Bristol’s Diverse Doors Day 2015: Here’s what DIFFY members had to say…

“I loved how welcoming everybody was to each others faiths… I think all these unique religions developing is an insight into life’s beauty”

“I learned about other faith systems which enhanced my world view and gave me things to consider regarding my own beliefs.”

“In an increasingly secular society it was interesting to hear about how religions are conscious of local and international problems, how they are actively dealing with them, and that religion is still relevant today.”

“Seeing other religions in places of worship I wouldn’t ordinarily visit due to loyalty to my own faith was very interesting.”

“I gained insight into the connections, similarities and differences between different faiths.”

“I got to see people of faith in their place of worship so could experience the ‘feel’ or ‘vibe’ of the religion itself as well as find out about the beliefs of religions.”

“Learning about other faiths widens my arsenal of methods to perceive and communicate with God or spirituality. It also helps me to accept and understand my neighbours. This knowledge will help me to be more empathetic and considerate of others.”

“An amazing day. The talk given by the imam was one of the most interesting for me, as I learnt what terms like jihaad really meant. There simply is no better way to challenge stereotypes that exist to some extent in everyone’s heads than meeting the members of different religious communities. It was also great to see my DIFFY friends again!”

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A FREE TRIP TO EXPERIENCE BRISTOL’S FAITH SCENE

A free trip to participate in Bristol’s ‘Diverse Doors’ faith trail event is being organised by Devon Interfaith Forum for Youth.

Fancy follow a fascinating ‘faith trail’ throughout the whole city, visiting beautiful Mosques, Temples, Churches and Synagogues, meeting members of the local communities, (and sometimes also being offered delicious food and snacks along the way!) ?

Why should I join DIFFY? A few words from current members…

“I love the fact that whenever you are able to join the group you can fit in and enjoy the amazing experiences that DIFFY has to offer.”

What would you say to encourage someone who is thinking of joining DIFFY to do so? “Go for it!”
“I think some people get put off that it might be too much like school or think it’s only for people from minority faiths but you learn without realising and have so much fun, no matter what your background or prior knowledge you have of other faiths”.

To see images from last year’s trip, click here. DIFFY will be running the trip on Sunday 22nd February. Young people between the ages of 10-21 years from any faith background or none at all are welcome to join us.
For more information please email interfaith.youth.project@gmail.com

Diverse Doors Bristol Open Day

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.

Hindu statues

Visiting a beautiful Gudwara temple

R.C. Church of St. Nicholas of Tolentino: TIFFY & members of the public reach the end of the Faith Trail

Baha’i Community Centre’s Room of Tranquility

Bristol Mayor Faruk Choudhury & TIFFY member Alice Donnellan

TIFFY members chat with the characterful Hindu leader

Observing a Torah Scroll

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.”

Devon Belief & Faith Festival

3rd December ’13

TIFFY presents to some of the 800+ visitors who visited the festival this year

TIFFY members participate in a creative interfaith workshop

Today, a group of us TIFFY members gathered together to meet representatives from a whole variety of faiths and religions at Paignton library and to show the video we had prepared at our meet-up at Lupton House earlier in the year.

While there were numerous activities we took part in, the highlight of the day was presenting to the general public our personal experiences concerning religion and why TIFFY is important to us.

During the rest of the day TIFFY members helped out at a creative workshop for children focusing on the theme of interfaith. We also had the opportunity to visit other groups’ stalls and hear the songs, prayers and speakers from an assortment of faiths including pagans, Hindus, spiritualists and Quakers to name but a few!

To read more about the festival in general, you can read the Herald Express article by clicking here.