Interfaith understanding events to cover pressing topic of domestic violence in Oklahoma

Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman
·3 min read

A local church and an interfaith organization are starting the year off with events that will focus on some of the complex issues of the day ― domestic violence and the quest for understanding among the three major faiths of the Holy Land: Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

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The Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma will host an Amazing Faith & Community Engagement Conversation Dinner on Jan. 25 at the Edmond Baha'i Center, 21 E Campbell Street in Edmond. Saurabh R. Singh, Interfaith Alliance president, said attendees will learn about the Baha'i Faith, then hear from guest speakers who will talk about the issue of domestic violence. Check-in will be at 5:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 6 p.m. Suggested donation is $15.

Trinity Lutheran Church, 5701 S May, will host three spiritual leaders for a speaker series entitled "May Peace Prevail on All God's Holy Mountains: Roots of Conflict and Resolution." The series will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, with the Rev. Constantine Nasr, former longtime senior pastor of St. Elijah's Antiochian Orthodox Church, as guest speaker.

Imad Enchassi, senior imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, will be the guest speaker on Jan. 21, while Rabbi Vered Harris, spiritual leader of Temple B'nai Israel, will speak on Jan. 28. Both Enchassi and Harris will speak on a Sunday, with presentations to take place during the church's 9 a.m. education hour and during the 10:30 a.m. worship service.

Amazing Faith discussions

Singh said the Interfaith Alliance has found previous success with the merging of two different programs and the Jan. 25 dinner is part of this fusion. In previous years, the organization held Amazing Faith dinners in which people from different faiths gathered to learn more about one particular faith and took part in interfaith discussions. Singh said another program brought people from the community together to discuss an issue deemed important to the Interfaith Alliance.

Singh said previous gatherings merged the Amazing Faith dinner concept with the community engagement concept. He said the Interfaith Alliance has chosen to focus on the topic of domestic violence for previous discussions and it will be highlighted again this year because of its prevalence in Oklahoma.

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Singh, who is a member of the Sikh Gudwara of Oklahoma, said previous events included representatives of the YWCA and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services who shared their perspectives about domestic violence. The idea is to raise awareness about issue of domestic violence among faith community members.

"We will focus on what we can do as people of faith," Singh said. "What we found in the past is that people walk away with personal solutions."

He said a tour of the Edmond Baha'i Center will take place after the program ends, for those attendees who wish to participate.

Rabbi Vered L. Harris became the spiritual leader of Temple B’nai Israel in Oklahoma City in 2012. She is the fifth rabbi to serve the congregation since its founding in 1903. Rabbi Harris received her Master of Arts degree in Hebrew Letters and her rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), and her Master of Arts degree in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC-JIR. Rabbi Harris’ community work in Oklahoma City includes interfaith dialogue, guest lecturing, and multi-faith prayer services.

Focus on the Holy Land

The Rev. Roger Bruns, Trinity Lutheran's senior minister, said his church thought it would be timely to host speakers from the three Abrahamic faiths, particularly in light of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

"I think it's going to be a wonderful opportunity for people to hear from faith leaders rather than politicians," he said.

"We're all monotheistic in that we believe in one God. We're hoping we can come away with understanding and if nothing else, respect."

Imad Enchassi
Imad Enchassi

Bruns said the public is invited to attend the presentations. He said the church has hired security for each of the talks.

People who wish to attend the Amazing Faith & Community Engagement Conversation Dinner are encouraged to register for the event by Jan. 18. To register, go to https://www.tiaok.org/. For more about the speaker series "May Peace Prevail on All God's Holy Mountains: Roots of Conflict and Resolution" at Trinity Lutheran Church, go to https://trinitylutheranokc.com/.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Interfaith understanding, domestic abuse top Amazing Faith event topics