Capey - SOS

248 Pages·2014·1.88 MB·English

Sharing
our
Stories
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©SIFRE2014
III
“TheWalkingMadonna”
AsculpturebyElizabethFrink.ItispositionedoutsideSalisburyCathedral.
Mary, as an older woman, is shown striding purpose-fully away from the
cathedral.Itisathought-provokingsymbolasitchallengesustosetoutfrom
our comfort zones and embark on journeys with an open heart and mind,
notknowingwhomwemightmeetalongtheway.
IV
Contents
Preface ......................................................................................................................................1
Theimportanceofinter-faithencounters .........................................................3
Suffolk2014:AFaithProfile ........................................................................................5
AbdullahMawas:AperspectiveonSyria ............................................................7
AndrewSterling:UncoveringFaith ........................................................................9
ArunaMistry:AHindubybirth ..............................................................................18
AtulShah:AJainbyculture ......................................................................................20
BarbaraRichardson-Todd:LosingGodandfindingFriends ..............22
BarrySpivack:ExploringmyJewishHeritage ...............................................25
BettyWells:Whoisnotmyneighbour?.............................................................29
BeverleyLevy:TheJewishwayoflife .................................................................33
BhupindarSually:MyparticularSikhpath ....................................................35
CharlesCroydon:LivingasanAnglican ...........................................................36
ChinmayiNath:InspiredbymyHindubackground ................................42
DaliJabbar:AParseeontheRailways ................................................................47
DawnCrisp:ABaptistinruralSuffolk ...............................................................49
DenisJohnston:FindingmywaytoHumanism .........................................51
DerekMason:Itallremainsamystery ..............................................................61
ElizabethSugarman:BeingJewishinSuffolk ................................................62
FrankBright:GrowingupunderGermanOccupation ...........................65
GrahamLocking:AninterviewwithaRacingChaplain .........................90
GudrunWarren:MyGermanDaddy ..................................................................96
GurmeetSinghSually:PerspectiveofayoungSikh ..................................99
HeatherBruce:WhyIjoinedtheQuakers ....................................................102
IrmildJacyna:Refugees–1944 ............................................................................104
IsabelleWen:AmemberoftheBuddhistCommunityofInterbeing ..109
JanusvanHelvert:HowcomeI’maBuddhist? .........................................111
JeanGittens:AchatwithaSeventhDayAdventist .................................116
V
JimCorrigall:MyChristianFaith;Arrivinglate .........................................118
JnanamitraEmmett:OnbeingaTranssexualandBuddhist.............121
JoanneCage/Modhuri:Notknowing ............................................................133
JohnPeck:AutobiographyofaretiredBaptistMinister ......................136
JoyvanHelvert:AthomewithNichirenBuddhism................................140
KhaterehVahdat:BorninIran;livinginSuffolk .......................................143
MargaretNelson:Theproblemwithlabels..................................................145
MayuriPatel:MyHindustory ..............................................................................149
NayanShah:WhoamI? ...........................................................................................151
PatricStandford:ThebirthofanOratorio ...................................................152
PrabjotKaur:TakingAmrit,myinitiationceremony ............................154
PunnaAthwall:TheSikhwayoflife;apersonalperspective ............158
RichardStewart:TwentyyearsaQuaker .......................................................162
RoseNorgate:ABahá’íinBeccles ......................................................................164
RumanaZuberi:AMuslimwomaninBritain.............................................173
SaraAli:AcryforIraq ................................................................................................184
SaroopKaur(1924-2013):AtributetoaGrandmother ......................185
ShirleySmith:WhyIamaChristianScientist ............................................187
SimarjitKaurSandhu:Sikhism,Love,Amrit ...............................................192
SueHewlett:MyjourneyintoHumanism ....................................................203
SueRaychaudri:LivinglifeasaBuddhist .....................................................205
SueSmithJennings:TheGoddesswithin .....................................................208
TariqEffendi:MyMuslimexperience .............................................................215
TonyGibbings:RootedinCatholicism ...........................................................217
TopazLadbrook:MyjourneyoffaithasayoungCatholic .................221
UmeshPatel:MypassagefromIndia ..............................................................224
SanjayaMartinSpettigue:AThoughtfortheDay ...................................227
CynthiaCapey:AnInter-Faithpilgrimage ...................................................231
BacktotheBeginning................................................................................................238
Waitingforthelastbushome...............................................................................242
VI
Preface
I
n 1992, SIFRE published its first book, ‘Faiths in Focus in Ipswich
andSuffolk’,whichcontainedgeneralinformationaboutthefaith
communities present in the county. In 1994, it was followed by a
second book, ‘Finding our Way and Sharing our Stories’ which, by
contrast, was composed of personal stories written by women,
reflecting on their lives in the light of their traditions. These books
wereable,betweenthem,togiveanoverviewofreligiousgroupsasa
whole, while also allowing individuals to speak for themselves, thus
challengingthesimplegeneralisationswhichcanleadtostereotyping.
Twentyyearslateritistimetoreturntothetask.
This ‘Sharing our Stories’ is a collection of more than 50 personal
accountsbyindividuals,bothmenandwomen,oftheirlivesandtheir
beliefs. Some have lived all their lives in Suffolk, some have settled
hereforvariousreasonsandothershavecomeheretoworkorstudy.
However, their stories highlight some of the experiences and
challengesthatfaceeveryoneinourdiversesociety,includingissues
of gender, disability, race, persecution and displacement. It also
reveals the struggles individuals may have in maintaining their
integritywithregardtotheirfaithandspirituality.
People are often asked to state their religious affiliation and some
are happy to be categorised in this way as Bahá’ís, Buddhists,
Christians, Hindus, Jains, Jews, Muslims, Pagans, Sikhs, Taoists and
Zoroastrians(allrepresentedinSuffolk).
There are many others who see themselves as outside these boxes
andtheirvoicescanalsobeheardthroughthesestories.
The process of collecting the articles was complicated by the fact
thatsomeofthecontributorsbecamesoabsorbedinthetaskthatthey
found themselves writing a full life story. Others had to be cajoled to
get started! The result is a rich mix of articles of varying lengths and
styles from people of different ages and with many different
backgroundsandrolesinsociety.
1
Alongside this anthology of individual stories there is an evolving
collection of general articles about the faith communities of Suffolk,
their history, beliefs and practices, contemporary concerns, places
of worship and contact details. This is available on-line at
www.sifre.org.uk
SIFRE is grateful to all those who openly or anonymously give their
timetoworkwithusonourvariousprojects.Wethankthecontributors
to this anthology, those who have helped with the shaping of the
material and especially Margaret Nelson for her extensive proof
reading. We look forward to further co-operative work with all
ourfriendsofvariousfaiths,beliefsandphilosophies.
2
The importance of inter-faith encounters
T
he population of Britain is becoming increasingly multi-cultural
and multi-faith. This may not be apparent in rural areas, but in
townsandcities,peopleofmanydifferentfaithslivesidebyside,and
placesofworshipforminorityfaiths,oftenconvertedfromotheruses,
areproliferating.Thiscancauseanxietyinthewiderpopulationand
canleadtosocialdisturbancesandactsofviolence.
Itisveryimportant,therefore,thatpeopleofallfaithsworktogether
tobuildasocietybasedonsharedvalues.TheInter-FaithNetworkfor
theUKhassetoutguidelinesforthis.
Theyinclude:
• Respectingotherpeople’sfreedomwithinthelawtoexpress
theirbeliefsandconvictions,
• Learningtounderstandwhatothersactuallybelieveandvalue,
andlettingthemexpressthisintheirownterms,
• Recognisingthatallofusfallshortoftheidealsofourown
traditionsandnevercomparingourownidealswithother
people’spractices.
There are many values which people of faith hold in common. At
theheartoftheseistheGoldenRulewhichisfoundinvariousforms,
as for example in Hinduism – “This is the sum of duty: do not do to
otherswhatwouldcausepainifdonetoyou.” Mahabharata5:1517
This simple rule is a good foundation for human society, but the
world’sreligionsagreeonsomuchmoreinprinciple:
• Community,personalintegrity,
• Asenseofrightandwrong,
• Learning,wisdomandloveoftruth,
• Careandcompassion,justiceandpeace
• Respectforoneanother,
• Fortheearthanditscreatures.
fromtheStatementofCommitmentofFaithCommunitiesoftheUK
atthebeginningoftheNewMillennium
3
In reality, however, conflict arising from religion has been at the
heart of many wars, has led to persecutions and acts of oppression
andterrorism.Conflictshaveoccurredoverholyplaces,sacredtexts,
beliefsanddoctrines,ritualsandleadership.
In recent years there have been many movements, both national
andinternational,toconfrontthisage-oldhumanproblem,including:
TheWorldConferenceforReligionsforPeace,TheWorldParliament
of Religions, The World Congress of Faiths, The Inter Faith Network
UK,TheCouncilofChristiansandJews,TheThreeFaithsForum,The
United Religions Initiative, and many more. Alongside these, there
havebeenendeavoursonasmallerscale,localinter-faithgroupsand
grass roots movements, which complement and support the bigger
networks, and even in some cases challenge them. It is very easy for
nationalandinternationalorganisationstobecomeinstitutionalised
and create rigid boundaries which can exclude others who would be
fellowtravellers.Itisuptoindividualstofindthecourageandthelove
tocrosstheboundaries.
AsEdwinMarkhamwrote:
Hedrewacirclethatshutmeout
Hereticrebel,athingtoflout
ButloveandIhadthewittowin
Wedrewacirclethattookhimin.
CynthiaCapey,
fromFacingtheIssues(publishedbyKevinMayhew,2012)
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