This year’s Annual General Meeting will take place on Sunday 12th May at The URC Church in Hale.

About 35 members of Altrincham Interfaith Group gathered together at the Sale Quaker Meeting house on Park Road, Sale,  on the evening of May 8^th. 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.

On Thursday evening, May 2^nd, 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.

The programme for 2013 is coming together now, events being planned include:

• The Virtues Project (date to be arranged but probably a Thursday in April).
• Visit to Sale Quaker Meeting House Wednesday 8th May
• Annual Quiz Night 23rd May (to be confirmed).
• A visit to the Hindu Temple.
• Tour of the Chaplaincy Services at Manchester Airport.
• A visit to local synagogue.
• A visit to a local primary school that has interfaith work at its core.

Further details will be posted here as they become available.

Saturday 9th February 2013
Altrincham Grammar School for Boys

Main couse being served

Ruth Neal, Chairman, Churches Together in Hale writes :-

Living the blessing of friendship was the theme of Sister Theresa Brittain’s talk at this years Interfaith Dinner.  The 150 or so participants, including many families and children, were drawn from all the major faiths practised in our community.  After a splendid first course provided by Hindu, Jewish and Muslim ladies and before the dessert made by the Christian cooks, Sister Theresa stimulated us with her talk. She spoke of the need to enlarge our mission and to form real friendships with those from other faiths, to speak of the difficult issues dividing us and to understand the rights and customs of others. She said, “people of another faith invite us to a deeper place in our own, so we enrich each other.”

Chief Superintendent Jim Liggett and his wife Jane, The Mayor of Trafford Councillor Mrs Patricia Young and Councillor Michael Young, Dr Poonam Kakkar (Chair of AIG), Sr Teresa Brittain, Canon John Rafferty (Vice-chair of AIG)

In the Christian tradition we are in the period of Lent, a time of penance  before Easter which falls this year on March 31^st. We prepare ourselves  to remember the time when God brought his son, Jesus Christ, to life again after the cruel death Christ endured when he was crucified on the cross on Good Friday, crucified because of the wrong-doing of others.

During the six weeks leading up to Easter, Christians traditionally have fasted in preparation for the great Easter Feast.  Not so many people in Altrincham actually fast now but many will subscribe to the Lenten discipline of giving up some luxury like chocolate, biscuits or strong drink. Other Christians prefer to mark Lent by doing something positive, like reading a spiritual book or attending a study group in order to share insights. Maybe another way to mark this Lent would be consciously to speak with somebody we do not yet know, someone whose traditions are different from our own. They could be a new neighbour, a colleague we meet at work, a fellow-shopper in the supermarket queue or traveller on public transport. This would indeed be”living the blessing of friendship.”