Over one hundred Lancashire pupils attended a special event at Blackburn Cathedral aiming to build bridges and dispel myths.

Blackburn Cathedral’s Education Department hosted pupils from Christ Church, Carnforth; St Thomas and Griffin Park, Blackburn who had the opportunity to take part in team challenges.

 The event also included a Q&A with the Cathedral’s Canon Missioner, the Revd Dr Canon Rowena Pailing, and local Imam, Salim Jogi from the Jaame Masjid.

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Dr Pailing said, “Head to Head is a really important initiative for celebrating hope and building trust in communities which have often been presented as divided.  We are all part of God’s family and this provides an opportunity to share together and build positive relationships as neighbours.

 “Salim and I started the day by modelling a getting to know you conversation.  We follow different faith traditions, but we are both people of faith ... and we also discovered a shared love of cricket, food and travel.’

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Salim with Sian Howell-Jones and Revd Dr Canon Rowena at Blackburn Cathedral

Salim said: “It was a fantastic morning; this is what building stronger communities is all about.”

This event, expected to be the first of many, included craft activities, food, team games and story based messages of hope and acceptance.

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The Head to Head event was held in partnership with the Blackburn with Darwen Our Community our Future programme.