About the Greenwich Multi-Faith Forum
The Greenwich Multi-Faith Forum was set-up in 1995 after the murder of Stephen Lawrence by Augusta Gibrill with the support of Councillor Sajid Jawaid (Chair, LBG Committee for Race Relations). Members of the different faiths present in the London Borough of Greenwich were brought together with the aim of fostering good relationships between them. Since then we have become independent of the Council but are grateful that we can still use the Town Hall for our meetings (courtesy of the Social Inclusion & Justice Unit).
Members of the Forum do not pretend to have the same belief nor have the same understanding of 'GOD' or the World. Our differing Faiths do not allow us to pray together, though we may spend some moments together in silence.
The group believe it valuable that at least those who do believe in 'GOD' should learn to work together. Having this in common, we are in a better position to try to break down barriers and foster good relationship between people of all Faiths.
We learn to respect each other's beliefs whilst holding strongly to our own.
We learn more of our own belief by listening to the wisdom of others.
We have found that personal contacts are the only way of getting people to attend meetings. Letters do not really work. Visits to each place of worship are more effective. Language is a barrier as well as leaders of the faith groups being very busy people. Unless they can see a purpose to meeting with other groups it is unlikely that they will make the effort even to send a representative. As in so many walks of life, it is the personal enthusiasm of an individual which causes them to work with 'strangers'.
Eating together is a great way of getting people to meet and break down barriers. Personal friendships have been forged through individual meetings on a variety of occasions, with kindness and thoughtfulness. It is still only the minority of people who will work in a formal way for fostering multi-faith relations eg through the Forum, though many people in the community will do this on a day to day basis. We have seen many people come to the Forum for special events. Some stay, some come for a while, some express interest but cease to attend.
The aims of the Forum are to:
* break down barriers
* build bridges
* learn about each other's beliefs
* be a pressure group
* help our own individual spirituality
* be aware of and respect the needs of others
* be an example of tolerance
We aim to achieve these by:
* socialising with people of all Faiths
* visiting places of worships
* educating ourselves by both learning and talking about each others faiths, beliefs and culture
* acting as a pressure group whereby we share business (issues of faith matters) and form strategies in promoting and fostering good relation in the community
* developing our own spirituality through reflecting on our purpose of being
* becoming aware of our needs and respectful of the needs of others by reaching out to people of faiths both in our individual communities and in the wider community
* becoming an example of tolerance by showing respect for each others religion and religious beliefs in an anti - discriminatory way, whilst holding fast and strong to our individual religious beliefs
We usually meet about every two to three months, at the Town Hall, Wellington Street, Woolwich SE18, between 7.00 - 9 pm. The next meeting date for this year is:
** Wednesday 5 December 2007, 7.00pm, venue to be confirmed
Meetings are open to interested persons and representatives from interested organisations in the London Borough of Greenwich. If you wish to join us please complete the application form below and return with your subscription to Mr Bob Love our Treasurer at the address on the form. You can also read our constitution below.
We recently held our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 30 October 2007. You can read the Chairperson's Report for 2006-7 below.
If you would like to find out more or would like to come along to any of our events, please telephone our chairperson Rev Jesse van der Valk on 0208 854 2302, or email him at ChairGMFF@aol.com to confirm dates and location. We look forward to hearing from you.
Members of the Forum do not pretend to have the same belief nor have the same understanding of 'GOD' or the World. Our differing Faiths do not allow us to pray together, though we may spend some moments together in silence.
The group believe it valuable that at least those who do believe in 'GOD' should learn to work together. Having this in common, we are in a better position to try to break down barriers and foster good relationship between people of all Faiths.
We learn to respect each other's beliefs whilst holding strongly to our own.
We learn more of our own belief by listening to the wisdom of others.
We have found that personal contacts are the only way of getting people to attend meetings. Letters do not really work. Visits to each place of worship are more effective. Language is a barrier as well as leaders of the faith groups being very busy people. Unless they can see a purpose to meeting with other groups it is unlikely that they will make the effort even to send a representative. As in so many walks of life, it is the personal enthusiasm of an individual which causes them to work with 'strangers'.
Eating together is a great way of getting people to meet and break down barriers. Personal friendships have been forged through individual meetings on a variety of occasions, with kindness and thoughtfulness. It is still only the minority of people who will work in a formal way for fostering multi-faith relations eg through the Forum, though many people in the community will do this on a day to day basis. We have seen many people come to the Forum for special events. Some stay, some come for a while, some express interest but cease to attend.
The aims of the Forum are to:
* break down barriers
* build bridges
* learn about each other's beliefs
* be a pressure group
* help our own individual spirituality
* be aware of and respect the needs of others
* be an example of tolerance
We aim to achieve these by:
* socialising with people of all Faiths
* visiting places of worships
* educating ourselves by both learning and talking about each others faiths, beliefs and culture
* acting as a pressure group whereby we share business (issues of faith matters) and form strategies in promoting and fostering good relation in the community
* developing our own spirituality through reflecting on our purpose of being
* becoming aware of our needs and respectful of the needs of others by reaching out to people of faiths both in our individual communities and in the wider community
* becoming an example of tolerance by showing respect for each others religion and religious beliefs in an anti - discriminatory way, whilst holding fast and strong to our individual religious beliefs
We usually meet about every two to three months, at the Town Hall, Wellington Street, Woolwich SE18, between 7.00 - 9 pm. The next meeting date for this year is:
** Wednesday 5 December 2007, 7.00pm, venue to be confirmed
Meetings are open to interested persons and representatives from interested organisations in the London Borough of Greenwich. If you wish to join us please complete the application form below and return with your subscription to Mr Bob Love our Treasurer at the address on the form. You can also read our constitution below.
We recently held our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 30 October 2007. You can read the Chairperson's Report for 2006-7 below.
If you would like to find out more or would like to come along to any of our events, please telephone our chairperson Rev Jesse van der Valk on 0208 854 2302, or email him at ChairGMFF@aol.com to confirm dates and location. We look forward to hearing from you.
