Annual Shared Meal 16th Feb 2019 at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys

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Altrincham Interfaith Group Annual Shared Meal, February 16th 2019

As has become the tradition now, we all met at Stamford Hall in Altrincham Grammar School for Boys on a mild evening to participate in our Annual Shared Meal. Almost 150 people attended and after a welcome drink everyone was seated and welcomed by Azhar Rasul, Chairman of Altrincham Interfaith Group. He then introduced the Worshipful the Mayor of Trafford, Councillor Tom Ross, and presented him with a cheque for his chosen charities -Trafford Mencap and the St. Ann’s Community Refugee Project.  The Mayor spoke about the excellent interfaith record in Trafford, which was the first borough in the country to welcome asylum seekers, and of the importance of sitting together and talking to each other. After prayers from Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu communities, platters of delicious Kosher food including olives, pickled cucumbers, hummus, fish balls, falafel with various breads, were placed on every table for all to enjoy. Then people were invited to the serving area to be given a chicken curry with dhaal  and accompaniments, after which our guest speaker, Hani Singh, a policeman from the Sikh community and executive member of Faith Network 4 Manchester, gave his address. He was frank and honest about his re-discovery of Sikhism having investigated many other religions.  He explained the significance of his colourful attire and peppered his talk with amusing anecdotes. His address was very warmly received and then it was time for the desserts from the Christian community – a great variety of different dishes. Finally, Azhar thanked all those who had helped to make the evening such a success.


Alf Keeling Memorial lecture November 8th 2018 by Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen

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Alf Keeling Lecture 2018.  Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen is Associate Rabbi at Manchester Reform Synagogue. The talk was entitled :

‘Interfaith in Action: Loving the Stranger Within’

A short report on the event by AIG Hon. Secretary Carolyn Jones

This year’s Alf Keeling Memorial Lecture was a truly interactive experience and very different from all previous events; Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen from the Manchester Reform Synagogue engaged with her audience, shooting out questions and getting a wide variety of responses from people of all faiths, making it a stimulating and interesting event. Her theme was “Loving the Stranger Within” and there was a lot of discussion about the definition of the word “neighbour” and about being a “wanderer,”  especially in relation to being Jewish as Jews have a history of wandering even from the time of Abraham. The Bible tells the Jews to love the stranger for they were strangers in the land of Egypt, thus we all have a duty to love the stranger and be empathic to them, be they immigrants or foreigners, and try to cross the divide between them and us. Rabbi Robyn said that being a wanderer is part of being human -  feeling apart from other people – and that we should all see ourselves as wanderers with no distinction between them and us. She discussed work by Etty Hillesum (1914-1943) who died in Auschwitz and was an example of compassion and also Hannah Arendt who was a Jewish political theorist.  She closed by urging us to first love ourselves and then to love the stranger.  There was then a lively question and answer time and finally refreshments were served.

We thank Mr Driscoll of St Ambrose Preparatory School for allowing us the use of the hall and all those who helped to make the evening a great success.

Carolyn Jones (Hon. Sec., Altrincham Interfaith Group)

Visit to Whitworth Art Gallery 6th Sept 2018 : Textiles from the Islamic World.

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Visit to Whitworth Art Gallery . A guided tour of the exhibition ‘Four Corners of One Cloth’ Textiles from the Islamic World. 

A group of members of Altrincham Interfaith Group and friends met up at Whitworth Art Gallery on the evening of September 6th for a tour of the exhibition  “Four Corners of One Cloth: Textiles from the Islamic World” given by Uthra Rajgopal, Assistant Curator of Textiles and Wallpaper.  This exhibition showcased different cultures from the Islamic world, and we started with a fragment of the Kiswa, the cloth that covers the Ka’bah, the most holy site in Islam, which is replaced each year during Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). Positioned in the direction of Mecca, it was in the centre of the gallery, and around it were various displays of cloths from places such as Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Yemen, as well as Uganda and Egypt. Of particular interest was a courtly dress from Iran that was covered with figures, and there was a lively discussion about representation of humans in Islamic art. Another unusual piece showed a fire hose on a piece of material -  this was considered a great asset to a town or village, hence its depiction.  We also saw how William Morris and his contempories were influenced by Islamic Art in their designs. It was a most enjoyable and informative tour and we thank Uthra for her time and expertise.

Carolyn Jones (Hon. Sec. Altrincham Interfaith Group).

Annual Shared Meal 17th Feb 2018

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Annual Shared Meal on 17th February 2018 at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys. Our Guest Speaker was Waseem Ahmedi a representative from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association. We made a profit of £690.58 and £200 was donated to the Mayor’s Charities.

The Chairman Azhar Rasul in conversation with our Guest Speaker