Oxford Interfaith Friendship Walk Goes Greener
The 20th annual Oxford Interfaith Friendship Walk, which was founded by H4C’s founder Rev’d Canon Dr Charlotte Bannister-Parker in 2004, was the most eco-friendly event yet. This year’s walk took place on 27th June 2024 - details about the history of the walk and this year’s proceedings can be found on Charlotte’s website.
In keeping with Charlotte’s values of interfaith collaboration and environmental stewardship as central to religion, several steps were taken to ensure that walkers ‘tread lightly’ during the event. Traditionally, walkers carry colourful balloons during the event, symbolising both unity and diversity - this year, in order to be as sustainable as possible, organisers Oxford Council of Faiths sourced biodegradable balloons and reminded participants to dispose of them responsibly.
While not explicitly an ‘eco’ event, the Friendship Walk encompassed the Four Acts that H4C recommends for religious people who want to move from care to eco-action: The Act of Penitence and Lamentation (for example, the final blessing, given by Imam Ataullah Khan, included a request for forgiveness for human’s harming the environment); The Act of Eco-Pilgrimage (the journey to sacred sites throughout Oxford, made predominantly on foot); The Act of Radical Hospitality (building links between diverse religious communities while acknowledging the challenges involved) and the Act of Engagement (taking action to reduce our communities’ environmental impact).
Several of the religious communities represented at the walk have already made significant progress in reducing their environmental impact and promoting sustainability: for example the Oxford Jewish Congregation has achieved Silver status in the Eco Synagogue initiative, while similarly, the University Church holds a Silver Eco-Church Award. At Hope4Creation, we celebrate this event as a demonstration of the progress that can be made to incorporate environmental stewardship into all aspects of religious life, especially interfaith work.
