Category Archives: UN International Day of Peace

All you need for peace weekend 20-22 September

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peace_leaflet_church_webI hope everyone has received information about this weekend’s activities marking the UN International Day of Peace.

In case a link is easier for spreading the word, here are the three flyers:

For Islamic centres (Friday 20th)

For synagogues (Saturday 21st)

For churches (Sunday 22nd)

We’ll also be embarking on Flights for Peace on the afternoon of Sunday 22nd September at 2-3pm.

We’ll ‘fly’ from Greenwich to Newham on the Emirates Air Line (cable car) in gondolas which have been reserved for us by TfL.

If you’d like to join in, please let LBFN know.  Young people and accompanied children will be taking part and are very welcome.

We are delighted that so many organisations have offered their support: Christian Muslim Forum, Faith-based Regeneration Network, Muslim Council of Britain, Faiths Forum for London, Churches Together in England, Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, The Cordoba Foundation and many more.

It’s a very simple idea.

We invite in visitors (from different traditions from our own) and exchange messages of peace.

Messages from nine religious traditions are printed on each leaflet.

If you would like an invitation to an Islamic centre, a synagogue (which will probably be in the sukkah) or a church, please get in touch with your local faith forum, or with LBFN, and we will arrange it.  Schools are getting involved, too.  You will be one of millions marking the UN International Day of Peace.

Take a photograph of your event, big or small, and send it in – we like to share good news!

The Facebook page for this weekend is very popular and has all the latest news, photos and updates https://www.facebook.com/sept21.  The twitter name is @network_peace.

Peace weekend | 20th, 21st, 22nd September

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The London Peace Network (which LBFN brought together last year for the Olympic Truce) is up & running again.  The salaam / shalom / peace bird is on the wing.  Find all the latest information on https://www.facebook.com/sept21 – link, like, share!

This is an initiative which offers a simple and effective way to build and strengthen relationships between people from different religious and cultural traditions at local level – at the same time as many people all around the world are engaged in peace-building activities.

peace_leaflet_church_webThe UN International Day of Peace falls each year on 21st September.  Last year, hundreds of Islamic centres led their local communities in marking the day by inviting in visitors to exchange messages of peace.

This year Islamic centres will be inviting in visitors on Friday 20th September, synagogues on Saturday 21st September and (to warm up for next year when the Day will fall on a Sunday) churches on 22nd September.

What you can do:

  1. Decide when you would like your visitors to arrive.
  2. Contact your local faith forum to find people from different religious traditions.
  3. Invite them to your Islamic centre, synagogue or church, along with any information they may find useful for their visit.
  4. When they arrive, exchange the messages of peace on the back of the flyer – or your own messages of peace.
  5. You may offer a cup of tea or some simple hospitality – it is up to you.
  6. If you would like to stay in touch, exchange contact details before your guests leave.

Churches Together in England, amongst many others, is supporting this initiative.  The flyer for churches can be downloaded here.  The flyers for synagogues and Islamic centres will be available soon and the Christian Muslim Forum is helping local religious communities get in touch with each other.  Messages of peace from nine traditions are printed on the back of each leaflet.

Please circulate the flyers as they become available and assist your local faith forum or network to participate through issuing and accepting invitations during the peace weekend.

If you would like any further information or details, just contact LBFN’s convener.

Peace at the Comedy Store 16 September

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bird croppedLBFN had so many requests from people involved in last year’s Olympic Truce activities that the London Peace Network has been brought back into action.

We have plans to mark the UN International Day of Peace on Friday 20 September (led by Islamic centres), Saturday 21 September (led by synagogues) and Sunday 22 September (a possible Flight for Peace over the Thames . . )

comedy store logoBefore then, however, International Alert (the UK’s major peacebuilding organisation that works across the globe with communities affected by violent conflict) is marking the day by holding a brilliant event at The Comedy Store, just off Piccadilly Circus.

Shappi Khorsandi is performing at 'Are You Taking the Peace' on 16 September.

Shappi Khorsandi in the line-up for ‘Are You Taking the Peace‘.

Date: Monday 16 September 2013 at 8pm

Location: The Comedy Store, Haymarket House, 1A Oxendon Street, London SW1Y 4EE

Tickets: Early bird offer £11/ Concessions £9/ Full price £13.  Book online here.

“Join us for another night of superb comedy at the Comedy Store and help us celebrate the UN’s International Day of Peace.

  • Shappi Khorsandi
  • Holly Walsh
  • Tiffany Stevenson
  • Sara Pascoe
  • Alistair Barrie
  • More acts to be announced

Come celebrate peace and enjoy this fabulously funny line-up of comedians all in aid of International Alert.”

Anyone interested in going as a group?  Let LBFN know and we can meet up for coffee beforehand.

Inter Faith Network news | International Day of Peace

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IFN logoHere is the Inter Faith Network’s August bulletin, which includes plenty of local news & opportunities in London, including

  • World Congress of Faiths’ annual Younghusband Lecture (19 August)
  • South London Inter Faith Group’s lunch (29 August)
  • Faiths Together in Lambeth interfaith walk (7 September)
  • Westminster Cathedral Inter Faith Group visit to the Jain Temple in Potters Bar (10 September)
  • Churches Together in Britain & Ireland conference on 12 September
  • Ride & Stride (Heritage of London) on 14 September
  • European Days of Jewish Culture and Heritage15-29 September
  • Hounslow Friends of Faith women’s discussion on wealth on 25 September
  • Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe and the School for Oriental & African Studies’ exhibition The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination from 11 October
  • One World Week 20-27 October
  • Mitzvah Day 17 November
  • Inter Faith Week 17-23 November
  • and opportunities at 3FF and MUJU

There are also items on Multi Faith Spaces and the International Day of Peace.

Remember to keep 6 November 4pm free for LBFN’s theology for practitioners event on Multi Faith Spaces.

Plans for peace-building activities on 20 & 21 September are gathering pace, building on the pioneering Olympic Truce work of the London Peace Network last year.

If your local mosque (on Friday 20 September) or synagogue (on Saturday 21 September, which falls within the Feast of Sukkot) would like to take part this year, inviting in visitors to share messages of peace, please contact LBFN. Equally, if you would like an invitation to a mosque or synagogue in your borough on those days, please let us, or your local faith forum, know.  Flights for Peace across the Thames are also a possibility . .

September 21st falls in a Sunday next year, so it will be the churches’ opportunity to open their doors.  Sermon notes for all three religious traditions are being prepared this year.

If you are planning activities which are open to people across London, just let LBFN know and they will be added to the blog.

Join in the International Day of Peace | Friday 21 September

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Make a difference this year – join together to mark the International Day of Peace on 21st September!

The London Peace Network, co-ordinated by LBFN, has been working on something special.   Download the flyer here.

The UN’s International Day of Peace, which is marked each year on 21 September, falls on a Friday this year.

Local Islamic centres across the UK and overseas will be coming together as usual for Friday Prayers (Salaatul-Jamu’a).  This year, they will also be leading their local communities in marking the International Day of Peace.

They are inviting visitors to join them during or after Friday Prayers to exchange messages of peace, to celebrate local peace-building activities and to enjoy the hospitality offered.

Local schools, churches, synagogues, temples, gurdwaras and community organisations are invited to observe the day by accepting these invitations.

Some Islamic centres in the UK are pairing up with a nearby church, religious community or school and linking their observance of the International Day of Peace to similar pairs overseas.  The growing list includes centres in:

Bosnia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Nigeria, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, India, USA, Iraq, Ghana and Lebanon.

The following Muslim leaders invite you to take part in marking the International Day of Peace this year:

Yousif Al-Khoei OBE, Al-Khoei Islamic CentreDilowar Khan, East London Mosque and London Muslim CentreProfessor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Organisation of Islamic CooperationDr Mustafa Cerić, Grand Mufti of Bosnia-Herzegovina

Maulana Sarfraz Madni, Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board
Farooq Murad, Muslim Council of Britain
Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi, Majlis-e-Ulama Europe
Anas Altikriti, The Cordoba Foundation

Dr Ahnad Al-Dubayan, The London Central Mosque and the Islamic Cultural Centre

You will find messages of peace from nine of the world religions on the flyer. Peace One Day, which works each year for a Global Truce, will be live-streaming some of the activities during the day and featuring them at their Peace Concert that evening.

If you would like to participate – by inviting visitors to your local Islamic centre or by receiving an invitation to visit – please get in touch.  All participants will be acknowledged and we’ll be celebrating all the activities later in the year.

Olympic Truce

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21 September: Peace One Day

I’ve been asking around to see who else might be interested in partnering us on a London Truce during the 2012 Games.  LBFN members work with our local public agencies, so there are plenty of possibilities – knife amnesties (police), a halt to domestic violence (Community Safety), anti-bullying campaigns (schools, workplaces), challenging post-code violence (youth services), peaceful public transport (TfL).  I’m sure you have plenty of ideas, too.

Peace One Day is starting a countdown to the 2012 Peace Day on 21st September this year.

“So, we have decided to officially launch the 365-day countdown to the Global Truce at our first concert in conjunction with the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad at the O2 Arena London on Peace Day 21 September 2011.

Representatives from all sectors of society will be present at this show, and their commitment to the Global Truce announced on the night.”

Sounds good – let’s talk more on Tuesday.

Do you know others who are interested?  I’ve heard the Bishop of London is, so I’ll make contact.  People from other denominations and religious traditions?  Leave a comment here or let me know.