23rd Feb ’14
TIFFY goes to Bristol for the city’s ‘Diverse Doors Open Day’ event!
“Today’s activities gave me the deep impression that faiths can cooperate well to create a single, strong society.” TIFFY member reflects on the day’s events

Taking a peak at a Torah Scroll (main Jewish scripture)
Our TIFFY group of Jews, Muslims, Christians, Baha’is and those of no particular faith set off for Bristol to visit a range of places of worship and meet the members of the community that use them. It proved to be a wonderful hands-on opportunity for every TIFFY member to better their understanding of other faiths by speaking directly with representatives of the religiously diverse community- including the Honourable Lord Mayor of Bristol, Faruk Choudhury!
Around 16 beautiful places of worship opened their doors to the community as part of the annual festival this year including Churches, Sikh Gurdwaras, Mosques, Hindu Temples, Synagogues and Baha’i Centres. The theme of the festival was ‘Love Thy Neighbour’, a value central to all of the main world religions. The day therefore celebrated the similarities and differences of a whole host of different faiths.
R.C. Church of St. Nicholas of Tolentino: TIFFY & members of the public reach the end of the Faith Trail
Hindu statues
TIFFY members chat with the characterful Hindu leader
Observing a Torah Scroll
Baha’i Community Centre’s Room of Tranquility
Visiting a beautiful Gudwara temple
Bristol Mayor Faruk Choudhury & TIFFY member Alice Donnellan
Baha’i Community Centre’s Room of Tranquility
Ammaarah Mizra and Alice Donnellan, two TIFFY members, were approached by MAST* magazine to summarise their thoughts on the day. Please click here to read their articles.
(*MAST is a magazine focussing on the South Asian community in the South West of Devon)
Highlights of the day included;
- tour of the beautiful Bristol Hindu Temple and chatting with the Honourable Lord Mayor of Bristol
- the unique African architecture in the R.C. Church of St. Nicholas of Tolentino and chatting with Father Richard McKay concerning the church’s amazing involvement in addressing issues in the community from poverty, prostitution and immigration.
- the Baha’i communities’ speech on the importance of the involvement of youth in religion and interfaith
- as well as visiting the Easton Jamia Mosque
- looking at the perfect calligraphy of a Torah scroll
- Here’s what us TIFFY members thought:
“Today’s activities gave me the deep impression that faiths can cooperate well to create a single, strong society.”
“Hearing from speakers from many religions means I maintain that spiritual perspective in life and the emphasis religion puts on reaching out to all our neighbours.”
“Before today, I struggled to believe what other faiths believe so strongly and now I’ve had a real insight into it all.”
“It reminded me how strong the Islamic faith is about loving your neighbour, and really similar to other religions – the same principles on looking after one another…”
“It was fascinating to hear about all sorts of faiths that I knew nothing off, such as Bahai, which hadn’t been mentioned at all in my R.S. lessons.”
“It allowed me to appreciate that all faiths and beliefs hold similar values of peace and equality.”
“It helped reinforce the idea of diversity and core values.”
“I learnt more about different cultures and beliefs. I found it very interesting to learn about the similarities.”
“It gave me a much better understanding of different religions and and how they contribute positively to society.”
“Only today did I realise that TIFFY is now my only link to religion, as I don’t have the option to study it in school.”
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