FFWPU UK: New Year's Interfaith Party Held In Birmingham, UK

An interfaith celebration was held in Birmingham in the home of David and Patricia E. to celebrate the new year, 2024…

‘To bring in the New Year the WWW Holy Community started with high spirits. With 2024 being the year of the dragon, we wanted to start the year with ferocity and fortitude. Pastor Elliot gave the message which pondered the lessons learnt from the story of Cain and Abel. We all have unique skills that when combined, work harmoniously. Also, we are unique and infinitely valuable children of God, so we need to view each other in this light as siblings originating from our Heavenly Parent. Lastly, the tale in Genesis chapter 4 shows us the awesomeness of God’s grace. Our community warmly welcomed those of varying faiths and cultural backgrounds. We sang, prayed, laughed and ate together: just as the holy community was intended for. A special thank you to Ala for coming and brining the Children’s Ministry to the West Midlands. Also thank you to Betty R. for taking time to represent Blessed Family Department and building bridges with families.’ - Elliot Y.

‘On Sunday January 7th, almost 100 of us enjoyed a New Year worship service, followed by musical offerings, food and fellowship, and rounded off with a well organised Quiz. Together with all our members, the 30 guests represented a wide variety of faiths, nationalities and cultures. While the majority of us heard a message from our FFWPU Pastor, Elliot, entitled ‘New Year, Timeless Relationships’, the younger children enjoyed Sunday School organised by Ala Z., who had travelled all the way up from London for the occasion. She prepared a nice sketch about the value of the family, with several of them, which they performed towards the end of our service. We then managed to feed everyone, in a relatively short time(!), with more than enough food to go round, not least because of the generous gifts of food which a number of our guests had brought with them. While some continued to engage in conversation, around 50 people, both young and old, divided into 4 teams, and took part in a 90-minute quiz which Radek W. and Viola had kindly prepared. Afterwards, as they left, the majority of people were able to take a container of food home with them, and this brought our get-together to a very nice conclusion. It was such a good way to begin 2024, sharing our heart with one another, and creating lots of good energy for the journey ahead of us.’ -David and Patricia E.