An interview with Sr Isabel Smyth

In a powerful show of unity amid rising global and local tensions, faith and belief leaders from across Glasgow’s diverse communities gathered last month to launch the Glasgow 850 Interfaith Declaration – a unifying statement of shared values and commitments to build a more just, inclusive, and compassionate Glasgow. Signed by senior representatives from Glasgow’s faith and belief communities at a special Scottish Interfaith Week Civic Reception in the City Chambers to mark the city’s 850th anniversary, the Declaration sets out a shared vision for the city’s future – committing its supporters to nurture understanding across faiths and worldviews; work together for equality, peace, and climate justice; welcome refugees; and challenge prejudice in all its forms.

The event also celebrated 50 years of interfaith engagement in Glasgow, with lifetime achievement awards presented to three individuals – Christian, Jewish, and Hindu – whose tireless efforts since the 1970s have laid the foundations for the city’s thriving interfaith movement: Sr Isabel Smyth SND OBE; Dianna Wolfson and Brij Lata Gandhi MBE.

Isabel, a regular contributor to Open House, told us how she became involved in interfaith work and what it means to her.

When did you first take an interest in interfaith relations?

I first became interested in interfaith relations when I met an amazing woman called Stella Reekie. Stella was a Church of Scotland deaconess who worked as a community worker for the Asian community in Glasgow. Her home, the International Flat in Glasgow St, Hillhead, was owned by the Church of Scotland and was a centre for activities and events that brought people of different faiths and cultures together. Stella believed that the new immigrants, or new Scots as we came to call them, would only be accepted if the indigenous population understood something of their faith and culture.  So she had set up the Glasgow Sharing of Faiths, the first interfaith group in Scotland.

I had seen a poster advertising something called A Presentation of Faiths and had called the Flat to arrange a visit. I remember so clearly climbing the stairs to the first floor, the door opening and a tall, gracious woman putting out her hands, drawing me in to the Flat and saying ‘You will be on my committee, won’t you’. And in a way I have been on her committee ever since.

Photo: Brij Lata Gandhi MBE, Sr Isabel Smyth SND OBE and Dianna Wolfson.