Interfaith activities have been a big focus with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over the past few years, and Edinburgh has risen to the challenge.
On Wednesday 12th July , an Interfaith evening was held at the Edinburgh chapel, with representatives from various interfaith communities from Scotland and Wales, all welcomed for an evening of celebrations. Evelyn Liston, Director of Public Affairs in Scotland, hosted the event on behalf of the Church and welcomed everyone in attendance warmly.
- Edinburgh Interfaith
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- Edinburgh Interfaith
- EDinburgh Interfaith speaker
- Edinburgh Interfaith
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The event was opened by Ishrat Hussnain, a Muslim, who offered a prayer for love, unity and faith within the various religious communities. This is the first time a Muslim has prayed from an LDS pulpit in Scotland. Next, there was a sitar performance, provided by the talented Allan Kerr, and various talks were offered by the organisations in attendance.
First to speak was Julie Jones, LDS of Interfaith Wales, who spoke about working with the Welsh government to promote the many religious communities in Wales. She was followed by Maureen Seir, who is the director for Interfaith Scotland. She spoke about the beginnings of interfaith work in Scotland in the 1970s, and how much it has flourished in the area.
After that, Anne Edwards, government relations specialist for the LDS Church in Scotland, spoke about the Church's Self Reliance programmes, which are used to support people in need across the globe, regardless of faith, and about the blessings that come from being self-reliant in these challenging times.
Lastly, Pall Singh of the Cinnamon Network spoke about the excellent work the Cinnamon Network provide for the Scottish community, and about a study they carried out which showed that £93 million has been put into the economy by faith communities in Scotland, through hours of volunteer work and many acts of service in the nation's communities.
The meeting was closed and the Edinburgh youth provided refreshments for the event. Many attendees commented on the evening’s unmitigated success, and it is hoped that more events like this can take place across the UK.