CSI – Central Scotland Interfaith
The forum to promote inter faith encounter in Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling.
Registered as a Scottish Charity under Scottish Charity No SC041399
Contact CSI
By email at csi [at] irenic.org.uk (replace [at] with @) or phone the Secretary, Andrew, on 07743 726013
Coming Events
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Meeting at 114 High Station Road FALKIRK FK1 5LN between 7pm and 9pm
Theme: “Peace is at the heart of all religions – so why is the world not at peace?”
Our discussion will be led by long standing and highly respected peace activists Helen Steven and Ellen Moxley, formerly of Peace House and the Scottish Centre for Nonviolence, who were awarded the prestigious Ghandi Prize a few years ago.
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Provisional dates for the rest of the first half of 2012:
All meeting dates are Sundays from 7pm to 9pm. Topics and venues are still to be confirmed.
February 19 Leadership on Values (with Jon Cape)
Venue: Stirling Methodist Church, Queen St., Stirling
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March 25 AGM & Prison Chaplaincy (with Donald Scott from Polmont YOI)
Venue: t.b.c.
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April 22
May 20
June 17
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Subscriptions (£5 per annum) for 2012 can be paid at any time prior to the AGM. All meetings are open to members and non-members alike, but only paid up members may stand for the committee or vote at general meetings. Membership application forms can be obtained from the Secretary.
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Recent Events:
We met in St Francis Xavier Church Hall in December to share food and musical items from different faith communities. Members of Cumbernauld Gaelic Choir sang three songs, and Carolyn Fox and Nik Sier presented contrasting items based on Baha’i scripture. The evening concluded with all those present joining in and singing two Christmas carols.
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Our November meeting was hosted by members of the Spiritual Care Team at the Forth Valley Royal Hospital. Ken Russell gave a most informative talk about the role of Chaplains in hospitals and a lively discussion ensued.
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About 20 people met in October at Stirling University Chaplaincy, and watched the DVD of “An African Answer”, the sequel to “The Imam and the Pastor”. This focussed on reconciliation work carried out by the two Nigerian clerics in Kenya. A lively discussion ensued, aided by the presence of Nigerian and Kenya visitors.
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Our September meeting discussed the relationships between faith communities and the wider local community, focussing on the role religious groups have in caring for the less fortunate around them.
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In June we met to hear about pilgrmage from a number of different faith perspectives. Christian, Muslim, Sikh and Baha’i pilgrimages were described by a range of participants. The common features of these journeys in faith were then compared.
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Our May meeting was led by Dr Maureen Sier, at which those present discussed what we understood by the term “inter faith“. We also looked at the recently published Scottish Government resource “Belief in Dialogue” of which Maureen had been a member of the writing team.
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Our second AGM was held on March 27 at Stirling University. The committee was re-elected for a further year. The business meeting was followed by viewing a DVD of “The Imam and the Pastor”, and a discussion on some of the issues raised. CSI now owns a copy of the DVD which may be borrowed from the Secretary.
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Our February meeting took place in St Francis Xavier Church Hall, and included a presentation on Fair Trade by Terri Paterson, the convener of Fair Trade Falkirk, and tasting some fair trade products.
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A few members met on January 30, and discovered that there were few differences in the ways that religions practised acts of charity.
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Members of the Baha’i, Christian and Muslim communities met on Nov.9, and discussed the ways in which their faiths addressed the issues of justice. It became clear that the three religions had much in common on this matter.
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CSI’s biggest crowd gathered in Cambuskenneth Village Hall on Sunday September 27th to share how the different faith groups present dealt with rites of passage. Ably chaired by Dr Ishak Abu Arafeh, there were contributions from all of the faiths represented. A grand banquet followed the discussion – thanks to all the families who contributed.
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Our August meeting included a discussion about how different religions commemorate the harvest season. A collection in aid of the Pakistan Floods Appeal was taken and £117 collected from the eight members present. Throughout Ramadan our charity collection boxes in local shops were re-labelled for the Pakistan Floods Appeal, and a further £483 collected. Consequently the sum of £600 was sent to The British Red Cross Pakistan Floods Appeal.
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The July meeting in Falkirk was led by members of the Unification Church, who presented their principle of the cross-cultural family as the source of peace and harmony.
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The June meeting was held in Shieldhill, and attended by Hugh O’Donnell MSP, Stirling Provost Fergus Wood and Falkirk Depute Provost Allyson Black. The theme discussed was the role of women in religion, with an emphasis on Sikhism.
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On Saturday June 5, we engaged in our first service project, clearing rubbish from the riverbank in Stirling starting from the Customs roundabout, along Lovers Lane to the Riverside Boathouse.
Members of several local Faith groups, including various Christian denominations and Baha’is, were joined by Bruce Crawford MSP with equipment provided by Stirling Council. The quantity of rubbish in this area proved to be impressive with the added challenge of the tangle of prolific summer undergrowth.
We hope to undertake further service projects, feeling that doing things together strengthens relationships in a way that just talking does not.
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There were about a dozen members and friends at Scottish Churches’ House in Dunblane on May 30 to hear Dr Maureen Sier speak of the need for inter faith dialogue as a peace making and bridge building perspective.
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Nine members were the guests of Carolyn and Jeremy Fox in Stirling for our April Get-together, and Parvin gave us an insight into past and present persecution of Baha’is.
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The March meeting was held in Bridge of Allan on Palm Sunday, the start of what Christians call Holy Week. Our host, Dom Ind, co-director of the Scottish Centre for Inter Faith & Spirituality, explained the significant events of that week, and how many Christians commemorate them.
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The February Meeting, was held in Clackmannanshire for the first time, in Alva, at the home of Monty Fatemi. Nine members held a lively discussion after hearing about Satwant and Iffy’s recent visit to Pakistan, where they met many people of influence in inter faith in that country..
January’s meeting was held in the rather less than warm surroundings of the chapel at Falkirk Royal Infirmary. Ten members met and discussed, among other things, homelessness and how a just and loving God could permit events such as the Haiti earthquake.
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2008-2009 Picture Gallery:
