Convention of Asian Christian Communities at St Chad’s

Mayor of Rochdale Mohammed Zaman at the Convention of Asian Christian Communities at St Chad’s

Rochdale Parish Church of St Chad’s welcomed Asian Christian communities on Saturday (9 June) for a ‘Convention of Asian Christian Community’.

The event aimed to bring Asian Christian families and communities together as they socialised, networked and shared prayers in a peaceful environment.

Asian Christian communities travelled to attend from Oldham, Nelson, Huddersfield, Manchester, Blackburn and Bury and were joined by the Mayor of Rochdale Mohammed Zaman, Tony Lloyd MP, local councillors and residents.

Mayor Zaman said: “This was the first convention the communities had together, and it was very kind of Reverend Mark Coleman to allow this to be held in Rochdale.

“There were so many people from so many different areas; it was nice to see communities come together who are from different ends of the spectrum and speak completely different languages.

“I thank them for coming to Rochdale and hopefully next year we can host this event in a bigger venue like the town hall.”

Tony Lloyd MP said: “It was great to see so many enthusiastic Asian Christians gathering together at St Chad’s.

“It was a great honour that they chose Rochdale for their first convention and it was really good that Mayor Zaman, himself a Muslim, along with other Muslims attended to show what Rochdale is all about.

“Rochdale is a tolerant town where people of different faiths, backgrounds and cultures all come together and that is what the day aimed to show.”

Rev. Mark Coleman added: "It's such a joy to have a diverse community at St Chad's. Our Asian Fellowship adds so much to the life of the Church by catering for those who speak Urdu. I love attending their worship, and I don't understand half of it. Come along - you'll get a warm welcome "

The day involved lots of singing from choirs, including an Asian Christian group from Nepal and a Nelson based Indian group who sang songs of praise, and speeches from Mayor Zaman, Tony Lloyd and different pastors who spoke on the topics of love, peace and harmony.