Just before Advent, on 30 November 2024, Bishop Patrick McKinney joined Bishop David Oakley in Luton to visit a local interfaith project called Grassroots.
Luton falls in Bishop Oakley’s Diocese of Northampton and Bishop McKinney, the Bishop of Nottingham, is the Bishops’ Conference lead bishop for dialogue with other faiths.
Since it was set up in 1991, Grassroots has built a solid reputation for fostering community cohesion in the Bedfordshire town, and collaborates with churches, faith communities, and individuals without specific religious affiliation to build strong relationships in Luton’s widely diverse context.
The bishops visited four different places of worship and were warmly welcomed by the leader of each community. Their first port of call was the Hindu Mandir, or temple, on Hereford Road before moving on to the Madinah Masjid in Bury Park, a mosque located right next to Luton Town Football Club.
From there, the bishops visited the Guru Nanak Gurdwara, and toured the impressive prayer space and facilities for the Sikh community before spending time with the Jewish community at the United Synagogue situated between Luton and Dunstable.
Bishop Patrick McKinney, lead bishop for dialogue with other faiths, felt there were many fruits of the visit:
“At each place of worship we visited we received a genuinely warm welcome, and those we met spoke very openly and humbly about their faith and how it guided their daily life and outlook. As well as the generous hospitality we enjoyed, it was clear that those who showed us around and responded to our questions were deeply aware of the wider community that they were a part of, and also demonstrated a willingness to be of service to that wider community in whatever ways they could.
“From what we learned, Luton’s faith communities work hard to build good relationships, and show a genuine willingness to work together in support of strong social cohesion and a peaceful atmosphere in the town.”
Bishop McKinney reserved words of praise for Grassroots, and in particular, its full-time worker David Jonathan, known as Johny:
“I was very impressed with the excellent work of Grassroots in Luton, the ecumenical Christian programme of community engagement, and particularly its involvement in the Luton Council of Faiths. David Jonathan – Johny – is Grassroots’ full-time worker with responsibility for Community Cohesion and Interfaith relations. His passion and zeal for social cohesion was very evident and it was clear that he was well-known and respected.
“I was so impressed with Johny, that I asked him to speak to the Catholic diocesan interreligious co-ordinators at their Conference at Highgate House, Northamptonshire, on Wednesday 11 December 2024. He was well-received by that group as well.”
With thanks to the Diocese of Northampton for permission to use a selection of photos from the visit.
