As Secretary of State with overall responsibility for the Millennium celebrations, I warmly welcome you to the Shared Act of Reflection and Commitment by the faith communities of the UK. I hope that it will form an inspirational and memorable part of your own Millennium celebrations.

The Year 2000 is, of course, a key anniversary for Christians, and we were pleased to support the Millennium Services that took place in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast yesterday to celebrate this. However, the Millennium marks a special moment in time for all of us. It allows us all B whatever our beliefs or religious background B to reflect on the past and to commit ourselves anew to the common values vital to building a strong and just society in the future. Today’s celebration is a recognition of this shared opportunity and a living symbol of co-operation.

I am very grateful to the members and staff of the Inter Faith Network for the UK who have worked closely with my officials on preparations for the event, and in particular for bringing together contributions from so many religious traditions in a programme which respects the integrity of the different faiths. My thanks also go to the Lambeth Group and the faith communities themselves, not only for their contributions today, but for their positive approach to the Millennium celebrations more widely. I believe that, together, we have ensured that the UK’s celebrations reach out to all communities and will leave a legacy of hope and co-operation for the future.

Trumpeters of the Band of the Blues and Royals

STAND for the arrival of Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester

Rt Hon Chris Smith MP,
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury

Children from Hallfield Junior School, London Borough of Westminster

COMMON VALUES: a key theme at the Millennium

Mr Indarjit Singh,
Network of Sikh Organisations (UK)

Home, school, and faith community: three shapers of the moral life
Professor Jonathan Sacks,
Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth

Community between the generations
Mrs Ranju Shukla and granddaughters Miss Bhavini and
Mis Neha Shukla, Hindu Community, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Miss Mithila Ramakrishnan (veena)
And Mr Nelson Nirupan Thevasagayam (mridangam)
from the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, London

Care and compassion - a Zoroastrian perspective
Mr Rohinton Munshi,
Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe

Care and compassion in the Muslim tradition
Miss Yasmin Esmail,
Muslim community, Bradford

Recitation from the Qur’an of Surah Al Baqarah chapter 2, verse 177
Moulana M. Shahid Raza,
Head Imam, Leicester Central Mosque and Executive Director, Imams and
Mosques Council (UK)

Social justice: a key value in the Jewish tradition
Leviticus 19: 9-14
Miss Anne Waldek,
Progressive Jewish Movement, Manchester

A Christian perspective on social justice
Luke 1: 46-55
Mr Patrick Spence,
New Testament Church of God, Handsworth, Birmingham

Christian faith and economic justice and Jubilee 2000
The Rt Revd John Cairns,
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

Justice, a foundational value
Tablets of Baha’u’llah
Mrs Joan Bowers,
Baha’i community, Chester

Interlude

A Gweddi i’r Byd
A Prayer for the World (by Elen Mai Howells)
A musical offering on behalf of CYTUN/Churches Together in Wales
Mrs Sali Wyn Islwyn (harp) and daughter
Miss Gwenllian Llyr (voice)

The Value of Respect

Respect for all living beings
The Metta Sutta
Dr Branwen Griffiths, Lam Rim Buddhist Centre, Bristol, and
Mr Manil Subasinghe, Sri Lankan Sanga Sabha, London

Ahimsa (non-harm) and respect for all beings
Dr Sapna Shah,
Jain Community, Harrow

Respect for each other and active toleration
Mrs Ravinder Kaur Nijjar,
Sikh community, Glasgow, and Scottish Joint Committee for Religious
and Moral Education

An open future: finding ways to live justly and tolerantly together
Mr John Harte (Catholic) and Miss Claire Jackson (Presbyterian),
Northern Ireland Millennium Youth Council

Hinei ma tov ameneim shevet achim gam yachad
How good it is to live in unity together
Kol Simcha: an Octet of Jewish singers
Viv Bellos; Jeremy Cohen; Stanley Cohen; Anthony Caplan;
Allan Hart; Kathy Heller Jones; Naomi Lobbenberg; Ann Sadan

Mr Iqbal Sacranie,
Secretary General, Muslim Council of Britain

Representatives from the faith communities and members of the audience join in an Act of Commitment to mark the year 2000.

Baroness the Rev’d Dr Kathleen Richardson
Moderator of the Churches Commission for Inter Faith Relations

Mr Om Parkash Sharma
President of the National Council of Hindu Temples

CONCLUDING WORDS

The Rt Hon Tony Blair MP
Prime Minister

Trumpeters of the Band of the Blues and Royals

Today in the United Kingdom, alongside the long established Christian and Jewish communities, there are now significant communities of other faiths: Hindu, Muslim and Sikh as well as Baha’i, Buddhist, Jain and Zoroastrian. The separate and distinct faiths have different understandings of many aspects of life and, indeed, of the basis of inter faith co-operation. Yet, as members of these faiths affirm at today’s event, they also enshrine common values which can form a solid basis for shared life and citizenship.

Today’s programme highlights a number of these values, which are of particular significance as we look to our shared future. The list is selective - a number of other values could have been included - and the order reflects no particular priority since each of us will hold certain values dear. Although each faith is speaking about one particular value today, each faith has much to say about every value chosen.

	"Community" embraces many strands: home, family, relationships and links between the generations. It also includes the faith community itself which helps shape the beliefs and practices of its followers.
	"Caring and compassion" are two linked values which encapsulate the ideals and virtues which help make life good. They refer to the kindness that binds us together and the selfless ways in which this kindness is exercised by many.
	"Justice" includes many elements - from the importance of just laws, and respect for them, to broader questions of social and economic justice.
	"Respect" is present in all relationships based on trust, and implies a due recognition of the dignity of persons and of the importance of other creatures and of our beautiful, fragile planet.

The growth in religious diversity in the UK has been accompanied by a steady development of local and national inter faith initiatives. Organisations like the Council of Christians and Jews, the Three Faiths Forum, Maimonides Foundation and Calamus nurture links between two or more of the Abrahamic faiths. The World Congress of Faiths, the International Association for Religious Freedom and the World Conference on Religion and Peace are three important organisations encouraging multi-faith links.

These organisations and many local inter faith groups and councils of faith from across the country, together with representative bodies of the faiths taking part in this event, are linked by the Inter Faith Network for the United Kingdom, a charitable body founded in 1987 to promote good relations between the communities of all the major faiths.

Back