Stirring the pot for children and families

Come and get a free bowl of porridge to help support local children and families in need.

The Festival of Spirituality and Peace Team  will have a stand under at St John's Church, Edinburgh (corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road) on Friday 25th January 2013, handing out porridge to anyone who cares to stop and have a chat. We will be there from 8am to 12pm or whenever the porridge runs out.

Following the success of our last porridge stall we have chosen to support the local charity Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland (CPAG).

One in four of Scotland’s children are officially recognised as living in poverty. In some areas over one in three children grow up in poverty. With Scotland’s undoubted wealth CPAG believes this is a scandal. There is no reason why our child poverty rates should be so much higher than in many other European countries.

Poverty remains one of the most serious problems facing children today. Its effects last a lifetime, negatively impacting on health, education, social and physical development and seriously harming future life chances and opportunities.

CPAG in Scotland was established in 1999 and works to raise awareness of the devastating impact poverty has on children in Scotland, maximise families’ incomes by helping to ensure those eligible for benefits and tax credits receive their full entitlements and campaign for positive policy changes to end that poverty.

You can sign up to let us know you're coming at Eventbrite.

For more information contact Annika Wolf at: info@festivalofspirituality.org.uk

Your invitation...

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.

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(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.

What makes a person Scottish?

THE first of three conversations on the subject of Scottish Sectarianism, tomorrow we will go right to the roots of what constitutes Scottish identity.

Are Scots 'energetic, speculative and inventive' or 'insecure, vulnerable and Anglophobic'? Does Scotland ad Scottishness need re-inventing for the twenty-first century? How do we do this with or without Scottish independence?

Chaired by Isobel Lindsay. With by John Curtice, Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde, and Dr Carol Craig, CEO of the Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing.

There will be further updates on the outcomes of this important discussion.

Tuesday 7 August, 12:30pm-1:30pm, in St. Cuthbert’s Church, Lindisfarne Room, (Venue 122). Free ticketed. Reserve tickets here.

Peace requires tough listening

IN certain circles there are several topics often considered beyond the bounds of 'polite' conversation: namely religion, politics, sex and money.

But if these four are not "regular features" of our global conversation about peace, justice and spirituality, "the world will spin on some very strange axes," the Bishop of Edinburgh has suggested.

Bishop Brian Smith was speaking to a packed opening event and service for the 2011 Festival of Spirituality and Peace (FoSP) at St John's Church in the heart of Scotland's capital.

Quoting Emeritus Professor Peter Jones, giving a special lecture to mark the tercentenary of David Hume - Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist - Bishop Smith approved the definition of conversation as "a sacred and improvisatory practice in which the duty to listen precedes the right to speak."

Full story here.

Opening event

YOUR personal invitation to the Festival of Spirituality and Peace opening event on Sunday 7 August 2011...

Faith, hope and reality

THE theme for the 2011 Festival of Spirituality & Peace is Faith, Hope and Reality.

In an often troubled world, how do we build up real trust (which is what the word 'faith' betokens)? Where are our sources and foundations of hope as people and communities? And how do we face the harsher realities of the world without being dragged down into despair? 

One answer is that can we learn together by responding positively to the spirit of change embodied in the 'Arab Spring' - and in many other movements for cultural renewal, social justice, bridge-building and peacemaking across the world.

This year's Festival - which runs from 6 - 29 August - will offer many glimpses of a 'new world coming': through a range of conversations with change-makers and opinion formers; in performance, art and music; and in events designed to bring children and families together across cultures.  There will also be special events, film, and talks and workshops.

We look forward to meeting you there...