Stories are a powerful way to invite the listener to go beyond stereotypes and see how much we have in common with each other.  In collaboration with the London Interfaith Centre, and funded by the Sir Halley Stewart Trust, we have been working on a project in Brent which involves using narrative and storytelling to build relationships across faith communities.  Earlier in the year we had two events in Queens Park exploring the use of personal stories as a means to get to know each  other and build bridges. 

We hosted two more fruitful events recently.  Last week, working also with MINAB, the mosques umbrella body, we invited imams and priests to come together and learn about storytelling as a means to communicate messages directly and powerfully.  The event was held in a beautiful space at the Muhammadi Trust in Willesden, and as well as attracting Christian and Muslim ministers, also present were two Jewish leaders and an interfaith minister.  For storytelling events it is helpful to create a relaxed informal atmosphere, so starting with a delicious lunch from Spice Caravan (a local catering business run by asylum seekers) was of course essential.  Over lunch we got to know each other a bit and began a discussion about how stories have been used in faith teachings and by ministers and preachers in all religions.  Joanna Yates, an occupational psychologist who uses stories in the business world, then enabled the participants to identify and hone one story which communicated a key message about their beliefs and values, or the purpose of their organisation.  The idea was that the story could be used to build bridges with others.  We spent some time exploring the skills needed to do this well, and then shared our stories around the table. 

We found we had a group of natural storytellers who easily got to grips with what was being asked and shared some very inspiring tales.  It was fascinating listening to everyone's different experiences and messages, and i knew that some of the stories i would be repeating to friends before the end of the day. Particularly memorable was a reminiscence from one of the Christian ministers present, of an incident in his youth.  As a young boy he attempted to share what he had learned in school about the basics of relativity theory to his Mum on a train journey, only to discover that Albert Einstein was also sitting in the same train carriage!  Moral:  Don't underestimate the quiet gentleman in the corner! 

Sheikh Samer Darwish commented: 'For me personally, it was a wonderful opportunity to meet people from other faiths and was very beneficial.  One of the most important goals here is to remove  barriers and talk in a friendly way, and discuss things together finding the link which always helps to soften hearts.' Sheikh Samer also pointed out how valuable it is to build cross-faith relationships while you are learning about something not directly connected with faith, which i think is a good point. 

Last night, we had a different kind of event at the London Interfaith Centre, hosted by Revd Maggie Hindley.  We invited two or three representatives from nine different faith communities who all worship within a stones throw of each other in the Queens Park/Willesden area, to come and join us.  Again, we had an excuse to serve up food from Spice Caravan, as we invited everyone to share the stories of their communities and places of worship.  We were delighted that some wonderful nuns from the True Buddha Temple came (True Buddha is a Mahayanan Buddhist temple with a mostly Chinese congregation, who have an incredibly beautiful temple in a converted church in Willesden Lane).  Mr Hirani and Devji from the Shri Swami Nayaran Hindu Temple (also in Willesden Lane) joined us too, despite the fact that their community was in the middle of a big festival and they had many other things to do!  Syed Yousif Al Khoei told us about how he and his Grandfather set up the Al Khoei Centre in Chevning Road, and among others, we heard from the Brama Kumari's in Pound Lane how Global Co-operation House was created, and from St Andrew's church about the warmth and friendliness of their congregation, and from Brondesbury Synagogue (whose tale began way back with the Big Bang and Adam and Eve, but still managed to end in good time with a much appreciated Jewish joke). 

It was a very simple informal evening where the emphasis was on getting to know our neighbours and learning from each others stories.  As i live five minutes walk from the Interfaith Centre myself, and my kitchen window looks out on the Swami Nayaran temple, for me personally it was very rewarding getting to know the tales of my neighbourhood, many of which started in far flung corners of the world (including China, Rajastan, Pakistan, Africa and Iran).  By the end of the evening, i think everyone was reminded what an incredibly rich and surprisingly harmonious part of London Brent is, and how grateful we feel to be here and to be able to develop relationships with such diverse and friendly communities. 

For more information about storytelling projects contact: justine@stethelburgas.org