Work about to start on interfaith and Muslim prayer areas at library

AN interfaith prayer area will be created at the Dunedin City Library and a second space will be set up for members of the Muslim community.

The two new rooms on the first floor of the library are expected to provide a quiet space for visitors to pray, meditate and worship.

A curtain could be drawn in the Muslim space to divide it between males and females.

Some of the public reading room on the first floor will be converted for the development and work on it is expected to start on Monday.

Dunedin City Council library services manager Bernie

Hawke said the interdenominational or interfaith concept was developed in consultation with the Dunedin Interfaith Council, representing a variety of faiths and religious groups in Dunedin, as well as the University of Otago’s chaplaincy service and representatives of the Dunedin Muslim community.

Mr Hawke said a name had not yet been determined for the prayer room.

He said the parties involved in discussions were extremely supportive of the city library’s plan.

Leith Valley Presbyterian Church senior minister Richard Dawson was not among those in the loop.

Mr Dawson — who has previously expressed concern about the planned multifaith centre for Dunedin’s new hospital, calling for a discernible Christian presence — said he was surprised the city council did not consult more broadly.

The chaplaincy service and interfaith council did not represent the Christian church in wider Dunedin, he said.

Mr Dawson said he had no qualms with the council providing areas for spiritual renewal, but Christianity was foundational in development of the city and the traditions on which the city were based should not be ignored.

The Southern District Health Board rejected the call for a Christian chapel at the planned new hospital — a move that was questioned by staff, who argued the process that arrived at a single multifaith facility there was flawed and there should have been broader engagement.

The prayer area in the library is expected to cost about $15,000 to develop and be available for use before the end of the year.