Getting into the charitable spirit

THE Festival of Spirituality and Peace and the Edinburgh Interfaith Association are showcasing ten different charities based in and around Scotland's capital this weekend.

The event will take place on Saturday 12 January 2013 in the hall at St John’s Episcopal Church, which is on the corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road.

Doors open from 1pm through to 5.30pm, giving a chance to faith-based and non-faith related local charities to present themselves and their causes, for people to engage with them, and to learn more about their projects and fields of action.

"If you live in or near Edinburgh, then this coming weekend's Volunteer Charity Fair provides an ideal opportunity to look at the difference you can help make this year," says Annika Wolf from the Festival of Spirituality and Peace, which is extending its activities beyond August each year to spread the spirit of goodwill throughout the year.

The Festival says it is "delighted" to welcome representatives of Edinburgh Cyrenians, L’Arche Edinburgh, the Together-We-Can-Stop-It-Project, Christian Aid, Feed Glasgow, Waverley Care, the Edinburgh Interfaith Association, and Streetwork, among others, to this gathering.

"We will begin with an introduction to all the participating organisations, followed by a tea and coffee break, and further opportunities to talk to all representatives throughout the afternoon at their individual stalls," explains Ms Wolf.

* Others wishing to take part or to find out more can contact Annika Wolf at info@festivalofspirituality.org.uk

CLiC launches with a song

THE Festival of Spirituality and Peace has a new neighbour at St John's Church in Edinburgh, where it has been based for twelve years.

The Centre for Living Christianity (CLic for short) was launched on 7 October 2012 at Henderson's Cafe to provide fresh ways of exploring belief and hope for a diverse world. As well as hearing about the new venture and enjoying some good food and wine at a 'First Supper', the 50+ guests also had a good sing, as you can see (and hear - just about!) in this clip!

t

A vintage year for the Festival

THE 2012 Festival of Spirituality and Peace has been described as a “resounding success” by audiences, participants, sponsors - and by the Scottish Government's cabinet secretary for justice, Kenny MacAskill MSP, speaking at the official closing event, held at St John’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh at the beginning of the week.

Media Coordinator Simon Barrow, who is also co-director of the beliefs and values thinktank Ekklesia, said that it had been "a vintage year" for the Festival, when other Edinburgh events have suffered as a result of competing attractions like the Olympics and the dampening impact of the recession.

Among the many highlights of the Festival of Spirituality and Peace this year have been acclaimed South African a capella group Soweto Entsha; the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Hertzogovina talking about the Bosnian war 20 years on; a ‘Scottish Six’ series on the past, present and future of Scotland (featuring broadcaster Lesley Riddoch and author Andy Wightman), and ‘Poetry in the Persian Tent’ (which has included headliners Liz Lochhead, Jackie Kay and Marie Howe).

More here. 

Evening News coverage...

Festival of Spirituality and Peace: definitely a hit

SCOTTISH cabinet secretary for justice, Kenny MacAskill MSP, has described the 2012 Festival of Spirituality and Peace as a “resounding success”.

He was speaking at the official closing event for the Festival, held at St John’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh last night (Sunday 26 August).

Mr MacAskill praised the way the Festival of Spirituality and Peace, which is backed by the Scottish Government along with a range of civic, faith and educational groups, brings together people from a wide variety of backgrounds to look at cultural and political issues from a fresh angle. It offers both a Scottish and a global outlook.

Life is about “more than money and material wellbeing”, Mr MacAskill affirmed, and the Festival of Spirituality and Peace – which has featured 400 events across 21 venues this year – is an important example of how to develop a broader perspective.

Among the many highlights of the Festival this year have been acclaimed South African a capella group Soweto Entsha; the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Hertzogovina talking about the Bosnian war 20 years on; a ‘Scottish Six’ series on the past, present and future of Scotland (featuring broadcaster Lesley Riddoch and author Andy Wightman), and ‘Poetry in the Persian Tent’ (which has included headliners Liz Lochhead, Jackie Kay and Marie Howe).

Also present for the evening was Edinburgh City councillor, Melanie Main, who helped present the second Edinburgh Peace Award to former Dalry Primary School head teacher, David Fleming, for his outstanding contribution to community relations.

Kenny MacAskill MSP and Councillor Melanie Main stayed for the reception after the celebrations in the Church in order to greet the large number of people who have made the Festival of Spirituality and Peace 2012 possible, including chair Raymond Baudon, former director and founder the Rev Donald Reid, and newly announced director Katherine Newbigging.

The Festival of Spirituality and Peace is sponsored and supported by the Church of Scotland, Christian Aid, Edinburgh City Centre Churches, Edinburgh City Council, Edinburgh Inter-Faith Association, Ekklesia think-tank, the Iona Community, the Scottish Government, St John’s Episcopal Church Edinburgh, and the University of Edinburgh.

From AllMediaScotland

Report: Bosnia twenty years on

IN the second of the Feature conversations at this year's Festival of Spirituality and Peace, two especially distinguished speakers came together to discuss the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

They were Dr Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina and religious leader of the Bosnian Muslim community, and the Rev Donald Reeves, Director of the Soul of Europe, who has been awarded an MBE for his work in the Balkans.

After a brief historical run-down, Mustafa Ceric gave an impassioned introduction, urging the European community to recognise Bosnia as the 'issue and problem' of Europe, and arguing that denying genocide can lead to its repetition and that 'to deny genocide is to commit genocide'.

However, on a more positive note, he said that many Bosnians are for 'peace and reconciliation' and that interfaith work is being carried out in Bosnia-Herzegovina, often with more success than here in Britain

Donald Reeves also discussed interfaith work, and his role in rebuilding a Bosnian mosque that had been destroyed by Christians. He argued that Christians, as perpetrators, have a duty to carry out such acts of reconciliation.

He also argued in favour of a more positive view of the Bosnian situation: while there is a lot of poverty and mistrust of politicians, there is also a strong desire for reconciliation.

The ensuing discussion proved challenging. Some audience members accused Mustafa Ceric of 'demonising' the Serbs by presenting them as sole perpetrators of the violence and ethnic cleansing. However,  he continued to argue that the facts supported his view that this is not a case of equal responsibility.

The impact of the Bosnian civil war on Britain, particularly on British Muslims, was discussed, with audience members sharing their own recollections and frustration of the failure of the Anglican church to take action - though, as Rev Reeves pointed out, the Anglican church in these islands is not necessarily a homogenous group.

Overall, it was a fascinating discussion, and a great insight into the human capacity to love and to hate, to build and to destroy.

-------

(c) Katie MacFadyen is reading Classics at the University of Edinburgh. She has been a media intern for the Festival of Spirituality and Peace, and a regular contributor to Spirituality & Peace News.

Still time to go twoppy over our Festival!

FOR the first time the Festival of Spirituality and Peace has its own dedicated mobile phone app... enabling people to track events and performers instantly online.

The Festival's Twoppy application can be downloaded in a few seconds on most data phones by going to http://m.twoppy.com/FoSP/

The app tells you about each event and its venue and enables you to build a personal itinerary for the Festival... all on your phone.  

Get connected today!

'Scottish Six' starts at 6pm today!

AFTER much talk about the need to debate Scotland’s future, and the prospect of a Scottish debate-free zone on the Fringe, land reform campaigner Andy Wightman and myself have decided to join forces and stick our heids o’er the parapet. So we’ll have a show on at six o’clock nine weekday nights across August 14-24 as part of the Festival of Spirituality and Peace - writes Lesley Riddoch. 

"It’s called The Scottish Six - debates you don’t get on TV. But the BBC and Scottish media will figure only fleetingly in the first gig. Our much bigger concern is the way that inequality, entitlement and disempowerment disfigure Scotland and limit the ways most Scots can imagine the future. Each night, land campaigner Andy Wightman (Who Owns Scotland and The Poor Had no Lawyers) will kick off The Scottish Six with a characteristically hard-hitting look at how the nexus of money, politics and property has created an unequal society in which too many people are powerless to make a positive contribution."

More here. Runs from 6-7pm, 14-17th and 20-24th August in the Hall at St John's Church (Venue 127). Tickets on the door or via the Hub. £6 (£4 concessions).

A classic contributor

AMONG the interns helping out with media work for the Festival of Spirituality and Peace, we are delighted and grateful to have Katie MacFadyen working with us. 

So far she’s enabled us to get our Facebook and Twoppy (mobile app) events features up to speed – so that you can get the latest information on the Festival while checking in with your friends or making a call.

Katie is also writing extensively for us on Spirituality & Peace News, profiling upcoming attractions and reporting or commenting on what’s going on.

When not working with FoSP, Katie is a fourth year student of Classics at the University of Edinburgh, about to start a dissertation in Reception Studies: the study of how classics is and has been used in subsequent cultural contexts.

A fine crafter of words, she also writes speculative fiction and theatre, as well as film and book reviews. Her theatre reviews from the Fringe Festival 2011 can be found on thenewkid.co.uk and her general reviews can be found on her blog, somesuchlike.wordpress.com.

Cooperation requires tough collaboration

COOPERATION is a natural thing, but it isn't easy. It requires a real willingness to work together across different world views.

That was the message of keynote speaker Dr Stephen Cherry, from the Anglican Diocese of Durham, as he helped launch the 2012 Festival of Spirituality and Peace.

A rich cultural mix and a meaningful religious exchange requires more than polite toleration or middle-class liberalism, he said. Rather it involves a much more gutsy, world-changing effort. We need leadership that makes for peace.

'Collaboration for peace' is a good way of extending the 'cooperation for change' message of the Festival, suggested Dr Cherry. It is a challenging business. Sometimes collaborators are suspected of being traitors. A combination of idealism and realism is required.

Likewise, peacemakers will face awkward questions, become critical friends. They will need to develop visionary determination, honourable virtues and spiritual maturity.

The business of building peace and collaborating for change is a duty for people of faith, but not an invitation to turn things into an olympic race between beliefs. Rather, we need a peace olympics that uses our distinctiveness to good purpose, said Dr Cherry.

The story behind the St John's murals

THE St John's murals, now in their thirtieth year, are now a vital and unusual part of the heritage of St John's church, the Festival of Spirituality and Peace's venue and partner. 

The latest one will be unveiled next weekend, as the artist gets down to work after 'crowd source' discussions with a team of people earlier this week.


The murals are painted eight times a year and comment on issues in the church or the wider world with the aim of being challenging and prophetic. 

As a side effect they are often controversial, provoking dialogue and sometimes friendship between groups. In the month of August, the St John's mural is incorporated into the festival.

Various ideas for this year's festival mural were tossed around, from Scottish Sectarianism to the uprising in Syria, before the obvious conclusion was arrived at: this summer's main event, the London Olympics.

Unfortunately, the controversies surrounding the Olympics are a thousand-fold. To name just two, the issue of the Palestinian athletes was discussed, as was the marked contrast between London 2012 and the riots of summer 2011.

Ultimately, what most captured our interest was the landmark status of the 2012 Olympics as the first time every participating country has allowed female athletes to compete. This is a victory for women's rights worldwide and the festive month of August seemed like an appropriate time for a celebratory message.

This message is broader than its athletic context; the festival mural will highlight gender issues in general and in particular will tackle the notion than feminism is a western phenomenon. We also wish to show women as vital to development and progress.

The theme of this month's mural will therefore be 'Race for Equality'. We plan to show a relay race of women from around the world beating out competing figures such as poverty, repression and lack of education, emphasising the importance of perseverance and teamwork to not only this summer's victory but feminism as a whole.

The mural will be painted on Friday 10^th and Saturday 11^th August and will be available to view until the end of the Festival. The Facebook page for the St John's Murals can be found here.

Take a real break with FoSP

THE Festival's first Scotsman advert, one of four, appeared this weekend... attracting people looking for holidays!

With weekend breaks proving popular for people who want to get away but have to keep an eye on the pounds, the paper's offers are proving a good draw.

Meanwhile, those who are going to be in Edinburgh in August (the biggest draw of all!) now know about one of the capital city's most innovative and dynamic Festivals.

Featured events include the fabulous Soweto Entsha, Charles Handy on alternative ways of thinking about work, Poetry at the Persian Tent, Last Tango in Edinburgh, and women in Afghanistan's conflict.

You can view the whole programme online here.

We're back!

THE 2012 Festival of Spirituality and Peace is now only three weeks away... and everything is gearing up with increasing speed.

That includes our news and social media operation. Spirituality & Peace News is in the process of gearing up, and re-launches officially with daily updates from Monday 16th July.

We have lots of exciting things in store for you - previews, ideas, updates, background information, still and moving images. This is the place to keep in touch with what's going on as the Festival moves towards lift off.

The Festival of Spirituality and Peace is now in its 12th Year.  

The journey begins once more...

Our shiny new brochure...

THE Festival of Spirituality and Peace brochure for 2012 - packed with information about hundreds of events at St John's Church, Princes Street, Edinburgh, and 20 other venues across the city - is already a big hit.

"Inspiring!", "Colourful," "showcases the most imaginative Festival of the season," and "Your best yet!" are just some of the comments we've received. You can pick up your copy in person at St John's, or from one of dozens of outlets across the Capital. You can also get all the details online, of course.