All in Good Faith

Author(s): Jean Potter, Marcus Braybrooke
Publisher: World Congress of Faiths

Page 14

Development of Interfaith Prayer and the Discussion
arranged. Thereafter, for many years, the World Congress of Faiths arranged an Annual All Faiths Service. Distinguished figures were asked to give the address, including the Indian High Commissioner Mrs Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Sir Basil Henriques, Sir John Glubb, the Hon. Lily Montagu and Dr Edward Carpenter.
In 1958, the service was held for the first time in an Anglican Church, at St. Botolph's, by invitation of George Appleton who at the time was vicar there. The preacher was Dr Aurabinda Basu, a Hindu who was a lecturer at Durham University. In 1961, the service was held at St. John's Wood Liberal Jewish Synagogue. Ten years later it was held for the first time in a Roman Catholic Church, at the Church of the Holy Rosary in Marylebone. The preacher was Fr. Tom Corbishley who insisted that the service was an act of worship. Despite the differences between religions, there was enough in common, he said, to come together in worship. In 1972, for the first time, the preacher was a Muslim, Al Haj Sheik M Tufail.
The most memorable services perhaps were when the Dalai Lama spoke, once at the West London Synagogue in 1973 and again at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church in 1981. The latter service was held on a hot summer evening and the church was packed. At the start everyone was asked to offer his or her neighbour a greeting of peace. This created a relaxed and happy atmosphere. In his sermon, the Dalai Lama said he disliked formality. Neither birth nor death were formal ! He said we needed variety of religions, just as we like variety of foods. Each has a particular insight to share.
Other Organizations
Increasingly by the seventies interfaith services began to be arranged in Britain not only by the World Congress of Faiths and by some Unitarian Churches but by other organizations, such as the Guide Movement, the Scout Association, the United Nations Association, the Red Cross, the Young Men's Christian Association and the Young Women's Christian Association. All these organizations promoted moral and spiritual values. Having come together to develop their physical, intellectual and moral growth, there came a time when participants wished to share their spiritual growth through corporate prayer or worship. Whilst some organizations claimed a religious basis for their work, their membership was not restricted to adherents of a particular religious denomination. If they were to arrange religious activities or services, these, because of their membership, had to be inclusive and acceptable to all and, therefore, multifaith.
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