Category Archives: Harrow

Upcoming events

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Today: follow #HOBV9 to keep in touch with Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network‘s annual Black Mental Health event, Healing Our Broken Village, at New Testament Assembly Church in Tooting, SW17.

If you’re able to join the conference, which includes the CEO of South West London & St George’s Mental Health Trust and Royal Holloway’s Dr Frank Keating, all the details are here.

Saturday 28 October: Kingston Study Day – Understanding Islam with Dr Chris Hewer, an exploration from predominantly Christian and Muslim perspectives, at the Milaap Centre, Acre Rd, Kingston, KT2 6EE. For beginners and the knowledgeable alike – all welcome.

Download details here and contact Diana if you would like to participate.

Thursday 2 November: opening of a new venue for Greenwich Peninsula’s Multi Faith Prayer Space at the Aperture Building on Greenwich Peninsula, 42 Chandlers Avenue, SE10 0GE. The Prayer Space provides a venue for faith groups to meet for prayer and worship and is available for booking by faith groups for their own prayer or worship activities. The Prayer Space is also open every day for people to drop in for prayer and reflection.

The Community Room provides a facility for activities or events which build up the local community and is available for booking by individuals or groups for such activities or events.  Find the details here.

Saturday 4 November – Sunday 5 November: With God on Our Side… Religion and War, with talks, panels and debates including Holy Wars, Is Religion Inherently Violent (with Karen Armstrong) and War and Peace in the Middle East, at the Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX.

Monday 6 November: St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square – Reforming Attitudes to Islam, with Prof Mona Siddiqui and Joshua Ralston of Edinburgh University.

Monday 6 November: second in LBFN’s safety, security and resilience four-part course for places of worship, hosted by New Scotland Yard and supported by the Corporation of London.  Contact LBFN for further details.

Sunday 12 November: Harrow Interfaith‘s Remembrance Service at Harrow Civic Centre War Memorial at 10.30am.

Monday 13 November: Barnet Multi Faith Forum launch an exhibition “Love Your Neighbour – Muslims who rescued Jews during the Holocaust” at Middlesex University Quadrangle, the Borroughs, Hendon NW4 4BT.  Details here. 
Monday 13 November:  Quiz night – A Question of Unity with Faiths Together in Lambeth at the Karibu Education Centre, 7 Gresham Road, SW9 7PH.  Details here. 
Tuesday 14 November:  Tower Hamlets Inter Faith Forum, “Faith & Communities” at The Royal Foundation of St Katharine, 2 Butcher Row, E14 8DS.  Details and booking here.
Tuesday 14 November: Redbridge Faith Forum ‘s Come to Dinner with RFF!  Interfaith Buffet at Ilford Islamic Centre. Details and booking details are here.

Tuesday 14 November: Youth debate with Islington Faiths Forum, “How can we have harmony in a multifaith community environment?” at Platform, Hornsey Road Baths, 2 Tiltman Place, N7 7EE.

Saturday 18 November: Hounslow Friends of Faith presents, “The Bundle – an asylum seeker’s story” at Brentford and Isleworth Quaker Meeting House, Quakers Lane, London Road, Isleworth, TW7 5AZ.  Details and booking (performance is free but must be booked in advance) here.

12 – 19 November is Inter Faith Week 2017: plenty of events taking place in London this year – find them on the map and add your own.
Monday 20 November: third in LBFN’s safety, security and resilience four-part course for places of worship, hosted by New Scotland Yard and supported by the Corporation of London.  Contact LBFN for further details.
Looking ahead, #VisitMyMosque Day is on Sunday 18 February 2018 – more details on how to plan for the day can be found here.

LBFN 18 May | Borough Timelines

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From Neighbourhood Renewal to Big Society, from mental illness to hate crime, from 9/11 to integration, PCTs to CCGs, Stop & Search to SNPs, interfaith walks & WhatsApp groups – such a lot has changed!

Join us tomorrow evening 5.30pm-7.30pm as we chart the massive contribution that local gurdwaras, synagogues, mosques, temples and churches have made to the wider community and the key contribution of local multifaith networks and forums working in partnership with councils, the NHS, local police & fire services.

Add your significant dates to our timeline (it will be posted online soon), hear from faith forums & public sector officers across the capital and be part of an engaging debate on the current context.

With us will be practitioners from Kensington & Chelsea, Harrow, Wandsworth, Hounslow, Islington, Tower Hamlets, Richmond, Lambeth, Havering, Westminster, Southwark, Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge, Enfield, Croydon, Barnet & the City, with borough London Resilience managers and local police officers.

If you plan to join us & haven’t yet confirmed your place, email asap.  We are meeting at Voluntary Action Islington, 200a Pentonville Road (near the junction with Killick St, next to Cycle Surgery), N1 9JP (King’s Cross tube).

As well as news from key faith forums across the capital, we’ll hear from:

  • Malik Gul, WCEN
  • Yvette Ellis, VAI
  • Steve Miller, FbRN
  • Matt Scott, London Voluntary Service Council

and hear an update on LBFN’s social labs:

  • safety & security (with London Resilience & Ecclesiastical Insurance)
  • peace-building
  • health & wellbeing
  • European links
  • intersectionality

There will be plenty of time to share news and ideas and a simple vegetarian meal will be served.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Genocide never just happens | HMD 2017

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hmd-2017There is always a set of circumstances which occur, or which are created, to build the climate in which genocide can take place.
Holocaust Memorial Day this year asks the question “How can life go on?“
Boroughs across the capital are marking the day. Check the details here:

Hammersmith & Fulham

Merton

Brent

Barnet

Southwark

Tower Hamlets

Enfield

Camden

Wandsworth

Harrow

Newham

Hackney

Ealing

Greenwich

Haringey

Hounslow

Find more events on the HMD website.
Denial, a film about the legal case surrounding Holocaust denier David Irving, opens in London next week.

#LondonIsOpen film for Inter Faith Week

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London’s faith communities are open and welcoming!

In step with the Mayor’s #LondonIsOpen message, a short film has been shot on location across the capital and includes Sikh, Quaker, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist & Baha’i places opening their doors.

Against a backdrop of international tensions and increased hate crime, London’s faith groups, from humble to grand, are not closed and fearful – we remain open and welcoming!

Inter Faith Week events across London are screening the new film as part of their activities – you are welcome to do the same by using this link.  Can you identify the different places?

london-is-open-logo

Thanks to everyone who responded to our email during the summer and welcomed in the cameras – we were overwhelmed with offers.  A big thank you to Rosalind Parker and Jack Jeffreys for the filming.  For any who would like to get involved in the next stage, our #LondonIsOpen initiative continues – join us at 3pm on Tuesday 6 December at Collaboration House, 77 Charlotte Street, W1T 4PW, to plan for 2017.  Let us know if you’d like to join us.

#VisitMyMosque on Sunday 1 February

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vmm2-300x300This Sunday is a great opportunity to visit our local mosques and enjoy a cup of tea.  Islamic centres will be opening their doors to visitors as part of a Muslim Council of Britain initiative to reach out to fellow Britons following tensions around terrorism.

“Mosques will be sharing tea and refreshments, alongside an insight into the day-to-day goings on of a busy Muslim centre of worship.

Members of the community are there to get to know one another better and some may be on hand to answer questions about Muslims and Islam where this is possible.  Local mosques will also be inviting inter-faith leaders as well, and all will be invited to come together to demonstrate unity and solidarity during what has been a tense time for faith communities.“

Many mosques welcome visitors as a matter of course, but a list of participating centres can be found here and is being regularly updated.  Those in London include Islamic centres from a range of Islamic traditions:

Balham Mosque, 47A Balham High Rd, Tooting SW12 9AW  www.balhammosque.org
Finsbury Park Mosque, 7-11 St. Thomas Rd, N4 2QH  www.finsburyparkmosque.org
Hyderi Islamic Centre, 26 Estreham Road, Streatham, SW16 5PQ  www.hyderi.org.uk
Shi’a Ithna’ashari Community of Middlesex, 39 Gloucester Road, Harrow, HA1 4PR  www.sicm.org.uk
Sri Lankan Muslim Cultural Centre, 2 Whitefriars Avenue, Harrow, HA3 5RN  www.slmcc.co.uk
Tooting Islamic Centre, 145 Upper Tooting Rd, SW17 7TJ www.tootingislamiccentre.org

Add a comment below if you know of others which are open on Sunday.

Inter Faith Week 2014 in London

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Inter Faith Week starts soon!  Find out what’s going on in your borough by zooming into the capital on the IFW map.  Check the list below to download flyers and invitations.

London is very busy with a huge range of exciting activities planned, including:

6 November    Youghusband Lecture, Westminster

8 November    Peace in Tulse Hill, Lambeth

11 November   Talk on Shabbat Croydon Faith Education Resources

12 November   Humanism in Europe: working together across religion & belief traditions, Westminster (book your place)

15 November   Concert in aid of Kingston Foodbank  Kingston Inter-Faith Forum

16 November  The Contributions of Faith Communities to the First World War Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe

16 November   30th Anniversary Celebration Harrow Inter Faith Council

17 November (closing date)  Westminster Faith Exchange Art Competition

17 November   Inter Faith Week Launch in Sutton  Sutton Faith & Belief

17 November   Encompass – work in action, with Barry Mizen MBE, Encompass – The Daniel Braden Reconciliation Trust

18 November   Faith and Wellbeing Faiths Together in Lambeth

18 November   Religious Tensions in the Holy Land and their wider impact  Islington Faiths Forum

18 November   Sacred Treasures Camden Council and the British Museum

18 November   Faith involvement in peace making today  Hounslow Friends of Faith

19 November   Faith: Too Significant to Ignore FaithAction National Conference, Westminster,  £70

19 November   Praying for Peace Balham & Tooting Community Association

20 November   Is Interfaith Dialogue Worthwhile?  Barnet Multi Faith Forum with Alyth Gardens Synagogue

22 November  Southwark iWitness – Trail & Mayor’s Reception Southwark Council

22 November   Celebrating culture through dress and food – women’s event  Hounslow Friends of Faith

22 November  Town Centre Event  Barking & Dagenham Faith Forum

22 November   Inter Faith Quiz  Enfield Faith Forum

25 November   How can Humanists and Muslims live and work together in 21st Century London? London Humanists, Conway Hall, Camden

If you are planning activities and would like them listed here, please leave a comment and/or let LBFN know!

Near Neighbours – additional boroughs

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Near Neighbours areas

Areas of London eligible for funding under the expanded Near Neighbours programme.  Contact coordinators Becky or Tim (see Borough by Borough page) for details.

The Near Neighbours programme has expanded into more boroughs.  It offers small grants (£250 – £5,000) to bring together neighbours and develop relationships across different religious traditions & ethnicities in order to improve our communities.

Check whether areas of your borough are included and contact Becky (West and South London) or Tim (East and South East London) if you’d like more information or would like to talk over an idea.

Launch events for the new boroughs are planned and we hope Becky & Tim will join us at LBFN before long to tell us more.

Mayor’s police & crime roadshows

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Stephen Greenhalgh, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, is revisiting every London borough with senior Metropolitan Police officers.  Sixteen boroughs were visited early in 2014.

They will be talking about local policing, telling us how they’ve been putting the Police and Crime Plan into practice and answering our questions.

Following our recent meeting at New Scotland Yard with Commander Mak Chishty, the roadshow may provide another opportunity to contact our Borough Commanders to talk about their engagement plans with local faith forums.

The next 16 events are scheduled from September to December.  Attendance is on a first come, first serve basis. They are asking people to register now and to let them know of any access needs.

New Scotland Yard

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MPS Engagement Tsar Cdr Mak Chishty

New MPS Engagement Tsar Cdr Mak Chishty

LBFN’s Crime, Community Safety and Security social lab had an excellent and wide-ranging exchange with the new Commander for Engagement in the Metropolitan Police Service, Mak Chishty, on Monday 7 July.

Contributions from Islington, Hounslow, Enfield, Lambeth, Kingston, Harrow, Tower Hamlets, Redbridge and Merton showed the range of good work undertaken by local faith forums in engaging with the police.  They also highlighted the challenges in sustaining relationships over time.

Commander Chishty shared with us his initial thoughts on engagement and the work already underway, which includes local mapping, a listening campaign, special summer events and borough engagement plans.  His SHINE approach encourages relaxed and informal relationships to develop between police officers and the public.

With the change from the Metropolitan Police Authority’s Community-Police Engagement Groups to the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime’s Safer Neighbourhood Boards, there is some uncertainty over structures to support engagement.  Progress seems to be uneven across London.

LBFN members were asked to contact their Borough Commanders (details for each borough here) to initiate conversations which will lead to the inclusion of religious communities in the new borough engagement plans.  The emphasis was on sustained relationships with multifaith groups, churches, mosques, temples, synagogues and gurdwaras, which all offer strong social networks, local knowledge, expertise and organisational memory.

LBFN's Crime, Community Safety and Security social lab at New Scotland Yard.

LBFN’s Crime, Community Safety and Security social lab at New Scotland Yard.

People from seven religious traditions took part.  We will organise a follow up meeting in due course.

More Inter Faith Week events

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Layout 1Check the map on the Inter Faith Week website and zoom in to London to find local events.

Our LBFN celebration next Monday 25th November is firmly on the map!  If you haven’t yet added your name to the guest list, please do so soon to guarantee your place – there’s been a big response and Europe House doesn’t stretch!

Here are some other highlights:

Photo exhibition from South London Inter Faith Group in the café area at City Hall, SE1 2AA: WALKING AND TALKING: inter faith walks in south London, open Monday – Friday, 8.30 – 6pm (5.30 on Fridays) on 18th – 22nd and 25th – 29th November.

Children’s Art Competition, Westminster Faith Exchange: “Faith and Helping Others”.   The Competition is open to all children and young people from any faith community (or none), school or youth organisation based in Westminster.   Entry is free and there are some great prizes to be won in the following age categories: 6 years and under, 7-9 years, 10 years and over.   Entries close on Thursday 28 November 2013.  A special prize giving ceremony for the best entries will be held on Wednesday 11 December 2013 at the West London Synagogue, 33 Seymour Pl, London W1H 5AU.

The Significance of Faith Festivals, Harrow Inter Faith Council 21 November 7-9.30pm at Middlesex New Synagogue, 39 Bessborough Road, Harrow HA1 3BS.

Good Neighbour Days throughout the week (download flyer here) and conference, Faith Involvement in End of Life Care, Providing support at home. Wednesday 20th November 2013 1.30 – 4.00pm.  A conference run jointly by Hounslow Friends of Faith and the Chaplaincy of West Middlesex University Hospital.  The Education Centre, West Middlesex University Hospital,Twickenham Road, Isleworth TW7 6AF. This half day conference is open to medical staff, faith leaders and others working to provide spiritual care for patients with life limiting conditions. Lunch will be available from 12.30. For further information and a booking form contact the Secretary of HFOF by email nfo@hounslowfriendsoffaith.org or by phone 020 8560 5887.

Faith in the Community, Faiths Together in Lambeth, Thursday 21st November 20, 6pm – 8pm in the Assembly Hall, Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton SW2. An event in Inter Faith Week to celebrate contributions that faith groups make to the wider community in Lambeth and to discover where more could be done. Speakers: Chief Superintendent Matt Bell, Borough Police Commander and Councillor Lib Peck, Leader of Lambeth Council. Exhibits: projects and programmes with faith group involvement including stalls and displays from faith-based organisations and exhibits by partner agencies. With drinks and light refreshments.