Latest Events, Open Forum and Gallery

Next Forum meeting - Wednesday 20 October 2010

 

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Hearing Stories

Stronger Together’s ‘Hearing Stories’ Conference helps to destigmatise issues around mental health.

Local people’s experiences were used as the basis for a wide-ranging discussion of mental health issues from a faith perspective at Stronger Together’s Hearing Stories Conference. Delegates came from voluntary, faith and statutory sectors and community mental health teams. 

 
A further report is here

A summary of the small group work is here

Some photos from Hearing Stories:

Click on the speech bubble to see names.

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Open Forum (June 9 2010)

At the meeting last June Michael Coughlin (CEO of Reading Borough Council) and Bishop Stephen Cottrell both spoke and answered questions from the floor.

Vision for Reading 2030

Michael introduced the 3 key themes of the vision; People, Places & Prosperity.

People: for tolerance, cohesion and vibrant, creative, lively communities living in peace with dignity and commonality.

Places: attractive, improving some areas and maintaining the better areas.

Prosperity: everyone contributing to real world experiences. Vision is open for comment and for public to feel part of it. As effects hit localauthorities, they will seek capacity of the community to stand on own and not rely on LA. There is a rich network in Reading, including the Faith Forum.

 

Bishop Stephen spoke on good relationships In Reading and people of faith work well together. There is no such thing as a neutral perspective and all look through their faith lenses and with faith values. Speaking from Christian perspective, resonating with other faiths the Bishop said that when encounter God we can’t live without regard for others, faith or no faith and not to put us in a box called ‘faith’. He raised new education policy and the changing relationship with local authority and schools. Bishop Stephen urged that students be educated in the way they are meant to be, be human and for local authority to work closely. Faith schools can also be community schools, he said.

Talking of prosperity, the Bishop said peace and harmony is also part of prosperity. The earth is crying out for another way of inhabiting the earth.

 

 

Report of RFF 2009-2010

Report for June meeting from our representatives

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Hustings

Reading East at Reading Hindu Temple, Monday 19 April

from left to right

Anneliese Dodds, Labour; Rob Wilson, MP, Conservative; Andy Murrill, Editorial Director Evening Post; Revd Richard Christopher, Chair Reading Faith Forum; Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrats

Read the latest from Get Reading online

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Reading West at Tilehurst Methodist Church, Monday 26 April

From left to right

Daisy Benson, Liberal Democrat; Naz Sarkar, Labour; Chair: Maurice O'Brien, News Editor Reading Chronicle; Alok Sharma, Conservative

Read about the Hustings from Get Reading  here

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Previous Meeting Minutes and Reports

M FF 09 10 21 Minutes from October meeting

RFF Report for 21 Oct 2009 RFF meeting

RFF Minutes from June 2009 meeting

RFF Report for 3 June 2009 RFF meeting

RFF Minutes 11 Feb 2009

RFF Minutes 21 Oct 2008

Past Events

Conferences

We have organised 3 conferences since the summer of 2008:

• A conference for RE advisors about what faith communities can do for schools in helping deliver Religious Education held last autumn. A CD, Showing Faith Here and Now, with 15 audio visual presentations about faiths in Reading was presented to each school. Progress was made in relationships with the Reading SACRE which advises schools

• A conference called Greening Faiths about Climate change. A Muslim eco-network was established and a Christian eco-network strengthened. Read about the environmental groups - RITE the Islamic group and CEL the Christian group and what they are doing in here.

RITE Their newsletter is here

CEL Their news is here and more on Ecclesiastical Electricity is  here  
Read the Greening Faiths report under here

• A unique conference Hearing Voices where nearly 100 people came together from the PCT, social services, faith communities and service users. Speakers included Dr Qulsoom Inayaat (specialist psychologist) and  Ken Blanton (former chaplain at Prospect Park Hospital). A mental health service user also shared his experiences with the audience. Read the report here

Outside Events

We have participated in other events:

• Running a stall at the LSP Forum 2008 (as did many faith organisations)
• Helping RCRE run the Holocaust Memorial Day
• Supported the SENCO event with stalls from a number of faith-based organisations

Open Forums

We hold three open Forums a year which:

• Made representations to local government about parking near places of worship and recycling facilites for faith communities
• At the June 2009 meeting we met with Michael Coughlin, chief executive of Reading Borough Council to discuss a wide range of issues

 

Gallery