Events back to 2003

2025 Events

Cheltenham Peace & Friendship Day 2025 – Walk Maps

Ceremony for World Peace at Bethesda Methodist Church

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Creation Walk – Thursday 4th September, 6:30pm onwards – starting at St Thomas More Church, Princess Elizabeth Way, GL51 7RA. After the walk everyone is invited to a bring and share supper – a lovely opportunity to connect and enjoy fellowship. This event has been organised by St. Gregory’s RC Church.

‘The Season of Creation is celebrated by all faiths between 1st September and 4th October, and the theme this year is, very happily, ‘Peace with Creation’. See Season of Creation.

Tai Chi Peace Walk – Thursday 4th September, 9am to 10am – Pittville Lawn by the Pumps Rooms – ongoing on the first Thursday of every month – led by Karen Soo, Tai Chi & Qi Gong Practitioner & Teacher. See Shibashi Qigong.

“Cheltenham Peace & Friendship Day 2025“ – progress meeting – Thursday 21st August, 2pm to 3:30pm, at Cheltenham Borough Council Municipal Offices on the Promenade – if you have any ideas on what YOU you would like to see organised and help organise then please come along or let a committee member know.

Tai Chi Peace Walk – Thursday 7th August, 9am to 10am – Pittville Lawn by the Pumps Rooms – ongoing on the first Thursday of every month – led by Karen Soo, Tai Chi & Qi Gong Practitioner & Teacher. See Shibashi Qigong.

“Cheltenham Peace & Friendship Day 2025” – next planning meeting – Thursday 12th June, 3:30pm will be held at the Cheltenham Borough Council Municipal Offices on the Promenade. Everyone is welcome, and everyone is encouraged to do something neighbourly, an act of kindness of some sort, something you’ve been wanting to do for quite a while now, all in the spirit of peace and friendship.

How are we doing? “Bring and share supper” – Monday 2nd June, 7pm, at Quaker Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP.

Your committee will put the kettle on and serve teas, coffee, hot chocolate and juices. Please bring whatever light bites you fancy and happy to share. Maybe someone has time to knock up a pot of home made soup or something.

As well as a social we would like to spend some of the evening finding out how we are doing? Tell us what are you liking, not liking, what would you like Cheltenham Inter Faith do more of and………………how would you like to get more involved?

Tell us what inspires you, what draws you to inter faith working, why it is important to you…………….and we have a small request to ask.

“Cheltenham Peace & Friendship Day 2025” Ideas & planning meeting – Monday 19th May, 6:30pm, at Quaker Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP. We will meet in the Tea Room for some refreshments and have an update on progress and discuss any new ideas and action plans.

The hope is that we will organise a week long series of mini events that will involve people from different parts of the town who all have a heartfelt interest in building peace and friendships through social contact with others, and finding ways to help in the community above and beyond all the great work that is already taking in local communities and neighbourhoods.

This meeting, like all our meetings, is open to the public so please share through your contacts and networks, and come and get involved.

Relaunching Churches Together – a further follow-up – by Rev’d Rachel Leather – Thursday 15th May

Good afternoon friends

Since the “Relaunching Churches Together” event back in March, I’ve been reflecting on and praying about the way forward. It’s important to state I am not in charge of this – it has to grow out of our collective desire to build relationships and come together as witnessing disciples. Having said that, whilst there are some differing opinions, I am proposing some suggestions for the next 12 months.

Whilst there was some appetite to formally relaunch Churches Together, this is no small task and would require a body of people to organise this and hold regular meetings. The advantage of this is that there is a ready-made structure and a helpful guide about setting this up: Flexible_Framework_Toolkit_final_online_version.pdf If anyone wants to take the initiative and do the legwork, I am sure this will be supported.

Having had several conversations over the past couple of months, I feel perhaps a less formal way forward is two-fold; firstly, communication. One option is to establish either a website or an administered email address which can be used to share information and events. These events could be in-house church events, or outreach missional events, training sessions available to a wider audience, or social events. A website would mean we could use some form of noticeboard to promote what could be opened up ecumenically. Inevitably this would involve someone designing and setting up a website, but there are free packages out there for people to use who have digital skills. Alternatively, we could establish a central administrator who periodically emails out a newsletter (monthly?) in which we all contribute events we wish to promote. Now, unless someone is prepared to do this as a volunteer, there would be a cost in paying someone to coordinate this of a few hours every month, and we would need to address who would meet this cost, and then recruit someone with the time and skills.

The second suggestion is based on relationship-building. There are many ways in which we can do this. I have received feedback that the event in March is something people would value becoming an annual event, and this is fairly straight-forward to organise. This allows one evening a year to showcase events and organisations which are or have been run ecumenically, followed by a time of networking. Unless we formally create a Churches Together in Cheltenham, this would need another name; “Network Cheltenham” has been suggested to me, and in the absence of anything else, that is what I’m calling our collective group for now. It has also been suggested we hold an annual event around the time of Pentecost which has wonderful symbolism for us all. Another suggestion is that we hold clergy fellowship sessions, perhaps termly, where clergy can deepen their relationships and encourage partnership working. This might lead onto a ‘Partnership Sunday’ in which churches can sign up committing to either share notices and pray for one particular town church on one specified Sunday, or invite someone from another church to participate in worship, or even a pulpit swap! Finally, there have been some comments on the need for joint worship, although with differing styles and theologies this will need sensitive organisation.

None of these suggestions will happen quickly, and require some commitment from us. Below is a survey offering you these suggestions, but do come back to me with other ideas. I will try and coordinate replies, although I cannot promise to do this quickly! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LQYJFC5

Can I please ask for you not to send me anything to promote within this group at this stage – I repeat it is not for me to organise how ecumenism progresses in our town, and apologies for those who have sent important notices asking for them to be circulated. Administration is not one of the gifts God has bestowed upon me!

Whilst we are all busy people, if you would like a deeper conversation, please let me know and we will try and make time to grab a coffee.

I am assured of your continued prayers as collectively we discern the work of God and what is ours to do.

Kind regards

Rachel

Inspirational Talk “Dying and Death – End of Life Care” with Guest Speaker Dr Colin Binks – Monday 12th May from 7pm, at Quaker Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP.

A sensitive subject indeed and one that will no doubt bring up lots of thoughts, emotions and questions.

We hope to discuss how followers of different faiths view end-of-life care and how their loved ones should be treated with dignity and respect after their death according to their faith.

It could also help us as we develop links with Sue Ryder Hospice in Cheltenham to provide pastoral care for patients from different faith backgrounds receiving treatment in and through the hospice.

Do come and join in with what promises to be a truly moving and compassionate Inter Faith evening.

Relaunching Churches Together – a follow-up – by Rev’d Rachel Leather – Thursday 27th March

Good afternoon friends

A huge thanks to all of you who attended Monday evening’s ecumenical event, and thank you to those of you who gave apologies and expressed an interest in staying in contact. Particular thanks go to our five speakers: Sarah Baker, Maureen McBain, Paul Bennet, Yvonne Penn & Julie Jeffries. Thanks also to Rev’s Paul Graham and Andrew Blythe for bookending our time together in prayer.

Relaunching Cheltenham Churches Together – 24th March 2024

Attendees: 77 representing 23 churches, along with 9 different organisations

The event arose out of a couple of conversations Rev Rachel Leather (Bethesda & St Mark’s Methodist) had; one with a member of her congregation who is a committed life-long ecumenist who expressed sadness there are not more formal links between churches in our town; one with Rev Paul Graham (Charlton Kings Baptist Church) where ideas were shared forming the structure of the event, to showcase where ecumenism was already working well through issue-based organisations and events.

The evening started led in prayer by Rev Paul Graham. He also spoke about his previous experience of Churches Together in Suffolk, and for the publicity at one event there was a typo which stated “Church Together” and how this is a more accurate reflection of what we are trying to achieve: there is only one church.

We then heard from five organisations working locally, staffed ecumenically:

Cheltenham Foodbank: Sarah Baker Page of Elim Pentecostal spoke of its existing ‘to make the community liveable again’.
Street Pastors: Maureen McBain described their nighttime work in the town centre, assisted by more than 100 volunteers from 27 local churches.
Youth For Christ, Gloucestershire: some arresting stats were shown on slides by Centre Director Paul Bennett.
Christian Aid: Yvonne Penn, the local Church Engagement Fundraising Officer, told us about their current Restore Campaign: ‘Together,’ she said, ‘we can harness the unstoppable power of hope again’.
Cheltenham Pray for Schools Network: its work was described by Julie Jefferies.

We broke for refreshments to network and consider the “what next” question. Our feedback session was facilitated by Cllr Victoria Atherstone.

Feedback points included:

Is “Churches Together” an old-fashioned name? Do we need a different/ new brand?
Being together is what matters – we don’t want the enthusiasm of the evening to die out
Cheltenham Laudato Si’ Circle was mentioned along with the fact it was good that we were meeting in a church with a Gold Eco Award
Following up on the Youth for Christ presentation, young people are seeking meaning and need to be given hope. Churches Together can be a powerful force for hope. We need a common purpose statement or a shared document to agree on and circulate
Churches Together is not a meeting to exhaust us. It is an ecumenical instrument to share what it is we’re already doing. It is not sectarian (which might be the current reality in Cheltenham). Together with the Interfaith Forum, it is the broadest tent for us to sit under. We do not need a common purpose statement because Churches Together already has a document. We don’t have to agree on everything. We need regular worship events such as in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. We can build upon what has already happened in Chalton Kings which has set up a Churches Together group. It is about sharing information and inviting everyone. Churches Together is the umbrella which holds us together in Christ
Can we have a digital platform to facilitate communication?
The chair of Charlton Kings Churches Together explained the group was relaunched last year and the first thing the group did was to affiliate to Churches Together England and had access to the logo. Can we do the same thing across the whole of Cheltenham? We could have a united walk of witness. In Charlton Kings they have posters for every church service for Holy Week and each church advertises every church service. Churches Together is about planting seeds.
The Churches Together logo is visible and nationally recognised
The most important thing is developing deep relationships. It is difficult to coordinate and there is difficulty in communication. To develop relationships we need to hang out together. Joint services are not well attended apart from the host church. We need to answer the question: what do we want to do? All of the ecumenical organisations we’ve heard from have done it without Churches Together
Joint services are important and can be successful
Do we need a relaunch because we’re already working together? Ecumenism is already happening
A plea was made for more churches to join in those existing actions local Christians were already doing, to help refugees and in relation to the climate crisis

Rev Andrew Blythe from Cheltenham Deanery spoke briefly about Love Cheltenham – an informal gathering of clergy, to which all local clergy are invited to their monthly lunch meetings, plus regular worship/prayer events. He then closed the evening in prayer.

So, friends, we have not resolved the “What next..?” question, but conversations will continue and options discussed. I was happy to facilitate this week’s event, but have no sense of ownership about the future. If one of you feels called by God into stepping up, I will happily hand this to you! I feel enthused by what has happened so far, and have learned so much about where Christians are already working together.

With kind regards

Rachel

Annual General Meeting – Monday 3rd March, at Quaker Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP.

Arrivals from 7pm
Light refreshments will be served.

AGM from 7:30pm
Welcome
Apologies
Minutes 2024
Treasurer’s Report
Chair’s Report
Election of Committee members
Thank you
Any Other Business

Guest Speaker/s from 8pm

Special Guests include Beverley Grimster from Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court, Catherine Lack from Worcestershire Inter Faith Forum and Julia Palmer-Price from Malvern Interfaith.

The evening will be warm and friendly for sure, and hopefully thought provoking and inspire some community led action.

Do come and join us to review the last 12 months and share ideas on what the next few years could look like.

2024 Events

Cheltenham Bayshill Unitarian Church have an All Age service on 22nd December combining the celebration of Christmas with the Winter Solstice….the crowning of the year…the re birth of the sun and the mystery of incarnation …lots of carols, badge creation and mince pies! – entrance is free everyone is welcome.

Highbury Congregational Church – “Christingle Service” – Sunday 15th December. Arrive for 5pm to make your Christingle and join in a service with Pittville School Year 7 Choir at 6pm – entrance is free and everyone is welcome.

December Vigil for Peace in Palestine – Tuesday 10th December – 6 to 8pm – Montpellier Gardens – bring a candle or two or three (give one to another) – event organised by Cheltenham PSC.

Please note that In sharing information on this peace vigil we are supporting….. Peace for Everyone…….not one side or the other, or however many side there are, we want peace to reign everywhere for everyone and trust all our members and friends want the same.

Cheltenham Inter Faith “Seasonal Get Together“ – Monday 9th December, 7pm – 9pm, at Quaker Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP.

Hoping you can join us for lots of fun and good company as we make Infinity Cards and Gift Boxes with Wendy.

We’ll be having a bring and share supper so please bring one or two or more tasty things along to enjoy with others.

St Luke’s Church – “A Celebration of Christmas” – a Mayor’s Charities event on Friday 6th December, with mulled wine and mince pies. Doors open at 6pm. – entrance is free and everyone is welcome.

Bethesda Methodist Church – “Journey of the Magi” dance event, Friday 6th December, starting at 7:30pm. To book tickets and watch a trailer see:
Springs Dance Company presents: Journey of the Magi Tickets, Fri 6 Dec 2024 at 19:30 | Eventbrite

Gas Green Baptist Church – “Journey through Advent” – Wednesday 4th December, from 7pm to 8:30pm on the themes of Hope, Love, Joy and Peace. There will be special guests attending from our local Jewish and Muslim communities – entrance is free and everyone is welcome.

St. Matthew’s Anglican Church – is holding an evening on the Annunciation Saturday 30th November at 7pm, using art and reflections – entrance is free.

Evening of Reflection & Hindu Community Centre Celebration at

Extract from post Event CWR Newsletter:

We celebrated Inter Faith Week

We were invited to talk about our work in the Cheltenham community on 13 November as one of several events during Cheltenham’s annual Inter Faith week which ran from 10th to 17th November, organised by Cheltenham Inter Faith.

This year’s theme was Better Together.

We had a good discussion and identified potential opportunities for future cooperation. The University of Gloucestershire kindly hosted us in the lovely chapel on the Francis Close Campus and we were treated to a wonderful musical interlude from the group that performed the show Home at the Everyman during Refugee Week, organised by Sheila Manders.

Inspirational Evening – An evening of reflection and discussion “Remembrance” What does it mean to you? – Monday 4th November from 7pm, at Quaker Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP.

Inspirational Talk – “An Introduction to Stoicism” with Stephen Gutteridge, reflecting on your faith and practice – Monday 2nd September from 7pm, at Quaker Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP.

“Stoicism is a School of Philosophy that hails from Ancient Greece and Rome in the early parts of the 3rd Century, BC. It is a philosophy of life that maximises positive emotions reduces negative emotions and helps individuals hone their virtues of character.” Sounds good to me!

Inspirational Talk – “The Personal Meanderings of a Humanist!“ with Stuart Elton – Monday 12th August from 7pm, at Quaker Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP.

Do come and join us this evening for what promises to be a lively and thought informative talk, and if you can’t make it in person then you can join us on zoom using if you like.

“A BIG thank you to Stuart Elton for his inspiring evening of poems, prose and discussion last Monday as he whole heartedly shared his “personal meanderings as a Humanist”.

If was great to have some of his Humanists friends join us on the night, and to welcome all newcomers. If you would like to see some of his work please click on the link above, and if you feel inspired to share some of your own thoughts on life, your experiences and wisdom, then let us know and we’ll organise an evening together sometime.“

Inspirational Talk – “A Journey through – The Book of Ecclesiastes” with Wendy Binks – Monday 1st July from 7pm, at Quaker Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP.

Ecclesiastes is one of the Ketuvim of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament.

Maybe you know a lot about Ecclesiastes already, maybe it is a favourite of yours or maybe you know nothing at all about it. Whatever maybe it is for you, why not come along and take a journey through all that Ecclesiastes has to offer in an atmosphere of learning, reminding, rejuvenation and friendship.

Inspirational Talk – “Religious Education and what it looks like in English schools today” with our guest speaker Sarah Bareau of Jigsaw Education Group – Monday 3rd June from 7pm, at Quaker Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP.

It promises to be a highly informative evening and Sarah hopes there will be lots of questions and plenty of discussion. We will cover:

The history of RE in schools in England
Explain current thinking in the world of RE and the direction of travel
Explore barriers to high-quality RE and ways we can overcome these
Questions and Discussion

One of the reasons why we have organised this evening is to find out how Cheltenham Inter Faith can play an active part in helping local schools deliver the new curriculum.

Copy – Presentation RE in English Schools Today

Inspirational Talk – “A Talk on the 12 Step Programme” – Monday 8th April from 7pm, at Quaker Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP.

This may seem like an unusual topic for an inter faith talk but do come along and find out the connection.

The evening will include a short history of this worldwide volunteer led self help movement and outline the 12 step process which includes development of qualities and actions such as honesty, faith, surrender, soul searching, forgiveness and the realisation of God through a deeply personal spiritual awakening.

The 12 Step Programme helps individuals who suffer from alcohol and other substance use disorders overcome and achieve sobriety and attain sustained recovery. Although the 12 Steps are based on spiritual principles, many nonreligious people have found the programme immensely helpful.

Annual General Meeting – Monday 4th March, at Quaker Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP.

Arrivals from 7pm
Light refreshments will be served.

AGM from 7:30pm
Welcome
Apologies
Minutes 2023
Treasurer’s Report
Chair’s Report
Election of Committee members
Thank you
Any Other Business

Guest Speaker from 8pm
Judy Roles Quaker Prison Chaplain

(9pm evening will close)

The evening will be warm and friendly for sure, and hopefully thought provoking and inspire some community led action.

Do come and join us to review the last 12 months and share ideas on what the next few years could look like.

Communication 20th February 2024:

Dear Members and Friends

You may be aware through the news media that the Inter Faith Network is facing imminent closure.

My apologies for only just getting this information to you but maybe there is still time to help save the IFN from closure and bring new light on the importance of it’s work and it’s ongoing achievements.

I copy below the latest message from Dr Harriett Crabtree, Executive Director of the Inter Faith Network for your information and to ask, if you feel drawn, to hold the situation in your prayers and your thoughts so that whatever unfolds a stronger inter faith and world view community emerges from all that is happening.

You will see that there is a petition to sign to help the cause.

“Dear IFN member body contact,

Update on responses to IFN funding situation and possible closure

The Board will be meeting on 22 February to discuss, on the basis outlined in Circular 8/24 and at Inter Faith Network for the UK imminent closure – News – The Inter Faith Network (IFN), whether or not the closure of IFN is avoidable and, if not, to confirm its earlier in principle decision on closure.

The IFN office is continuing to be copied into a wide range of correspondence to MPs and Ministers in support of IFN.

A local inter faith practitioner has set up a petition on the Change.org website: https://www.change.org/p/urge-michael-gove-to-maintain-funding-for-the-interfaith-network-for-the-uk.

Last Thursday, 15 February, the Religion Media Centre held a press briefing on IFN’s potential closure. There is a summary report at https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/news/the-devastating-outrageous-impending-closure-of-the-inter-faith-network/ and the video of the briefing can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whmG4ojSKqg&feature=youtu.be.

The story has been picked up by a number of newspapers and other media outlets and in blogs and articles, for example:

Best wishes, Harriet Crabtree

Dr Harriet Crabtree, Executive Director

Inter Faith Network for the UK
Mary Sumner House
24 Tufton Street
London
SW1P 3RB

Email: ifnet@interfaith.org.uk
Web: www.interfaith.org.uk
Phone: 020 7730 0410

Registered charity no. 1068934. Company limited by guarantee no. 3443823 registered in England.”

Invitation to attend Cheltenham’s Act of Remembrance for Holocaust Memorial Day – Thursday 25 January 6.30pm in a central Cheltenham venue – the theme this year is “The Fragility of Freedom” – register in advance Cheltenham Act of Remembrance for Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 Tickets, Thu 25 Jan 2024 at 18:30 | Eventbrite – All are Welcome.

2023 Events

Seasonal Get Together – Bring and Share Light Bites – Monday 11th December from 7pm at Quaker Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP.

Do come and join us on Monday evening for a festive get together when we will share some food, conversation, fun and laughter.

There will also be a crafty thing to do if you’d like to join in under the watchful eye of our Chief Scouter, Wendy Binks, who will show us how to make some “magic wallets” which could be quite useful at this time of year!

Communication 23rd November 2023:

Dear Members and Friends,

A HUGE thank you to everyone for making Cheltenham Inter Faith Week 2023 the success that it was ………for hosting, for organising, for attending the talks, worship services and tours, for questions and sharing insights, for your friendliness, the laughter, the car sharing, for your respect and sensitivities, and for helping us to celebrate 20 years of CIF…………….it was quite a week!

And we learnt during the week that we are not the only ones celebrating!

Our Hindu Community celebrated Diwali all through the week and their New Year Days on Tuesday 21st November. On top of this, they have been in Cheltenham for over 50 years. Our Spiritualist friends are getting ready to celebrate 100 years since their Church was opened in Bennington Street which was founded by one of Cheltenham’s great benefactors, Mr Henry Bubb, JP.

Our Orthodox Jewish community are celebrating 200 years in the town and Quakers have been here for over 400 years. The former parish church of St. Marys, now known as The Minster, has been in use and serving people for over 800 years.

If one doesn’t already exist, maybe there’s an idea here for a book to capture the history of the town showing the contributions made by people of faith. The YMCA have produced such a book for themselves showing their history and contribution over the last 163 years. Their red triangle by the way, means serving the whole person – mind, body and spirit.

Through Inter Faith week we got to hear about the many things that religious and non-religious communities to do to help in the community. One particular theme was helping the homeless and refugees. Indeed, our evening with the YMCA was dedicated to homelessness and it prompted a lot of discussion, care, and proposed actions.

Inspirational Evening – “Four Questions” part two – Monday 6th November from 7pm at the Quaker Meeting House – Members thoroughly enjoyed the first evening held in September, finding it very stimulating, and asked for more. Come along and join in what promises to be yet another lively and stimulating evening as we explore the following questions:

What do you believe unites us in this world?
Do you think your beliefs have brought you closer to others? If so, why?
What does faith mean to you?
What do you think tears people apart in this world?

Inspirational Evening – “Question Time” – Monday 4th September – do come along to what we hope will be a lively interactive discussion on questions such as:

what do you believe unites us in the world?
do you think your beliefs have brought you closer to others?
what does faith mean to you?
what do you think tears people apart in the world?

and, if time allows:

what gives you pleasure?
what happens when we die?
what is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

The evening will start at our usual time, with doors open at the Quaker Meeting House from 7pm for a cuppa, nibbles and a chat, and “Question Time” starting at 7.30pm.

Inspirational Talk – An Introduction to Unitarianism and a discussion on Freedom, Reason and Tolerance what do they mean to you and what does you faith say?

Our Guest Speaker is Stephen Gutteridge. Monday 5th June at Quakers Meeting House. Doors open from 7pm for a cuppa and chat, to be seated in Main Hall by 7:20pm, talk to begin at 7:30pm.

Inspirational Talk – Vipassana Meditation – To see things as they really are
Vipassana is one of India’s most ancient techniques of meditation. 2500 years ago it was re-discovered by Gotama the Buddha and taught by him as a universal remedy for universal ills. Join us to hear an introductory talk on the practice of Vipassana meditation.

Our Guest Speaker is Karen Soo. Tuesday 2nd May at Quakers Meeting House. Doors open from 7pm for a cuppa and chat, to be seated in Main Hall by 7:20pm, talk to begin at 7:30pm.

Inspirational Talk – “Jetsun Milarepa” – Thursday 2nd March

Let us transport you to 11th century Tibet and the life and legacy of Jetsun Milarepa. A Siddhi within Tibetan Buddhism, Milarepa started his adult life as a murderer and ended as an enlightened being.

Our Guest Speakers with Buddhist Lama Tenzin Choesang and Buddhist practitioner Wendy Barzetovic.

Venue Quakers Meeting House. Doors open from 7pm for a cuppa and chat, to be seated in Main Hall by 7:20pm, talk to begin at 7:30pm. Remove viewing also available online.

Inspirational Talk – “Jalal al-Din Rumi” – Tuesday 7th February

Join us as we explore the rich legacy of this Sufi mystic, poet and Islamic theologian, and the inspiration of the Mevlevi Sufi order and the tradition of the “Whirling Dervishes”, whose influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions.

Our facilitators are Unitarian Community Minister Mark Hutchinson, Universal Sufi Mike Hadden and Muslim Prayer Leader Zack Pandor.

As well as learning about Rumi’s life our evening will include poetry, music, dance, story and meditation. Feel free to participate as you please.

We give the warmest of welcomes to our neighbours Herefordshire Interfaith Group, and are delighted to be collaborating with them on this first in a series of talks on Hermits and Mystics.

Venue Quakers Meeting House. Doors open from 7pm for a cuppa and chat, to be seated in Main Hall by 7:20pm, talk to begin at 7:30pm. Remove viewing also available online.

Join us in Remembrance on Holocaust Memorial Day – Wednesday 25th January at 6.30pm in the council chamber at the Municipal offices in Cheltenham. Everyone is welcome to attend, and you can reserve your place on Eventbrite: Holocaust Memorial Day – Act of Remembrance Tickets, Wed 25 Jan 2023 at 18:30 | Eventbrite

Communication 8th January 2023:

Dear Members and Friends

Celebrating 20 years of Cheltenham Inter Faith – we will be holding a series of celebrations throughout the year. A trip down memory lane to reflect on the CIF talks, activities and events of the last 20 years, a celebratory meal, a celebratory walk and some kind of thanks giving service for everyone involved in CIF. The celebrations will also help promote the importance, practice and benefits of inter faith dialogue. Please let us know if you would like to help organise the celebrations and/or have ideas as to what we can do and how best to do it.

Cheltenham Inter Faith Celebratory New Year Meal, Saturday 14th January 5pm to 7pm.

To celebrate our work together these last 12 months and to reflect on the many years we have been promoting inter faith dialogue in Cheltenham we are delighted to confirm we have booked Saturday 14th January at the Friends Meeting House for a celebratory meal.

There will be a choice of a delicious vegetarian or meat dish with desert and hot drinks. The food will be prepared and served by the Warwick Place Community Kitchen who are building up quite a reputation for themselves and come highly recommended.

2022 Events

Inter Faith Week

For 2022’s theme, Sharing our Spiritual Homes, various Cheltenham faith groups opened their doors to welcome visitors between Monday 14 and Friday 18 November. To help to deepen our understanding of different faiths and to reflect on our own beliefs.

There were visits to Gas Green Baptist Church, St. Gregory’s Roman Catholic Church, the Hindu Community Centre, the Kadampa Buddhist Centre, the local Bahai community, the Lower High Street Mosque and Cheltenham Orthodox Jewish Community invited visitors in. The Week culminated in a gathering at the Hindu Centre for everyone to share their experiences of it and have a meal together.

The week’s events having been jointly organised by the University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham Inter Faith and Cheltenham Borough Council.

Cllr Flo Clucas, cabinet member for communities and safety, said: “We are delighted to support this fantastic opportunity for people of different beliefs to come together once more, to learn more about each other and to increase understanding. Everyone is welcome to join and take part.”

Revd Simon Witcombe, the Senior Chaplain at the University of Gloucestershire, encouraged people to take part in this year’s events. ‘This is a wonderful opportunity for us to visit each other’s places of worship and faith communities, and learn a little more about our different beliefs. We’re delighted that the Hindu Community Centre have offered to host our final evening, when we will reflect on our visits and share a delicious vegetarian curry together.’

2021 Events

2020 Events

Chris Hewer

A full house at the Friends Meeting House were entertained and informed by the internationally renowned speaker on Christian/Muslim relationships, Dr Chris Hewer. Chris gave us a overview of the history of Islam, its range and divergences and brought these tensions into the modern world to help to explain some of the reasons behind conflicts and disputes across the middle east and beyond.

Salvation Army talk

A good number of CIF members braved a wet and windy night to attend a witty and informative talk on the works of the Salvation Army. Our speaker, Paul Stanford, gave us a great insight into the wide range of activities conducted by ‘The Army’ both locally and internationally.

2019 Events

Unitarian Talk

Can you spot our speaker Mark Hutchinson of Cheltenham and Gloucester Unitarians glowing in “the Light of approval”? A lively audience of CIF members and friends were put in festive spirit with tasty multi-cultural treats and mulled (non-alc) wine, and very much enjoyed. Mark’s informative and entertaining talk was on the history of Unitarians both worldwide and locally. Such was the level of interest that a lively question-and-answer session had to be drawn to a close by Chair Jack as CIF ends its 2019 season.

We hope to see you again soon in the new year.

Inter Faith Week

Gloucester Pride

Three weddings

A lively evening learning about the customs and tradition of weddings across different faiths. Made all the more enjoyable by some delicious food before the meeting.

Oxford Friendship Walk

On 27th June several members joined the Oxford InterFaith Friendship Walk which
departed from the Jewish Centre in Richmond Road and arrived at the Central Mosque for a meal provided by the Mosque and the Jewish Community. Stopping for prayers, scripture readings and reflections at many points through the City with contributions from all the
world’s main religions.

Humanism

Who are the Humanists? What are their beliefs? How are they different, and similar, to an Atheist, a Secularist and other non-faith groups? These and other questions formed part of the illuminating and interesting talk by Humanist celebrant Hannah Hart of the Gloucestershire Humanists. It was a lively session with lots of interaction between our members and Hannah! She handled a range of questions and comments from the audience with great skill and empathy.

An evening well spent at the Hester’s Way Community Centre.