First Campaign Leaders’ Team Meeting in Blackburn

Ten committed Campaign Leaders battled the elements on a snowy Sunday last month to take part in our first team meeting, where they were able to meet other members of the team, and brainstorm ideas together for upcoming events.

It was a credit to the enthusiasm of the team that they traveled from all around Lancashire in snowy conditions, making it to Blackburn Cathedral for the meeting, despite train cancellations and heavy delays on the road. And this enthusiasm really shone during the meeting too, with some really creative ideas coming out and a great atmosphere among the team.

On the day, the religiously diverse team was introduced to the Cathedral by Canon Andrew Hindley, who also showed them the Jesus Chapel – a prayer area at the Cathedral where people of all faiths are welcome to pray. They then heard about the work taking place at the ExChange department of the Cathedral, from Dialogue Development Officer Anjum Anwar, who offered her support to the team in their upcoming activities, and told them about the upcoming Forgiveness Project exhibition at the Cathedral.

Other sessions included discussing the role of the Campaign Leaders Team (over pizza), as well as a voice from the field, through a phonecall with Mr Tobias Jere in Malawi. Mr Jere, who works for the Centre for Social Concern in Malawi, and who has extensive experience of interfaith action, spoke to the team about the work of the Centre to promote interfaith cooperation. He also talked about the problem of malaria in his country, and the efforts of faith communities to tackle it, before urging the team to work on this important issue.

"Your work is very important and will make a real difference to the lives of people here." Tobias Jere, Lilongwe, Malawi.

We then had an energetic brainstorming exercise – the group split into two teams, each coming up with a creative idea for raising awareness and funds for the fight against malaria. They then presented their ideas to each other in the style of a 'Dragons' Den' pitch. Some great ideas came out!

The last session of the afternoon was an interactive discussion with our guest facilitator Rupert Swarbrick, director of the Blackburn Cathedral Appeal. This involved thinking about key upcoming dates, the most suitable methods for fundraising, and the best ways to publicise events, not forgetting the key contacts and celebrities which Rupert said he could try to convince to support the team in their campaign!

We'd like to thank all the team members for taking part in the first meeting, with a special thank you for Tania, who gave us all a moving account of her own experience dealing with malaria back in DR Congo. The story will definitely live in the memories of the rest of the team, and will encourage us all to work hard on our campaign to beat the disease.

Looking forward to our next meeting on the last weekend of January! Contact us if you're interested in attending and joining the team.

Karem Issa

To find out more about what Karem and Ushna are up to you can visit their homepage www.faithsactfellows/blackburn