A new place of worship is set to be built in Berlin that will bring together Christians, Jews and Muslims under one roof.It will be called the House of One and the foundation stone will be laid on May 27. The building will cost £52m and will incorporate a church, a mosque and a synagogue as well as a central meeting space.It is a remarkable demonstration of interfaith unity in a part of the old East Berlin where the former Communist regime attempted to outlaw religion. In fact, the site for development is the former St Peter's Church in Petriplatz which was damaged in the Second World War and demolished in 1964 by the GDR authorities.When the foundations of the former church were uncovered more than a decade ago thoughts turned to creating a memorial or building a new church on the site. But Richard Stolte, a Christian theologian who helped start the project explained: "The idea is pretty simple. We wanted to build a house of prayer and learning where these three religions could co-exist while each retaining their own identity."Andreas Nachkam, a rabbi who is turning the vision into reality in partnership with a pastor and imam, added: "There are many ways to God and each is a good way. In the House of One, Christians, Muslims and Jews would worship separately but would visit each other for religious holidays, commemorations and celebrations."It is more than a symbol. It is the start of a new era where we show there is no hate between us."
As you drive into the village where my eldest daughter lives there is a sign that says “Slow! Ducks”. I often ask my grandchildren why the ducks in their village are slow, to which I get roundly informed: “no grandad - it’s you that needs to slow down, not the ducks!”I don’t know about you, but this period of lockdown has felt like it has been the most tiring and hardest to endure. It is almost as if we have had to exert more effort just to maintain the routine of life. So as the days lengthen, the skies clear, the vaccine rolls out and we have a set of dates out of lockdown, it is natural to want to speed up and accelerate towards the next season. Like the psalmist in Psalm 27, as we look towards June 21 and the relaxing of all restrictions, many of us will be feeling a renewed confidence that we will very soon be seeing “….the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” v13. But the encouragement of the psalmist is not to rush and race to the destination, to Jerusalem the “land of the living”, but instead to slow down and focus on the journey, to “….be strong and take heart, wait for the Lord” (v14). As Mathew Henry summarises it so well “those that walk by faith in the goodness of the Lord, shall in due time walk in the sight of that goodness”. So perhaps rather than rushing ahead and jumping into planning for a new season of increased freedom and familiarity that runs the risk of going back to how things were, in line with our Lenten studies, now is a time to be actively waiting on God and seeking his face about the new things he has planned. If you are like me, who likes to get on with planning and preparation, doing that might feel counter intuitive. But a bit like the Slow Ducks sign we need to respond in a different way and recognise as my grandchildren pointed out - “No Grandad it’s you that needs to slow down” …..and wait…on God! <span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"></span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Peter Coles</span>
Bishop of Guildford's Communities FundThe Fund supports the vulnerable and marginalised throughout the diocese, helping those parishes and charities which are reaching out into their local communities.Usually, a major source of our income is collections taken at licensings and confirmations, but the Coronavirus pandemic has meant that most of these have not taken place. The result is that, just at the time when our support is needed most, our income is down significantly and there is now little help we can currently give to many deserving causes.2021 will continue to be a difficult year, with the pandemic leaving many people vulnerable and isolated, facing uncertainty due to redundancy or the difficulty of finding their first job.Bishop Andrew is asking both parishes and individuals to dig deep and consider how you can help the Fund to continue to do this important work.
