Allan Hayes looks back on his first days as Chaplain to the Lord Mayor of Leicester

The weekend before last was my launch as Chaplain to the Lord Mayor. It was enjoyable and thought provoking. With the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, I attended two services in the cathedral, on Saturday for Armed Forces Day and the second, on Sunday, for the Leicestershire Regiment. I was struck by the humanity of the sermons preached and the tradition of the occasions. On Sunday afternoon I went on to represent the Lord Mayor on a pilgrimage round various faith centres, Sikh, Christian, Jewish, Quaker and Bahai, in Clarendon Park organised by Christians Aware.

Since then I have had the opportunity to read Bishop Tim's First Person article. It shows how we are finding ways of living together and relating to one another. I appreciate and welcome that, as he says, many people who contribute to important causes are motivated by their faith. But, much work is also done by people who are motivated simply by their humanity and fellow-feeling and this is often not recognized since they do not identify themselves as members of named groups. This is made worse by the bias in Government policy, regulations and initiatives.

I was pleased at Bishop Tim's emphasis on the importance of respecting and valuing our differences rather than feeling threatened by them. Interestingly, this paralleled the phrases that I had been using on my pilgrimage round Clarendon Park. We need, as he says, to order the "polis" – the city – so that we can live together in ways which enrich each other and enhance each other's experience. This has been the aim of the Secular Society since its founding in 1851. Many of the things that we now take for granted in our country have come from the sustained efforts of such organisations and their allies: the right of elected MPs, regardless of religion or belief, to take their seat in the House of Commons, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and belief, freedom to publish articles on birth control, access to a broad-based non-sectarian education (helped particularly by our non-conformist friends), leading to the Human Rights Declarations and our recent equality legislation – the right to be a full member of society. These have contributed to our ability to welcome others who are different to our country and our city.

As Chaplain to the Lord Mayor I will try to continue this building of an open and welcoming society, a society to which all can contribute, which belongs to us all. The proposal made earlier to mark the election of a new Lord Mayor by a celebration of the city to which all can contribute is one suggestion. We must get to know one another better – please help.

Allan Hayes is president of the Leicester Secular Society.