Our festival ambassador Keith Tanner reflects on the Soul Space gathering in Stirling during Scottish Interfaith Week:
Interfaith Week in Scotland got off to a wonderful start this year with *Soul Space*, and a focus on discrimination, an evening of collective contemplation and sharing held at the Methodist Church in Stirling. The in-person gathering, hosted and facilitated by Andrew Searle, drew around twenty people from a wide range of backgrounds—people of faith, and of no faith—coming together in an atmosphere of genuine warmth and curiosity.
The evening began with a shared meal, with attendees bringing homemade and shop bought contributions, symbolising the generosity and diversity of the group. Conversation flowed easily, setting the tone for what followed: a deeply human exchange through poetry, music, and story. Readings came from both religious and secular texts, including personal testimonies and reflections on discrimination and belonging.
One moving poem, a reinterpretation of the Good Samaritan story, written by a participant’s father in the late 1950s, sat beautifully alongside other contributions including music from UB40 and their song One in Ten – proof that art and spirit often meet in the same space.
Faith traditions represented included Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, the Bahá’í faith, and Quakerism, with reflections reaching across continents and communities. The themes were wide-ranging— religion, race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and disability—but a shared spirit of compassion and understanding ran through every contribution.
As the evening closed with a short candlelit meditation, there was a true sense of unity and peace. The collective message that emerged—of openness, non-judgement, and love—felt both timeless and timely. Thanks were warmly offered to Andrew Searle and the Methodist Church, Stirling, for hosting a night that truly embodied the heart of Interfaith Week.
