All Faiths

Picture by Cambridge Jones

I am invited to be a member of a new pop group, All Faiths, put together by Jeff Chegwin and Nick Patrick, the duo behind chart-topping The Soldiers. We go to a studio in Islington for our first recording session as a group. It is, fittingly, called The Angel and is a converted United Reformed Church. Many of the old ecclesiastical settings are still there. They make for a harmonious backing as Rev Tony Luke, known as the 'singing vicar' in the Midlands where he doubles up as chaplain for Derby County FC,  sings the top line: 'There are changes we all have to face, This beacon of light will forever shine, Always Guiding you, Safely on your way, We'll walk beneath, an angel’s wings.' The rest of us join in: 'This is the dawn of inspiration.' The song is written by Jeff, Nick and Ronan Hardiman, the Irish songwriter behind Michael Flatley's Riverdance.  The other members are an Orthodox Rabbi, Danny Bergson from Manchester, Buddhist nun Anni Choying Drolma, the Sufi singer Ustad Ali Hafeez Khan, the professional Hindu singer Chiranjib Chakraborty and Father John Glynn, who has just left his Catholic parish in Essex after a lifetime of service in the priesthood to get married. The song, Faith Unites Us All, does well on iTunes.

I hope we'll have a Facebook page and website soon as we work towards the first album, to be released at Easter.

Meanwhile I am writing a diary at The Times, Faith Factor, which you can also follow via links posted here. I will also post updates on this page.