| Shenandoah
Presbytery |
the
NEWs |
October 2004
|
Interfaith Team Visits Shenandoah Presbytery
The three-member Interfaith Listening Team from Ethiopia arrived on Monday afternoon, September 27, 2004, at Dulles Airport, where they were met by representatives from the Winchester First Church. The team included the original two guests who were expected - Qes Iteffa Gobena, and Haji Yesuf Ali Hassin along with Sheik Elias Redman, the Vice President of the Islamic Supreme Council in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Their itinerary on Tuesday included
a visit to Shenandoah University for a Reception and Dialogue at 4:00pm.
Unfortunately, the heavy rain from hurricane Jeanne forced this event
to be moved to the Winchester First Church. The scheduled Evening Dialogue
was held on Tuesday evening at the church. The guests spoke with an
interested crowd from the community who braved the adverse weather to learn
about Christian-Muslim relations.On Wednesday, September 30, the Interfaith Team traveled to Harrisonburg. After checking into their accommodations, they visited the LOGOS program at Massanutten Church and were welcomed at the meal where they spoke briefly to the 50+ children and adults prior to dinner. After dinner, the Team met for 30 minutes with 12 older youth for a brief Dialogue session. The day concluded with an evening Dialogue event at the Harrisonburg First Presbyterian Church where around 75 participated in a conversation about Christian-Muslim relations.
On Thursday, they gathered at Trinity Presbyterian Church with the Interfaith Association of Harrisonburg and Rockingham for lunch. Members from the community representing a variety of denominations including Brethren, Catholic, Methodist, Quaker and Presbyterian listened as Haji Yesuf outlined three areas in which the Christian and Muslim communities in Ethiopia seek to live together in peace:
- Religion - Understanding that both traditions claim Abraham as their father, and with the help of books such as the Bible and Koran, they share a common understanding of the meaning of peace and justice for all people.
- Cultural - Both traditions share common holidays and social gatherings, and in celebrating Holy Days, they invite one another to be a part of these celebrations.
- Family - Muslims and Christians live together in the same communities and their children attend schools together. Sometimes, they marry across traditions and even though there are sometimes tensions, they work to build a relationship of trust and mutual respect for each other.
Thursday evening the Interfaith Team lead an Evening Dialogue at James Madison University as part of the university's week-long International Festival. The evening began with a dinner together with several Muslim faculty members. Over eighty students and faculty attended this event set in JMU's ISAT center. After brief presentations were made detailing the history of Christian Muslim relations in Ethiopia, the students asked a wide variety of questions related to comparisons between the two traditions.
On Friday after attending Friday prayers at the Harrisonburg Mosque, the team traveled to New Monmouth church near Lexington. A group of 25 listened intently as Haji Jesuff, Sheikh Elias and Qes Iteffa told their stories again. In attendance was Yonas Yigezu from Union-PSCE in Richmond. During the evening's time together, the conversation was most cordial and helpful in opening the door to better understanding between Christians and Muslims.
On Saturday, the Interfaith Team flew on to Florida for the last set of Dialogue prior to returning to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Presbytery Interfaith Planning Team has resolved to continue finding ways of building understanding between Christians and other traditions with whom we live each day.
