Season for Nonviolence: Interfaith Event
What can our diverse faith traditions teach us about Peace and Compassion?
Please join leaders and practitioners of several of our valley's various spiritual paths for a dialogue centered on faith-based principles and practices of nonviolence, this coming Sunday March 11th from 3-5pm at the Ojai Women's Center, 441 East Ojai Avenue. We will also discuss why/whether different faiths should be communicating with each other at all, and to what end?
Gandhi said "In nature there is fundamental unity running through all the diversity we see about us. Religions are given to mankind so as to accelerate the process of realisation of fundamental unity."
This event is FREE. Bring friends, bring children, bring fellow congregants, bring your open heart.
For discussion here: whether you'll be attending or not, what have you to say on these topics? how does your faith inform your commitment to peace? what goal does or should interfaith dialogue have?
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Comments (3)
From evangelical Christians to Mormons to Buddhism and Judaism, the Ojai valley is filled with spirit-filled people longing for peace. What most surprised me today was the open dialogue we shared talking about where peace intersects our various faith traditions and what we are doing today for peace. We have much to learn from each other and to support each other. We talked about eating chocolate and slavery. We talked about Martin Luther King and Gandhi.
What did I walk away with? The speech by Martin Luther King called "Beyond Vietnam" which is still appropriate today. The movement to end slavery. And finally, re-emergence of the sanctuary movement.
I hope others who were there will chime in and that more of you can come to our next gathering.
Comment #1 Posted by: Kenley Neufeld | March 11, 2007 08:12 PM
Although my brother may not have been satisfied by what occurred here. It was another great step forward in my own life, to sit, share, and learn with people who hold different world views, but all desire restoration in a world that
doesn't look like it's supposed to.
To continue Kenley's reference, and Ched's admonition, here is an excerpt from King's speach which most greatly impacts me:
"To me the relationship of this ministry to the making of peace is so obvious that I sometimes wonder at those who ask me why I am speaking against the war. Could it be that they do not know that the good news was meant for all men --for Communist and capitalist, for their children and ours, for revolutionary and conservative? Have they forgotten that my ministry is in obedience to the one who loved his enemies so fully that he died for them? What then can I say to the "Vietcong" or to Castro or to Mao as a faithful minister of this one? Can I threaten them with death or must I not share with them my life?"
Comment #2 Posted by: Ryan Smith | March 12, 2007 10:04 PM
my heartfelt thanks to those who participated...i think my favorite aspect was the diversity that we experienced!
Darren: we certainly need your energy, your questions, your action. when interfaith dialogue occurs, my biggest concern is "to what end?". i'm action-oriented, so i'd like to see that translation take place.
but i also believe that "the means are the ends in the making", so this first step - sitting together, sharing, learning about one another - is an end in the making. what action(s) can we take now together as a result of our having met and embraced one another?
Comment #3 Posted by: evan austin | March 13, 2007 07:06 AM