4/5/2023 0 Comments Skye strong togetherThis experience enabled me to understand that we should try not to label and stigmatise people because they come from another faith, cultural, social and ethnic background. I recently attended a superb conference on enrichment in diversity in Eindhoven, organised by the Focolare Movement, in which some members of the Welwyn Hatfield InterFaith Group participated. Michal Siewniak, 37, Welwyn Garden City: Despite many challenges unity is possible Whether you agree with past immigration or not, the people of the UK are of various races and religions/non-religion and this is their home now and may have been for generations. This was a great wake-up call for me regarding tolerance as they are all longstanding close friends, so I have had to accept and understand their reasons. More recently, I was shocked that several of my friends voted for Brexit. Over time, an understanding of people’s strengths and limitations grows. The committee has people with and without mental health problems – we’re all mixing together and sometimes socialising together so discrimination is not possible. The lovely volunteers for the mental health drop-in I started up nearly eight years ago constantly show solidarity with those with mental health conditions. No two people are exactly alike and we have to accept that each person is entitled to their own thoughts and habits. Unity means sticking together despite our differences. Unity gives us back our control over our wellbeing in a very real way.Ĭarol, 69, London: Socialising helps prevent discrimination Because you can, even if it is only in your tiny microcosms of an apartment building, village, city or county. Standing united, helping each other out in need, makes you feel strong. People feel powerless, as all means to influence their lives and their own happiness seem to be slipping away. When my child became ill and had to spend a long time in a hospital, the villagers got together to help: babysitting my older one, taking turns to sit with my child, sending gifts, cooking they even wanted to raise money to help. We play music together every week, we sing together, we make pottery together. We eat together every Wednesday and everyone brings what they can. In need of help in gardening, music classes, babysitting, school activities, cooking, moral support? You’ve got it. In this little village, people from all social classes, including me, do everything together. Getting ready to eat with the local community. I’ve never had more friends or more people to lean on, to rely on. I volunteered for everything and everybody: school kids, elderly, youth activities, music classes and neighbours. To avoid loneliness as a foreigner living in France, I became involved. Starting anew in a new place was my opportunity for a clean slate. I’m a writer from Finland and before coming to the little village in which I now live I was a loner. Molly, 41, France: Standing united makes you feel strong Three congregations merged into one and became living proof that people are indeed stronger together. Over two decades the congregation has grown and they have built a new church hall, which helps them to serve the community. The project worked because everyone’s heart was in it. Together we developed a pattern of worship that was a mix of our two traditions. A troubleshooting Methodist minister was drafted in and we formed a local ecumenical project, which resulted in the vast majority of the members of the Methodist chapels agreeing with the decision to sell their buildings and join us in a unified congregation. So we decided to act as a catalyst for unity. I was once vicar of a parish that had two Methodist chapels who spoke to us more than to each other. The amazing thing is that the individual parties usually get back far more than they put in. Everybody has to give up something dear to them, at least their independence, but usually quite a bit more. Unity means two or more people or groups or institutions joining together to act as one. Since that day, the song has travelled around the world, with contributions from an extraordinary range of choirs and solo artists.Geoff, 74, Sheffield: Three congregations merged into one is proof we are stronger together The song was recorded in London last August and was screened at Hackney More In Common at the weekend.
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