Greetings from St. Saviour’s Anglican Church in Rīga! We have a huge favour to ask all of you: Each year in Latvia at the end of May we have a country-wide event called “Baznīcu nākts” (Night of Churches) where almost every church hosts concerts, lectures, discussions, etc, and visitors will visit multiple churches throughout the night. Our church also usually displays different exhibitions of art done by our members, and one idea I had for this year would be a wall/display of postcards from many different churches throughout the Anglican world! That way, we would be able to represent not only ourselves on this special occasion, but our entire denomination and your church as well! It would be fantastic if your church could send us a postcard with a small message for St. Saviours or for Latvia in general written, preferably one with your church pictured if possible. If you don’t have one with the church building visible, any postcard from your parish will do! We will make sure to display them so both sides are visible and your messages are visible as well. If you are so kind as to send us one, we will send you one back as well! Our address is: St. Saviour’s Anglican Church Anglikāņu iela 2 Rīga, LV-1050 Latvia Thank you so much in advance, and we look forward to sending you greetings! Blessings, Joe Horgan, Churchwarden at St. Saviour’s Anglican Church in Rīga

Dear all

The Covid-19 pandemic has had, and continues to have, a profound impact on individuals, families, communities, and community leaders. Feelings of loss, loneliness, stress, and anxiety have become widespread, and it is often difficult to find means of support, refreshment, and inspiration. One possible route might come as a surprise; research shows that reading poetry as a way of reflecting upon, recognising, and reinterpreting our experiences can be a very helpful tool. Encountering the right poem, at the right time, can open up a difficult moment and offer connection, hope, and respite; in this way, a poem can act rather like a prayer or meditation.

Interfaith Scotland is working with the Scottish Poetry Library to create a book of poems on the theme of ‘The Gift’. The poems will be written by people from diverse faith and belief backgrounds, and will be offered to community leaders and activists with thanks and gratitude for all they have done to steer us through the current crises. The theme of ‘The gift’ allows those submitting poems to write about what inspired them and helped bring them through the pandemic; gifts such as faith, community, connections, nature, family, friends, music etc.

We would like to offer you the opportunity to submit a poem for the anthology. Poems should be a maximum of 40 lines and on the theme of ‘The Gift’ as outlined above. We have brought together a small panel with representatives of different faiths to select poems for the anthology. Although not all poems submitted to us may be selected for the anthology we hope you find the poetry writing a positive and uplifting experience.

Please send your poems to us by 14th June 2022.

Best wishes

Frances

National Development Officer

Interfaith Scotland

Flemington House

110 Flemington Street

Glasgow G21 4BF

www.interfaithscotland.org