THOSE from all faiths in East Lancashire gathered to take part in an annual scriptural reasoning event.

The event, organised by Building Bridges, took place at All Saint's Church in Habergham, with scholars and representatives from Christian, Muslim and Baha'i faiths taking part.

Participants met to study their sacred texts together and explore ways to help better understand and respond to contemporary issues.

The theme this year was the story of Jonah in the belly of the whale.

Led by Father Charlie Hill, he said:"We had a very positive and interesting conversation about our faith traditions.

"These events help us all to build good relationships across communities and find common ground."

Mozaquir Ali, director of Building Bridges in Burnley, said: "We organise this annually as we have experienced in the past that this helps create learning and understanding, exploring differences and builds friendships.

"People of different faiths come together to read and reflect on their scriptures side-by-side in the company of someone outside your tradition who may not have read your scripture before, and who sees it through very different lenses to your own.

"The result is often a deeper understanding of others' and one’s own scriptures, as well as the development of strong bonds across faith communities.

"We had a spiritually exhilarating and invigorating in-depth discussion which left everyone with enhanced understanding of the story of Jonah in the three Scriptures. It was amazing to see stark similarities in both texts and prayers."