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Paignton
(Palace Avenue) Methodist Church
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 | the majority of Muslims globally condemned the attack on New York's twin towers and reject utterly the kind of violence shown at BahawaIpur - to say that Islam as a whole sanctions violence is to bear false witness against our neighbour; |
| although Islam and Christianity are different, both Muslims and Christians, worship God and seek to live a holy life in accordance with God's will. |
In a post 11 September world, these are just three challenges for us all:
| to learn more about what Muslims believe and practise with a willingness to discover similarity and difference; |
| to show friendship to our Muslim neighbours - let us not forget, some have suffered from abusive attacks; |
| to show solidarity with those threatened by Islamic extremism - we should not ignore the fear felt by some Christians in Pakistan, for instance - but let us not hold all Muslims responsible for this. |
"My greatest reward for arranging the service was the look of joy and
delight on so many of the Muslim and Christian faces afterwards as we shared a
Halal lunch and chatted with each other. It was a deeply moving experience
following which many people of both faiths voiced the hope that this will be
only the beginning of a deepening relationship between mosque and church."
(Rev John Howard-Norman, writing of a World Peace Day Service, 14
October, in Horwich to which Muslims were invited)
A Visit the local Islamic Centre
A group of about fifteen people, mainly from Paignton (Palace Avenue) Methodist Church, spent an evening as guests of the Torquay Islamic Centre. There were two talks by converts to Islam giving an insight into their spiritual journey as well as giving an overview of Islam. There then followed a very interesting and open 'question and answer' session which covered various topics including the position of women in Islam, Sharia law, and the devotional life. The evening concluded with refreshments and many individual conversations between the Christians and Muslims present. A collection had been taken at Paignton (Palace Avenue) Methodist Church for the victims of the earthquake that devastated the Iranian city of Bam and the proceeds were given to the Islamic Centre to be distributed through Muslim Global Relief. Sending the Church's contribution through Muslim channels was considered to be one small way in which some local Christians could extend the hand of friendship at a time when some parts of our society and media are encouraging hostility towards the Muslim community in Britain. Only good can come from increased contact between people of faith in Torbay and an invitation was given to the Muslim community to attend a similar event at Paignton (Palace Avenue) Methodist Church in the future.
Click here to contact our
Minister – Revd Paul Saunders
Click here to
download the Plymouth and Exeter Methodist
District Training Calendar 2007/2008 If
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