As March drew to a close and the start of Spring was in the air, our Faith Partnership Schools (Bulwell Saint Mary’s, Sneinton St Stephen’s, South Wilford and Zaytouna) came together for a multi-faith Spring Celebration. Confidently led by Year 4 students, the performance was hosted by South Wilford C of E Primary school and every child wore a white #TeamFaith t-shirt, signifying a colour of peace. To the audience, this hid their brightly coloured school uniforms and presented a vision of unity across the four schools.

Year 4 performed songs and short scenes on-stage, with detailed explanations highlighting the similarities between Islam and Christianity, showing the many parallels in the stories shared within the Holy books. For example, both the Qur’an and the Bible refer to Jesus and the performance of miracles. They explored the story of The Three Trees, the crucifixion of Jesus and other tales within the Spring theme.

Every school joined in and created a wonderful atmosphere. As narrators described a storm, the children created a percussive thunderstorm with their hands, clicking, tapping and replicating rain sounds around the room. For the well-known gospel song, “This Little Light of Mine”, everyone in the room held a small light in their palm and the main school hall lights were dimmed so the many hand-held lights could glow stronger, together in unison.

To close the special occasion, Zaytouna Primary School and members from the Diocese of Nottingham, together in worship, led the group in song, prayer and reflection. When asked for a final word, Transform Trust’s CEO Rebecca Meredith, was left speechless by the heartfelt performance full of love, wonder and hope. Everyone agreed that the children had not only played their parts to an incredibly high standard, but they had also presented a truly inclusive, hope-filled vision of the future.

Staff and students from all schools worked incredibly hard, and should be very proud of their Spring performance – we look forward to future Faith Partnership events! Well done #TeamFaith, for their  beautiful demonstration of how to co-exist in understanding, hope and harmony.