The Revd Canon Dr Andrew Bishop, Priest-in-Charge at Croydon Minster, Bishop Rosemarie and Bishop Martin (lead bishop for inter faith work in Southwark Diocese) welcomed children and young people from many of Croydon’s faith communities for an event focused on peace initiatives.
Conscious of the falling leaves all around us – people of all ages took part and wrote their hopes and prayers for peace on paper sycamore leaves, which were laid around a beautiful art installation of a tree representing the faiths of the world. This was presented by children from both Croydon Minster Infant and Junior School.
Young people from the Guru Granth Sahib sang prayers of peace from the Sikh tradition and 14 year old, Rayyan Arif recited words from the Quran and offered his thoughts as a young Muslim on the shared belief that we are all created in God’s image. Picking up the theme of Armistice Day, young people from Oasis Academy, Coulsdon told real stories of young men from the local area who had lost their lives in war, and how facing up to the horrors of war can remind us of the importance of working together for peace. There were also beautiful reflections on peace from young people from the local Hindu community and the St Cyprians Greek Orthodox Primary School. Picking up on the theme of the lark which was such a powerful memory from the trenches of World War One, Laurence Qin from The Whitgift School played The Lark by the Russian composers Balakirev and Glinka.
“We have come”, said Bishop Martin “because we were inspired by the commitment of children and young people in Croydon of different faiths to build relationships and work together for peace.” The bishops joined civic leaders including Councillor Kola Agboola (Civic Mayor of Croydon) and Colonel Ray Wilkinson (Representative Deputy Lieutenant for the Borough of Croydon) as well as Penny Smith-Orr (Chair of Faiths Together in Croydon) who had made the event possible.
Bishop Rosemarie drew threads of the vigil together, expressing her delight in the parakeets of Croydon which were such a colourful and visual reminder of the way our lives were enriched by our diversity. After a short time of silent reflection, Bishop Rosemarie invited everyone to come and take away one of the leaves for peace which in the case of sycamore leaves, she reminded us, were also seeds of new life.
The Venerable Jonathan Sedgwick, Archdeacon of Southwark
