Stirring the pot for children and families

Come and get a free bowl of porridge to help support local children and families in need.

The Festival of Spirituality and Peace Team  will have a stand under at St John's Church, Edinburgh (corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road) on Friday 25th January 2013, handing out porridge to anyone who cares to stop and have a chat. We will be there from 8am to 12pm or whenever the porridge runs out.

Following the success of our last porridge stall we have chosen to support the local charity Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland (CPAG).

One in four of Scotland’s children are officially recognised as living in poverty. In some areas over one in three children grow up in poverty. With Scotland’s undoubted wealth CPAG believes this is a scandal. There is no reason why our child poverty rates should be so much higher than in many other European countries.

Poverty remains one of the most serious problems facing children today. Its effects last a lifetime, negatively impacting on health, education, social and physical development and seriously harming future life chances and opportunities.

CPAG in Scotland was established in 1999 and works to raise awareness of the devastating impact poverty has on children in Scotland, maximise families’ incomes by helping to ensure those eligible for benefits and tax credits receive their full entitlements and campaign for positive policy changes to end that poverty.

You can sign up to let us know you're coming at Eventbrite.

For more information contact Annika Wolf at: info@festivalofspirituality.org.uk

Getting into the charitable spirit

THE Festival of Spirituality and Peace and the Edinburgh Interfaith Association are showcasing ten different charities based in and around Scotland's capital this weekend.

The event will take place on Saturday 12 January 2013 in the hall at St John’s Episcopal Church, which is on the corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road.

Doors open from 1pm through to 5.30pm, giving a chance to faith-based and non-faith related local charities to present themselves and their causes, for people to engage with them, and to learn more about their projects and fields of action.

"If you live in or near Edinburgh, then this coming weekend's Volunteer Charity Fair provides an ideal opportunity to look at the difference you can help make this year," says Annika Wolf from the Festival of Spirituality and Peace, which is extending its activities beyond August each year to spread the spirit of goodwill throughout the year.

The Festival says it is "delighted" to welcome representatives of Edinburgh Cyrenians, L’Arche Edinburgh, the Together-We-Can-Stop-It-Project, Christian Aid, Feed Glasgow, Waverley Care, the Edinburgh Interfaith Association, and Streetwork, among others, to this gathering.

"We will begin with an introduction to all the participating organisations, followed by a tea and coffee break, and further opportunities to talk to all representatives throughout the afternoon at their individual stalls," explains Ms Wolf.

* Others wishing to take part or to find out more can contact Annika Wolf at info@festivalofspirituality.org.uk

Festival team 'porridge sale' to tackle homelessness

THE team behind the annual Festival of Spirituality and Peace in Edinburgh are organising a 'Street Porridge Sale' on 12 December 2012 in support of Streetwork, a hands-on group struggling against homelessness, its causes and consequences.

They will be handing out bowls of porridge to passers-by on the terrace outside St John’s Church, at the corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road, between 8am and 1pm on Wednesday. Donations for Streetwork will be very welcome.

As well as enjoying some hearty porridge on a cold day, this will be chance for people to learn more about Streetwork’s projects and to contribute to their work. Winter is the time when homeless people are most at need and risk.

Streetwork, whose activities are supported by the Scottish Government and the City of Edinburgh Council, among others, works 24 hours, seven days a week with people in housing crisis or who are sleeping rough. It is able to advise, support and refer people for assistance, with the aim of enabling them to find a life off the streets.

“Events like the Street Porridge Sale are so important for raising awareness and support for the vital work that Streetwork does in Edinburgh,” said Jackie Brown, the charity’s Fundraising Manager.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to join the Festival of Spirituality and Peace at St John’s Church on 12th December, to chat to people, and to tell them more about how we help the most vulnerable people on the streets of the city,” Ms Brown added.

The Festival of Spirituality and Peace, founded in 2001, is one of Edinburgh's most exciting and diverse Festivals. It features over 400 activities across 21 venues each year in August. It involves top-quality speakers, conversations, performances, film, food, exhibitions, family activities, workshops, art, culture and more.

The Festival’s sponsors and team are also looking to extend their work beyond the traditional Edinburgh festival season, and are delighted to be able to support a truly worthwhile cause like Streetwork through the Street Porridge Sale on Wednesday 12 December.

For more information about this event, contact Annika Wolf, St John’s Church, Edinburgh, EH2 4BJ. Email: info@festivalofspirituality.org.uk Phone: 0131 2284249

Thinking ahead... towards 2013

THE 2012 Festival of Spirituality and Peace was a huge success... and now the coordinating group and staff are busily working on plans for 2013.

It's very important to learn from the past as we look to the future, and a good deal of time and effort has been put into looking at the large number of evaluation forms we received (thanks to all who submitted theirs) in order to see what worked best, why, and what can be adjusted for the future.

If you have any further comments, ideas or feedback to leave for FoSP, please feel free to post here.

CLiC launches with a song

THE Festival of Spirituality and Peace has a new neighbour at St John's Church in Edinburgh, where it has been based for twelve years.

The Centre for Living Christianity (CLic for short) was launched on 7 October 2012 at Henderson's Cafe to provide fresh ways of exploring belief and hope for a diverse world. As well as hearing about the new venture and enjoying some good food and wine at a 'First Supper', the 50+ guests also had a good sing, as you can see (and hear - just about!) in this clip!

t

A vintage year for the Festival

THE 2012 Festival of Spirituality and Peace has been described as a “resounding success” by audiences, participants, sponsors - and by the Scottish Government's cabinet secretary for justice, Kenny MacAskill MSP, speaking at the official closing event, held at St John’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh at the beginning of the week.

Media Coordinator Simon Barrow, who is also co-director of the beliefs and values thinktank Ekklesia, said that it had been "a vintage year" for the Festival, when other Edinburgh events have suffered as a result of competing attractions like the Olympics and the dampening impact of the recession.

Among the many highlights of the Festival of Spirituality and Peace this year have been acclaimed South African a capella group Soweto Entsha; the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Hertzogovina talking about the Bosnian war 20 years on; a ‘Scottish Six’ series on the past, present and future of Scotland (featuring broadcaster Lesley Riddoch and author Andy Wightman), and ‘Poetry in the Persian Tent’ (which has included headliners Liz Lochhead, Jackie Kay and Marie Howe).

More here. 

Evening News coverage...

Levity and gravity at play

LIGHT and dark, passion and humour - all four met, sang and danced together in Soweto Entsha's final, stirring performance at the Festival of Spirituality and Peace last night.

"It's not all over until the  five guys sing", people were saying. And they were right. A rousing, standing ovation saw off the acclaimed South African a capella ensemble after a show that spanned everything from township, to Gospel, to jive and beyond... even taking in a sassy version of 'Amazing Grace' (if you can imagine that!) and a complicatedly synpocated, joyously tongue-in-cheek take on the Spice Girls' 'Wannabe' as part of the encore.

The backdrop to this all-singing, all-dancing treat was the glorious symmetry of St John's Church, Edinburgh, where much of the Festival has been based for the past month. Tradition and innovation embraced in a sumptuous, gleeful African swansong.

It looked and sounded for all the world as if they were made for one another.

A sound connection

WHERE would we have been without Alex and Wessy?  Without decent sound and dedicated, patient, persistent stage management, that's where.

With several hundred performances across 24 days, the amount of work, adjustment, plugging, unplugging, refitting, wiring, checking, testing and adapting (plus all the complicated technical stuff that goes way over our heads) seems an endless task. 

But it all has to be done. And it makes a huge difference, as you can hear with your own ears.

Here at the Festival of Spirituality and Peace we've been served well by a fantastic team.

They've all been sound. But some of them know what that means more than most!

Festival of Spirituality and Peace: definitely a hit

SCOTTISH cabinet secretary for justice, Kenny MacAskill MSP, has described the 2012 Festival of Spirituality and Peace as a “resounding success”.

He was speaking at the official closing event for the Festival, held at St John’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh last night (Sunday 26 August).

Mr MacAskill praised the way the Festival of Spirituality and Peace, which is backed by the Scottish Government along with a range of civic, faith and educational groups, brings together people from a wide variety of backgrounds to look at cultural and political issues from a fresh angle. It offers both a Scottish and a global outlook.

Life is about “more than money and material wellbeing”, Mr MacAskill affirmed, and the Festival of Spirituality and Peace – which has featured 400 events across 21 venues this year – is an important example of how to develop a broader perspective.

Among the many highlights of the Festival this year have been acclaimed South African a capella group Soweto Entsha; the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Hertzogovina talking about the Bosnian war 20 years on; a ‘Scottish Six’ series on the past, present and future of Scotland (featuring broadcaster Lesley Riddoch and author Andy Wightman), and ‘Poetry in the Persian Tent’ (which has included headliners Liz Lochhead, Jackie Kay and Marie Howe).

Also present for the evening was Edinburgh City councillor, Melanie Main, who helped present the second Edinburgh Peace Award to former Dalry Primary School head teacher, David Fleming, for his outstanding contribution to community relations.

Kenny MacAskill MSP and Councillor Melanie Main stayed for the reception after the celebrations in the Church in order to greet the large number of people who have made the Festival of Spirituality and Peace 2012 possible, including chair Raymond Baudon, former director and founder the Rev Donald Reid, and newly announced director Katherine Newbigging.

The Festival of Spirituality and Peace is sponsored and supported by the Church of Scotland, Christian Aid, Edinburgh City Centre Churches, Edinburgh City Council, Edinburgh Inter-Faith Association, Ekklesia think-tank, the Iona Community, the Scottish Government, St John’s Episcopal Church Edinburgh, and the University of Edinburgh.

From AllMediaScotland