Six faiths walk the talk for peace

The Bishop of Barking, the Rt Revd David Hawkins joined forces with more than 60 people from the Baha'i, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh faiths when he led the first Barking and Dagenham peace walk in September.

The route took walkers past churches, the gurdwara (Sikh temple) and Barking mosque before returning to Abbey Green, site of Barking Abbey and St Margaret's church.

The walkers handed balloons and leaflets to people as they passed them by. The gurdwara and mosque gave the walkers drinks and light refreshments.

In a time of reflection, Bishop David brought out the significance of the Jewish greeting 'shalom' and the Muslim word 'assalamu' (both ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’).

“These greetings are used by more than 16 nations,” he said. “But they signify much more than just 'hello' and 'goodbye'; they are words rich with spiritual and political significance. They speak of wholeness, community well being, respect between races and generations. They speak of health, physical safety, prosperity, education for all and care for every member of society. These are 'soul' values, which are foundational to each of our faiths. It is right and should be expected that we, as people of faith, should take a lead in peace making.”

The bishop also spoke of another word, which sounds the same but is spelt differently: 'piece'. He said that just as each piece was needed to complete a jigsaw puzzle, so each person from each section of the community needed to fit with the next to create a beautiful, colourful, picture. Too easily, jigsaw pieces got lost, or were forced into the wrong position – and the harmonious whole was spoiled.

A representative of each faith group read from their scriptures.

The faiths joined together in committing themselves to work for the common good, uniting to build a better society, grounded in values and ideals they shared: community, personal integrity, a sense of right and wrong, learning, wisdom and love of truth, care and compassion, justice and peace, respect for one another, for the earth and its creatures.They also made a commitment in a spirit of friendship and co-operation to work together alongside all who shared their values and ideals, to help bring about a better world now and for generations to come.

Revd Jonathan Evens, chair of the Barking and Dagenham Faith Forum, added: “The walkers for peace represent  the real majority in this borough. We are all too often a silent majority. To move towards peace in our communities, we need to oppose those who seek to divide our community and provide an alternative, positive vision of a peaceful and safe community.

“We have brought together people from six different faiths and we showed what peace and understanding between different communities and different faiths can look like in Barking and Dagenham.”

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