RFF ANNUAL WALK OF PEACE
RFF ANNUAL WALK OF PEACE Sunday 19th May 2024 -
Each year Redbridge Faith Forum arranges an Interfaith Walk of Peace through Ilford.
Our annual Multi-faith Walk of Peace is a gentle stroll through central Ilford that brings together people from many diverse faith communities in Redbridge in a spirit of fellowship and harmony. As we walk together, visiting the different faith venues, and hearing from each faith about this year’s topic FAITH: FINDING PEACE WITHIN, we can appreciate the common precepts we share and we are able to further develop our understanding and respect for each other. This Walk of Peace is the replacement for the scheduled one which was due to take place in October 2023 and which we sadly had to postpone due to the difficult circumstances at that time.
RFF has been in existence since 2003, and became a registered Charity in 2006. Redbridge Council helped fund the Faith Forum for a number of years as it recognised the invaluable role it plays in promoting community cohesion.
The Faith Forum has been working hard to give Faith Communities in Redbridge a collective voice by identifying and addressing issues that affect residents, providing training, information, and encouraging participation in projects that enhance the well being of all residents whether they belong to a Faith Community or not.
The Faith Forum’s vision is a very commendable one. It aims to build a community where respect, co-operation and understanding of each other’s beliefs, culture and traditions are core principles.
And there is no better example of that than Walk of Peace with people of all ages and from all different backgrounds and cultures coming together to walk as one.
After careful consideration the Annual Walk of Peace, organised by Redbridge Faith Forum (RFF), took place on Sunday 19th May 2024. The theme of the walk was “Faith, - Finding Peace Within”. This Walk of Peace was the replacement for the scheduled one which was due to take place in October 2023.
Just before 1.00 pm, the group assembled at the Holocaust Memorial Garden. The walkers were welcomed by the The Worshipful The Mayor of Redbridge, Cllr Sheila Bain and Redbridge Faith Forum Chair, Mohamed Omer.
At the Memorial, Mitzi Kalinski spoke from Jewish perspective on “Faith, - Finding Peace Within” what it means.
From here around 80+ walkers including the Mayor walked over 100 yards and paid their respect at the tree planted in commemoration of the genocide in Srebrenica. where Mohamed shared few words
Walkers made their way along Cranbrook Road to the Buddhist Vihara where we were welcomed by Reverend Hemaratana and his congregation. At the Vihara we heard from Rev Hemaratana on the topic “Faith, - Finding Peace Within”. This theme would be repeated at each of our stops.
At the VHP Hindu Temple, we were welcomed by Redbridge Faith Forum Trustee, Pratibha Datta. Vijay Khetarpal (chair) & Rao Kaz (vice chair). Pratibha gave a lovely talk on finding inner peace, which the walkers enjoyed very much.
Our next stop was the Islamic Centre in Albert Road. Our hosts led by Basit and trustees , welcomed us with both refreshments and food. We heard a lovely recorded talk from Carol Khorsandyon, on the Topic from the Baha’i perspective unfortunately she was unable to be there in person due to last minute emergency. We then heard from Basit on the Topic from the Islamic perspective he referred to the words of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and he finished his talk with a recitation from the Holy Quran
After leaving the Islamic Centre the group made its way to our penultimate stop at the Peace Garden SS Peter’s and Paul in the High Road where the Phil spoke from the Christian faith perspective on finding inner peace.
The final stop was at the Karamsar Centre which, thankfully was very close by, where we were greeted by Harpreet Singh. He gave a very good presentation from the Sikh perspective on the topic “Faith, - Finding Peace Within”.
Following his presentation, all were invited to partake in a hearty vegetarian meal and hopefully went home refreshed of spirit and of body!
Our sincere thanks go to Alan Banner, Peter Musgrave, our volunteer Marshalls our local PCSO’s who provided support during the walk, all the various venue hosts who welcomed everyone so warmly, the speakers who shared their wisdom with us and most of all, our stalwart supporters who walked alongside each other.
Feedback from the Walkers
I joined the above walk with a group of 40-50 people from different faiths and beliefs and stopped at all different places of worship, where everyone was made welcome and the faith leaders and group organisers (such as Mohammed) gave talks and summarised at the end of each talk really well about inner peace and a bit about their faith. A brilliant event”
“ Everything was wonderful. So wonderful to meet with so many different faiths and have so much in common. The topic was so important and so relevant to all of us. All the talks were so spiritual and uplifting. Thank you so much”
“ Inner peace : Have a smile on your face. Ability to look after each other. Walk was well organised as usual. Things explained at each venue. Talks by faith members all good.”
“ Thank you for arranging the multi faith walk. It was my first time to participate in this event. I feel enriched by the spirituality experience- especially that every ‘faith’ topic is peace. We all have common shared values. Thank you everyone for every faith- the welcome from every venue is amazing. I feel blessed.” - Lailee
“Very mind blowing experience. Lots learned. All representatives was well expressed leaving me with a sense of love and appreciation. Thanks to all involved and may the lord bless you all.” -
” May seems to be a better time of year with flowers in bloom! Beautifully organised as always. Well done! Keep up the excellent work and may we all find inner peace. :)” > ”Overall an excellent & important event.
“ Thank you for the opportunity to meet people from all faiths and to discuss peace.” > “ Great event. Should be more than once a year. “
“Excellent! Much better in May! “
“Fantastic initiative - well done Redbridge Faith Forum. A true multi-faith forum. Good timing this year and very balanced approach. “
“ Wonderful presentation by the representatives from the temple mosque & the gurdwara. Thank you” - Harpreet > “ Was a great walk and a nice day. “ -
“ - This time of year preferable. - Always runs late. Each place always offers refreshments - People want to talk. - Walk- some slower - So if 5/6 faiths represented- consider having one place left out one year in 5/6!! An idea. - Loved the peace garden at the church. - Loved all places I went to. Have mobility issues- so managed to walk up to Holocaust Memorial then to the Buddhist centre, then coffee in Ilford and sit down then walk to church along High Rd and lastly did go to the Hindu and Muslim centre then mini cab! 5 star today!”
“ Very good peace walk. Very good presentation by all the faith. May is a good month to do the walk of peace.”
“ Lovely atmosphere, warm welcome. Excellent thoughts on inner peace- I felt looked after and loved as an equal. This May was warm but Autumn can be too. 6 venues ok.”
“ A good experience. All religions inspire us to find inner peace. A well organised programme.”
“ I have thoroughly enjoyed the walk and speeches. Thank you so much for the refreshments and thanks for sponsoring the event.”
“ Thank you very much. The walk was excellent. It is good we visit all the places.”
“ This faith-walk has been the most positive and the best thing that has happened to me in years. I am hopeful now.” - Priyanka contact: priyanka.j30@gmail.com
“It’s been a great experience. This happens to be the first time walking in this group. Will do it again next year. God bless us all xxx”
“Excellent afternoon, thank you” -
“Sept- Oct ok with me.”
“Thank you for another walk. Thank you Saira and Omar.
“ Excellent! Enjoyed thoroughly. Waiting for next one.”
“ So well organised. This is my 5th or 6th walk for peace and prefer May instead of later in the year. Thoroughly worthwhile and enjoyable, well done to the organisers and to the hosts.” -
“ Thank you for an amazing world tour in the afternoon without the hassle of a passport or aeroplane. Thank you for so many beautiful messages of inner peace. I have enjoyed many lovely conversations.
“Well organised event. This was my first one. It’s nice to be able to experience all faiths and the community cohesion! “
“ Multi-faith walk was really good. All the faith leaders explained about internal peace very nicely. Really enjoyed it!”
“ Thank you. Peace be with you 🙂 Really informative and kept time to the peace topic within.
“ It was so nice. We had a wonderful afternoon. Thank you.
“ It’s a very interesting walk. I enjoyed the afternoon. Thank you very much.”
“ At this time when there is war in so many places in the world - when it is almost a world war in little pieces - it was so good that the emphasis was on ‘PEACE’
“ It was also good to hear the emphasis of other faiths because it is only ‘One God’ who we all worship.
“ Wonderful successful event. Well done Saira and team.
“ All you need is Love… wonderful day of learning and visiting neighbouring faiths x” - Gary Weston
“ Thank you! It was a beautiful day and I think this happening in May is much better than October. It was very well organised and though time was short, every worship place was special. I would not want to cut any place of worship off! P.s the samosas were supercilious! Thank you for such a wonderful day! Reminded me the need of humanity.”
“ Thanks. A most wonderful experience of completing my peace walk. All talks in evert place of worship was so appealing- explanations of inner peace- the commonality in all religions. Good organisation of the walk. Thanks to all the management of RFF and places of worship.”
“ What a wonderful day following all the different faiths. It was an honour to be with you all and look forward to next one.” - Marilyn
“ A woman spoke- her words was simple, and about being sparkly. I found her really easy to learn from- Hindu, I think. I was late coming and couldn’t find Balfour Rd- there were no street labels up! It took 15 minutes of looking around. It was good to be able to talk to whoever I was next to. Good feeling of community. Inner peace was a good topic to choose.”
“A Huge thank you to the Met Police and the SNT teams for walking with us and helping with crossing the roads”