Notes of the Meeting of the Inter Faith Chaplaincy Team held 12/7/04 at the B.K. Centre Present: The Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Revd. Tony de Alwis, Lata Nehra, Mrs Mohindra, Surinder Samra, Imam Saffiullah, Peter Jenkins, Noel Harrower and Revd. Tim Clarke (by invitation of Tony de Alwis) THE INTER FAITH CHAPLAINCY Tony de Alwis opened the meeting by welcoming the Lord Mayor and inviting him to share his thoughts about the need for an Interfaith Chaplaincy and his hopes for what it might accomplish. The Lord Mayor said he was pleased to have this opportunity. Nottingham wasnot only a multi racial city, it was also a multi faith one. He felt the faith leaders were important community leaders, and that the varied faith groups were contributing much to the city. This should be recognized and provided strengths which the City could draw on. He asked the questions “What do the Chaplains want for the City?” and “Do you feel that the Council could do more to enable its employees to observe their religious beliefs during working hours, day by day and on special occasions?” “Is there a need for a Faiths Officer who could liaise with Faith Leaders, the Inter Faith Council and the City Council, organizing festive and peace building events?” These ideas were discussed. The Lord Mayor was given a paper on the subject of Peace Building in Nottingham, produced by the Quaker Peace Group. Other ideas discussed: a Musical Festival of Faiths, Peace Gardens and events making people of different faiths aware of their common concern for a strong community spirit. It was agreed that there was a need to involve young people in all this. It was suggested that a letter be sent to the Chief Executive, and Noel Harrower agreed to draft one to be circulated and discussed at a later meeting. The Lord Mayor felt that it would be a good idea for the Inter Faith Council to invite the Deputy Lord Mayor to some of the functions, and necessary for us to do an audit of the benefits of our Inter Faith Chaplaincy, so that at the end of the year the Council would be encouraged to continue these efforts. It was suggested that one way of doing this would be to identify the number of occasions that faith groups had contributed ideas and practical help during the year. PEACE THROUGH RECONCILIATION Tony and Noel outlined the concept of an evening when faith groups came together to demonstrate their concern. The day selected was Thursday 23 Sept. St. Barnabas Cathedral Hall was to be made available and the Bishop of Nottingham had accepted our invitation to speak. Brief contributions would be invited from the Faith Groups in the Cathedral Hall, followed by a procession into the Cathedral. Everyone would be invited to light their neighbour’s candle. The ceremony and faith blessings would be followed by vegetarian refreshments shared from different faith traditions. It was agreed that: (a) Publicity must be sent out very quickly. (b) Consideration be given to a preliminary activity in the Market Square. A mime drama was suggested, followed by music and a colourful united procession to the Cathedral Hall. ALL THOSE WHO CAN MAKE IT WERE INVITED TO A MEETING AT 10.30. A.M. ON THURSDAY, 22 ND OF JULY AT THE ADMINISTRATOR’S HOUSE, ST. BARNABAS CATHEDRAL, DERBY ROAD TO DEVELOP THESE IDEAS. Deputies are very welcome.