Unfamiliar Journey

Would you like to join me on an Unfamiliar Journey? This is the title of a fascinating and challenging experience which is on offer to people from St Margaret’s, tailor-made for us, in fact, and which has direct relevance to our Mission Action Plan.

 It comes from the staff of an Anglican-led, ecumenically-staffed centre officially opened here in Leicester by the Archbishop of Canterbury during his visit as part of the Celebrate 80 festivities, but already internationally known.

 Most of us are aware that Leicester is on the cusp of becoming (may already have become) the first city in the UK with a majority of people whose roots are in countries other than Britain. The fastest growing faith group among them, probably about 40,000 people in Leicester itself, is Islam. Indeed, as more people of Hindu faith (about 50,000 in total) move outside the city, it is likely that Muslim families will soon constitute its largest non-Christian faith group.

Evington Road: St Philip's and, just beyond it, the Umar Masjid

 However you look at it, this has implications for us at St Margaret’s as we look to the future. At the very least, it means that in caring for the people of the City Centre we need to engage and work with people who revere Christ and his Mother but assert that God’s purpose was only fully revealed in the message of the Prophet Muhammed and the words of the Quaran.

 One practical issue involves our plan for a place within the church available for quiet prayer and contemplation by people of whatever background or tradition. If an anxious, or just weary Muslim person entered our church, needing a place to be quiet and offer a prayer to God, what would make them feel welcome and comfortable?

 Canon Andrew Wingate, Director of the St Philip’s Centre for Study and Engagement in a Multi-Faith Society, which is invitating us on the Unfamiliar Journey, is emphatic that churches welcoming Muslims and others into their buildings should not feel under pressure to remove the Cross, for example. On the contrary, one of his central messages is that Christians studying and engaging with Muslims need to be confident in their faith. Don’t be timid or afraid, he says. The object is not to water down our own faith, nor to make converts, but to better understand the faith of others so that we can better love each other and work together for the common good and the coming of the Kingdom.

 So what’s on offer? Andrew and one of his colleagues, Dr Shanthikumar, a former Roman Catholic parish priest, can arrange a short version, tailored to our needs, of their acclaimed six-week course called Unfamiliar Journey. We can meet on an evening of our choice, over perhaps three weeks, at a place of our choosing, for one-and-a-half to two hours, and maybe one evening could be a visit to the Leicester Central Mosque, who are very happy to have us visit. (I can testify to their generous hospitality from personal experience!)

Leicester Central Mosque, Conduit Street

 In our study and reflection we would browse through key aspects of Islam, Islamic writings, and Islam in the UK and Leicester. The object would be to become better informed, and, if we wished, to form more long-lasting relationships. At a basic level we could ask ‘What’s it like to be a Muslim wife or mother?’ and go on to questions like ‘What does jihad really mean?’, ‘Why is charitable giving an obligation?’, and ‘How do Muslims talk to God?’

 Let me share one experience of my own. I was surprised to discover that the Central Mosque is of the Sufi tradition. Most of us will have come across the famous book of Sufi poetry, translated by Edward Fitzgibbon, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. We all know the lines, ‘A book of verse beneath the bough, A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou Beside me in the Wilderness, and Wilderness is Paradise enow’. Sufis are the broadest-minded of the major Muslim traditions, and the Central Mosque prides itself on its independence from external influences – for instance those which often accompany financial help from overseas. Sufis share with Christians the primacy of Love, emphasise spirituality and tolerance, and have a rich cultural heritage, mainly in ancient Persia and Asia Minor, though worshippers at the Central Mosque come from all parts of the globe.

 I’m going to enjoy this Journey, but I’d love to share it with a group of people from St Margaret’s. There are no lower or upper limits on the size of our group – and we would be free to invite others to join us: friends, neighbours, and our sister congregation at St Nicholas. So please, if you’re interested, have a word with me, phone me (0116-259-1011), e-mail me (graham.jones@sjc.ox.ac.uk), or write to me (Willowbank, 9a High Street, Great Glen, LE8 9FJ). We’ll need to let Andrew and Shanthi know what evenings and location we prefer by the middle of November, say the 15^th.

 These are tense days when Christians more than ever are called on to work for peace. Andrew says it’s important not to be too ambitious – but simply try to make a friend and let God take us forward. So that’s the aim. That said, we should be open to God’s possibilities. If this was successful one possibility could be that in time we could form a relationship that could be a model for others. Two places of worship of the same God of different but sister traditions, learning to understand and respect each other, and exploring ways of sharing God’s work.

Graham Jones