WE are making a difference.
We recently had the Altrincham Interfaith Group Shared Meal which was held at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys and almost 150 people attended from all the major faiths.
One of my tasks is to arrange a table plan so that each table has a mix of Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu (plus some others) people around it, with about 10 per table.
The result is that everyone gets a chance to talk to people of different faiths — people perhaps that they would never meet in their everyday life.
It is extraordinary how this simple arrangement produces such a wonderful, happy atmosphere.
When people are sharing food together and chatting away, all ethnic and religious barriers fall away and they are just ordinary folk having a good time.
If only more people could do this more often!
I recall how, some time ago, there was a confrontation between members of the English Defence League and Muslims at a Mosque in York.
What could have been a nasty situation was defused by the Muslims inviting the EDL into the Mosque for tea and biscuits. Food is a great equaliser.
In this world which is rife with stories of anti-semitism, Jihadists and religious intolerance, here in Altrincham we are managing, in our own small way, to make a difference.
Carolyn Jones
Hon Sec
Altrincham Interfaith Group
Member of Dunham Road Unitarian Chapel
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