In York, England, Church members meeting with faith leaders and serving together for many years in the community has led to trust and friendship being built and a recent opportunity to greet HRH The Duke of Kent.
When the Duke was planning a visit to York Minster the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Barry Dodd CBE asked if he might also visit York Mosque, which is nearing completion and whose congregation have undertaken much community outreach.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Seeking friendly support, the Mosque contacted Mark Cosens (Leeds Regional Director for Public Affairs for the Church) with an invitation to join a small hosting party to meet the Duke (who is a cousin of HM Queen Elizabeth the Second).
The Duke was welcomed by key representatives from the Mosque including Imam Zubair Ahmad, Shazad Hussain (President), Professor Mohamed El-Gomati OBE (Senior Advisor) and Dr Mehboob Abdulkadir Surve (Head of Outreach).
HRH asked Mark Cosens about the work of faith groups to help Syrian Refugees in York and heard how faith groups in York work well together to help the poor via foodbanks, to welcome and help refugees, to plant trees together and to carry out various service projects in the community.
The opportunity to present the Church to Royalty in the context of service and good Interfaith relations has helped to 'bring The Church out of obscurity' with an important opinion leader.