WHEN he was leader of the church to which I belong, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Gordon B Hinckley responded to some hearsay about the church as follows: "You don't have to believe everything you hear or read. Would you ask a Jew what a Muslim believes? No, you wouldn't. You need to find out about a particular religion from a follower of that religion. Direct from the horse's mouth, as it were." In South Lakeland Interfaith Forum we are building bridges between our local faith groups. We respect the sacred wisdom of each religion. We listen to one another respectfully to deepen mutual understanding and trust.
Our Interfaith group will have a stall at the forthcoming Kendal Unity Festival tomorrow (Saturday, June 22) at Abbot Hall Park (10am-4pm) and looks forward to being a part of this exciting community event. We'll set up a Diversity Game which aims to help people "stand in another man's (or woman's) shoes." A Native American Confederacy put together this great statement: "We direct to your minds that peace is not merely the absence of war, but the constant effort to maintain harmonious existence between all peoples, from individual to individual. We point out to you that a spiritual consciousness is the path to the survival of mankind."
Knowledge and understanding, together with humility and empathy, will help us better nourish trust and love between all of our many different, priceless, unique selves.
Mike Humphreys, chairman of South Lakeland Interfaith Forum
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