A taster of activities being held to mark Inter Faith Week 2023, 12-19 November

This is a sampling of the hundreds of activities taking place for Inter Faith Week in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. See www.interfaithweek.org for those of which the Inter Faith Network for the UK is aware.

Full Week programmes will be taking place in a number of places such as Birmingham, Cheltenham, the London Borough of Harrow, York and North East Lincolnshire and in institutions such as the Universities of Durham, Southampton and Swansea and in many schools.

Awareness raising and learning

‘Living libraries’ in Bournemouth, Maidenhead and a number of other places where people can ‘take out’ a person of a different faith or belief for a learning conversation
A ‘Meet the faiths’ event in Exeter arranged by Devon Faith and Belief Forum with a chance to talk to representatives of a number of faiths and beliefs including: Buddhism, Christianity, Humanism, Islam, Judaism, and Paganism.
‘What I want to ask is…’ A chance for visitors to ask about other faiths and be asked about theirs, led by local faith leaders and hosted by the Hope Cafe with the Ravensthorpe Community Centre in Dewsbury
Exhibitions about different faiths, such as one at the Zoroastrian Centre in London, held with Harrow Council and Harrow Interfaith and Light for Leeds at the Abbey House Museum, Kirkstall Abbey with stalls from different faiths and local inter faith organisations
Awareness raisers such as ‘Discussion on Dharmic concepts’ arranged by the University of Durham Hindu Society as part of a Week of events from the Durham Student Interfaith Network

Strengthening inter faith engagement

A Networking Event organised by Community Action Sutton to bring people together to network and find out what is happening in the local community, share ideas and see how groups can work together
Multiple events being held by local inter faith bodies around the UK, highlighting their vital work
An informational drop-in event for MPs at the House of Commons about Inter Faith Week and the importance of the work of local inter faith organisations hosted, by Watford MP Dean Russell with the Inter Faith Network for the UK
A talk on ‘Levels of Dialogue - Religious Experience in an Inter Faith Context’ by the Chair of the World Congress of Faiths, held by British Chapter of the International Association for Religious Freedom, World Congress of Faiths

Faith trails, inter faith walks and open door days

Open door days and place of worship tours such as at Masjid Al Momineen, Blackburn and Cheltenham Spiritualist Church (one of many places of worship opening in Cheltenham for the Week), and chapel tours of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saint chapel, Chesterfield
Bristol Diverse Doors Open Day which celebrates the religious diversity of Bristol, giving communities the chance to experience and learn each other’s cultures and beliefs; and offering the opportunity to visit a range of places of worship and discover many faith communities that exist in Bristol
A peace walk held by Sunderland Inter Faith Forum
A North Kent Interfaith faith walk in Gravesend, taking in Christ Church, Milton Road Methodist Church, the Albion Terrace Mosque and the Siri Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara

Dialogues and skills for engagement

‘How to keep talking’, a Woolf Institute panel discussion bringing together Jewish, Muslim, and Christian participants to discuss “how to keep dialogue open and how to maintain the possibility of trust between us”
A webinar on conflict management held by Salford University with the Community Security Trust
Dialogues between people of different faiths and of non-religious beliefs (with a number of these arranged by the Inter Faith Network for the UK and Humanists UK) and talks such as ‘Faitheist: Building Bridges between Believers and Non-Believers’ (at the University of Sussex)
An event held by North Wales Interfaith Network and hosted by the Acton Community Centre in Wrexham where attendees of all faiths and beliefs will reflect on the question: "How can we build bridges between divided communities?"

Workplace activities

A Crown Commercial Service event hosting six panellists at its Liverpool office to discuss and highlight the importance of interfaith dialogue
A week of events at CBRE, kicking of with one of Women of Faith, held in association with its Faith Network
A Network Rail Multi-Faith conference on ‘The Resilience of Faith’

Celebrations and gathering

An Inter Faith Week celebration meal organised by Building Bridges Burnley and Burnley Football Club in the Community
A celebration, in Cardiff, of 20 years of the work of the Inter Faith Council for Wales/Cyngor Rhyngffydd Cymru
A celebration of community and neighbours and ‘the spirit of community and unity’ sharing ‘the joy of Diwali and the warmth of togetherness held by Lubbesthorpe Alive
A reception at Dudley Council House for faith leaders from across Dudley Borough

Environmental

An inter faith conservation day at Walthamstow Wetlands in Greater London, for Inter Faith Week and Mitzvah Day
Inter Faith Prayers and Meditations for Climate Justice arranged by Faith for the Climate, Christian Aid and Quakers in Britain
A series of events being held by Cambridge Interfaith Programme exploring how religion influences attitudes to, and use of, water

Culture and arts

A Batley Poets Inter Faith Week poetry session and invitation to people around the UK to read a poem online for Inter Faith Week
A Newcastle ‘Voices of Faith’ exhibition on the theme of ‘Illuminating the word of God’ with contributions from schools across the region
Asylum seekers and refugees sharing poems or stories from different cultures at Wesley Hall, Blackburn, arranged by Asylum and Refugee Community Blackburn

Schools’ activities

A wide variety of whole school and classroom activities being held by schools around England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
RE linked bodies and initiatives such as the Religious Education Council of England and Wales, the National Association of SACREs and Wales Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religion, Values and Ethics / Religious Education (WASACRE), NATRE and RE Online will be highlighting the Week

Faith and food

Moorpark High School Preston KS3 pupils are taking part in food tasting from different faiths and religions and using that as a chance to have conversations with each other about their personal faiths and beliefs
A special exhibition on ‘Food, Faith and Unity’ at Leeds Minster
Leicester Council of Faiths’ inter faith food sharing festival with food from different cultures

Health and other social issues

Event for health care professionals and the local community being held by St Clare Hospice and Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow on ‘Faith at the end of life’, with insights from different faiths
Exploration into health needs of the local community with faith and community leaders and members of faith communities and community groups, held at Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Sabha by Bedford Council of Faiths with facilitation by Bedfordshire Luton and Milton Keynes Health and Care Partnership
A conference looking at how faith communities can help people with dementia and their families, held by Interfaith Wolverhampton with Wolverhampton City Council, The Alzheimer's Society and Black Country Healthcare
‘The Refugee Experience’, with interviews with people who have had to relocate, focusing on how their faith has helped them to cope and how the faith community has welcomed them, each one ending with a short prayer from their faith tradition. Held at the University of Gloucestershire with stalls representing various faith groups active in the University, and groups in Gloucestershire which assist refugees and asylum seekers.
An event on tackling food insecurity in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, held by Tower Hamlets Inter Faith Forum
SAFE by CST (Community Security Trust) is holding an Inter Faith Week webinar on 'Online security and representing your community'
A special Inter Faith Week workshop on gambling and gaming harms for faith or community leaders who work with young people held by Ygam

Remembrance, services and times of reflection

City of York Council and York Interfaith Remembrance Service
Participation by faith and inter faith bodies in many other areas in the civic marking of Remembrance Sunday
‘Hands of Peace Event held by the chaplaincy at Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHSFT for ‘people of all faiths, or those with none’ to come together and share in messages of peace.
Prayers for Peace with CampusLife and Swansea Interfaith Forum.
An inter faith gathering for peace in Ashford with short reflections on the theme of Peace from people of ‘all faiths and none’
Readings and reflections on peace and unity, hosted by the Baha’i Society at the University of Birmingham
British Sikh Consultative Forum and Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Southall inter faith event ‘to pray for guidance, wisdom and for a peaceful future for all our communities’

Sport

An Inter Faith Week women’s cricket event to enable women of faith in the local community to build connections, organised by Kirklees Cohesion
Inter faith football matches at St Lawrence Academy in Scunthorpe and Baitul Ghafoor Mosque, Halesowen

Quizzes and competitions

A ‘random acts of kindness challenge’ at the University of Sheffield
An inter faith and world views photography competition at RMS, Rickmansworth for Girls, Hertfordshire
A quiz at a Divine Moon Moot, raising funds for Macmillan's Coffee Morning charity in Great Barr, Birmingham

Sending a message

National faith leaders will be posting messages at the start of Inter Faith Week about faith communities’ contribution to the wellbeing of society through their social justice work
Enniskillen Castle and Strule Arts Centre will be specially illuminated by Fermanagh and Omagh Council to remind those who see it of the aims of Inter Faith Week
Many organisations around the UK will be putting out social media messages about the importance of the Week and providing online resources such as Inter Faith Week blogs