A L D E H C O R TRAILA pictorial and textual guide to major places of worship in Rochdale town centre A L D E H C RO WelcomeTRAIL to the Rochdale Faith Trail: a resource put together by Rochdale’s SACRE (Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education) and Religious Education teachers in Rochdale. Its aim is to provide you with a pictorial and textual guide to major places of worship in Rochdale town centre, to help you enjoy them more and to appreciate the great history of spirituality and worship which Rochdale boasts. 1 We hope that the Faith Trail will enable you to: • Learn more about the spiritual history and You can use the map to conduct your own traditions of our town: how and when walking tour of Rochdale’s places of Muslims, Christians and other faith- worship, or of course you can choose to communities arrived here, and how they visit one particular centre and spend more have developed their worship over the time there. Contact details have been centuries. provided wherever possible, and for many • Appreciate the beautiful and awe-inspiring of the places of worship contained in the buildings which form the centres for booklet, a telephone call (or email) prior to worship in Rochdale: the architecture, the your visit will ensure that you are able to history and the inspiration which have tour the inside of the building. gone into our spiritual centres. • Understand more about each other’s faiths and beliefs, what it means to worship in Rochdale and how different people’s faiths differ from, and are similar to, each other. The Faith Trail takes the form of photographs and information about Rochdale’s centres of worship, but there is also background information on faith and beliefs, and a map to help you locate each centre of worship. 2 Muslims in Rochdale The Muslim community in Rochdale is The diverse Muslim background is reflected predominately an economic migrant in the many different styles and community that came to serve the cotton denominations of the fourteen mosques industry in the early 1960s. Many came that the town boasts. There are mosque from Sahiwal in Pakistan, which is now communities of many different groups twinned with Rochdale. Others came from here in Rochdale. Deobandi, Tableeghi, Kenya in East Africa as well as different Barelvi, Salafi, Sufi, Jamat Islami and UK parts of Bangladesh and Kashmir. Islamic Mission all have active centres that serve their respective communities. Initially most of the Muslim communities lived around the Spotland, Wardleworth In 2003, Rochdale’s first Muslim Mayor, and Deeplish areas, close to the factories Councillor Sultan Ali, convened the and mills, but from these humble Rochdale Moon Sighting Committee which beginnings the community has grown in was a significant development in the unity size as well as in wealth. The town has of Rochdale Muslims, who were now able produced businesses and entrepreneurs to celebrate the major festivals on the that now own multi-million pound same day. Recently the Committee corporations. reformed itself into an umbrella organisation, the Rochdale Council of Mosques. 3 Christians in Rochdale The area which now contains the Parish From these ancient beginnings, Rochdale Church of Saint Chad has been a has continued to develop and expand as a geographical and spiritual focal point for centre for Christian worship and living. It Christians since Saxon times, for at least now boasts an extensive range of Catholic, 800 years. The first written account of the Anglican and Non-Conformist Churches existence of a Church in Rochdale is in a and centres of worship, including Roman document of 1194 which refers to Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Geoffrey the Elder, Dean of Whalley, as Pentecostal, Salvation Army, Christian vicar of Rochdale. However the dedication Science, First Church of Christ, to Saint Chad (or, as he was originally Congregational, United Reformed and known, Ceadda) suggests that the Church Quaker. All of these Churches share may have been founded much earlier than the Christian message in a friendly this. Saint Chad was born in the seventh and welcoming way. century and educated in the monastery on Lindisfarne, and it is possible that he founded Saint Chad’s on one of his many journeys. The original Rochdale parish covered an area of over 58,000 acres stretching from Todmorden to Saddleworth and was divided into four townships: Hundersford, Spotland, Castleton and Butterworth. Eventually, thirty-three parishes were made from the original Rochdale parish. 4 What Muslims Believe Muslims believe in one God – known as The general teachings and guidance in the Allah and they also believe that Muhammad Quran is translated into the words and (peace be upon him)* was the final Prophet deeds of the Prophet Muhammad (peace in a line of Prophets and messengers starting be upon him) known as the Sunnah. He from Adam, through to Moses, Abraham and is believed to be the perfect role model Jesus as well as many more. and exemplar that all Muslims are A Muslim lifestyle is essentially based upon encouraged to emulate. his/her obedience to the will of Allah The major Muslim festivals Almighty through their adherence of the 5 pillars of Islam: • Eid ul Fitr – (Ramadhan Feast) Celebrating the end of the month of fasting. 1. The Testification of Faith (Iman / Shahadah) Accepting that there is none • Eid ul Adha (The Sacrificial Eid) worthy of worship except Allah and the Commemorating the great sacrifice of Prophet Muhammad is his final Abraham and Ishmael. Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) • Eid Milad un Nabi (celebrating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad – peace be 2. 5 Daily Prayers (Salah): Obligatory upon him) prayers that are offered at set times throughout the day. • The Hijrah (Start of the Islamic New Year) 3. Almsgiving (Zakah): Giving of 2.5% • Laylatul Qadr (Night of Power) – The of ones disposable income to support night when the revelation of the Quran the poor and needy. began 4. Fasting (Sawm): 30 or 29 days of • Laylatul Baraa’ah (Night of Forgiveness) fasting from dawn to dusk during the * Muslims will always send a blessing upon holy month of Ramadhan. hearing or saying the name of any of the 5. Pilgrimage (Hajj): Once in a lifetime Prophets – peace be upon them all. journey to the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, Arabia. Muslims believe that God revealed his will in the Holy Quran which was brought to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) by the Angel Gabriel. It is believed to be kept in its original state by means of memorisation and someone who has memorised it to heart is known as a Hafiz. 5 What Christians Believe Christians believe in one God. For them God emphases of teachings and beliefs. The is so great it is not possible for human beings Roman Catholic Church is the largest to understand this idea fully. A Christian way denomination in the world; however the of trying to understand this is to speak of God Church of England is the largest in this as three in one. God is understood to be country. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and this belief is The major Christian festivals called the Trinity. • Christmas (celebrating the birth of Christians believe that God is revealed in the Jesus Christ) world in the life of Jesus. Jesus’ life and teachings are found in the New Testament • Ash Wednesday (the beginning of the part of the Bible. He is shown as a challenging fasting season of Lent) teacher, a healer and a friend to all who, whether they believe in him or not. In his • Good Friday (the death of Jesus by actions, Jesus showed the love of God for all, crucifixion) the ideal role model. The Bible is an essential • Easter Sunday (the raising of Jesus part of a Christian’s life. In this holy book from the dead) many of the teachings and beliefs of the Christian religion are found. There are two • The Ascension (the ascension of Jesus sections, the Old Testament and the New to heaven) Testament. • Whit Sunday/Pentecost Sunday (the The Old Testament covers the time before coming of the Holy Spirit) Jesus was on earth and the New Testament covers Jesus’ life and the events surrounding • Trinity Sunday (the celebration of God the early Christian church. The Christian as Father, Son and Holy Spirit) Church grew and developed in various ways, with different church groups or denominations establishing their own 6 Rochdale Parish Church, Saint Chad’s A Church has stood on the hill overlooking Rochdale town centre for over a thousand years. The dominant local heritage landmark, the Parish Church tells the town’s story from Saxon times. Built and re-built over generations, it has stonework dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. A stone wall in the churchyard is reputed to be pre-1066. Splendid stained-glass includes the Edward Burne-Jones ‘Faith Hope and Charity’ window in the tower, with glass by William Morris. Legendary film-star Gracie Fields was baptised in the 13th-century font. In the churchyard are the remains of the town stocks, dated 1688 and last used in 1822, and the grave of 18th- century Lancashire poet and satirist ‘Tim Bobbin’ (John Collier). Sparrow Hill, Rochdale Tel: 01706 645014 Saint Patrick’s Parish Church The Church was founded as an offshoot of St John’s in 1856 by a young priest, Father Michael Moriarty. The new parish was intended to accommodate the increasing numbers of Irish immigrants settling in Rochdale at that time and generous parishioners soon built a beautiful Church on Watts Street and a small school on Bunyan Street.