Inter Faith Week 2025 in Kendal.

A 96-Year-Old Priest at the Heart of a Week of Faith, Friendship and Shared Humanity

At 96, retired Roman Catholic priest Monsignor Francis Slattery is living proof that no one is ever too old to build bridges between faiths.

Monsignor Slattery’s long ministry has included many years in Windermere running a meditation group, where people of differing beliefs would explore together “the meaning of life and our human destiny and that of the whole cosmos”. Now, in his mid-nineties, he continues to embody the spirit of Inter Faith Week: openness, humility and a joyful recognition that “we recognise the one humanity we all share”.

Dialogue, Meditation and a Living Example

At the heart of Kendal’s Inter Faith Week 2025 programme stands the Buddhist Christian Dialogue and Meditation Group (BCDMG), led by Monsignor Slattery. The group’s members have known each other for over 20 years and speak warmly of the bonds of trust that have grown between them. They feel privileged, they say, to be part of a group led by “such a wonderful exemplary RC priest”.

BCDMG’s 2025 Inter Faith Week event, held on 10 November 2025, brought together meditation or prayer and shared study. Since lockdown, the group has offered its activities both in person and “at home”, so that people can join in wherever they are. Participants know that at the same hour others are chanting, praying or meditating in their own homes – a quiet, powerful experience of spiritual connection across distance.

The more formal part of the gathering is followed, characteristically, by discussion and food. Conversation around the table deepens understanding, strengthens friendships and turns shared practice into shared life. For BCDMG, taking part in Inter Faith Week is “vital”: an opportunity to work together for greater mutual understanding and acceptance. The group is also represented on Westmorland and Furness Council’s Faith Covenant Group, ensuring that the relationships nurtured in living rooms and meeting rooms feed into the wider civic life of the area.

Monsignor Francis Slattery with Jacquetta Gomes Bodhicarini Upasika Jayasili BGKT Buddhist Group of Kendal (Theravada)

A Small Town with a Big Commitment

Kendal has been involved in Inter Faith Week since the national initiative began in 2009. Over the years, this “beautiful old grey town”, known as the Gateway to the Lakes, has gained a remarkable reputation. The Inter Faith Network for the UK has acknowledged Kendal as the smallest town to hold complete, eight-day programmes of events in Inter Faith Week, notably in 2017 and again in 2020.

In 2025, Kendal, South Lakeland, Westmorland and Furness and Cumbria once more appeared on the national Inter Faith Week website, contributing a whole week of activities that expressed the three central aims of the Week:

• Strengthening good interfaith relations at all levels
• Increasing awareness of the different and distinct faith communities in the UK and celebrating their contribution to society
• Increasing understanding between people of religious and non-religious beliefs

The town’s record over recent years is impressive. Kendal has featured in Inter Faith Week reports and highlights from 2017 through to 2024, often singled out as an example of how a small town can sustain an ambitious, inclusive and creative programme year after year.

Eight Days of Activity in 2025

Inter Faith Week 2025 ran nationally from Sunday 9 to Sunday 16 November, and Kendal once again offered activities on each of the eight days. Twice daily, at 7 am and 7 pm, the Westmorland and Furness Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Partnership (WFDEIP) hosted at-home sessions around the “Golden Rule” – the ethic of treating others as you yourself would wish to be treated, which is shared in different forms across many faiths and spiritual traditions. These sessions, begun during lockdown, have now become an established feature of Inter Faith Week in the area, ensuring that there is always a point of connection every day for anyone wishing to join in.   Photo: Venerable Mahalova Ariyadhamma from Ketumati Buddhist Vihara Manchester. Teacher of BGKT

Inter Faith Week 2025 ran nationally from Sunday 9 to Sunday 16 November, and Kendal once again offered activities on each of the eight days.

Twice daily, at 7 am and 7 pm, the Westmorland and Furness Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Partnership (WFDEIP) hosted at-home sessions around the “Golden Rule” – the ethic of treating others as you yourself would wish to be treated, which is shared in different forms across many faiths and spiritual traditions. These sessions, begun during lockdown, have now become an established feature of Inter Faith Week in the area, ensuring that there is always a point of connection every day for anyone wishing to join in.

Within this framework, a wide range of events took place:

Monday 10 November – Alongside a Baha’i devotional meeting, participants were invited to take part at home in a special session of meditation or prayer and study led by Monsignor Slattery. Promoted nationally as “At home study and prayer or meditation session led by 96-year-old retired Roman Catholic priest”, this event highlighted both his age and his ongoing leadership as a sign that active engagement in interfaith work is open to all generations.

Monday 10 November – Schools across Cumbria were invited to “Celebrating the diversity of Diwali 2025”, a Cumbria SACRE event exploring the richness of Hindu traditions and practices around the festival of lights.

Tuesday 11 November – Kendal welcomed Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Venerable Mahaova Ariyadhamma, locally known as an honorary Kendalian. His ongoing relationship with the town is another example of the strong and continuing Buddhist presence in the area.

Wednesday 12 November – At the Quaker Meeting House in Kendal, AWAZ Cumbria and WFDEIP hosted interfaith talks. The Mayor of Kendal, Councillor Richard Sutton, attended and listened to addresses from Rev Mandy Reynolds, Interfaith Minister and Minister of Kendal Unitarian Chapel, and Jacquetta Gomes of the Buddhist Group of Kendal (Theravada), a Sangha‑authorised Dhamma teacher. The Mayor later spoke of how informative and valuable he found the talks. Photographs of the occasion were shared on Kendal Town Council’s Facebook page, underscoring the civic recognition of Inter Faith Week.

Thursday 13 November – The local Baha’i community hosted an Inter Faith Week discussion meeting, offering time for reflection, questions and shared learning around Baha’i perspectives and their resonance with other traditions.

Saturday 15 November – Representatives from Kendal, including the Unitarian Chapel Minister and WFDEIP’s lead on Interfaith and Multifaith, took part in an interfaith discussion at Rose Castle, a centre known for its work in peace‑building and dialogue.

Sunday 16 November – The week culminated in a Sunday service at Kendal Unitarian Chapel, featuring speakers from the SLIF South Lakeland Interfaith Forum, followed by an open meeting of the Buddhist Group of Kendal (Theravada), welcoming visitors to learn more about Buddhist practice and teaching.

Threaded through this programme were the regular WFDEIP at‑home sessions, ensuring that individuals and families could join in from home, even if they were unable to attend in person.

Part of a Wider Story

Kendal’s Inter Faith Week activities do not stand alone. They are part of a sustained, long-term pattern of engagement, recognised in national reports and resources from the Inter Faith Network for the UK. Over the years, Kendal and its partners have been featured in national activities, press releases, and thematic reports highlighting how Inter Faith Week strengthens cooperation and understanding across the country.

Photos of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service members with the former South Lakeland Equality and Diversity Partnership (now WFDEIP) during Inter Faith Week 2019, earlier “tasters” of Kendal activities in 2020 and 2021, and references in reports from 2022 and 2023 all contribute to a picture of a small town consistently punching above its weight in inter faith engagement.

(L to R) Rev Mandy Reynolds, Interfaith Minister and Kendal Unitarian Chapel Minister, Mayor Councillor Richard Sutton and Jacquetta Gomes Bodhicarini Upasika Jayasili BGKT Buddhist Group of Kendal (Theravada)

“Recognising the One Humanity We All Share”

Perhaps the most transparent lens through which to view Inter Faith Week 2025 in Kendal is Monsignor Slattery’s perspective. From a youth in which different faiths “never spoke”, he now delights in seeing people sit down together to face shared questions and shared challenges. He acknowledges that “we still have a long way to go” and that theologians continue to wrestle with complex issues, but he finds hope in the simple fact that people are now willing to sit together and talk.

For groups like BCDMG, WFDEIP and AWAZ Cumbria, for the SLIF South Lakeland Interfaith Forum, and for the local Baha’i, Buddhist and Unitarian communities, Inter Faith Week is not a one-off event but part of an ongoing journey. It is about learning to recognise in one another “the basic things of life which touch us and the reactions we have towards them” – and, above all, about recognising “the one humanity we all share”.

In 2025, that journey was embodied in a 96-year-old priest who continues to meditate, pray, study, and welcome others into dialogue. His presence and leadership are a reminder that interfaith engagement is not only about programmes, reports and formal partnerships, but about people: people prepared to listen, to learn and to walk together, year after year, towards more profound understanding and friendship.

Mike Humphreys Chair of SLIF South Lakeland Interfaith Forum and Jacquetta Gomes WFDEIP Lead on Interfaith and Multifaith" Photo at Kendal Unitarian Chapel service