Phil Gillam: Putting faith in the future of us all

Seeing this world as the beautiful, fragile sphere it is; seeing our species as one; appreciating that we have to share this rock we call home … that has to have an impact on one’s perspective.

But, clearly, you don’t have to be an astronaut to feel this way about the world.

For millennia, good men and women have asked the same question, exasperated and often despairing of how easy it seems for arrogance, intolerance and prejudice to flair up into conflict.

Well, right here in Shrewsbury, there’s a group of good people – of different faiths and of no faith, and from every walk of life – who meet regularly to promote tolerance, compassion and understanding.

And I was thrilled to be invited along the other day to one of their meetings at The Masala – an intimate restaurant specialising in Indo-Bengal cuisine – at St Julian’s Friars near the Greyfriars Bridge.

I’m grateful to the restaurant’s owner, John Mustafa, and all the other members of the forum who made me so welcome.

While sampling some exquisite food (hey – offer me Indian food and I’ll be there!), we all heard from guest speaker Iman Ikram who spoke about Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is observed from dawn to sunset. (None of us were fasting on this occasion!)

Afterwards, there was plenty of time for chatting around the table and getting to know people from all sorts of backgrounds.

Now, in a nutshell, the aim of this group – the Shrewsbury Interfaith Forum – is to break down divisive stereotypes between people by simply listening to each other, by sharing understandings of different faiths and by getting to know people as people rather than simply “them”.

The forum’s website states: “Our world can only be peaceful when people trust each other and that can only happen when prejudice and ignorance are replaced by knowledge. We are not trying to convert each other, but to understand each other, to our mutual benefit.”

The aforementioned John Mustafa – a splendid chap who does a fantastic amount of good work for charities – is joint chairman of the Interfaith Forum which has around 70 members.

Oh, and I must mention that the forum will be staging its annual fun day, a vibrant and colourful event, at Shrewsbury’s United Reformed Church in Abbey Forgate on September 9, at which there will be music, art and refreshments.

For further information on the forum, contact: John Mustafa, telephone 07930 373 541.

GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH:

Now, it wasn’t that long ago that the old church just off the Oteley Road, Shrewsbury, stood in splendid isolation, but a very recent housing development (Sutton Grange) has transformed the landscape and it’s like the church has just witnessed a little village spring up around it.

But this church has seen a lot of changes in its time.

The building is medieval so it’s seen a fair few comings and goings.

However, we’ve just found out the site upon which it is built has an even richer history.

Archaeologists say a sacred burial site uncovered at the church in February is over 4,000 years old. In fact, they say the site may be the country’s oldest-known continuously used sacred ground.

Finds suggest it has been used during every era since the late Neolithic period.

Carbon dating of a wooden post extracted during the dig showed it was placed in the ground in 2,033 BC.

Archaeologists had originally expected the post to be Anglo-Saxon.

Staggering, isn’t it?

“The dates have shocked us all,” said lead archaeologist Janey Green. “It appears the current medieval church is built over the site of an ancient pagan burial ground that’s been in use from the late Neolithic period through the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and through to today.”

I’m knocked out by this discovery.

See … referring back to my first item, you really don’t need to be an astronaut in order to view this world of ours with awe.