On 9th July, we had a great time at the third annual Croydon Inter-Faith Bike Ride organised by Faiths Together in Croydon. This is the only bike ride of its kind that brings different faiths and cultures together.
This was a well-attended event which attracted a diversity of people – old, young, different ethnicities and of course people from various religious backgrounds.
We started the ride at Croydon Arena where about 20 of us set off for the Box Park in central Croydon where we were met by 15 more riders, and were treated to a free drink and snack (yay!).
Whilst at the Box Park we were welcomed by the Leader of the Council, Tony Newman, and Councillor Hamida Ali who spoke about the importance of this event in bringing people together to create a more positive atmosphere to combat some of the negative events of the past few months.
After our little break at the Box Park we cycled to the Croydon Gurdwara where we received a very friendly welcome and were invited inside for refreshments and a short interesting talk about the Sikh faith. We then carried on with our ride cycling through Addiscombe and made our next stop at the Croydon Synagogue. Here we were once again warmly welcomed with refreshments and then were delighted to hear from the synagogue’s rabbi who told us about the history of the Jewish community in Croydon, provided an overview of the Jewish faith and took questions.
The ride ended with the group making their way from the synagogue to Park Hill for a picnic. Sadly we missed the picnic, but have since heard a great time was had by all who attended with more people joining the group including the Mayor of Croydon.
We really enjoyed the interfaith bike ride. This was a perfect opportunity for the community to get active, come together and learn about each other’s faith and culture. We’d like to say a big thank you to Faiths Together in Croydon and Croydon Council for organising this event. We’d also like to say a big thank you to the Croydon Gurdwara and Croydon Synagogue for their warm welcome.
Look out for next year’s event on the Faiths Together in Croydon’s website. We may see you next time!
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