OUTSTANDING INTERFAITH PARTNERSHIP

1. Lincolnshire Jewish Community and Lincoln University Multifaith Chaplaincy.

Mitzvah Day saw the small Lincolnshire Jewish Community enjoy their first face-to-face activity since they had to stop in-person events when the pandemic started in 2020. Members of the community, both new and old, joined with the Lincoln University Multi-Faith Chaplaincy to help clear leaves and plant 1000 bulbs in the university’s Peace Garden. The project gave local people of different faiths the chance to come together and break down barriers while maintaining a space in nature for students, staff, and their guests to get away from the noise and hustle of the city and to meditate, contemplate, chat, and/or pray.

2. Worcestershire Interfaith Forum

The Worcestershire Interfaith Forum marked Mitzvah Day by serving free cakes at Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital. Overall, 20 people of all ages and faiths traveled to help commemorate the day with cakes donated by Christians, Jews, Sikhs, Baha’is, and Muslims. The multi-faith group also gave away tea, coffee, cold drinks, and biscuits to patients, visitors, and hospital staff.

3. Immanuel Project, Bradford

The Immanuel Project in Bradford saw members of the Diocese of Leeds, Bradford Reform Synagogue, The Bradford Synagogue, and the Bradford Muslim community come together to cook curry for guests who include both rough-sleepers and the homeless. Those assisting with the cooking included Rev Jenny Ramsden and Bishop Tony Robinson. This cooking event gave people of various faiths the chance to bond over the hob while helping those in need.

4. St Albans Masorti Synagogue

The synagogue ran various activities, including working with St Saviours and St Bartholomews' churches to cook and share a meal prepared with asylum seekers. Fourteen asylum seekers from eight countries took part in the event. Synagogue members also put on a cultural afternoon for Ukrainian guests. Ukrainian songs and dances were performed, in the country's national dress, with volunteers baking Ukrainian cakes and biscuits for all to enjoy.

5. Barnet Multi Faith Forum

Middlesex University Interfaith Network together with the Barnet Multi Faith Forum planted snowdrops at St Mary’s Church, Hendon, to remember victims of the Holocaust. Members of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Greek Orthodox faiths – including Barnet Deputy Mayor Nagus Narenthira – took part. It was a particularly poignant day, as the church had previously received support from faith community neighbours when its churchyard suffered a series of devastating acts of vandalism and desecration.