TheCable

A few hours after appearing at an all-night programme of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in London, David Cameron, the UK prime minister, headed for a Sikh temple where he offered prayers (pictured).

This has led to criticisms in certain quarters that he was “doing God” ahead of the May 7 UK general election which is being contested by his Conservative Party and Labour.

Labour leader Ed Miliband, a self-confessed atheist, also stopped over at the Praise House Community Church, London, on Sunday where he bowed his head in prayers.

He was born a Jew, but he now describes himself as “Jewish atheist”.

All these visits are viewed as part of the campaign tours of Cameron and Miliband who are locked in a very close election that may not produce a clear winner, according to most opinion polls.

At the Festival of Life all-night programme held at the Excel centre on Friday, Cameron was prayed for by the congression and Enoch Adeboye, the general overseer (GO) of the church whom the prime minister called “Daddy GO” as church members like to address him.

After making a cameo to a tumultuous applause from the congregation, Cameron was soon on his way to Kent, along with his wife Samanthan, to visit a Sikh temple.

He wore the traditional orange patka as he and his wife joined worshippers at the Gravesend Gurdwara.

They joined thousands of people in a parade carrying the Sikh holy book to the temple.

He then gave a speech, telling his the audience that the Vaisakhi festival, which is one of the most important events in the Sikh calendar, was a “big, bold” sign of their devotion.

He said: “I wanted to make sure Downing Street was part of this too and I’m proud to be the first prime minister to host a Vaisakhi reception at Number 10.”

At the Festival of Light, he had told the 45,000-strong audience: “It is an honour to be here and I’m proud of this festival which started as a camp just off the Lagos expressway and set the world alight.

“I believe in aspiration. I believe the only limit to someone’s potential is their own ambition and talent.

“I look out to this crowd and I see someone who will take my role and become prime minister for this great country.

“I hope you can hold off for a while just yet.”

Cameron at the Festival of Life…

What Cameron said at Festival of Light

I have to say, I don’t envy the organisers of tonight. It must be like the feeding of the 5,000, except – I can see you – you are 45,000! You must be relieved that it’s just spiritual food on the menu tonight.

Together we are all part of one family. As Jesus said with his arms outstretched to his disciples, “Here are my mother and my brothers, for whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, my sister and my mother.” And that is what we are, as God’s children, we are all one big family.

Now when I was a child, I had a very specific image of what a church was. I thought to be a church, it had to be an old, grey building with a slate roof and a big spire, and it had to have pews and a pulpit, and a graveyard where the naughty boys would play hide and seek. But I was wrong, and you prove that. You’ve proved that church is people; church is a family. And it doesn’t matter what the roof is made of, because with your energy, your devotion, your love of Jesus Christ, you raise that roof every time.

Now your dedication to family – your family is blood, and your family is humanity – it goes way beyond this room. I think of how many ways you love your neighbour: with care for those who are sick and lonely; with mentoring for teenagers who think they have no hope; with fundraising for hospices, for looked-after children, for those suffering unimaginable trauma overseas. And like Jesus turning water into wine, you turn loneliness into companionship; you turn deprivation into comfort; you turn lost lives into lives with purpose.

For years I have tried to explain to people what the Big Society is. Some people were determined not to understand it. Well, I should have brought them here to the Festival of Life, because this is the Big Society in action, and it’s as vibrant, as alive and as powerful as ever. Now just think how great our country, Britain, could be if we built on that; if we had an even bigger Big Society, where even more people shared your family values – values of prudence, of hard work, of looking out for those who fall on hard times.

With these values we can achieve the Britain we all want to live in – where the oppressed are cared for; where the lonely are befriended; where it’s not where you come from but the content of your character that really matters. And tonight, let us be proud that this is a Christian country, where we stand for the freedom to practise your faith, and where we stand up for Christians and all those who are persecuted anywhere in our world. They are family, too..