AN MCIC/AFTA RAMADAN DIALOGUE ON VIOLENCE & FAITH-INSPIRED PEACE-BUILDING
We were in the midst of our group introductions when the start of the call to prayer came: “Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, as-hadu an-la ilaha illa Allah…” We took a few moments to absorb the melodious chant and to permit our hosts to drink a bit of water and eat a succulent date or two, to break that hot July day’s Ramadan fast.
The MCIC had been invited by the “Turkish American Friendship Association” (AFTA) and the “Rumi Forum,” two Turkish Muslim community groups, to conduct a dialogue in their Rockville Offices on the evening of July 12, 2014. Ramadan is traditionally a time for Islamic communal and individual fasting, purification and spiritual self-reflection.
Over the breaking of the fast meal at sundown (“Iftar”) we gathered to share on the topic of “Religious-inspired Violence and Interfaith Peace-building.” The events of the past month including both the exploding violence in Iraq and Syria as well as a renewal of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, had troubled a number of us. In the midst of this good-hearted gathering, these battlefields seemed so far off, but the effects and pain were much in evidence in our midst; but, there was also a deep desire to continue to sow seeds of peace and understanding.
Our hosts were deeply troubled and pained that Islam and Muslims would be defined only by the images of violent Muslims coming across our T.V. screens. They have been working very hard to build positive relationships with other civic and religious groups here in America. Two of our African MCIC visitors also shared some of their trials and experiences of violence, trauma and discrimination in Kenya, Liberia and here in the U.S. They also added a hopeful note of persevering in the pursuit of peace, even with violent individuals.
The MCIC had been invited by the “Turkish American Friendship Association” (AFTA) and the “Rumi Forum,” two Turkish Muslim community groups, to conduct a dialogue in their Rockville Offices on the evening of July 12, 2014. Ramadan is traditionally a time for Islamic communal and individual fasting, purification and spiritual self-reflection.
Over the breaking of the fast meal at sundown (“Iftar”) we gathered to share on the topic of “Religious-inspired Violence and Interfaith Peace-building.” The events of the past month including both the exploding violence in Iraq and Syria as well as a renewal of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, had troubled a number of us. In the midst of this good-hearted gathering, these battlefields seemed so far off, but the effects and pain were much in evidence in our midst; but, there was also a deep desire to continue to sow seeds of peace and understanding.
Our hosts were deeply troubled and pained that Islam and Muslims would be defined only by the images of violent Muslims coming across our T.V. screens. They have been working very hard to build positive relationships with other civic and religious groups here in America. Two of our African MCIC visitors also shared some of their trials and experiences of violence, trauma and discrimination in Kenya, Liberia and here in the U.S. They also added a hopeful note of persevering in the pursuit of peace, even with violent individuals.
A Jewish-American from the MCIC poignantly remarked that it was easier to create violence--a few committed extremists could spark it off and set off a firestorm--but that we needed to rededicate ourselves to do the slow, hard, conscientious work of building peace through relationships with people of other faiths and ethnicities.
We ultimately concluded on a note of hope and an extending sense of friendship. We may not be able to resolve many of the world’s difficult conflicts, but we can make a difference and build small “island of peace” and community amidst the turbulence. We would like to deeply thank AFTA Organizers Ahmet Kus and Ali Vural for inviting the MCIC to come, for hosting us so warmly and for entrusting us to co-create this Ramadan dialogue. We are also grateful for the kind interactions with other AFTA community members who graciously met us, and who helped to prepare and serve our Iftar meal.
VISIT TO ADELPHI FRIENDS MEETING
On Sunday, February 23rd 2014 MCIC led a “Sacred Sojourn” to the Adelphi Friends Meeting. On arriving we had an initial orientation to Quakerism and the Quaker religious communal practice of “Unstructured Silent Worship.” {This is an experiential meditative practice by which the collected community “listens” for the leadings and voice of the Holy Spirit within the community.}
We ultimately concluded on a note of hope and an extending sense of friendship. We may not be able to resolve many of the world’s difficult conflicts, but we can make a difference and build small “island of peace” and community amidst the turbulence. We would like to deeply thank AFTA Organizers Ahmet Kus and Ali Vural for inviting the MCIC to come, for hosting us so warmly and for entrusting us to co-create this Ramadan dialogue. We are also grateful for the kind interactions with other AFTA community members who graciously met us, and who helped to prepare and serve our Iftar meal.
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MCIC HOME DIALOGUE ON "SPIRITUAL QUEST"
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On Saturday, June 7th (2014) ten of us met in Potomac, Maryland at the home of Farah and Farhad to share dinner and to dialogue on the theme of “Spiritual Quest.” As a support and catalyst for group dialogue and personal sharing, participants were invited to bring an expression or inspiration for their own Spiritual Quest, which might include: a sacred song, chant, poem, short reading, work of art or other creative medium.
There were so many lovely sharings of the heart, mind and spirit. To name a few: Survival lessons on the meaning of community in the Utah desert, the sacred depth of a first entrance into the Mormon temple, a woman’s search for meaning in the Morocco of her youth, Rumi poetry (“Moses and the Shepherd”) remembered from a childhood in Iran, the numerous gifts of sacred chants and remembrances, the healing journey after the death of a beloved father, and of course a delightful visitation of the prayer and story of the St. Francis of Assisi. We appreciated the depth and lovingness of these personal sharings. What a rich sacred table! And of course the vegetarian potluck food was wonderful too. We offer a very special thanks to Farah and Farhad for being such gracious hosts and warming their lovely home to receive us.
FUTURE
GATHERINGS: Participants expressed their desire for continuing dialogues, which
the MCIC will happily work to coordinate. We're planning to continue our
“Spiritual Quest” as a kind of "Interfaith Table Fellowship.” Our
“moveable feast" would also include the sharing of sacred poetry, story,
chants, other art forms as well as the personal narratives from our own
journeys. Of course we could also continue our visitations to other
spiritual and religious communities: temples, churches and mosques.
VISIT TO ADELPHI FRIENDS MEETING
On Sunday, February 23rd 2014 MCIC led a “Sacred Sojourn” to the Adelphi Friends Meeting. On arriving we had an initial orientation to Quakerism and the Quaker religious communal practice of “Unstructured Silent Worship.” {This is an experiential meditative practice by which the collected community “listens” for the leadings and voice of the Holy Spirit within the community.}
Each Sunday Quaker meeting for worship is varied and different. On this day the theme of “truth” emerged and a number of faith “messages” were offered on the often difficult spiritual journey of expressing hard truths and “speaking truth to power;” both of these can often require a leap of faith and a possible personal exposure to consequence or harm. Through the quality of these “messages” one could sense some of the deeper ties of Quakerism to the pursuit of social justice and “just peace.”
An equally intimate and touching part of the meeting was the sharing of “Joys and Concerns,” and opportunity to express personal joys, sorrows or ask for support from within the Friends Community. The Adelphi Community has a wonderful level of trust and care in evidence, and this very much a communal healing space. We also shared in a wonderful potluck lunch with the Adelphi community following the “rise of meeting.”
A post-meeting period was led by our faith guides for questions, answers and dialogue; and this was also illuminating. One of our MCIC "sojourners" remarked that the day's experience had led her to want to include more "Silence" in her own spiritual life and practice. A Quaker participant noted that they had come to a deeper understanding of their own tradition through our visit and the questions we asked. These are representative of some of the best fruits of the interfaith work: a deepening of respect, love and understanding.
We truly thank the Adelphi Community for welcoming us; Friends June Confer and Mosi Harrington for being our Quaker Faith Guides, for their gifts of time and energy to this outreach. We are also appreciative of Friends Michael Levi and Chloe Schwenke for aiding in bringing this visit about.
*AN ADDITIONAL NOTE ON QUAKERISM: The Quaker form of worship is unique and has much to offer to our present times. In many ways it resembles a worshipful town meeting. The Quaker community gathers in a contemplative silence; but if a member of the congregation is moved to share a "message" from their deepest heart or mind, they may rise and share it with the assembled community -- this is followed by more silence, and perhaps additional messages. The Meeting can be very moving, sometimes empowering, and a wonderful democratic experiment in faith community. George Fox (1624-1691), the founder of Quakerism, erased the distinction between clergy and laity, in that anyone could offer their verbal ministry to the congregation. Friends' emphasis has always been on the role of the immediate guidance of the Holy Spirit in their meetings. Friends are also guided by their “Peace Testimony” to be active witnesses to peace through their many social action works.
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""SACRED JOURNEY TO KRISHNA TEMPLE POTOMAC, MD.
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On November 24, 2013 MCIC “Sacred Sojourners” met to visit the Krishna Temple of Potomac, Maryland, a visit both gracious and sublime. Our “Faith Guide,” Braj, did a fabulous job of introducing and orienting our visitors to Krishna Consciousness, & Bhakti Yoga. His wife, Ananda {the temple president} so warmly received us and did countless efforts to help our guests to feel very welcomed and cared for. We also deeply appreciate the members of your ISKCON community who reached out and dialogued with their MCIC guests.
The temple worship program was fabulous: sacred Kirtan (chanting) and dancing; and a special guest, Gaura Vani and his family and friends. who did sacred storytelling with chanting & musical accompaniment. This was followed by a sumptuous vegetarian Lovefeast with additional possibilities for dialogue. Amongst our numbers were Christians, Jews, Muslims, Unitarians and members of the Mormon Church. What a gift when East can embrace West.
WHAT IS KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS? The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a religious organisation founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Its core beliefs are based on traditional Indian scriptures, such as the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and the Bhagavad-gītā. ISKCON was formed to spread the practice of bhakti yoga, in which aspirant devotees (bhaktas) dedicate their thoughts and actions towards pleasing the Supreme Lord, idealized as “Krishna.”
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~ THE ESSENCE OF BHAKTI YOGA (Devotional Worship): From the Hindu Scripture "The Bhagavad
Gita": ("If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower,
fruit or water, I will accept it.")
~ THE ESSENCE OF BHAKTI YOGA (Devotional Worship): From the Hindu Scripture "The Bhagavad
Gita": ("If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower,
fruit or water, I will accept it.")
AN
MCIC "SACRED JOURNEY" TO THE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF
SILVER SPRING:
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On Sunday, September 29th, 2013 “Sacred
Sojourners” from the MCIC started our UU visit with a group orientation to
learn about Unitarian Universalist beliefs, practices & history. Ashley
Burczak, the UUCSS Membership Coordinator, wonderfully fielded our many
questions about Unitarian Universalism and shared very intimately with us from
her own twin spiritual paths of Buddhism and Unitarian Universalism.
Jeffrey Noel also aided greatly with his friendliness and directions in
orienting us. Our group then moved on to the Community Worship at
9:30 AM. The sanctuary is very beautiful and all of the music was
really amazing, both the folk duet and and the choir. We also thank Rev.
Leon for his welcoming presence. We concluded our visit with a
period of fellowship, coffee and personal sharing with congregants. We
truly enjoyed meeting and dialoguing with many of the members of the UU
community; our spiritual boundaries always seem a bit more expanded in the
process of meeting diverse communities and sharing in their perspectives. The
world also seems a bit smaller and warmer!
A NOTE ON UNITARIAN
UNIVERSALISM: With its historical roots in the Jewish and Christian
traditions, Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion — that is, a religion
that keeps an open mind to the religious questions with which people have
struggled in all times and places. They are a "non-creedal" religion
and do not ask anyone to subscribe to a creed, UUs being more focused more on
how to live than on what to believe. Unitarians believe that personal
experience, conscience and reason should be the final authorities in religion,
and that in the end religious authority lies not in a book, deity, person, or
institution; but rather in their own hearts and minds. Unitarian Universalists
draw from all major world religions and many different sources, and have a wide
range of beliefs and practices.
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SUPPORTING THE "CHARTER FOR COMPASSION"
On June 2nd, 2013 nearly 50 people representing an array of faith communities including Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim Quaker, Seventh Day Adventist and Unitarian Universalist traditions gathered at Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda. The purpose of the gathering was to explore responses to Karen Armstrong's "Charter for Compassion." Following introductions and the viewing of two short video clips depicting a reading of the charter by members of various faith traditions and various responses to the reading, participants broke into small groups to discuss possible ways of improving the charter text, as well as the opportunities and challenges that face individuals and congregations in implementing the charter. A ceremonial signing concluded the 3-1/2 hour gathering. Naturally, the gathering included a sumptuous interfaith pot-luck dinner that "tastefully" represented the diversity of the group.
AN MCIC INTERFAITH CONFERENCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT
An interfaith crowd gathered on April 28th at B’nai Israel Congregation in Rockville to explore the connection between religion and environment-alism. A panel consisting of representatives from the American Indian, Catholic, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh traditions spoke of the interrelated-ness of all creation. All agreed that our relationships to the divine, to each other and to our planet are connected and that a breach in one connection is a breach in all of them. When we alienate ourselves from our planet by exploiting and mistreating it, we threaten our connection not only to the world, but to the divine and to each other, as well.
SOJOURNS IN PEACE” --> A VISITING WORSHIP TO A SIKH GURDWARA
For several years MCIC has been sponsoring interfaith worship
visitations as well as interfaith dialogues to help build understanding,
friendship and tolerance amongst people of diverse faith and ethical
traditions. On Sunday, March 3rd, 2013 over 30 MCIC visitors were
warmly welcomed by the Sikh community of the "Guru Gobind Singh
Foundation," a Gurdwara (Sikh temple) in Rockville, MD.
We started our visitation at Noon with an introduction to the Sikh
Faith, led by Mr. Sartaj Singh Dhami, a gifted and insightful speaker.
Sartaj highlighted a number of the remarkable qualities of the Sikhism
including: its belief in One God, its history and stance against caste-ism in
India, its respect for all religious paths, and the meaning of the various
items of Sikh dress such as the turban, steel arm bracelet and uncut hair.
He ably answered our many queries. We then moved into a time of congregational
worship in the sanctuary. The temple room was very large, beautiful and pure
white in decor. During worship the community was seated on the floor on clean
white sheets; separation of the sexes being common, but not mandatory. In
the temple room the "Siri Guru Granth Sahib," a compilation of the
writings of the 10 great Sikh gurus, resides on a throne-like platform in a
place of prominence; honored and fanned during the congregational
worship. It is seen as embodying an eleventh guru; a living teaching and
a revealed Divine Word and guide for the community.
The Sikh Faith is also noted for its beautiful sacred chanting
from the "Granth" which does much to create a vibrant sacred
atmosphere during worship. The chanting was musically accompanied by melodic
playing on harmoniums (small pump organs) as well as with the spirited rhythms
of tabla drums. {To transcend the language gaps these chants were
transliterated and translated into English on large overhead video monitors.}
The temple worship ended with the distribution of "prasad," a sacred
shared communal food made of a sweetened cereal grain.
We gratefully thank the temple's priest, Guru Darshan Singh, for
the lovely service, for his kind welcoming remarks to our group, and for the
time he generously offered to dialogue with our group following the
worship. We ended our Gurdwara visit with a shared communal meal at the
Gurdwara's "lungar" (common kitchen). In the Sikhism there is a
sacred tradition where anyone who is hungry or in need may come to the Gurdwara
and receive food. The vegetarian Indian food was incredibly delicious and
bountiful. It was served to the assembled Sikh community (& visitors) who
sat on the floor in long parallel lines facing one another along white paper
tablecloths {Several tables were also available for elders and
Westerners.}
We also express our gratitude for all of the "Aunties" and "Mata-jis" (honored Mothers) who cooked our meal, and for all those members of the Sikh community who lovingly served our meals. They are a community of great service and hospitality. We also express our deep gratitude to Mrs. Amrit Kaur Singh for organizing our visit, and to Mr. Sartaj Singh Dhami for his insightful orientation of our group to Sikhism. Every one of the MCIC participants I've spoken with has expressed great enthusiasm for the gathering, and I know that many will carry an deepened and warm-hearted appreciation of the Sikh Faith with them. It is truly wonderful when the Spiritual East meets the Spiritual West.
AN ADDITIONAL NOTE ON THE SIKH FAITH: The Sikh faith is a monotheistic
religion originating in 16th century India at a time of great inter-religious
conflict. Its founding teacher, Guru Nanak Dev, was born in 1469 to a Hindu
family. His most famous saying was, "There is no Hindu, there is no
Muslim, so whose path shall I follow? I shall follow the path of God." The
faith historically continued to progress with ten successive Sikh gurus. The
last "teacher-ship" was passed on to the sacred Sikh text itself, the
"Siri Guru Granth Sahib." One Sikh ideal is the protection of
all spiritual paths. Sikhs are expected to embody the qualities of a
"Sant-Sipāhī"—a saint-soldier. Equality, non-discrimination,
true justice, love for all humanity, and worship of only One God, are some of the
other core beliefs of Sikhism.
Zamin Danty ~
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