By Chan Jamoona
On Sunday morning, we started our journey from the Acorn Hotel in Glasgow
to the Helensburg St. Andrews Kirk (spelled and pronounced as Kirk,
meaning Church). The journey was very pleasant: sheep and cattle farms on
the road sides, beautiful hills, valleys and meadows, green fields,
colored flowers and winding roads, all punctuated with lakes and the ocean
water.
The church service was one of the most interesting services I have ever
experienced. It is the first time in my life that I have seen a pastor
and an audience so flexible and tolerant of little children. The pastor
was very vibrant and interactive with the children in the church. All the
elderly were quiet and made no complaints while children cried, and some
even chattered while the service was in progress. It was the harvest
season for Helensburg, and the church celebrated this festival with great
pomp and gaity. Shannon gave every religious group a gift food basket to
give to the Church, which we did. We also read a small passage from our
religious text to the audience in the church. This was a unique
experience for me.
I was very impressed by the openness of this church. First of all, for
inviting us, and then for allowing us on their platform to speak to the
audience. After that we went for tea and biscuits on the church premises,
then proceeded for lunch at Shannon’s and Mark’s home.
Their house is a beautiful, well-lit and well-aereated mansion on a hill
overlooking the ocean. The house is very beautiful and welcoming on the
slope of this hill. She and Mark had prepared a fabulous lunch for us. It
was all vegetarian and consisted of all types of food, for example, squash
samosa, felafel rolls. Everyone ate freely and everyone was very
satisfied. We then proceeded to Acorn Hotel in Glasgow. When we left
their house, we drove on the bank of the shore, enjoyed the beauty of the
ocean, the boats and the environment and returned to Glasgow.
A little later we walked over to the Hindu mandir and had a very filling
dinner. After dinner we had a session of reflections and interfaith
discussions. Youths who had grown up with interfaith society presented
their life experience to us. They explained how they developed lifetime
friendships through interfaith gatherings. They also formed a greater
sense of understanding of other people and the world, from a realistic
point of view.
The delegate members also interacted with the others and shared their
experiences. We recognized that in Scotland, the state supports faith
based organizations and also the interfaith organization in Glasgow.In the
USA, religion and state are divided. As interfaith members, we agreed
that we will return to the USA and we will encourage public officials to
incorporate religious programs into their budgets, especially interfaith
programs, and the New York City Interfaith Center. We support the NY City
Interfaith Center.
