NORTHAMPTON — A Congregational pastor, a Jewish rabbi, and an imam who leads an area mosque will join in a dialogue to explore how their different faith traditions intersect around shared values of reverence for life, compassion, justice and peace at the JFK Middle School in Florence from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Twelve area houses of worship are co-sponsoring “Friends of Faith” that will begin with a panel discussion, continue with questions and answers among attendees and panelists, and conclude with informal conversation over desserts prepared by members of the sponsoring houses of worship.
The event was organized by the Pioneer Valley Interfaith Refugee Action Group.
The interfaith committee was formed several months ago with a threefold purpose: to lobby the federal government to admit more refugees fleeing the war in Syria, to counteract Islamophobia and make the Pioneer Valley welcoming and safe for Muslims, and to help meet the needs of refugees resettling here.
Tahira Amatul-Wadud, an attorney and activist from Springfield who represents the Council on American-Islamic Relations, was originally listed among the panelists, but has been called away in response to a planned biker rally protesting a Muslim community near Oneonta, New York. The bikers claim this community is a “jihadist training camp” and call this a “ride for national security.”
“We are distressed and disappointed to hear, as we do all too often, that any of our neighbors experience an attitude of unwelcome or even hatred because of their faith,” said the Rev. Michael McSherry, pastor of the Edwards Congregational Church, a member of the committee. “We wish to promote a more robust sense of welcome and closer ties among all houses of worship and their members.”
The panelists for “Friends In Faith” are the Rev. Corey Sanderson, minister at the Second Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Greenfield, and chair of the Franklin County Council of Churches; Imam Wissam Abdel-Baki from the Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts; and Rabbi Benjamin Weiner of the Jewish Community of Amherst.
For further information, contact Susan Grant Rosen at 413-247-6337 or Judson Brown at 413-584-1048.