Since the last meeting on the 13th March 2001 the BCoF went through a roller coaster time.

  At a meeting on the 17th April an untenable situation was brought to light. Only four or five people showed up to this meeting and it became clear to those attending that the future of the Interfaith Dialogue was endangered in our town because of a tremendous lack of support for the work of the Bedford Council of Faiths. Those present decided to send out a crisis letter and urged present, past and future members to attend a crisis meeting on the 10th July 2001 at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara at 84 Ford End Road, Bedford, a venue which hosted us ever since this meeting for all our future meetings in the past year.

  The letter bore some fruit and this meeting was fairly well attended a new committee was forged and some imaginative job-sharing agreed.

  As a result, we managed to create a computerised membership database, [a new logo, :Ed.] a website, a fourfold information leaflet and headed notepaper with website and email address. We managed through a persistent campaign to expand our membership and as a result of it, we are financially better off ( more about that in the treasurer's report [..click to see :Ed.] ). Thanks to some members, unfortunately not the majority, having access to email, we manage to keep in touch, also outside agreed meetings and can inform each other of important issues without wasting paper and having to pay postage.

  In the aftermath of the September 11th World Trade Center attack in New York we followed a call by the Quakers for a peace[ful? :Ed.] Vigil with candles, which was held on the 29th of September 2001 in the Harpur Square in Bedford and we were also able to support this with a contribution for the insurance which the Vigil was required to take out by the town.

  We were asked, as we were last year, albeit not as an organisation at first, to participate at the mayor's service which took place on the 25th November 2001 at Lincroft [ School :Ed.] in Oakley. Our fourfolds were ready for this occasion and a few were taken by people.

  We successfully held our, now almost traditional, winter lecturers, 5 all together, this year again in the St. Peter's Chapter House, which thanks to Rev. Guy Buckler we were able to hire at low cost. The topics covered were twofold, medical and educational aspects were discussed.

  We found it necessary to update and amend our constitution and to that end we formed a small sub-committee that picked over the old constitution and came up with the new proposed amended one. You all have been sent a copy of both. [ We shall be discussing this in our next agenda point. ]

  Because of our recent crisis, we had to postpone our traditional autumn pilgrimage to the spring and it will be happening now on the 8th April 2002. We invited the present mayor Pat Olney to attend.

  We are also planning to hold another winter lecture series this year again. Your thoughts and wishes are invited (separate sheet).

  Finally a few thank yous are necessary:

• Thank you to Tirath who organised our continuous welcome in the Guru Nanak Gurdwara for our meetings and this AGM.
• Thank you to Norman for the creation of our webpages, BCoF letterhead and the fourfold leaflet as well as being secretary and writing difficult letters to mayors and other people.
• Thank you to Monica for writing thank you notes to our speakers of the winter lectures.
• Thank you to Brigitte who took courage into both hands and became our meeting minuter.
• Thank you to occasional meeting minuters, John Tibbs, Laurie Bender and Tom Short.
• Thank you to honorary post woman Mary Shaw who hand delivers letters around Queens Park and neighbouring areas.
• Thank you to the constitutional nit picking sub-committee; Malcolm Lee, Trevor Maines and Tom Short.
• Thank you to Olive Maines and Jane Preston who played both key-keepers and tea ladies at some of our winter lectures
  (and lastly)
  
• Thank you to you all for supporting our work this year, financially and by coming to our activities and meetings.