A Spirit of Peace at The Friendship Cafe

Last Monday I returned to my hometown of Gloucester to speak at the fantastic  Friendship Cafe in Barton Street at an event organised by the Gloucester and Stroud activists of the Spirit of Peace Network.

Jane Ozanne Director of Spirit of Peace introduces the evening

The Friendship Cafe is a community centre run by a group of local Muslims alongside social enterprise initiatives in partnership with others in the community.

Regularly the Friendship Cafe hosts a Bring and Share meal and discussion with a speaker invited by their partners in these events, Spirit of Peace.

 Telling stories of encounter to explore the spirituality of inter faith engagement.

Participants discuss together  the issues raised in my stories

It was a great evening with 70 or so folk present Muslims, Christians, Jews and seekers. Spirit of Peace who had organised the meeting had asked me to speak on Muslim - Christian relations and my book A Heart Broken Open - Radical Faith in an Age of Fear.

Selling & signing books at the end of the evening

Speaking at this meeting was part of my developing relationship with Spirit of Peace particularly in the work they seek to support in Israel and Palestine. In July I hope to be helping to organise events with different faith communities in Birmingham to hear of the work of one of Spirit of Peace's partners Sheikh Ghassan Manasra from Nazareth who will be visiting the UK.

Watch out for further details.

Thanks to Reyaz Limilia and David Bennett for photos