Bishop of Bradford, the Rt Revd Toby Howarth is one of the speakers at a “Virtual Iftar” taking place on Saturday night and organised by the Jo Cox Foundation and the Naz Legacy Foundation.
The Government’s Loneliness Minister, Baroness Barran, will also be among the guests appearing during the inclusive community event, as will Revd Canon Mark Umpleby of Batley.
The ‘Virtual Iftar’ will help fill the gap left by the cancellation of many inter-faith events due to C0VID-19 that would have taken place during the month of Ramadhan and takes place on Saturday, May 2, starting at 7.30pm.
Revd Mark of the Batley Benefice has helped with previous interfaith iftars which have been key events in the calendar for the More In Common group in Batley and Spen, the former constituency of the murdered MP Jo Cox.
"As part of the More In Common Team here we knew we'd need to cancel Batley Iftar” said Revd Mark, pictured at an iftar in normal times.
“Previously, we have had around 1,000 local folk sharing in this community iftar during the month of Ramadan as part of the Great Get Together in memory of our late MP Jo Cox.
“It's great that we can now hold this as a virtual event... where we can all learn something more about Ramadan and maybe even what an iftar is - but across the country from our own homes.
“In this time of lock-down when we can't meet and join in special times and festivals with those of different faiths and grow our friendships - the Virtual Iftar will provide people of different faiths or no faith, a time to connect and remember how much we do have in common," Revd Mark said.
The Virtual Iftar can be watched live by registering here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3MtFKLWhRY27vnrqYhtFcA