 Thank you to Rev. Lori Hlaban and her warm and engaged congregation for this wonderful opportunity to speak about the Parliament of the World's Religions. Thank you Rabbi TZiPi for the sweet and personal introduction!
0 Comments
 Unity of Hilton Head held its second annual Interfaith Harmony service in alignment with Governor Henry McMaster's proclamation of January as South Carolina's Interfaith Harmony Month. Among the faiths celebrated were Bahá’í, Islam, Judaism, Native American, New Thought, and Taoism. Here below 21 slides each of which have a Time Stamp in upper left hand corner if you would like to quickly navigate to that segment of the video which was made from the audio and these slides. Here's the link to the video: Unity of Hilton Head Interfaith Harmony Service.  Last Sunday January 14th the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Charleston hosted an event in alignment with the observation of January being South Carolina’s Interfaith Harmony Month. The evening featured presentations from different faiths on Angels and Experiences. The event ran from 4 to 6 PM and offered food and drink for all, I especially enjoyed a dish prepared by our hostess Shaila Shroff’s husband Vijay.
Our Hindu hostess selected and introduced the topic. Later on she shared her considerations of the concept of angels from both a Hindu and physicist’s point of view. The first speaker was Dinesh Sarvate who is a trustee of the Temple and Cultural Center and has had priestly duties there as well. Following was Muskan Singh, a Sikh who sang a beautiful song in what I believe was Punjabi, the language in which most portions of the Guru Granth Sahib (one of their sacred texts) was written in. She was followed by her grandfather Gajindav Singh who had a career as an educator in New York. IPSC’s chair Dr. Adrian Bird spoke next, he also serves as Visiting Professor of Christian history at Union Presbyterian Seminary, Charlotte. Howie Comen a long time interfaith activist and a private detective, shared interesting material from both Judaic and Islamic perspectives. Radhika Pande chanted a lovely prayer for us, and finally Herb Silverman spoke from his perspective as an Atheist, he serves on the Mathematics faculty of College of Charleston. Adrian and I found the topic interesting in several ways which have resulted in an ongoing email conversation. During his presentation he expressed surprise that in his years of teaching no one had posed a question about angels in his seminary classes. Several of the speakers addressed how we commonly recognize certain kind and caring people as angels. Mr. Silverman shared that he was not expecting to find much agreement with the other speakers and although he disavows supernatural angels he was very comfortable with the notion of natural, human angels. All in all a fascinating and enjoyable evening with a generous and thoughtful group of people. Thank you Shaila. This event was in alignment with the Governor's proclamation naming January as South Carolina's Interfaith Harmony Month and is our second annual. We focused on getting to know one another and celebrating our diversity, we sat in a very large circle and at a center table and at four corners of the room we had bread from many traditions and olives, dates, figs and such so that at the midpoint of our gathering we could literally break bread. Our keynote speaker was brother Saif Ullah who was born and raised in Beaufort county in a prominent Christian family and whose heart was called by Islam over twenty years ago. As Muslims are rather rare down here it was the first time that many of those gathered had met one, had heard them speak of their faith. There were readings and songs from several faith paths and everyone seemed to have had a fine time.   I traveled up to Columbia to participate in Interfaith Partners of South Carolina's sharing of Governor Henry McMaster’s formal proclamation naming January 2018 “South Carolina Interfaith Harmony Month.” This was a news conference at the State House lobby on Thursday, December 28, 2017, at 10:00 AM. Click HERE to see the video I produced of this 15 minute event, apologies for several technical and logistic shortfalls. This is the fifth year that IPSC has worked with the Governor's office to obtain official endorsement for the importance of interfaith work. There area a number of events around the state specifically aligned with this proclamation, for a listing to help you find one in your area visit this PAGE at the IPSC website. Here is a quote from our chair Dr. Adrian Bird from the press conference which really captures the essence of who we are as IPSC: "At a time when much of the global and local rhetoric drives the idea that we, as human beings, need ‘protecting’ from one another, Interfaith partners of South Carolina and local chapters across the State instead encourage us to ‘know’ one another, building relationships of trust, helping to overcome walls of ignorance that divide us. IPSC will speak the language of protection if and when religious voices are excluded or prejudice drives destruction. But ultimately it is only in knowing one another that we truly learn to see and relate to each other as dignified human beings."   Interfaith Partner's of South Carolina has produced a beautiful 18 Month Interfaith Calendar featuring information on each of 12 South Carolina religious groups and its important holidays, this calendar will be a great resource for: Teachers • Sunday Schools • Government Agencies • Local Businesses • Community Leaders • Law Enforcement • Nonprofits • Event Planners • and anyone who would like to learn more about the many faith groups in South Carolina!
Created as both a fundraising project as well as an education tool this calendar has both great production values, as it was designed and layed out by a professional graphics designer, and is chock full of information and dates sacred to many faiths. It has been distributed to all 82 of SC's school districts so that our public schools can be mindful of all the holidays of importance to a wide number of religions. Dr. Barbara Fields, Executive Director of the AGNT (Association for Global New Thought) and who served as Program Director for the first modern Parliament of World Religions in 1993, had this to say about our calendar: "The entire project is so well executed; I have seen quite a few of these in my career in interreligious dialogue and this is one of the nicest. You should feel proud and so do, I hope, your colleagues on this council. It is clear that healing of religious-based wounds must begin with sharing and mutual understanding and the calendar achieves this in a wonderful way." Click on the image to visit IPSC's page in order to purchase this calendar.  Here is a brief report on the Unified Interfaith Community Coalition of Beaufort (UICC) launch of our Spiritual Reconstruction. Most of you know that the Reconstruction Era National Monument in South Carolina was created by President Obama last January in recognition of The Reconstruction era 1861-1898. This is described on the federal website as "the historic period in which the United States grappled with the question of how to integrate millions of newly freed African Americans into social, political, economic, and labor systems, was a time of significant transformation. The people, places, and events in Beaufort County, South Carolina, reflect on the most important issues of this tumultuous time period." As I recall it was at a UICC meeting that Rev. Jack Bomar suggested the idea of a Spiritual Reconstruction which immediately resonated with Rev. Smalls and the rest of us and culminated in this spectacular launch this past weekend. My first experience with the UICC was at their candlelight Memorial service for the Mother Emanuel Nine who were assassinated in June 2015. This memorial service held at Grace Chapel AME in June 2016 was a powerfully moving event whose focus was on a candlelight service. Nine faith representatives lit candles and said a prayer one for each of the victims. For more detailed information about that event see my blog entry. I immediately began my involvement with this organization, founded by AME Grace Chapel’s Rev. Jeannine Smalls, and which contains a fine representation of various faith traditions in the Beaufort area. Among the faiths represented in the core group are Baptists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Unitarians, Jews, Episcopalians, the Baha’i faith and New Thought. These individuals have collaborated together and organized a number of significant events this past year culminating in this year’s candlelight service. The service was held in the spacious and newly dedicated new Grace Chapel this past Friday. There were nearly two dozen ministers, rabbis and other spiritual leaders in attendance, including the President of the Beaufort County Ministerial Alliance Rev. Arthur Cummings. The keynote speaker was the Right Rev. Samuel L. Green Sr., presiding Prelate 7th Episcopal District, South Carolina whose jurisdiction includes Charleston’s Emmanuel Church. Our host and worship leader was Rev. Smalls and the welcome was given by Rev. Dr. Jack Bomar, pastor of United Church. Rev. Jack had taken the lead in organizing this event and our Day of Unity which followed on Saturday. This work was of many hands but other subcommittee leaders who also took part in the ceremony and deserve special mention include Rabbi TZiPi Radonsky and Mrs. Barbara Laurie. The sanctuary was packed, the mood was solemn and yet there was an atmosphere of hope and solidarity. Below you will find an image of the program which lists all of the presenters. As a part of the Unity Movement it made my heart sing that the service was closed with James Dillet Freeman’s prayer for protection, which was taken to the moon on the first landing by an Apollo astronaut. The following day Rev. Shannon Mullen’s St. John’s Lutheran Church hosted our Day of Unity which ran from ten in the morning until two in the afternoon and included entertainment, snacks and a very generous lunch. This “Celebration of Spiritual Reconstruction” included Penn Center director Rodell Lawrence, a very promising report on gains made in the Beaufort County School District by guidance director Mrs. Geraldine Henderson and a fine testimonial by Ms. Jordan Johnson, she is a graduate of Whale Branch Early College High School (WBECHS). The event’s theme was “Telling the Truth: the joys, challenges, fears and hopes of living in Beaufort County in 2017”. In alignment with this theme the core of this day of unity was on going breakout sessions by all the participants in which they identified those joys and challenges and discussed them, later on they made collaborative collages to illustrate their common understanding. Not formally speaking, but very present and involved with the dialogue and activities was Mayor Billy Keyserling. I believe this was a very effective means of starting and or furthering the mission of UICC in bringing the community together to grapple with the issues of social justice founded in our common faith of humanity and the spiritual resources that our diverse members bring to our vision and efforts. All of the above was of course important to report and you can see that the good work that Rev. Smalls set in motion is gaining strength and momentum. But before I finish with what I have to say today I need to talk about a few issues and concerns that have come to mind since the weekend. On Monday one of our members, Westley Byrne, shared with our group a profound article from the Post and Courier dated June 17th and written by Jennifer Berry Hawes. In it she addresses the day-to-day realities for the congregants and pastor of Emanuel AME church. Of prayerful concern for me since that tragic day June 17th, 2015 was of course healing for the hearts of all those concerned and for our wider community who must still grapple with the enormous stain of racism and hatred. But in her article Ms. Hawes paints in fine detail the challenges and pains dealt with on a daily basis by the Rev. Eric S.C. Manning who has served as Emanuel's pastor for nearly a year now. The pastor’s every day choices are colored by such issues as the use and treatment of the Fellowship Hall which takes up most of one floor and is of course the site where the murders took place. It is regularly used for various purposes, but of course some people are very uncomfortable and perhaps not even able to be in that room where the bullet holes remain in the walls. The pastor’s decisions are very difficult with a congregation where there are many opinions on what should be done with them. Some strongly advocate preserving them as an important part of Emmanuel’s history. This history in many ways began with the execution of Denmark Vesey who led plans for a massive slave rebellion in 1822, scheduled to launch at midnight on June 16th. The mob that hanged him and 34 others then torched the original Emanuel, forcing her members to worship underground for many years. After the Civil War Emanuel was rebuilt on Calhoun Street and over the years has hosted such civil rights icons as Booker T. Washington and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. There are those who very much would like to have the holes repaired and the social hall redecorated so that they can move on and enjoy the social functions which help knit a community together in the only room that they have which is suitable for large gatherings such as potlucks. Besides these internal matters there is the burden or perhaps the responsibility to deal with the influx of visitors coming from all across the country and indeed around the world, people of the likes of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Ms. Hawes quotes Rev. Manning in a sentiment that touched my heart "I did not want worship service to continue to be a spectator sport," he said. "Some people may not agree with me, and I understand that. But my job is to protect worship." Not long ago U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn joined former Charleston Mayor Joe Riley in Emanuel's sanctuary to discuss the myth of a "post-racial America." This is a discussion that needs to be had across the breadth of this land and it is this soul-searching and recognition of our social realities that has the potential of making America “Great Again”.  
Toronto--acclaimed the most diverse city in the world by the United Nations and home to six million Canadians—has been chosen as the host city of the 7th Parliament of the World’s Religions, to be convened in November 2018. More than 10,000 people will participate in the 2018 Parliament, which will last for seven days and comprise more than 500 programs, workshops, and dialogues, alongside music, dance, art and photography exhibitions, and related events presented by the world’s religious communities and cultural institutions. Since the historic 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago, modern Parliaments have attracted participants from more than 200 diverse religious, indigenous, and secular beliefs and more than 80 nations to its international gatherings in Chicago (1993), Cape Town (1999), Barcelona (2004), Melbourne (2009), and Salt Lake City (2015). These Parliament events are the world’s oldest, largest, and most inclusive gatherings of the global interfaith movement. As one of the most international, multicultural, and religiously pluralistic cities in the world, Toronto provides a perfect venue for the Parliament of the World’s Religions. More than 140 languages are spoken every day, and at least 47% of Toronto’s population speak a native language other than French or English. Over half were born outside of Canada, representing more than 200 ethnic origins. The exemplary effort of Canadians—and especially the people of Ontario—to welcome the stranger and immigrant, honor indigenous communities, and protect the earth with its public initiatives provides inspiration for other global cities that desire to build a better world. Parliament Site Selection Committee Chair Andras Corban Arthen says, “Toronto is a place where important conversations are taking place about reconciliation, environmental approaches, and the integration of immigrant populations. A vibrant and wide-reaching interfaith community was a determining factor in answering the question: Why Toronto? Why now?” In a May 2 press conference and reception at the Toronto City Hall, Parliament of the World’s Religions Executive Director Dr. Larry Greenfield said the 2018 event is an “extraordinary opportunity for people of the globe to engage the crucial issues of our world, such as climate change, poverty, and violence." Super Saver Registration is coming soon at ParliamentOfReligions.org, including rates exclusive to students and groups. The above was taken from the Parliament of the World’s Religions press release. I’ll be there! How about you? As I serve as an Ambassador of the Parliament of the World's Religions you will hear early and often the good news as it evolves. I would like to clarify some terms before starting this somewhat contentious subject. Interfaith is most commonly understood as an open dialogue between different religions/sects/denominations. Interfaith comes in a number of flavors, but most folks involved in this work are looking for commonalities upon which they can base further exploration, I tend to be on the radical fringe of this in that I buy that old perennial philosophy notion that at its roots all religions are one, I’m willing to hold hands with anyone and sing Kumbaya, part of this is an insatiable curiosity and a deeper appreciation of spiritual diversity. I will admit that I do foresee a time when a universal religion is possible. I’ll also admit that I am very possibly wrong on this point, but I wanted to get out of the way the argument against old hippies and dreamers such as myself. To put it succinctly I use the phrase “One God, Many Paths” and am quite willing to believe they are all different paths on the same mountain leading to a single peak. Many who I work with and have deep respect for will admit we are all on ‘a’ path but not on the same mountain, or even the same mountain range for that matter.
Inter-religious work is a more pragmatic approach which recognizes that many of the tensions and misunderstandings in the world have as their cause doctrinal differences between religions. Because this cannot be left out of the dialogue, we must recognize painful histories and difficult relationships between religions, perhaps a prime example is Christianity versus Islam. Those committed to Inter-religious dialogue are seeking to find commonalities that enable dialogue which may result in the kinds of compromises and agreements that will resolve issues that are intense enough to lead to war and the violation of the civil rights of others. Ecumenical, or Intrafaith work, has more to do with working out the differences in a given religion or faith path that will result in cooperation and potentially even unification. This is a high-level vision held by certain leaders in the Catholic Church and their counterparts in Orthodox Christianity who would like to be rejoined under a common Holy See. To a lesser extent you’ll find these approaches within various sects of Christianity that have split within their own denomination, the various Baptist conventions or Lutheran Synods may be other notable examples. Didn’t want to get so bogged down in definitions, but perhaps that was useful to get clear about the issue I’d like to address in this post. Among the concerns of those committed to Inter-religious dialogue is the pursuit of social justice. Nowhere in my own spheres of Interfaith/Inter-religious dialogue work is this clearer than in the work we are doing in the United Interfaith Community Coalition of Beaufort which was organized by Grace Chapel AME’s pastor Rev. Jeannine Smalls in response to the tragedy that took place at the Mother Emanuel Chapel in Charleston, SC. My first connection with UICCB was attending the first annual memorial service at Grace Chapel which was very widely attended by people of all faiths. The first meeting that I attended of the organization itself had a few ministers from the black community but most of the participants represented the white mainline religions of the city of Beaufort and surrounding communities. I point that out because I believe that some of the black ministers chose not to continue to participate for the very same reason that many more fundamentalist Christian pastors never did participate, and that is the fear that others would try to convert them or that their own faith would be watered down by merely listening to what others from different faiths might have to say. I’ll leave my personal feelings out regarding those who hold these views and focus on what I would like to say to them. Let me state this very clearly, the deep bigotry and racial hatred that resulted in the heinous murder of those nine individuals has not been washed away by the blood of those innocents, nor the healing gestures of forgiveness made by families and friends. If anything this last election cycle revealed that these feelings are much closer to the surface and are much more widely spread than any of us could’ve imagined who worked so hard in the ‘60s and ‘70s in the cause of civil rights, in the cause of women’s rights and in the prospects of peace. I believe it must be said that faith leaders, the ministers and pastors of our communities, must come together despite all doctrinal differences and declare that these attitudes and behaviors are unacceptable and to work as spiritual leaders to uncover the root causes and to exorcise them in the name of all that is holy. I would hope that we can agree to disagree about those aspects of our differences which have nothing to do with civil rights and common human decency and that we could come together in a prayerful attitude and accept the mission that all who minister to the souls of others must accept in order to be faithful to their calling. There are some things that call for an assembly of conscience, that demand of us that we stand together and declare our truth. Can I get an Amen? |
AuthorThis is Jim's Interfaith Blog. Any text which appears in Green also serves as a clickable link. Click on the categories below to filter your view to topics which interest you. Archives
May 2021
Categories
All
|
|
Interfaith Advocate |
RSS Feed