Wednesday 7^th March 2012

Venue- Hall and Kitchen Friends Meeting House

This event is being held to mark International Womens day. Its purpose is to encourage a clearer understanding of gender differences, noting how discrimination and abuse, is still prevalent in many societies including our own. We hope this event will help identify exploitation, differentiate between religion and cultural practices and show how by developing trust and a shared appreciation of each other, it is possible for both halfs of the human race to live happily together .

7.45-8 pm refreshments- bring and share cake and biscuits with hot drinks provided.

Welcome

Apologies and messages

Minutes Silence for prayer or reflection

Reports

Chair

Membership -Bev Heslin

Speakers

Rosalind Luper

"How women from the Old Testament are depicted through art."

Swami Ambikananda

"Some amazing Women from the Hindu faith tradition."

Discussion and feedback

Planning Next Meeting-

an opportunity for those present to discuss what they would like to happen at the next event,

Events being organised by other groups

March Festivals

St David's Day (Christian )
Saint David, or Dewi Sant as he's called in the Welsh language, is the patron saint of Wales.

Mar Fri 2
Nineteen Day Fast (start) (Bahai )
Ends 20 March. During this period Baha'is go without food or drink from sunrise to sunset.

Mar Sat 3
Hina-matsuri - Festival of Dolls (Shinto )
Celebrates daughters in the family

Mar Mon 5
St Piran's Day (Christian )
Piran is regarded as the patron saint of Cornwall and tin miners. He was born in Ireland. The Cornish flag may have been inspired by the legend that Piran discovered the process for smelting tin: black rock with a white cross of pure metal.

Mar Wed 7
Fast of Esther (Taanit Esther) (Jewish )
A fast in commemoration of the fast of Mordechai and Esther. This is not a major Jewish fast.

Mar Thu 8
Purim (Jewish )
Purim commemorates the time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination by the courage of a young Jewish woman called Esther.

Holi (Hindu )
The Hindu spring festival.

Mar Fri 9
Shushan Purim (Jewish )
In some places Purim is celebrated one day later. In this case it is called Shushan Purim.

Hola Mohalla (Lunar Calendar) (Sikh )
Hola Mohalla is three day festival of military exercises and mock battles, together with religious discussions and devotional music, at Anandpur Sahib on the day after Holi.

Mar Sat 17

St Patrick's Day (Christian )
St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.

Mar Sun 18

Mothering Sunday (Christian )
Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Lent. Not the same as Mothers' Day in the USA.

Mar Mon 19

St Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Christian )

Mar Tue 20

Spring Equinox - Eoster (Pagan )
Spring Equinox celebrates the renewed life of the Earth that comes with the Spring.

Mar Wed 21

Naw-Ruz (Bahai )
Baha'i New Year

Jamshedi Noruz (Fasli) (Zoroastrian )
Zoroastrian New Year's Day in the Fasli calendar.

Shubun-sai - Equinox day (Shinto )
A day for visiting graves. Also associated with Buddhism in Japan.

Mar Fri 23

Ugadi (Yugadi) (Hindu )
Ugadi (literally 'the start of an era') is the New Year festival for Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in southern India. It occurs on the first day of the month of Chaitra.

Mar Sun 25

Annunciation (Christian )
Marks the angel Gabriel's message to the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to the incarnation of Christ. It also celebrates the incarnation itself as the date falls 9 months before Christmas.

Mar Mon 26

Khordad Sal (Fasli) (Zoroastrian )
The birthday of Zoroaster, celebrated on this date in the Fasli calendar. Also known as the Greater Noruz

Any other business-

Silence and close

 Venue- Hall and Kitchen Friends Meeting House

Directions to Friends Meeting House 2 Church Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 2SB. If you need to drop someone at the gate of the  FMH, turn right off Southampton Street into Deansgate Road (just after the church) and then turn right and then left into Church Street. The FMH is near the end on the left (iron gates).. On a Sunday you may be able to park in St Giles Close and walk through the alley at the end of the close to the FMH. Alternatively, park in London Street , Oracle Shopping Centre car park or Queens Road car park.

7.45-8 pm refreshments-

Welcome

Apologies and messages

Minutes Silence for prayer or reflection

There may also be an invitation for someone to share a prayer of reading from their own faith tradition with the group

Reports

Chair (on how the group has been represented over the past month to external groups

Christmas Dinner at the Pakistan Community Centre, Radio Berkshire Christmas Day, RCRE, Holocaust memorial Day

Mormon Community Stake Holders' conference

Membership -Bev Heslin

Members of the Rwandan community – the absence of peace in our own country.

What do we mean by peace?

"Reading Peace Works"

Rob Deeks- How do you work for peace?

 Project manager for Aik Saath (Together As One) in Slough a charity established due to violence within the Asian community that has evolved to work with all communities to promote cohesion

"Our work is around trying to help young people understand that Britain is a multicultural country. The project that always fills me with the most pride is one with some young Polish people who were struggling to integrate into Slough, where the majority of our volunteers helping them were from the Pakistani community.”

Discussion and feedback

Planning and date for the Next Meeting-

 an opportunity for those present to discuss what they would like to happen at the next event, The form can be used to provide guidelines for our next speaker.

 Events being organised by other groups

 February 10th Kennet Room Civic Centre- 7.30-9.30 pm Reading Dusseldorf Assoc talk on Uniting Germany today – Wine and Cheese party.

 February Festivals 

Opportunity for anyone present to say something about a festival

 Feb Thu 2

 Candlemas (Christian ) This is often called The Presentation of Christ in the Temple and commemorates the day Mary took Jesus to the Temple at Jerusalem to present him to God. Coincides with Groundhog Day (USA)

 Imbolc (Pagan ) Also called Oimelc and Candlemas, Imbolc celebrates the awakening of the land and the growing power of the Sun.

 Feb Fri 3

 Rissun (Setsubun) (Shinto ) A Spring festival that marks the division between Winter and Spring and is celebrated with beans.

 Feb Sat 4

Milad un Nabi (Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad) (Muslim )

 Shia Muslims celebrate this 5 days later. Some Muslims do not approve of celebrating the birthday, and regard doing so as a religious innovation.

 Feb Tue 7

 Magha Puja (Buddhist ) Fourfold Assembly or Sangha Day. Marks the day Buddha addressed a meeting of 1250 arahants.

 Feb Wed 8

 Parinirvana - Nirvana day (Buddhist ) Mahayana Buddhist festival marking the anniversary of Buddha's death. Pure Land Buddhists call the festival "Nirvana Day". Parinirvana is celebrated by some Buddhists on February 8th.

 Tu B'Shevat (Jewish ) The Jewish New Year for trees - For religious accounting purposes all trees have their anniversaries on this festival, regardless of when they were planted.

 Feb Thu 9

 Milad un Nabi (Shia) (Muslim ) Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. Sunni Muslims celebrate this 5 days earlier. Some Muslims do not approve of celebrating the birthday, and regard doing so as a religious innovation.

 Feb Sat 11

 Our Lady of Lourdes (Christian ) Marks the day in 1858 when St Bernadette had her first vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 Feb Tue 14

St Valentine's Day (Christian ) Now more a secular festival than a religious one. There are at least three different saints named Valentine.

Feb Wed 15

 Nirvana day (alternative date) (Buddhist ) Also known as Parinirvana , celebrated by some Buddhists on February 8th. Nirvana Day is the celebration of Buddha's death when he reached total Nirvana, at the age of 80.

 Feb Mon 20

Mahashivratri (Hindu ) festival dedicated to Shiva, one of the deities of the Hindu Trinity.

 Feb Tue 21

 Shrove Tuesday (Christian ) Also called Pancake Day and Mardi Gras. The British name of "Pancake Day" comes from the tradition of making pancakes to use up all the food that could not be eaten during Lent.

 Feb Wed 22

Ash Wednesday (Christian ) The first day of Lent for Western Christian churches. Lent is the season marking the time Jesus spent in the wilderness.

 Feb Mon 27

Clean Monday - Beginning of Lent (Orthodox) (Christian ) occurs seven weeks before the Orthodox Easter

Any other business-

Silence and close