Tuesday 15th January marked the 24th Annual Muslim-Christian gathering held at Portsmouth Cathedral, where the congregation of the Al Mahdi Centre and St Thomas’ Cathedral had the opportunity to meet amidst food for the body and soul.
The event commenced with the harmonious sounds of the Portsmouth Cathedral choir. The Acting Dean Canon Peter Leonard welcomed the attendees followed recitations from both the Holy Bible and the Noble Quran narrating the events of the birth of the Prophet Jesus (pbuh). After a talk from Dr Canon Anthony Rustell Reverend and Sheikh Fazle Abbas Datoo, guests were then able to engage in a discussion activity, focused around the concept of compassion and how we as a group of people of faith might be able to demonstrate compassion in response to the issues that face our global society today.
The discussions were guided by the ‘Charter for Compassion’, which members of the public and organisations can read and become signatories to. We pray that through these discussions we can kindle the light of compassion that has its roots in our local area and branches out across the world.
The ‘Charter for Compassion’ can be accessed at: https://charterforcompassion.org/