Grand Quiz 2013

This years Altrincham Interfaith Group’s Grand Quiz will be at

7:30pm on Thursday 13th June

Altrincham Baptist Church
Hale Road, Altrincham, WA14  2EW
In the downstairs room entered from Byrom Street.
(There is limited on street parking near the church.)

Adults £3 each                                   Children Free

Light Refreshments will be served

 No need to pre-book, just come along on the 13th June.

Visit to the Sale Quaker Meeting House

About 35 members of Altrincham Interfaith Group gathered together at the Sale Quaker Meeting house on Park Road, Sale,  on the evening of May 8th. We were welcomed by Pat Lee, the Clerk, and then Colin McKenzie, one of the Overseers, started the proceedings with a minute of silence, after which he  gave us some background to the origin of the Quaker movement which was started by George Fox and his wife Margaret Fell in the mid seventeenth century.  He then explained that because the early Quakers were dissidents they could not attend University so many of them turned to industry and became very successful -  names like Cadbury,  Rowntree,  Fry’s, Clarks (for shoes), banks such as Lloyds and Barclays were all founded by Quakers.  Elizabeth Fry is well known for her work in bringing about dramatic changes in prison reform, and Quakers  were also instrumental in the abolition of slavery and are famous for their peace movements. Their strong opposition to war and nuclear weapons is well known and they also lobby MPs at Westminster, Brussels and Geneva. They believe in putting their faith into action, and living out their faith.  Colin also talked about their beliefs – there are no creeds, as creeds are not timeless and circumstances change. They believe in peace, justice, freedom and eachother and try to put into practice things they believe are right. Equality is extremely important to Quakers, at all levels of society.  After his talk there was a very lively time of questions and answers, ranging from the absence of music in meetings to the practical problems of keeping children quiet during a meeting.  Quaker concepts of God were discussed as was the place of Jesus in their belief. The event was rounded off by deliciousdrinks and biscuits. It was a most interesting evening, enjoyed by all, and we are most grateful to Colin and other Friends for their warm hospitality.

The Bahai Vision for the Prosperity of Mankind

On Thursday evening, May 2nd, about 40 of us gathered at Westleigh, St Vincent’s Church, to hear Mrs Homeyra Smith give us a talk entitled “The Baha’i Faith’s Vision for the Prosperity of Mankind.” Mrs Homeyra is a most charming lady, originally from Iran, and she gave a detailed and articulate address about the Baha’i Faith, of which many of us had heard but were not well informed.  She explained that the Baha’i have three core values with which we many of us can identify:  that there is one God, who is the source of all creation;  they also believe in the unity of religion, that all major religions have the same spiritual source and come from the same God and, thirdly, in the unity of humankind, that all humans have been created equal, and that diversity of race and culture are seen as worthy of appreciation and acceptance.  The wish of the Baha’i is that all mankind will one day speak the same language, and have the same religion and so live in peace. After her talk there was a very lively discussion with lots of questions which were answered very fully, and the evening was enjoyed by all. We thank Father John Rafferty for hosting this event, and parishioners Peggy and Kevin for their generous and kind hospitality.