Noah's Pudding Celebration in Reading

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:45 in Community Engagement

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Cllr Deborah Edwards

Where: The Kennet Room, Reading Civic Centre, Reading, RG1 7AE

Panellist

Cllr Deborah Edwards, The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Reading

Summary

The Dialogue Society Southampton Branch shared the delicious tradition of Noah’s pudding with diverse guests at the Reading Civic Center. The Right Worshipful Mayor of Reading, Cllr Deborah Edwards, attended the event and spoke inspiringly on diversity and the importance of intercultural dialogue. After the Mayor’s speech, the Director of the Dialogue Society, Oxford Branch, Mustafa Kasim Erol, talked about the Noah’s Pudding and its meaning in Muslim tradition. The pudding, traditionally made by Anatolian Muslims at the festival of Ashurah and distributed among neighbours, represents the meal made by Prophet Noah for the inhabitants of the Ark from their last supplies when they reached dry land. The Dialogue Society has long promoted the sharing of the pudding as a means of promoting neighbourhood and community cohesion (see our new manual). Around thirty people attended the event and, following the speeches, greatly enjoyed sampling a bowl of Noah’s Pudding.

Abstract

The basis of annual Dialogue Society grass roots activities, ‘Noah's Pudding’ celebrates the common heritage of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

In the Muslim prophetic tradition, the day Moses (peace be upon him) and his community were saved from the Pharaoh's army, and the day Noah's (peace be upon him) ark was saved from the flood is marked with fasting, and in modern times with the sharing of a special dessert known as ‘Noah's Pudding’.

Every year, thousands of bowls of Noah's pudding are shared by the families of Dialogue Society volunteers with their neighbours and with members of various faith-based organizations in the South of the UK.

Biography of Deborah Edwards

The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Reading, Cllr Deborah Edwards has been living in Reading with her family since 1981. She has five children and is a grandmother of six.

She been a Labour Southcote Councillor since 2006 and was re-elected in May 2008. She is honoured to be the current Mayor of Reading 2011/2012. Cllr Edwards is on the Family and Friends Fostering Panel and the Parenting Panel. These all cover her areas of interest and expertise.

She has worked not only in the community sector but also in the public and private sector. Since living in Reading, she has held a number of voluntary community posts, the most recent being:

School governor for Manor Primary and Southcote Primary schools.
Chair and tutor for Southcote IT Experience, an award winning UK Online community project. She writes courses and trains local people in IT skills.
Chair of the Steering Group for the Southcote Children’s Centre.
Governor of the Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospital NHS Trust until 2010.

She runs her own book-keeping business dealing with small business accounts. She has a passionate interest in life-long learning and personal development for all.