Introduction
Welcome to the Bristol Inter Faith Group (BIFG) website. BIFG is a forum for religious groups in Bris tol that has been meeting since 1990.
WEBMASTER'S NOTE 18 February 2023) : BIFG has been dormant for a while and this website has been neglected.
However it is hoped that BIFG and this site will become active again, soo.
BIFG maintain an ongoing programme of meetings and events throughout the year.
BIFG aims...
BIFG has four main aims:
o be a forum for communication between religious groups
o demonstrate the ability and desire to discuss
matters pertaining to religion and become a unified group through
shared concerns
o foster positive attitudes (engendering trust,
combating ignorance and prejudice) within and between religious
groups and in the wider (secular world)
o enable people of different backgrounds and
cultures to meet and to experience as far as it is possible
something of those backgrounds and cultures other than their own.
BIFG's constitution is avaliable here.
Members and member groups
Membership of BIFG is open to all who wish to further these aims. BIFG is affiliated to the Inter Faith Network for the UK. Please see groups for further details.
Bristol's Civic Inter Faith Celebration
Bristol's Civic Inter Faith Celebration is held at the invitation of the Lord Mayor but is administered by BIFG. Bristol's faith communities are invited to offer readings, prayers, music on a particular theme. About 200 people attend and, after the presentations, stay to enjoy the company of others over a vegetarian and alcohol free buffet.
BIFG's annual programmes
BIFG's annual programme includes meetings, often with an educational focus, sometimes with a historical perspective. Many faith groups have experienced aggression in their history which resonates even today. Sometimes BIFG 'adopts' an event - the Holocaust Memorial Day is an example. Arranged by the University Chaplaincies as a commemorative occasion, and with participation from students of different faiths, it is a memorable experience and one which BIFG supports.
BIFG and other organisations with similar aims
BIFG is one group among many groups in Bristol working to bring
people together, but different from the others. What BIFG offers is
compatible with BREC (Bristol Race Equality Council), working for
attitudinal change, but is not focused on race issues, but on issues
concerning faith groups. Similarly the Bristol Multi Faith Forum
(BMFF) is different from BREC and BIFG. The Forum draws its members
from the faith communities with the purpose that they will
participate in the decision making of city-wide partnerships and
other governmental groups while being compatible with both BREC and
BIFG.
BIFG exists to reach across or through barriers dividing faith
groups, not to dispel difference because our differences are what
makes us human. As part of humankind we need to express ourselves
and that creates difference. But we also need to know and respect w
hat others believe about themselves, their fellow beings, and the
wider world. Anyone who supports these ideas is very welcome to any
BIFG occasion and, if they wish, to become a member.
Current programme
BIFG's current programme is here.
Accounts and reports
A copy of recent accounts and reports are available here: 2012-2013, 2011-2012, 2010-2011.
BIFG history
For information on BIFG's history, please visit our history page.
Further information
For further information, please contact us.