Category Archives: General

The Alf Keeling Memorial Lecture, October 2nd 2014

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It was a packed hall at St Ambrose Preparatory School, Hale Barns, with over 80 people coming to hear the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Peter Fahy, deliver his talk entitled “Do not judge and you will not be judged – The challenges of being a Police Officer and a Christian, and the balance between punishment, rehabilitation and blame.”  His address was eloquent and interesting, touching on several aspects of police work; he stressed that many people were in a prison, not behind walls but in a prison of their minds, with the majority offending as a result of social problems such as illiteracy, drugs and alcohol abuse; 60% of the prison population have been in care compared to the 1% of the general population. Domestic violence was also a big problem.  These trends have caused the police to think about working in another way, cooperating with other agencies to solve these problems. He explained how we must prize diversity, and reach out to try to understand the stranger, not fear him. We all have to play our part, and look out for our neighbours and he cited the work of ROC – Reclaim Our Communities, and the need to care for our elderly.  He summed up his talk with the plea – do not judge others; people are prisoners of their lifestyle and you need to break the cycle. Help others -  churches must be outward-facing, not just focussing on prayer, providing debt counselling, for instance. He was a committed Christian who obviously loved his job and cared deeply about others. There were many questions, mainly on our relations with the Muslim communities, and afterwards we all enjoyed some delicious refreshments.

We thank Mr Driscoll and the staff of St Ambrose Preparatory School for allowing us to use the Hall and all the excellent facilities.

Carolyn Jones

(Hon. Sec., Altrincham Interfaith Group)

 

 

My experience at the Synagogue

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On 3rd September 2014, I visited the Hale Synagogue at Shay Lane for the first time in my life. Rabbi Portony explained different aspects of Judaism by answering the questions of the audience.Whenever I think about religion the first thought that comes to my mind is ‘What is religion.? Is it man made or made by God for the mankind.?  Since I heard the discussion for the first time in this meeting my focus was more on ‘ God’ rather than ‘religion’ and when the answer of a question ‘How do you perceive God in Judaism.?’ was explained by Rabbi Portnoy, I felt  very much satisfied because it was similar to my views which I had written in my article on 2nd Dec, 2013 in the News paper ‘Messenger’  The gist of my article is-
‘Where is God.? Has anyone seen God.? Perhaps no… But, most of us must have felt His presence in our heart.  When we exclaim ‘Oh my God !’ or ‘Thank God !, you’ve saved me’, then we remember Him unknowingly.  God is present everywhere but we must have the urge to experience His presence, to bear Him in our heart and soul. We must have the inner urge to seek Him out. We cannot see Him with our eyes and we cannot touch Him with our senses. Even though we know that He is all around us, we do not see Him. He is the controller of the world. He is God. He never dies. He never changes His position. He is the almighty. He knows the past, present and the future. He is omniscient. He can do anything He wishes. He is merciful. God is the embodiment of love and affection.’
Simply understanding that God is great is the principle of all religious scriptures, whether Christian or Jewish or Hindu or Muslim. The common concept of all the religions is that God is very great and the same I realized in this meeting.
Sheel Nigam
(Poet, story & script writer)

3 September 2014, Hale Synagogue visit

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Visit to Hale Synagogue by Altrincham Interfaith Group

On the evening of September 3rd, about 80 members of Altrincham Interfaith Group visited the synagogue of the Hale and District Hebrew Congregation in Shay Lane. This beautiful and distinctive building was opened in 2003, replacing an earlier one that was built in 1978, and has striking stained glass windows all around depicting the various festivals and other themes connected with Judaism, as well as a wall built of stone from Jerusalem, a copy of the Western Wall. We were given a warm welcome by past Presidents of the congregation and then Rabbi Portnoy arrived and introduced many of the features of the synagogue including the Torah scrolls (the five books of Moses) housed in the special Ark, and explained aspects of Judaism and the various different types of community – Orthodox, Reform and Liberal. Following his address there were many questions – people were interested in the Tefillin, small boxes containing miniature scrolls that are strapped to the arm and head during prayer, and the rabbi demonstrated their use, as well as the wearing of prayer shawls.  There were questions on aspects of Jewish law in relation to civil matters and the role of the Rabbi as arbitrator in family disputes, as well as deeper issues on Jewish ideas on the nature of God. It was a most interesting and lively session, and then we were invited to partake of refreshments served by the Ladies Guild, a delicious selection of both sweet and savoury foods.  It was wonderful to see representatives of all the various faith communities there and such visits can only help to improve mutual understanding and tolerance between the different faiths in these difficult times.Carolyn Jones ( Secretary AIG)

 

A message from the Co-Chairs and Vice-Chairs to member bodies of the Inter Faith Network for the UK

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4 August 2014
The work of most of your organisations, like that of the Inter Faith Network for the UK, focuses on this country. There are, however, times when events in other countries with which we have links or about which we have concern have an impact on our relationships here.
These may be events, past or present, about which a community or communities have strong feelings:  particular attacks or periods of persecution or even genocide; ‘one off’ but deeply disturbing episodes; or ongoing actions – military or civilian – affecting the lives of many, within and across borders.  The roll call of  such actions in recent times is long and the impact reverberates.
Today our  thoughts and our prayers are with all those affected by the present crisis in Gaza and Israel, and in other countries in the Middle East and elsewhere where communities are under sometimes terrifying pressures.
Such situations give rise to strong differences of view about what is just  and right and they bring with them anxiety, pain – and anger.  At these times,  our bonds of friendship and trust – long in the making – are tested.  It is hard to keep communication open and to continue to be willing to be in dialogue but it is vital to do so and to continue to support each other’s right to differ in opinion and to be willing to make our case with courtesy and respect for the other.
Likewise, continued care for the safety and security of our different faith communities in the UK must surely be a concern for all of us. We acknowledge fears of those in the Jewish community with the recent sharp rise in anti-Semitic attacks, mirroring fears in the Muslim community following the increase in attacks on Muslims after the murder of Lee Rigby in Woolwich last year.
We note also the helpful statements from a range of faith community leaders and organisations.
Vital work is happening at local and national level to keep channels of communication open and relationships strong. Our thoughts and prayers are also with all seeking to encourage and support this.
The Rt Revd Richard Atkinson OBE, Co-Chair
Mr Vivian Wineman, Co-Chair
Mr Mohinder Singh Chana, Vice-Chair
Dr Kishan Manocha, Vice-Chair
Maulana M Shahid Raza OBE, Vice-Chair
Dr Jagdish Sharma, Vice-Chair
Inter Faith Network for the UK
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London
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Tel: 020 7730 0410
Fax: 020 7730 0414
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Visit to Hale Unitarian Chapel 26th June 2014

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On the evening of June 26th, about 35 members and friends of Altrincham Interfaith Group gathered in Hale Unitarian Chapel to hear Rev Jeffrey Gould talk about Unitarianism and the history of the Chapel.  This beautiful building was built in 1723 and is the oldest place of worship in Hale, it has a lovely window depicting “Caritas” or Charity designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones with two winged minstrels in windows on each side designed by William Morris. The pulpit with its sounding board is reached by a flight of steps  at the side, and looks down upon box pews in the original wood with cushioned seats.  Rev Gould gave a fascinating talk about the origin of the Chapel and also took many questions. He explained about the noncredal nature of Unitarianism and how it shares with both Judaism and Islam a belief in the humanity of Jesus and the Unity of God. Afterwards we were treated to a splendid buffet in the vestry, and a chance to ask more questions and talk together.  It was a delightful evening and we are most grateful to Rev Gould and his congregation for their warm welcome and generous hospitality.

Carolyn Jones

(Hon. Sec., Altrincham Interfaith Group)