As snow fell and frigid winds blew, over 200 people gathered in gorgeous St. Paul\u2019s Episcopal Cathedral on East Fayette Street to celebrate the rich diversity of faith traditions in Central New York. The theme of the Feb. 8, 2015 assembly was \u201cCommonalities in Our Diversity.\u201d This was Syracuse’s fifth annual World Interfaith Harmony Assembly, organized by Women Transcending Boundaries and InterFaith Works of Central New York. Eleven faith groups participated in the program, most collaborating with a different faith in their presentation.<\/p>\n
The program began with Dr. Joan Hillsman playing piano and leading us all in her original \u201cHarmony Song.\u201d Beth Broadway, President\/CEO of InterFaith Works, and Betty Lamb, Interim President of Women Transcending Boundaries, each welcomed us warmly.<\/p>\n
Dr. Mehtab Singh Bajwa gave of the Sikh faith gave the blessing. Masters of ceremony were President Marc Clay of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose church hosted the event last year, and The Reverend Georgina Hegney of St. Paul\u2019s Cathedral.<\/p>\n
St. Paul\u2019s Episcopal Cathedral<\/strong> and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community<\/strong> presented together. David Morgan and a group from St. Paul\u2019s and Safeta Cerimovic (Local President of the Women\u2019s Auxiliary) and women from Ahmadiyya Muslim Community stood at opposite sides of the altar under a symbol representing his\/her faith. They spoke of similarities among them:<\/p>\n Next, the Islamic Society of Central New York<\/strong> and Temple Concord<\/strong> presented. Magda Bayoumi of the Islamic Society said that both groups pray to the same God and share some similar prayers, the golden rule, fasting, justice, and peace. A member of the Islamic Society read a poem she had written \u201cPoem for a Woman Growing Up,\u201d and a cantor from Temple Concord sang.<\/p>\n Pastor Richard Yost from Immanuel Lutheran Church<\/strong> and Bishop Matt Perry from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints<\/strong> in Liverpool introduced their portion of the program by talking about the close relationship between their churches. They have joined for dinners and programs like \u201cGod\u2019s Work in Our Hands\u201d collecting blankets for Vera House, school kits, and a project knitting scarves and hats. A large group of members of both congregations sang, \u201cHave I Done Anything Good in the World Today?\u201d<\/p>\n The Oy Cappella singers of from Syracuse University\u2019s Hillel Center for Jewish Life<\/strong> brightened up a winter afternoon with two songs: \u201cComfort\u201d and \u201cOne Day\u201d (a day when war is no more). While this is a Jewish group, not all members are Jewish. \u201cWhatever our faith,\u201d a spokesman said, \u201cwe come together and sing.\u201d<\/p>\n A representative from the Sikh Foundation<\/strong> of Syracuse spoke about the commonalities Sikhism shares with other faiths. Sikhs believe in one God (our human creator) with Whom they communicate directly, gender equality, freedom of speech, righteousness, and service to others. Sikhs wear a clerical beard in a manner similar to that of Muslims and Jews; the turban is worn as a religious symbol. He performed a song whose words meant \u201cGod knows no boundaries. He is among us.\u201d<\/p>\n Next the Sudanese Community at St. Paul\u2019s Cathedral<\/strong> presented, Dr. Hegney standing with the group. They spoke of their worship and journey to be here in America and sang a lovely hymn.<\/p>\n The Zen Center<\/strong> of Syracuse and Unity of Syracuse<\/strong>, neighbors on East Seneca Turnpike, presented together. Rev. Edith Washington of Unity discussed their similarities: Buddha means \u201cthe awakening.\u201d Members of Unity have awakened to their true oneness with others and seek to help others along the way with compassion through a \u201ckaleidoscope of individualized expressions of ourselves.\u201d Shinge Roshi Roko Sherry Chayat of the Zen Center introduced a traditional Buddhist tale that was acted out by members of both groups. Next a multi-generational choir from Unity brought the house down with two songs: \u201cStart a Fire in My Soul\u201d and a Michael Jackson medley including \u201cWe Are the World,\u201d which had us on our feet and joining in.<\/p>\n Daryl Files of InterFaith Works<\/strong> invited us all to become involved in \u201cThe Compassion Games.\u201d This program is designed to \u201cmake compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world.\u201d The goal is for Syracuse to become a city of compassion.<\/p>\n After a closing blessing by Rev. Penny Hart, Joan Hillsman led us in a final song \u201cLove, Joy and Peace.\u201d A reception followed in the lovely Hansen Dining Room, hosted by women of St. Paul\u2019s. Finger foods were beautifully arranged and served on china, as we all mingled in a warmth that belied the blowing snow outside the windows.<\/p>\n For a report and photos from the Syracuse Post-Standard, click here<\/a>. Eleven faith groups participated in the program at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, most collaborating with a different faith in their presentation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6430,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[21,15,24,16,17,25,38],"class_list":["post-8789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-programs","tag-buddhism","tag-christianity","tag-interfaith-assemblies","tag-islam","tag-judaism","tag-sikhism","tag-visiting-faith-communities",""],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8789"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9044,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8789\/revisions\/9044"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\nFor a report by Susan Wright of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, one of the event organizers, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"