Sub-regional events will provide opportunities for people over 55 or under 30
to consider how faith communities can provide positive experiences of the ageing process
and enhance social inclusion and dignity for all.  They will also learn about faith projects working
across generations around our region.  These events will be:
     
Sheffield – 9th March 2010, 10am – 2.30pm (Sorby House, Burngreave, Sheffield S4 7LG)   
Hull – 25th March 2010, 10am – 2.30pm (Endsleigh Centre, 481 Beverley Road, Hull HU6 7LJ)   

Participants from the sub-regional events will then meet again at the regional event
to be held at the St George’s Centre, Leeds on 27th May 2010 from 12 noon – 3.30pm.

This regional event will draw together learning and discussions from the sub-regional events
and compile recommendations/good practice guidelines on social inclusion for faith communities
to consider in future projects.  There will be a keynote speaker (name to be confirmed).

Lunch will be served at all these events, including a vegetarian option.

Please note – delegates are encouraged to attend the regional event in Leeds on 27th May
as well as their sub-regional event.  Please put both dates in your diaries.

For further information and a registration form please contact:
Mary White at Yorkshire and Humber Faiths Forum

Email: mary.white@yorkshireandhumberfaiths.org.uk

Post: Suite E12, Joseph’s Well, Hanover Walk, LEEDS LS3 1AB

In previous years CoRE, the York City Centre Churches Care and Development Trust played host to the Bishop of Selby, Martin Wallace who has talked about faith and the city of York.  Last year the talks were so well attended even the standing room was full.  The themes clearly touched a chord with the audience. 

For the 2010 Lent talks five guest speakers have been invited to offer their views on faith in society today.  Each will explore a different topic covering volunteers, the traditions of feasting and fasting, commerce, education and health.

The talks on Monday lunchtimes aim to encourage people who work in the city centre to come along during their lunch breaks. Drinks will be provided and individuals are invited to bring their own lunch and eat it while listening. The series begins on Monday 22nd February when Jonathan Brown and Izzy Harris of Riding Lights Theatre Company in Friargate will speak about their Roughshod team and the importance of volunteers. 

The Rev Dr Inderjit Bhogal OBE, Chief Executive of the Yorkshire and Humber Faiths Forum will be the speaker on the 1st March when he will invite the audience to join with him in exploring the traditions of feasting and fasting.

Revd Dr Philip Bee, Director of the Oastler Centre in Leeds will speak on Monday 8th March about his work to assist churches and Christians of all persuasions to engage their faith more fully with economic life in Leeds.

Monday 15th March will see David Efird, Provost of Vanburgh College and a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of York speak about Faith and Education.

Finally on the 22nd March the Rev Stuart Petty will speak about Faith and Health reflected through his work as Senior Chaplain within York Hospitals.

The series begins on Monday 22nd February and runs for 5 weeks with each talk beginning at 12.30pm lasting approximately one hour at All Saints Pavement York.  Admission is free and everyone is welcome.  For more information or to book places for one, several or all of the talks please telephone 01904 619489 or email info@coreyork.org

Earlier today The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu hosted an event bringing regional religious leaders together at Bishopthorpe Palace.

The Archbishop of York introduced the event and listened to representatives from the Yorkshire & Humber Faith Forum (YHFF) speak about how the organisation has developed since its creation four years ago.  He also reflected with them on the current economic situation.

The YHFF discussed their latest report which is entitled ‘Grace and Generosity’: the contribution of Faith Communities to the Yorkshire and Humber Economy.

Dr Sentamu said: “I would like to affirm the work of the Yorkshire & Humber Faith Forum. They are doing invaluable work bringing people together across the region.

It is important, especially in the current economic climate, that we all look to help each other through difficult times. The title of the Forum’s latest report expresses the values with which we believe religious communities should serve the community – Grace and Generosity, rather than greed and gain.”

Inderjit Bhogal, Chief Executive of the Yorkshire and Humber Faiths Forum said, “This was a very significant meeting taking place during the national Interfaith Week.  It is the first time the leaders of different faiths met each other and other key people at the regional level.  The meeting encouraged and strengthened interfaith relations and work in our region.  Archbishop Sentamu launched the Faiths Forum four years ago.  We are able to highlight the contributions we have made in the region to advance the contribution of faith communities since then.  For example, our recent research has shown, at this critical economic time that faith communities contribute around £300 million per annum in this region.”

The “Faith in the Environment” Conference, organised by the Yorkshire and Humber Faiths Forum and the Environment Agency, was held ahead of the forthcoming United Nations Climate Conference in December, where world leaders will meet in Copenhagen to discuss a new treaty on climate change.  The event aimed to send the Copenhagen talks a unified message from faith groups in Yorkshire and Humber on the measures that are necessary to deal with the lasting effects of a changing climate in this region.

The conference followed on from a key piece of research by the Environment Agency which questioned leading environmentalists, businesses, NGOs, the media and think tanks to find out what they felt were the top fifty actions that could save the planet. Engaging with faith communities was identified as the second most popular answer, after the use of more energy efficient products.

Councillor Arthur Barker, the Leader of Hambleton District Council and Chair of the Regional Climate Change Executive Group, led the meeting with the guest speaker being celebrity BBC Look North’s weatherman Paul Hudson. 

Speaking about the future Paul said: “Most scientists agree that man is and continues to warm the planet, and if left unchecked, could lead us into irreversible climate change with an increasing number of extreme weather events. Events like this are important in spreading the message throughout our communities.”
Representatives from the Faiths Forum’s Council gave short presentations on the work being done in each of their faith communities to tackle climate change and how this can be taken forward in the future.

Those attending the conference participated in workshops led by the Environment Agency, the Energy Saving Trust and Local Government Yorkshire and Humber who allowed delegates to learn more about flood risk management, energy efficiency, microgeneration and the help that local authorities can provide to community groups.

Inderjit Bhogal, Chief Executive of the Yorkshire and Humber Faiths Forum said, “Deep respect for the environment is at the heart of the values of faith communities.  We have a very important role to play, alongside partners like the Environment Agency, to ensure that we all play our part in restoring and maintaining the ecological balance of our planet.”

Click here to read the presentation of Craig McGarvey, Yorkshire Area Manager Environment Agency.

Click here to read Professor Aradhana Mehra’s presentation.

Click here to read Paul Hudson’s presentation.

Click here to read John Davis’ presentation on Christianity and the Environment.

Click here to read Daryoush Mazloum’s presentation on the Baha’i Faith and the Enviroment and here to read the Baha’i Statement on Nature.

www.cityofsanctuary.com/film

As many people as possible around the country are being encouraged to see this film, so please help the City of Sanctuary movement to grow by sharing the link with your friends and contacts.

The film was produced by The Media Trust, with financial support from Local Government Yorkshire & Humber. Many thanks to everyone who made this film
possible.

The basic ingredients are cooked chickpeas and red kidney beans whether canned or freshly cooked and finely chopped or dried dill. The proportion depends on how many servings are required but I suggest one canned chickpeas and one of red kidney beans as a modest portion. Using caned food will save time.

Basic
Drain and mix the chickpeas and red kidney beans in a suitable bowl. Add the dill olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and serve. If you are not concern about slight discolouration, use light Soya sauce instead of salt.

Variations
You may add finely chopped fresh green, yellow and red pepper (one of each) and/or a medium size grated carrot. You may also experiment with other varieties of beans and peas even uncooked fresh garden peas.

If you are not strict vegetarian or vegan, you may add 250 gram small size prawns (shelled and cooked) to basic or other variations of the salad.

Main dish
To make it up to a main dish, cook well 250 gram of brown or unpolished rice (white polished rice is too soft to be mixed), allow to cool and mix with all the above ingredients.  A hand full of finely chopped walnut or peanut may enhance the taste This is better as a cold dish but if you wish to turn it to a warm dish, make sure all the main ingredients (rice, beans and prawns) are warm (not hot) before mixing. For cooking the rice you may follow the instructions on the packet.

The event saw a mixture of presentations, discussions and training workshops, and was also the platform to launch the new handbook, ‘Becoming a City of Sanctuary, a practical guide with inspiring examples’ (available from www.cityofsanctuary.org/book). 

The event saw many stories being told.  Will and Chris from Bradford City of Sanctuary told listeners how they had been invited to talk with local schoolchildren whose classmate of 4 years old had recently been deported after a dawn raid. The school has now decided to pay for the former pupil’s GCSE tuition in Nigeria.  Penny from Coventry challenged listeners to keep focussed on the ‘big picture’. Penny said “You can get so used to living with hostility, it’s hard to imagine what a place could look like as a City of Sanctuary”. She described some of the creative ways  Coventry have found to demonstrate what it means to be a City of Sanctuary, including ‘learning from refugees’ events, street drama and a ‘performance carwash’ for Refugee Week.  Helen from Leicester described their daytrip to the seaside for destitute people seeking sanctuary, including a Somali fisherman who had his first sight of the sea in 7 years.  Gina from Sheffield emphasised the importance of celebrating a ‘culture of hospitality’. She told how the Mayor of Sheffield presented a ‘City of Sanctuary award’ to young people from a Sheffield housing estate, who have befriended a local Karen refugee family from Burma.

The workshop on the Gateway Protection Programme, which resettles refugees from UN camps in British towns and cities, made a big impression on many participants. Some City of Sanctuary groups are now looking at how they can build support for a Gateway scheme in their local area.

Becoming a City of Sanctuary
ISBN 978-0-9562120-0-9
£9.50
www.cityofsantuary.org/book

Hazel Blears commented:
• Faith Communities are often first on the scene at times of crisis and make a real difference.
• Faith Forums are shining examples of how Faith communities are engaging with each other.
• If we don’t cash in on the resources of Faith communities we will miss out on this resource.
With these comments in mind the framework has established three core principles:

Partnership: valuing contributions made by partners and working together to increase their impact.
Empowerment: the Government working with the population to make life better for us all.
Choice: local communities acting on what will work for them.

So how will Face to Face and Side by Side make a difference in the Yorkshire and Humber regional communities?
The framework is aimed at encouraging dialogue and social action in local communities. To enable this, the Government will provide a three year programme of investment and support of around £7.5m.  The Regional Faith Forums will receive some funding and YHFF will contribute some of this towards local initiatives which meet the aims of the framework in this region.  In a country where more than three quarters of the population consider themselves to have a faith, this strategy will benefit the vast majority of the region.

‘Faith Communities and the Environment Conference’ will address the role of faith communities in tackling climate change highlighting the tools and resources available in the region to help people tackle climate change and the opportunities for local government to engage with faith communities on climate change challenges. It will explore in more detail: What the issues are – flood risk, water resources, energy security, waste reduction, fuel poverty and what’s happening within the region; where are the support services that can help and what resources are available.

This will be the first region wide event looking at the role of faith communities in addressing climate change.

Conference Programme:
9.30 Arrivals, registration, refreshments
10.00 Welcome and introduction to the day
10.10 Keynote Address: A brief introduction to the science of climate change
10.30 The Big Picture: Why is climate change the biggest threat?
10.45 The Regional Picture: Environment Agency
11.00 Break
11.30 Faith in the Environment (YHFF members)
Different faiths to give short presentation on their theology of the environment (supported by displays around the hall)
12.30 Lunch
1.30 Opportunities for regional partners and local government to engage with faith communities on climate change challenges (four sub-regional groups)
2.30 Break
2.45 Panel Q&A with regional partners
3.15 Conclusion (including individual pledge)
3.30 Close

To book your free place contact Mary White by email administrator@yorkshireandhumberfaiths.org.uk or telephone the Yorkshire and Humber Faiths Forum 0113 245 6444.