Fr Paul Fleetwood of Worth Abbey has recently joined the Commission and Committee.  He has been a regular member of the Crawley Interfaith Forum since its launch in June of last year.  The Forum includes members of the Muslim faith (who have two mosques in the town), members of the Hindu faith (who are building what is expected to become the largest Temple in the south east), Sikhs (who have a Gurdwara), Ahmadiyya Muslims, and representatives of various Christian traditions.  The Forum organises talks and discussions concerning different faith traditions, including Jewish faith, with speakers visiting from the Brighton area.  They also host a talk each year given by members of Jerusalem Peacemakers.  Fr Paul also helps to organise meetings at Worth Abbey for members of the Horsham, Brighton and Crawley Forums.  He has recently been appointed the Interfaith Representative of the Diocese by Bishop Kieran of Arundel and Brighton, and attends meetings for faith leaders organised by Bishop John of Chichester.  Fr Paul regularly attends courses and conferences at Heythrop College, London, including a recent oconference promoted by the Centre for Christianity and Interreligious Dialogue, entitled Christian-Muslim Relations In Iran In The early Modern Period.  He attends Scriptural Reasoning at St Ethelburga’s Centre For Reconciliation in East London – a meeting of Muslims, Jews and Christians, to read one anothers’ Scriptures together.  Fr Paul works as a chaplain at Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre, near Gatwick Airport, where he is in constant dialogue with Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, as well as Christians of all traditions.

by Fr Paul Fleetwood