out their ministry. There are no religious symbols or preaching ministers.

After the Meeting everyone is welcome for a chat with tea or coffee downstairs, followed by an optional singing of Quaker songs at 12 noon in the Annex. The meeting begins exactly 10:30am - the room door will be shut until 10:45 (admission for late comers). You are welcome to enter the room earlier in silence.
Quaker contact: Simon Mackingtosh 01223 525 179 (see More about Quakers).
VENUE: Friends Meeting House, 12 Jesus Lane / Park Street.

Tue 27 Mar: The Mayor of Cambridge, Evelyn Knowles: "Inter-Faith Today - a view from the Guildhall"; talk with discussion, 8pm Wesley Church

Tue 24 Apr: "Getting married in Religion" - how is it done in different religions? Discussion, 8pm Wesley Church

Sun 29 Apr: visit to the Sikh Diwans Cambridge 3:30 pm

"What we celebrate in April, is the Foundation of the Sikh Order of the 'Khalsa'. On 13th April, 1699 the eve of the Festival of Baisakhi (Harvest Festival) the tenth Sikh Guru instructed his followers to observe a code of dress and behaviour by which the Sikhs of today are well known. This day is accepted as the Birthday of the Sikh Nation and celebrated as such."

Please be prepared to take off your shoes and cover your head with a cloth (can be provided). Everyone is welcome. The beginning time is rather flexible. Sikh contact: Amrik Sagoo, amrik.sagoo@talk21.com phone 01223 232 519.
VENUE: Arbury Centre, Campkin Road (near Arbury Road, next to the nursery)

Fri 11 May: visit of the Islamic Evening Prayer in the Cambridge Mosque, 8:35pm

We are welcome to join the Islamic Evening Prayer, which will last only about 5-10 minutes, followed by some minutes of individual prayer. The prayer will begin at 8.43pm - please come 10 min earlier. Someone will welcome us and answer questions before and after the prayer.
After the prayer there is usually a discussion for the Muslims, where we may attend.
The ladies are requested to cover their hair and everyone has to take off their shoes. It might be a good idea to have a shower before to be really clean. We can sit in the back and absorb the atmosphere - or participate. Everyone sits on the carpet, but chairs are available if you need one. "This is Gods house - everyone is welcome!"
Contact: Secretary Cambridge Islamic Centre Mr. Hisham: 01223 411 695 - phone in the Mosque: 350 134.

Tue 29 May: "A Global Ethic" introduced by Revd Barbara Moss, Chaplain at the University Church, 8pm Wesley Church

Mon 11 June: visit to a talk "Spirituality and Health" by Dr. Prashant Kakoday (Brahma Kumaris), 8pm

Tue 26 June: "Everyday Spirituality" discussion, Wesley Church

Sun 15 July: Multi-Faith Garden Party, 5-9pm

July and August 2001: summer break Inter-Faith Programme

Sun 16 Sep: visit: Hindu Arati ritual of the Indian Cultural and Community Association, 6:20pm

Fri 21 Sep: Inter-Faith solidarity visit to the evening prayer of the Cambridge Mosque, 8:20pm for 8:30

Please be prepared to take off your shoes - the ladies are requested to cover their hair.
Inter-Faith contact: Ralph Nimmann, 510 442. Secretary Cambridge Islamic Centre Mr. Hisham: 01223 411 695

Sat 22 Sep: "SHARING SORROW, FINDING HOPE" - time for reflection in Great St Mary's, 4pm

Tue 25 Sep: 'Music and Spirituality' - presentation by Andrew Brown, 8pm Wesley Church

  An additional project for the Community Celebration on 21 October is to have an "art" exhibition on the theme of compassion. If you have or like to create a suitable piece of art from your faith community, please contact Anna. Ideally we would be working together and the form will be on our unique way of contributing, while imbibing experience of compassion. This to be hung in the hall as a symbol of Interfaith during the Civic event. If your community has any artists, or people who are strongly grounded in their religion and who like to explore the Interfaith model of cooperation in the form of creative expression/exhibiting, please contact Anna van Wonderen by phone 01954 211460.

This event, which is organised by the Cambridge Inter-Faith Group, aims to celebrate many of the religions, faith groups and communities, which are represented in Cambridge and the surrounding area. The theme chosen for this year's celebration is 'Compassion'.

This event will will last about an hour, followed by refreshments in the church hall.
This type of event has been extremely successful in other cities, and we very much hope that many faith groups and communities in Cambridge can come together in a spirit of co-operation and mutual respect.

We have until now more than a dozen contributions from various groups.
Contact: Cambridge Inter-Faith Group, c/o Rev. Andrew Brown, 5 Emmanuel Road, Cambridge, CB1 1JW, 01223 576 952

VENUE: Unitarian Church (The Memorial Church), Emmanuel Road / Victoria Street, Cambridge (near to Drummer Street Bus Station, opposite Christ's Pieces). This place seems appropiate: a sacred space, which has heard readings from spiritual and religious sources from all over the world; no religious symbols which might offend anyone.

'Act of commitment' from a similar celebration in Ipswich, 11 March 2001: "In a world scarred by the evils of war, racism, injustice and poverty, we offer this joint Act of Commitment as we look to our shared future. We commit ourselves, As people of many faiths, To work together For the common good, Uniting to build a better society, Grounded in values and ideals we share. Community, personal integrity, A sense of right and wrong, Learning, wisdom and love of truth, Care and compassion, Justice and peace, Respect for one another, For the earth and its creatures. We commit ourselves, In a spirity of friendship and co-operation, To work together alongside all who share our values and ideals, To help bring about a better world Now and for generations to come." Footnote: first read on 3 January 2000 at the 'Shared Act of Reflection and Commitment' held at the Palace of Westminster for Faith Communities of the United Kingdom to mark the beginning of the new millennium.

Wed 24 Oct: PETERBOROUGH: "Children of the world unite", Peterborough Cathedral, 7:30pm

Tue 30 Oct: Dr. Nahal Mavaddat: "The power of Prayer" - Baha'i talk with discussion, 8pm Wesley Church

Sun 4 Nov: visit to an Indian Liturgy at Great St Mary's Church, 6:30pm

Tue 27 Nov: "Pilgrimage - Holy Places and Sacred Journeys" - discussion, 8pm Wesley Church

Come and share your experience of pilgrimage, and learn about other people's journeys - whether of body, mind or spirit. Bring pictures and/or audio cassettes if you like.

The evening will be led by Barbara Moss, whose favourite holy places are the Celtic churches of Iona, Lindisfarne and Bradwell. She has written a booklet about prayer walks, and has devised prayer walks among the civic buildings of Walthamstow on the eve of the 1997 General Election, and around the Nuclear Power Station at Bradwell.
VENUE DETAILS

Tue 11 Dec: Cambridge Inter-Faith AGM 2001, 8pm Wesley Church

Dear Friends, HAVE YOUR SAY!!! This is an chance to take stock of the group's activities over the past year and to make plans for the future. Please come along and have your say.

Please tell us your opinions... Have the meetings in the last year worked? Have they been interesting? Informative? What would you like to see changed? What should remain the same? Do you feel that the group is well-managed? Should it be more formal? Less formal?
Do you receive too many emails? Too few? Are they interesting to you? What is the role of this group in Cambridge?
Did you attend the Civic Celebration of Community? What did you like about this event? What could be changed? Should we seek to hold a similar event every year?

We would very much like to explore these issues and others which you might like to raise.
This meeting will also include a presentation by the East of England Faiths Agency and will be followed by refreshments.

David and Cynthia Capey are looking forward to joining the Cambridge group for their AGM on Tuesday 11 December. It will be good to have the opportunity to explain the background to the formation of the East of England Faiths Agency. The contacts which have been made between people working for inter-faith understanding in the region have already proved mutually supportive, especially at this time of heightened anxiety, a cross fertilisation of ideas has begun to take place, and some co-operative events have been planned, including an East of England Inter-faith event to inform and enhance the work with Asylum Seekers across the region. We hope that the Cambridge Inter-Faith group will want to support this new development - situated as you are at the centre of the region and in contact as you are with so many different groups. EEFA certainly needs you as founder members in this work. We hope that you will want to join! Cynthia and David Capey - (www.sifre.org.uk/eefa.htm)

Re. Atrocities in America after September 11 and world peace: the Interfaith Network UK has posted a press release and several pages of REFLECTIONS ON RECENT EVENTS. Please read at: www.interfaith.org.uk 22 November 2001: PRESS RELEASE Cambridge Inter-Faith Group Call for compassion and inter-faith dialogue during Ramadan

You may find more Inter-Faith related Events on Ralph's Special Events page