People from different faiths in the Bradford area, particularly those who already find themselves showing people around their church, mosque or temple, are being invited to gain a tourism qualification while learning some new skills in how to guide visitors and tourists around places of worship.
The Faith Guiding Course aims at training people of all faiths in Bradford as Faith Guides, so that places of worship are better equipped to offer high quality educational visits.
Over a 12 week course which begins in April, the participants, whether Christian, Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu or Buddhist, will learn about leading groups around places of worship, gaining skills in guiding, health and safety and learning strategies to deal with tricky questions. The course includes visits to different places of worship, and a final assessment which will include both practical and written elements.
The course has been pioneered by the Faith Encounter Programme since 2007 and course director, Carmel Dylak of Bradford Churches for Dialogue and Diversity (BCDD) said, “If you show people around your church or place of worship and would you like to acquire skills and gain confidence to enhance the experience, then this course is for you. The focus is on showing people of other or no faiths around your place of worship and being able to talk about your faith in a non-threatening way.”
Those who take part will gain an Institute of Tourist Guiding Certificate (Level 2 qualification) and the weekly sessions on Wednesday evenings will be a mixture of group learning and presentation skills.
The Course is limited to 20 participants takes place on Wednesday evenings from 6pm – 9pm starting on April 15th and finishing July 8th. It is being held at the Thornbury Centre, Leeds Old Road, Bradford BD3 8JX.
Application forms can be obtained from Carmel Dylak, at admin@bcdd.org.uk or call 01274 668312
Evidence of previous knowledge / experience will be required as well as attendance at the weekly sessions. The course fee is £50.