NEED OF THE HOUR: The Leaders’ Responsibility with MOHANJI in London

NEED OF THE HOUR
The Leaders’ Responsibility (Keynote by MOHANJI)

An Inter Faith Week curtain-raiser from The House of All Faiths & Communities (HOFAC), in partnership with the Mohanji Foundation

“The world suffers a lot, not just because of the violence of the bad people, but because of the silence of the good people.” 

Those who guide the thoughts of faiths and communities carry a special responsibility. What they say, and what they do, shapes whether their followers bring kindness, compassion, togetherness, peace and non-violence into society. Leadership is not a title. It lives in everyone willing to make a difference.

HOFAC brings together people who are determined to bring peace to society, and who believe that words are not enough. We commit to three things: walk the talk, implement what we say, and record and monitor what we do. We are rooted in the UK and connected to a global network of faith partners.

On the eve of Inter Faith Week, we invite faith and community leaders, and everyone who carries leadership within them, to St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace to ask what this moment requires of us.

With Mohanji, Founder of HOFAC, live in London

PROGRAMME

Part One: Keynote: Mohanji on Responsibility
12:30 – 14:15 · keynote followed by 45 minutes of Q&A

Each week hundreds of people around the world join Mohanji online. This week he speaks live in London, streamed to the global community. He speaks on what responsibility means for each of us, and above all for those who lead: to ourselves, to one another, to our communities and to the Earth we share.

14:15 – 14:30 · Tea, coffee and refreshments

Part Two: Voices from the HOFAC Network
14:30 – 14:45 · video and online addresses

HOFAC Ambassadors and Advisors from across the UK and around the world share what responsibility means in their faiths and communities, and what they are committing to do.

Part Three: The Leaders’ Responsibility
14:45 – 15:15 · a fireside dialogue live

Every faith teaches kindness, compassion and peace. So why does so little of it reach the street? Mohanji, Dr Richa Sinha MBE, Swami Suryananda of Skanda Vale and Jeremy Wootliff of GPS Network, in conversation with Christopher Greenwood, CEO of HOFAC, ask the questions leaders usually avoid. What do we owe the people who listen to us? What happens when we stay silent? And what will we do, starting now, to make sure our words become action?

From Words to Action
15:15 – 16:00 · programme close, followed by open conversations

The formal programme closes with the leaders’ commitments and a final word from Mohanji. Then the room opens up: stay, meet fellow leaders and members of the HOFAC network, share your own commitment, and sign the HOFAC Declaration.

MEET THE SPEAKERS

Mohanji · Keynote speaker; Founder, HOFAC
Mohanji is a humanitarian and spiritual teacher, and founder of the Mohanji Foundation, which carries out charitable and service work in more than 90 countries. At the heart of his teaching is Be You, a practical path in which deep connection with ourselves brings acceptance of others. A primary goal is to shift humankind to kind humans. He founded HOFAC to bring faith and community leaders together in responsibility, accountability and respect.

Dr Richa Sinha MBE · Chair, Scottish Hindu Foundation
Dr Richa Sinha chairs the Scottish Hindu Foundation. She was appointed MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to the Hindu community in Scotland and for tackling Hinduphobia. Through the Foundation she works to bridge the Hindu community and wider Scottish society, building understanding between communities and engaging with Scotland’s political leaders.

Swami Suryananda · Skanda Vale; Trustee, HOFAC
Swami Suryananda is a monk of Skanda Vale, the multi-faith community and ashram in Wales, founded in 1973 by Guru Sri Subramanium, which now welcomes more than 100,000 visitors a year. Its spirituality centres on devotion, selfless service and the sanctity of all life. In his teaching, Swami Suryananda shows how living in conscious love lets us change the world through our own actions. He is a founding trustee of HOFAC.

Jeremy Wootliff · Director, GPS Network
Jeremy founded GPS Network in 2024, a UK-wide grassroots movement working to strengthen civil resilience and make Britain safer for Jews and for all communities. Its mission is to galvanise “Middle Britain”, the silent majority, to turn concern into practical action. GPS now connects more than 400 grassroots groups, including Jewish and Christian networks, reaching over 350,000 people. Jeremy is also a Deputy at the Board of Deputies of British Jews and a Trustee of WIZO.

Christopher Greenwood · Moderator; CEO, HOFAC
Christopher has worked closely with Mohanji since 2019 and is a Global Council Member of the Mohanji Foundation, supporting its service work around the world. Through this work he has gained wide international experience with faith groups and communities, from the UK to India, the Gulf and beyond. Today he leads the House of All Faiths & Communities as its CEO, and serves on the Board of Interfaith Scotland. For Christopher, HOFAC is a personal commitment as much as an organisation: a home where every faith and community can stand on equal ground, and where leadership is measured by what we do, not what we say.

Whatever your faith, or none, this is your invitation. Come and listen. Come and question. And leave with an answer to one question:

What will you do?

TICKETS
£35 general admission · £10 for Mohanji weekly talk subscribers 
Only 80 seats. The venue is wheelchair accessible; please tell us about any access needs when booking. This event will be photographed, recorded and streamed live.

The House of All Faiths & Communities (HOFAC) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Scottish Charity No. SC055598.