Acts 40 - MIX IT UP

 

"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands." Revelation 7:9 (NIV)

Newham, the East London borough where I live, is possibly the most diverse borough in the country – more than 160 languages are spoken by the children in our many schools and our list of 600+ worship buildings and groups includes everything from Anglo-Catholicism to Zoroastrianism.

There is, thank God, very little inter-faith strife and lots of inter-faith conversation in Newham and I believe it’s such a blessing to us. Here, you don’t need to be shy about your faith – you are positively expected to have a faith and to practise it; most faith groups do not proselytise but are very glad to welcome visitors and proud to talk about their traditions, especially when they’re having a festival.

We are often surprised by the things we have in common – we all want a safe, clean and happy environment for our children and elders; decent, affordable homes and satisfying jobs; respect and freedom, peace and health, physical as well as spiritual – and it’s fascinating to share our hopes and ways of achieving those aims.

We Christians have been amazed to learn that you can go into a Sikh Gudwara at any time and there will be food and drink to welcome you; the tranquillity of our Quaker meeting house is a lesson for those of us who think that faith has got to be about words; and many of our public buildings now have a prayer room, thanks to our Muslim neighbours who pray five times a day, every day. We have had to consider carefully what the Christian church has to offer and are learning to be more open about our Bible and our history.

The Revelation to John is very clear that the New Heaven and the New Earth are like a city, full of people – ’an enormous crowd that no one could count’ – and I believe that life in Britain these days can be a foretaste of that Heaven.

Canon Ann Easter

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