Other Links

Committee Members

Convener: Revd Bill Mahood, Secretary: Revd Brenda Willis

Mrs Linda Hopley, Miss Sarah King, Revd Molly Kenyon, Revd Jon Dean

Consultants: Revd Dr David Bowen (Hinduism and Islam), Revd Dr John Parry (Sikhism), Revd Ron Lewis (Judaism), Revd Elizabeth Brown (New Religious Movements)

1.1 The Committee’s report last year ended with a reference to the Millennium celebrations.

A great deal of our time continues to be spent on this issue. We would want to affirm that the Millennium is, or should be, primarily a marking of two thousand years of Christian faith and witness. Within this statement there is ample cause for both celebration and for repentance. This combination will ensure that our celebrations will not be triumphalist nor paralysed by guilt. We have been happy to co-operate with other committees of the church in preparations for the Millennium and we have contributed to the critique of the Government’s plans and preparations for this event. It is certain that there are a great number of criticisms that can be made of the ways in which the Millennium is going to be celebrated. Many people feel that an essential Christian event has been hijacked by the combined forces of the State and the media. However, it is important that people of faith are represented on all groups that are responsible for events both local and national.

2.1 However we choose to celebrate the Millennium it will be important to remember that all of life in Britain today is set within a multi-faith context. And we are affected by our context, whether we welcome it or resent it. For many people everyday life is obviously multi-faith and multi-cultural. This is the make-up of their neighbourhoods and they find themselves enriched by it. But for many others their immediate context has changed very little. It is a single culture and the result can be that they are the victims of misinformation and fear. Problems can be compounded when people, whose attitudes and ethos are predominantly mono-cultural, have power to make decisions that affect the lives of thousands of people living, for example, in inner city areas that are now multi-faith and multi-cultural. The church can play an important role in fostering the sense of being one community and that its diversity is a cause for celebration.

3.1 During the past year the committee has continued to sponsor opportunities for discussion with people of other faiths. We are concerned to maintain our initiative in enabling Jews, Muslims and Christians to meet and explore in depth the issues that we have in common and also those on which we clearly differ. We are all people for whom faith is important. We each hold a doctrine of revelation. There are issues in society on which we can, and should, speak with a common voice. In learning to trust one another we will gain confidence for still greater exploration of faith. In the autumn we held a conference for Christians and Sikhs and we hope to repeat this in the near future. In early July we will be hosting a Reform/Reformed dialogue. Jews and Christians together will explore what it means to be part of the radical wing of our faiths.

4.1 Questions raised by our context must not be pushed away or privatised. The United Reformed Church Committee for Inter Faith Relations is there to help in this process. In its membership there are those who have a great deal of experience in working for the Church in other countries, often where Christianity is a small minority of the population. Most members of the committee are closely involved with other faith communities in this country and some are involved in teaching and academic research. In other words there is a wide variety of experience and this is available to help individuals and congregations to face the important questions for people of faith in this country as we approach the Millennium celebrations.