Lancashire Humanists

14/10/2026

A couple of times each year Building Bridges Preston put on a small event for people of all beliefs from the local region. Previous ones have focussed on the topic of Peace and how we are all humans who share far more than those things that are our differences.
Typically we get about 30-40 people attending and this is usually a mixture of Hindu, Sikh, Baha’i, Christians and Humanists. There are no prayers, but instead we have some sharing activities, some music from a local amateur choir, share some food and take the time to get to know some other people.
The next event also is planned to be part of the local Interfaith Week activities - Sunday 15th November 2026 from 16:30—19:00
I am inviting any of you who want to attend to please let respond via the email address on the attached poster, but you can always let me know that you will be coming along too. It is always a positive thing for Humanism if we can actively take part in community events and demonstrate our commitment to shared values.
We get the hall for free, but any attending are invited to make a donation towards covering the cost of the food. If you would like, then you can always bring some food to share. I always make a couple of Pizza (one with meat and one without) which are then freshly cooked in the kitchen at the hall.
I hope that some of you are able to make this and look forward to seeing you.

12/10/2026

Gave some school classroom sessions on Humanism last week to several year groups, over a couple of days (Y2 to Y6). This school always has such well behaved and happy students, it is a pleasure to talk with them.
Before I left on the second day, a group of students from a previous class I had spoken with dropped off a bunch of hand made thankyou cards. Because I had spoken with many of them last year, I could start by asking about what they remembered and it was very good how much they did recall.
As ever, I learnt a bit more about how I can try to improve what I do for them and if they ask me back next year, then I will try to make it even better.

09/10/2026

A couple of months ago, I visited the birthplace of Charles Darwin and took the opportunity to call into the Museum in Shrewsbury. Amongst the fossils and ancient history section was an area set aside to watch a video they had especially commissioned. I have put the link here, so that you can watch it. It is the kind of imaginative way of describing the history of where we live and might be something that children can learn from, and perhaps be inspired to discover more.

Award‑winning animator Iain Gardner visualises the full force of Sh...

23/09/2026

After a long time of promising to bring it back, we are relaunching the Humanists Online Café.

Thursday 8th October at 7pm.

For the last couple of years we have been moving our Pub Social around the county and have successfully created opportunities for many more people to participate in an event local to them. They have been able to talk with other Humanists and others with shared interests, and we are going to continue with the Pub Socials.

However, they do not work for everybody. Some people do not have transport and are too far away to get along. Some may also not have the money to cover the transport costs, but we do not want them to feel left out. Therefore we are relaunching the Online Cafe, to create an opportunity for anyone to chat with others in our region and get to know more Humanists.
This may be particularly useful for some of our recent refugees, who may feel quite isolated and not able to join in with our other socials.

If you are interested in joining in with the next session, then please email [email protected] to request the link.

Please come along and help make this a success. Everyone is welcome and we only ask for one basic rule to be followed - Be Kind.

11/09/2026

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

Sadly, this Bill was voted down today but in some version it will return before too much longer (it may have to wait until the next General Election).

My thoughts are with those who are living with a terminal diagnosis and were hoping for the law to change before the time came when they might wish to exercise a choice. I wish you well and hope that any treatment goes as well as it can. For their families who will be there on the journey with them, I can only say that I wish them all the resolve that they will need as they care for their loved one. It is a difficult path and a life changing one.

I have just replied to Maya Ellis (my local MP), who finally responded to my email of several weeks ago. Her reply came in a 4.10 pm yesterday to say that she was going to vote no (again). So I pointed out that the generic email she sent (the text was such that it could be sent to anyone who wrote to her) clearly showed that her attending the debate today was pointless, as she had already made up her mind. I suspect she was not alone and most of those who voted against the Bill had probably made up their minds - regardless of any valid arguments made in the Chamber today.

So the challenge to be put out to the Government at this stage, is for them to actually fully fund the Hospices as a matter of urgency. We hear every week of more Hospice beds being closed due to lack of money and they are still expected to raise 70% of the money needed to run them. The amount of money they have to raise from the public is phenomenal and it is surely an impossible task in the more deprived parts of the country.

And for our supporters - please continue to support the campaign. Eventually we may end up with a decent law that allows people some choice over how their life ends.

Finally, if you need someone to talk to about any difficult situation that you are facing then please consider contacting Samaritans - it may not change anything but it might help you for a while and you do not need to be feeling suicidal to talk to them.

22/08/2026

Today we are having our summer garden party / BBQ get together. First time we have tried this and thankfully the weather is looking good.

20/08/2026

This may be a long read, but I ask that you give it a go and see if any of this feels relevant to you:

Interbelief Dialogue

The above may be a term that is not well known, but is probably more accurate than the more common “Interfaith Dialogue”. It may be splitting hairs, but that is one of the problems with our language – in that it struggles with the concept of a worldview that is not based on faith.

However, what I am writing about here are various opportunities that are available to engage in this area on a formal basis and perhaps an opportunity to discuss further on how we can engage more on a local basis to build community in our areas.

I regularly try to take part in these types of event and engage as much as possible with people of different beliefs. I feel that we are sharing this world and should work together to try to build a better society. Whenever I have information on an upcoming event or an opportunity to take part in a survey, then I usually share the link via our email list and also via social media to our followers on Facebook.

Some of the ones that I have promoted recently are listed below:

Belief in Dialogue Online – online panel discussion (next one is September)

Lancashire Against Hate – multi-agency project to work together to help create a better cohesive society

Stop Faith-Based Hate – online discussion from interested parties in an effort to help create a better fairer society. Organised by the Faith and Belief Forum

Building Bridges Preston – local group with people of various beliefs who live in or near Preston. I am a trustee on this group and will be sharing news of our Interfaith Week event soon.

Building Bridges Pendle – a local interfaith group who meet in Nelson. They are very friendly and offer some laidback events in the evenings.

There was also an event held at the university in Preston in July, which looked at how we can put ideas to the local council on building local cohesion.

I will continue to post information on similar events when they arise and invite those interested to reach out and take part. If we have more Humanists at these events then we have a voice at the table and can make a contribution to how society evolves in our area.

Whilst we as a group of people (predominately white British) may not see direct prejudice towards us in daily life, what is becoming clear is that a number of groups of different ethnic/religious backgrounds are feeling increasingly threated and unsafe. Often this is related to the type of politics that is becoming bolder in recent years – one that focusses on minorities and blames them for the problems that some are facing.

Whilst trying hard not to single out specific political parties that are happy to drive the message of division, I think most people know what these messages are. We see English flags raised on bridges and public highways (often in areas where ethnic minorities live) – not because we have a sports team taking part in an international event, but clearly aimed at creating an intimidating atmosphere, as if to say those ethic groups are not welcome here.

The world has seen these tactics before. It is a tactic that seems to work because it claims an emotional involvement, rather than necessarily being based on facts and logic. Hence using facts and logic to push back can be ineffective, as it does not touch the emotional centre that, for now, may be in control of some people.

We seem to have forces around us that aim to create division. People with a different religion, cultural background and even just skin colour that is not that of the majority, are being singled out and even physically attacked. Issues which are not directly related are being conflated and we have a government that seems inclined to try to placate the noisy minority, which only feeds the flames of distrust.

“The media” seem to like presenting oversimplified arguments and also to relish conflict that arises. It seems to be aimed at inflaming emotions, and perhaps why many say they avoid the news programmes for a more peaceful life. I personally feel that for several years there has been a lot of poor journalism, that has failed to push back on the messages by asking difficult questions and simply accepting the false rhetoric that is promoted.

Unfortunately, the emotional ripples reach our local communities and stoke division.

We all need to push back against this. We can respect our fellow human beings, showing love and care for those that need help – even if they are apparently different to us. I feel that we must constantly strive to overcome divisions around us and work together in support of our shared human rights and human values.

From the Humanist “Amsterdam Declaration” we have these two points which I feel are relevant:

“We affirm the worth and dignity of the individual and the right of every human to the greatest possible freedom and fullest possible development compatible with the rights of others. To these ends we support peace, democracy, the rule of law, and universal legal human rights.”

“We reject all forms of racism and prejudice and the injustices that arise from them. We seek instead to promote the flourishing and fellowship of humanity in all its diversity and individuality.”

The ongoing issues will not be resolved easily, but with a concerted effort by many working together in harmony, then we can hope to find a path together that leads to a better situation and a happier world for all.

So if all this bothers you, then I invite you to take part in some of the Interbelief Dialogue opportunities. Let us support our fellow human beings, who share our values on how to live (even if they hold religious beliefs that we do not share) and help them feel supported. Show that Humanists can contribute to society and that we do stand up for those being oppressed or attacked.

At the very least you may learn a little about some groups of people that you are unfamiliar with and perhaps develop a better understanding of their position.

My experience has been that we have far more in common than that which divides us. We may hold different views on deities and rituals, but we all want much of the same things for ourselves and others. We are human beings.

If after reading this you want to get involved in Interbelief Dialogue, then please let me know and we can look to develop a group of us that can work together in this area across the county.

Thanks for reading

Keith

19/08/2026

URGENT. If you have not already done so and you support the Assisted Dying Bill (Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill), then please take the time to write to your MP.
Sadly some MPs have previously admitted that they felt swayed by the number of people who wrote to them to oppose people's right to choose. If the number of people writing to them is how they measure which way to vote, then we need to let them know that there is a silent majority who are in favour of having a choice. The Bill is being voted on in the next 4 weeks, so now is the last chance to let your voice be heard.

14/08/2026

An opportunity to share your thoughts on how society is seen by yourself and what you think about potential divisive mechanisms being operated by some.

Sadly the question on religion falls into the same error as the National Census and asks "What religion are you?", but as a Humanist I followed what I did on the Census and put "No religion", rather than try to confuse the issue to look for a way to put Humanist in there somehow.

I just took part in The National Conversation to share my views on what it's really like living in our area right now. It's a major UK-wide project by researchers at Oxford University, and it only takes a few minutes. You should have your say too!

13/08/2026

Always one to mix with other Humanists, whether that be from groups in the same UK region or further afield and also other parts of the world when on holiday. So happy to take part in this event in Shrewsbury last month.
The photos are showing a fundraising day held by Shropshire Humanists on Sat 25th of July - raising money for Ukraine. I was holidaying nearby and got the invite in time to make arrangements to pop in for a couple of hours.
They had some live music, plenty of opportunities to buy some Ukrainian traditional clothes and food. We have Ukrainian connections in my family and so I made a beeline to the Vareniki, which is a personal favourite.
Thanks to Simon Nightingale for inviting me and also helping out with the Interfaith Workshop the day before.