Guest speaker John Battle MP for Leeds West, former faith advisor to Tony Blair, spoke about "Global vision - the global becoming local and peace and justice in the 21st century", in honour of former veteran of WIFA Harold Meyer, who came over to England on the Kindertransport as a child, was welcomed by a Jesuit school, encouraged and supported in worshipping in his Jewish tradition and in deep gratitude for this became devoted to interfaith relations for the rest of his life.

Lateef Hussaini, chair of WIFA, opened the evening by welcoming all guests and giving an account of the history of WIFA, founded in 1977. Watford Interfaith Association is a multi-faith and multi-cultural organisation which primarily aims to promote better understanding among faith communities by discussing matters of common concern whilst being respectful of the beliefs and traditions of the various communities. Moreover, WIFA, being a faith based organisation believes in the power of Prayer and an honest and sincere consultation process promoting constructive conflict resolution to solicit cooperation among communities and create harmony and peace.

A musical interlude was offered by Levi, "We are all the colours" a message of hope and solidarity that he has put forward as a theme song for the 2012 Olympics, followed by a short speech from Elected Mayor Dorothy Thornhill, in which she acknowledged the challenges of interfaith and praised WIFA for successfully coming through them.

Guest speaker Mr John Battle MP approached the lectern and addressed the audience. He spoke about how interfaith is not about governments intervening and directing affairs but rather about how we treat our neighbours and our approach to those who enter our communities. Do we welcome them? Or do we regard them with suspicion and fear them? He quoted "Hate is not the opposite of love, fear is."

Mr Battle posed the question "Can we live where we are?" The question arose from Mr Battle's observation that tension and conflict often arise when groups of people consider their home to be elsewhere to where they actually live. This way of thinking can lead people to disrespect their community because they do not feel like they are part of it. A challenge we face is to "live where we are" and work with others to make it a better community for all.

Mr Battle expressed that interfaith, although in the past has been driven from the top down, is most effective and enduring when it arises from the "grassroots" of a community.

Following the London bombings he was called back to Leeds from Westminster to calm expected unrest following the discovery of suspicious material in one Leeds home. He was told to expect to find in a community hall 400 or so residents who it was thought would have been evicted in connection with this incident. Upon arriving at the community hall Mr Battle found a very small number of residents and it soon became apparent to him that the evicted people had been welcomed into their neighbours' homes. This, he explained, encapsulated the spirit of community cohesion and demonstrated the innate compassion within the community - that which interfaith seeks to encourage.

He stressed how important it was for young people and children to take interfaith forward. The younger generations are far more open to a borderless world generally than the "older generations" and it is vital to engage them. He gave his approval to WIFA's efforts to reach out to school children through the inter school poster competition and encouraged involving young people at every stage. Though young people are often labelled as those who are destructive towards community, Mr Battle stated that he has found the opposite to be true. He has noticed a real thirst to be accepted, listened to and consulted as well as a vast well of often untapped creativity.

Holding up a copy of this week's Watford Observer, Mr Battle expressed his pleasure in finding so many "good news" stories and contrasted this to the Leeds local paper which was often a depressing read. He felt it was very important that the local press report the positive aspects of the faith communities' work as well as interfaith cooperation in order to create positive perceptions rather than feed fear-based opinions that can be divisive.

Mr Battle finished his lecture by underlining the good work of WIFA and wishing it a fruitful future as it continues to follow the principles for which Harold Meyer lived: inter-religious cooperation, friendship, solidarity, tolerance and hope.

Claire Ward MP concluded the evening by underlining Mr Battle's message and stressing the compatibility of religion and politics as it is often the ideals arising from religions that fuel the desire to enter into politics in the first place.

As audience and speakers mingled to enjoy refreshments, there was a definite atmosphere of hope and elation. Mr Battle MP had helped us look with a fresh eye upon our town Watford and the exciting possibilities that lie ahead.

Ian Bond

Afterword: An Apology

We apologise to anyone who was expecting this event to take place on the 27th September as advertised in Optima magazine. Unfortunately the incorrect date was passed to the editor of the magazine and this error was not spotted prior to publication.

The 27th September was of course the eve of the Day of Atonement for Jewish members of our community, and it had been our deliberate intention to avoid this date, the holiest in the Jewish Calendar.

Once again we are sorry for any confusion and to anyone who missed the Harold Meyer Memorial Lecture due to this error.