News – Page 6

Eid Kabaddi

Written on September 10, 2012. Posted in Interfaith, Near Neighbours.

Near Neighbours Eid Kabaddi event – Monday 27th August, 2012.

Matt Kendall of Aston Near Neighbours writes: Aston Cricket Club were keen to run a kabaddi event at the wonderful Aston Park Pavilion, and we decided to work with them to try to make the event more inclusive for the community and expand cross cultural understanding. The work also was a chance to open up the pavilion to the community as it has been empty and locked for much of its existence since being opened in 2009.
The event had two parts. One was an invitation only cross cultural discussion and explanation of the rules of Kabaddi and the celebration of Eid, and the second part was to enjoy the Kabaddi event.
As well as the general common issues around faith and celebration as a community, what really came from the cross cultural discussions was that the real drivers for a lot of the leaders who are active within their faith groups are to develop and support their community. We were fortunate to have a number of people attending who were senior figures within their various faith communities and all stated that they were strongly motivated by the community development work they are doing.
We still have still some more work to do to build relationships in the area, and we still have 2 more Near Neighbours events left to run – watch this space.

Sunrise in Sparkhill TV Extra

Written on July 31, 2012. Posted in Faithful Neighbourhoods Centre, Interfaith.

We were delighted that The Community Channel chose to feature Sunrise in Sparkhill in the programme about the Olympic Torch relay. We’ve already posted about the interview they did with Andrew Smith in the days leading up to the event. That programe has now been made and featured on their progamme UK 360 on 29th July. The section on Sunrise at Sparkhill comes right at the start of the programme.

Asian Awareness

Written on July 12, 2012. Posted in Faithful Neighbourhoods Centre, Interfaith, Training.

Over the past five weeks a people have come to the Faithful Neighbourhoods Centre to deepen their understanding of Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism. The course was aimed at Christians who wanted to learn more about these faiths and South Asian culture as well as to think through how they might share their faith with people from a different faith background.

The titles of the 5 weeks were:

Towards understanding Islam
Towards understanding Sikhism
Towards understanding honour and shame culture
Towards understanding Hinduism
Towards understanding South Asian children and young people.

Each week was led by contributors with an in depth knowledge of the different faith and culture, and the course included times for questions, reflection, sharing resources and prayer.

The course was run with Pall Singh from East West Trust, Pall has lived and worked in Birmingham for many years and has run this course successfully in a variety of locations across the city.

It is hoped that we can run this with Pall again in 2013. Details will be on our events page when they are confirmed.

Sunrise in Sparkhill 3

Written on July 8, 2012. Posted in Interfaith, Near Neighbours.

As people arrived at the park they couldn’t fail to notice an impressive new mural that had been painted on the back wall of the old Sparkhill Swimming Pool. The picture was the work of local artist Mohammed Ali from Soul City Arts. The mural was designed to reflect the Olympics, faith and the swimming pool.

Mohammed worked with young people from The Feast in planning and painting the mural and incorporated their thoughts and skills into the final picture. The work was able to go ahead through a Near Neighbours grant and is a great example of the impact those small gants can make amongst people and for an area.

The work on the mural took place in the days and weeks leading up to the 1st July and, despite torrential rain and thunderstorms, was finished just in time for everyone at Sunrise in Sparkhill to see it.

Much has been talked about the legacy of the Olympics and Sunrise in Sparkhill will certainly leave a legacy in Birmingham. This beautiful mural will be around for many years for people in the area to enjoy. Not only that but many friendships were made through the running of the event and will also be a legacy from this exciting and innovative event.

Sunrise in Sparkhill 2

Written on July 3, 2012. Posted in Faithful Neighbourhoods Centre, Interfaith, Near Neighbours.

The Birmingham Faith Leaders Group were invited to Sunrise in Sparkhill to lead the crowds in the reading of our faith pledge. Written specially for the event this pledge was inspired by the Olympic aims of ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’. We wanted to capture the aspirational element of that simple phrase and adapt it for a faith context. Our hope is that the pledge can be read by people of all faiths, and although it refers to faith we trust that people of no faith can also use it.

At Sunrise in Sparkhill people were given a copy of the pledge and 3 candles of different colours red, white and blue and Bishop David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham encouraged everyone to light these at home, perhaps when watching the Olympics and to recomit to the words of the faith pledge.

We were also jojned by faith leaders from different parts of the city who took candles and pledges back to their areas to be shared with members of their communities.

The pledge reads:
Inspired by the teachings of our faiths, and spurred on by the example of the Olympic athletes may we all seek to be the best we can be.
Increasing our compassion,
Growing in our generosity,
Becoming more hospitable,
Practising greater forgiveness,
Striving together for the good of our communities,
Urging one another on in acts of righteousness
So that we may bring hope and joy, friendship and laughter to enrich the lives of every person who lives in Birmingham

Feel free to use the Sunrise in Sparkhill Faith Pledge yourself and change the place name to your location.

Sunrise in Sparkhill 1

Written on July 2, 2012. Posted in Faithful Neighbourhoods Centre, Interfaith, Near Neighbours.

At 5am on July 1st Sparkhill Park was unusually busy as a team of volunteers assisted by staff from the Faithful Neighbourhoods Centre were busy getting ready for the Sunrise in Sparkhill event. This was due to start at 6am and was a community event to mark the Olympic Torch relay.

The event, partly funded through Near Neighbours, brought together members of the local faith communities including, Christians (Catholic and Protestant), Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims as well as local schools, businesses, the council and police.

The groups provided free breakfast for everyone, games and activities as well as performances on the bandstand that reflected all the faiths represented and which was compered by Nikki Tapper from BBC Radio WM.

In all over 1000 people came to the event of all ages and backgrounds. There was great excitement at seeing the torch and real enthusiasm for all the acts who performed. We also had a visit from Anne Barnes who had carried the torch the day before and she showed the torch and allowed people to be photographed with her and the torch.

The event featured much more that will come in future posts

Olympic Torch Relay TV Interview

Written on June 27, 2012. Posted in Faithful Neighbourhoods Centre.

Today Andrew was interviewed by The Community Channel for a feature on the event we are planning to mark the Olympic Torch Relay as it passes down the Stratford Road close to the Faithful Neighbourhoods Centre.

Called ‘Sunrise in Sparkhill’ The event will be on Sunday 1st July and features breakfast, mini-Olympics, face painting and mendhi along with a full program of events on the bandstand. This will be compered by Nikki Tapper and conclude with the reading of a Faith Pledge led by the Bishop of Birmingham and members of the Birmingham Faith Leaders Group.

Look out for pictures form the event and the wording of the Faith Pledge coming soon.

Culture Shock Gets Moseley Rocking

Written on June 11, 2012. Posted in Interfaith, Near Neighbours.

There was dancing in the aisles, swaying in the pews and a standing ovation as Culture Shock brought their 90 minute set to a close with a Samba-ho-down bringing together the beats of Brazil with the twang of Country and Western. It was a fantastic performance which combined a blend of musical traditions from across communities and countries into a coherent and innovative sound that got the people of Moseley on to their feet.

Culture Shock was a one-off performance by eight of Birmingham’s top musicians who had spent the previous five days sharing their talents, skill and influences to create a unique musical narrative performed on the evening of their sixth day together. Musicians in the ensemble ranged from a trumpeter and a violinist to an Emcee, via percussionists, keyboards, guitarists and vocalists.

Each performer introduced their own piece of music and talked about the influences that shaped their music but each performance was shared and blended, giving the evening its unique flavour.

Before the main musical event the audience were welcomed to the free concert with a flavoursome fusion of delicous snacks provided by Indian and Lebanese caterers. The sun shone outside the beautiful St Anne’s church in Moseley as people mingled over meze and, as happens so often at Near Neighbours events, new relationships were made, new opportunities explored and new events planned.

There are plans for the ensemble to get together again and perform for the community at schools and local events. If you get the chance to hear them – don’t miss it. This was a group well-worth bringing together – so huge thanks from Near Neighbours to all the performers, organisers and to St Anne’s church for hosting the event.

Older People ‘fertile ground’ for Friendships

Written on May 31, 2012. Posted in Interfaith, Near Neighbours.

Big thanks to Matt Kendall for sending us this report of a Near Neighbours project in Aston. If you have a story of a Near Neighbours activity or project we would love to feature it here

Aston Sports and Community Club’s (ASC) Near Neighbours Project is all about reclaiming Aston Park as a resource for the whole community, and while the majority of their activity is around sport and young people, this project is focused on work with the over 50s, a group often neglected in cohesion work locally. ASC’s project includes a series of 6 events where local older people from different faiths are brought together around shared interests and activities in spaces in and around Aston Park in order to build lasting relationships and friendships. Matt Kendall, a Director of ASC, and the project lead explains, “Older people are often the hub of their families, and we believe by building relationships here, when often there hasn’t previously been any work on building cross community understanding, we can make a real difference to both those directly involved, but also their families.”

The first event in the series was a tour of recently revitalised and restored Aston Hall, a beautiful Jacobean stately home in the heart of Aston, which has struggled to attract local visitors, drawing instead from the suburbs of the city. With the cooperation and support of the Hall’s excellent staff, the group of 38 older people from Aston, enjoyed tea and cake together, followed by some directed work in groups around active listening and sharing of each other’s stories of their own memories of Aston, and how they arrived there. Once the hard work was done, the group left on 2 guided tours of the hall, one of which was bi-lingual in Urdu, for the next 30 minutes.

From the signing in records, it was estimated that 21 churchgoers attended, 15 from mosques and 2 further of no affiliation. Feedback from the participants was first class, the organisers being thanked profusely, and ASC’s belief that working with this group was sowing on fertile soil was upheld. ASC believes that this is just the start of positive relationships, and we are looking forward to our next event, which is a partnership with local churches and groups for a Jubilee Big Lunch in Aston Park on Sunday 3rd June – watch this space for more detail.

If you want to know more about ASC’s work with older people do contact Matt by e-mail at info@astonsportsclub.com or visit the website.

Jubilee Celebration

Written on May 29, 2012. Posted in Interfaith, Near Neighbours.

Across the country people are gathering to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the congregation at St. Christopher’s Church in Springfield are no exception. They worked with friends from the Woodlands Road Mosque to organise a big lunch for the whole community. Springfield is a predominantly Muslim area of Birmingham, but the church has built good links with people from all walks of life over the yeras. They benefitted from a small Near Neighbours grant to help them fund the games, decorations and activities that were all pert of the celebrations.

Several hundred people attended the event which was helped by the glorious sunshine throughout the day. Whilst the adults sat and eat and chatted children enjoyed playing on the bouncy castle, making crowns, face painting and tucking into an enormous amount of tasty food.