Faith talks discuss the meaning of life
LEADERS representing three of the world’s largest faith groups came together to talk about the meaning of life at a church in Hinckley.
St Mary’s Church in the town centre was the setting for the inter-faith meeting at which men and women from different religious groups shared their beliefs relating to some of the most challenging questions of life, death, salvation and eternity.
Discussions were led by Amrat Bava, a Hindu chaplain at Loughborough University, Mohamed Bachani, from the Jamia Sufiya in Leicester, and Syyeda Batool, a Muslim chaplain at Loughborough University, who both represented Islamic thinking, and the Reverend John Whittaker, Vicar at St Mary’s, who presented a Christian approach to the topics in question.
The event was organised by Michele Crooks who runs St Mary’s Encounter project, which encourages people to explore their shared humanity and provides opportunities to encounter God through creativity, community, connection and question.
Rev Whittaker said: “It was a moving and profound experience to share with one another in this way and probably the first time an inter-faith dialogue of this nature has taken place in Hinckley.
“We found common ground as well as the distinctive contributions of each of the three faith traditions.
“All of us were touched by the experience, learnt more about other faiths and deepened our appreciation of our own faith’s beliefs.”