At the Diversity Dialogue at the beginning of September, the topic chosen was Love and Trust. When we asked ourselves, what was standing in the way of building love and trust, many voices emerged, including: masks, anger, selfishness, poor self-esteem, lack of respect, fear and patriarchy.

An underlying theme to the dialogue was fatherlessness and how it has affected people, with hatred, distrust and bitterness spilling over into so many other relationships. Some questions we asked ourselves were “What is controlling me?”; “Does anger always lead to hatred and bitterness?”; “Who am I really?” and “How can I face life’s challenges?”

Forgiveness was recognised as a step towards greater freedom. Some people shared personal battles they were facing with courage. We left, feeling encouraged to take our own personal steps towards greater love and trust in our relationships.