Census data? So much richness! As an immigrant, I am always keen to find out the ethnic demographic of a particular area and how some of our communities have changed over the years.
It is true that we are living in a more secular society. The most recent census data shows that, for the first time in the history of the United Kingdom, the number of people with no religious background has outgrown the number of people with a particular faith or belief.
However in my view, faith still plays an important role in our society and it is deeply rooted in the fabric of our communities and neighbourhoods. It often helps to foster bridges on “cultural understanding” and enhances our relationships.
Last weekend (11/06), the Corpus Christi Sunday, many children from the three Roman Catholic churches in Welwyn Garden City had an opportunity to receive the First Holy Communion, including my youngest daughter.
Two days earlier, my middle daughter was confirmed. We were very lucky; we had a number of visitors from Poland (my country of origin) and Croatia (my wife’s country of origin).
It was truly wonderful to see an “international church community in action”. The beauty in diversity was so palpable; different cultures, traditions and yet many of us felt like One Body.
The Mass and the follow-up celebrations gave us all an opportunity to appreciate the unique nature of our faith that has a profound influence in our lives and still a huge ability to unite.
Although many would argue that people are less likely these days to attend regular church services, I do believe that faith will continue to deepen our relationships and challenge stereotypes.
In our borough, I have seen first-hand how our Welwyn Hatfield Interfaith uses every opportunity to bring people together by running a number of projects and activities e.g. regular talks or a shared supper at the Focolare Centre etc.
Religious or not, we are called to build a human family. Religious or not, we all have spiritual needs.
Today, when there is so much emphasis on individualism, we should take the responsibility to strengthen our fraternal relationship, encourage one another to engage in a meaningful and fruitful dialogue that has the power to transform lives and helps us grow as a global family.
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