July interpath Commentary

Interfaith Winston-Salem Promotes a Thriving Triad
Richard J. Wyderski, MD is a native of Dayton, Ohio and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Dayton International Peace Museum, is a current member of Interfaith Winston-Salem’s Programs Committee.  The opinions in this article are opinions of the author and may or may not represent the views of Interfaith Winston-Salem.

The Truth.

We all seek it every day. We shop for cars, phones, appliances, and groceries and try to wade through all the hype to find out which products are worthy of our dollars. We listen to news items on television, radio and the internet and try to decide if we are being told the whole story. We hear people running for government offices promising us that they will make our lives better, and wonder if it will really be so. There is so much contradictory and confusing information in our world, but we try to make sense of it all to live our lives the best way we can. We intuitively know at a deep level, though, that we can never understand everything. After all, we’re only human.   

The most important truth of all is the One that our faiths help us know and understand. We know The Truth by different names. The cultures from which we come shape the way we think about The Truth and the customs we observe as we worship and pay homage. The people of Interfaith Winston-Salem believe that we all know The Truth in different ways and understand from different perspectives much as people standing far away from a prism may only perceive a beam of white light shining through it as a particular color. Our cultures and upbringing color the way we perceive The Truth. Yet even those of us with faith have disagreements, and because of them we divide ourselves into different religions and denominations as we try to come closer to The Truth.

Many of us were shocked and saddened by the recent display of violence in Orlando directed toward our brothers and sisters who are different than most in their sexual orientation or gender identity, and event that unfortunately is already fading from public awareness. The attack made us realize that much work is yet to be done, and that we cannot forget this tragedy and its implications for our country. We as volunteers of Interfaith Winston-Salem must work to educate the Triad not only about our differences so that we have a better understanding of each other, but also highlight our similarities to help us better support each other and bring us closer as a community. The massacre in Orlando reminds us of what our Muslim friends in Iraq and Syria are suffering at the hands of others who claim to know all there is to know about The Truth, and wish to force their beliefs upon others through terror and slaughter.

Some may wonder why this is important. Some have gone so far as to state that no Muslim should be trusted because of the few who are violent.  Such thinking will not allow Winston-Salem and the Triad cities to be the best and most successful communities they can be. In the years and decades to come, our part of North Carolina will be growing, not only because there will be more people like us but also because people from around the world will seek us out to further their educations, develop their careers, and raise their families. We foresee the City of Arts and Innovation attracting not only the most talented people from North Carolina to join our community, but also the most talented people from around the world.

Three years ago the Winston-Salem City Council unanimously adopted the Charter for Compassion, a resolution that promises us that all of our people will be treated equally and equitably as we would wish to be treated ourselves. This commitment embarked us upon a transformational journey to become one of the premier cities of the world. Our arts community is second to none, the surrounding beauty of the landscape is breathtaking and Wake Forest University offers high quality education that is internationally recognized. These and others are marvelous foundations upon which to build to make such a transformation possible. We in Winston-Salem and the cities of the Triad must live up to our commitment to each be Compassionate Cities. We need to welcome people as they join our community and nurture their talents and their lives.

Quite frankly, the truth is we will never completely know The Truth, at least not within our lifetimes. After all, we’re only human. The truth is we will come closer if we all share our understanding with each other, accept each other’s differences, and realize our own imperfections. Everyone in our Triad and our world will be the better for it.

Featured Program for July: The Carlton Mitchell Interfaith Series

            When the late Dr. Carlton Mitchell was chair of the Department of Religion at Wake Forest University he placed a high value on working with faith communities to enhance interfaith understanding.

            Through the leadership of Nan Griswold, one of Mitchell’s students in the 1960s, Dr. Mitchell’s interests are carried on today through the Carlton Mitchell Interfaith Series, established by Interfaith Winston-Salem in 2013 to honor Dr. Mitchell.  The Series offers activities that challenge the head and touch the heart, including lectures, concerts, discussions and other events that build the kind of community that Dr. Mitchell envisioned.

            The Mitchell Series this fall presents a lecture by Dr. Charles Kimball, Presidential Professor and Director of Religious Studies at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. The lecture will be delivered at 7 p.m. Thursday, September 22 in Brendle Recital Hall on the campus of Wake Forest University and is open to the public.

Current sponsors for the 2016 lecture include Interfaith Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University Department for the Study of Religions, Knollwood Baptist Church, The Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem, and members of the Mitchell family.

Dr. Kimball is a frequent lecturer in universities and church-related settings as well as an expert analyst on the Middle East, Islam, Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations, and the intersection of religion and politics in the U.S. Between 1996 and 2008, Dr. Kimball served as Chair of the Department of Religion and the Divinity School at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem.

            Dr. Kimball’s lecture will be the third program in the Mitchell Series.  The series was inaugurated in April 2014 with community interfaith concerts by the Afro-Semitic Jazz Ensemble. In the fall of 2014, the series featured the Rev. Dr. John Philip Newell, a poet, author, minister and scholar internationally acclaimed for his work in Celtic spirituality, as part of a lecture weekend at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem.

Dr. Mitchell, who died in January 2013, was Professor Emeritus at Wake Forest University, specializing in American church history, religious education and psychology of religion. He taught in (and also chaired) the Department of Religion at Wake Forest for 30 years (1961-91). He received degrees from Campbell University, Wake Forest University, Yale University, Union Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from New York University. During his career, he served as associate, interim and pastor of more than 40 churches in North Carolina, Missouri and New Jersey, retiring as pastor of Westview Baptist Church in 2008.

Dr. Mitchell also served an additional 200 churches in capacities ranging from consultant, lecturer, supply minister, study course teacher, seminar leader, and spiritual development director. A retired commander in the Navy Chaplain Corps, he served as Chaplain for the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets and for the Marines in Korea. 

Assisting Refugees Coming to Winston Salem

The refugees are coming, and our Work (Opportunity, Responsibility, Privilege) is beginning !!!  everal congregations are preparing to meet the newcomers by gathering items for Cleaning Kits, Housekeeping Kits.and or Toiletries Kit, along with Kitchen Items. Additionally, the following items are being collected:

1) Gift Cards (for markets, Target, Walmart, etc.) would be greatly appreciated to help tide families over until work and transportation are arranged.  If you would prefer writing a check to buying a card, or shopping around for items, Checks can be payable to: World Relief, Winston-Salem Refugees.  All donations are tax deductible.

2)  Blankets, Sheets, Pillows and Cases and Towels are always needed. More beds are not needed at the moment.

3)  Basic tools (A hammer, screwdrivers, etc) and small sewing kits are very helpful.

4)  Gently-used Vacuums, Blenders and the like are always appreciated. Also, Bikes and Box Fans.

5) No Large Items will be accepted at this time - Furniture, Washer/Dryers are not currently needed but may be in the future.

Storage space is limited but that may change in the upcoming weeks. The community is preparing a list of large items and the plan is for World Relief to pick items up as more refugees arrive. Please contact Interfaith Winston Salem for more information on how to get involved at interfaithws@gmail.com using the subject line refugees

More than Manna: Tree of Life Planting

Interested in planting a seed for developing a Bioregional economy? More Than Manna (a local company located in East Winston) would like to invite you and your community to plant a Tree of Life(Moringa tree) at local schools, religious grounds, or simply in your yard. We are bringing together people across the interfaith community to work with our younger generations to build a regenerative vision for past, present and future generations. There are two ways you can participate:

  1. Individual Planting: You can pick up your tree between now and July 22nd Please stop by Konsikrated Moringa Farm Monday through Friday between 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm. Calling for an appointment is preferred: (336) 473-6531.
  2. Community Planting Workshop: Please come out on July 19th and join community members from across the region and learn how to plant a Tree of Life (Moringa Tree). The planting workshop will be from 6:00 till 7:00. After the workshop, the kids will have a chance to plant trees at the farm. Event will end promptly at 9:00

What is Ramadan?

What is Ramadan?

Ramadan is a month-long observance that commemorates the first revelation of the Qur’an to Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him, according to Islamic belief. It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and will last between 29-30 days based on the visual sightings of the crescent moon. We wait for this month the whole year because it is the month of blessing and mercy.

 

Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him, said that the month will begin with a period of mercy, followed by a period of forgiveness and then finally Allah (God) will forgive all of your sins.

 

What happens during Ramadan?

During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn (first light) until sunset. They fast from food, drink, smoking, and other physical needs. Before dawn we will share a small meal, Suhoor, which will give you strength to get you through the day. After that we pray the Fajr (Dawn) prayer, which is the first of 5 times of prayer during the day. We will read some of the Qur’an and begin our day with Allah’s blessings. During the day we act as normal, going to work or school, etc. We make time to pray Dhuhr around 1pm and at around 5 o’clock.

 

At sunset we come together to break our fast by eating dates and drinking water, then we pray the Maghrib prayer, and then we eat a full meal. After eating, we prepare ourselves to go to the Mosque and pray the Isha’a prayer, the final prayer time of the day. During Ramadan we have a special prayer called Taraweeh that we will end our day with. From this month-long commitment Allah will forgive our sins, purify our hearts, and strengthen our spirits.  

 

Why do Muslims Fast?

Muslims fast to please Allah because Allah has ordered us to do so. It is considered to be one of the five pillars of Islam. Fasting helps us to clear our minds and open our hearts. By experiencing this struggle within ourselves we are able to empathize with the struggles of the poor and hungry and less fortunate. It helps us to truly appreciate the blessings we have in our lives. We are encouraged to go forward and help others, and to give more of what we have (whether time or money). We try our best during this month to act in good and righteous ways and this will allow our spirit to experience closeness with Allah.

 

All Muslims make this commitment together for the same period of time which unites us all for a common goal and purpose: to please Allah and to be better Muslims who can help others, feel for others, and share what they have with others. By making the choice to give up our physical needs for one month our spirit grows stronger and is purified and we are better able to face life’s challenges and temptations with integrity for the rest of the year.

 

Why is Ramadan special?

Ramadan is referred to as the month of the Qur’an, which is the word of Allah as revealed by the Angel Gabriel to Prophet Muhammed. In this month, the Qur’an began to be revealed to Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him. We commemorate the night of the first revelation, called the Night of Power (Laylat Al Qadr). If you spend this night worshiping, praying, reading Qur’an, and making supplication to Allah, he will accept your good deeds and reward you greatly. You will receive a better reward for worshiping with sincerity on this night than if you spend 1,000 other months in prayer and worship. There will be peace and blessings on this night from Maghrib prayer time until the Fajr prayer.

 

 

What is Ramadan?

Ramadan is a month-long observance that commemorates the first revelation of the Qur’an to Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him, according to Islamic belief. It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and will last between 29-30 days based on the visual sightings of the crescent moon. We wait for this month the whole year because it is the month of blessing and mercy.

 

Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him, said that the month will begin with a period of mercy, followed by a period of forgiveness and then finally Allah (God) will forgive all of your sins.

 

What happens during Ramadan?

During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn (first light) until sunset. They fast from food, drink, smoking, and other physical needs. Before dawn we will share a small meal, Suhoor, which will give you strength to get you through the day. After that we pray the Fajr (Dawn) prayer, which is the first of 5 times of prayer during the day. We will read some of the Qur’an and begin our day with Allah’s blessings. During the day we act as normal, going to work or school, etc. We make time to pray Dhuhr around 1pm and at around 5 o’clock.

 

At sunset we come together to break our fast by eating dates and drinking water, then we pray the Maghrib prayer, and then we eat a full meal. After eating, we prepare ourselves to go to the Mosque and pray the Isha’a prayer, the final prayer time of the day. During Ramadan we have a special prayer called Taraweeh that we will end our day with. From this month-long commitment Allah will forgive our sins, purify our hearts, and strengthen our spirits.  

 

Why do Muslims Fast?

Muslims fast to please Allah because Allah has ordered us to do so. It is considered to be one of the five pillars of Islam. Fasting helps us to clear our minds and open our hearts. By experiencing this struggle within ourselves we are able to empathize with the struggles of the poor and hungry and less fortunate. It helps us to truly appreciate the blessings we have in our lives. We are encouraged to go forward and help others, and to give more of what we have (whether time or money). We try our best during this month to act in good and righteous ways and this will allow our spirit to experience closeness with Allah.

 

All Muslims make this commitment together for the same period of time which unites us all for a common goal and purpose: to please Allah and to be better Muslims who can help others, feel for others, and share what they have with others. By making the choice to give up our physical needs for one month our spirit grows stronger and is purified and we are better able to face life’s challenges and temptations with integrity for the rest of the year.

 

Why is Ramadan special?

Ramadan is referred to as the month of the Qur’an, which is the word of Allah as revealed by the Angel Gabriel to Prophet Muhammed. In this month, the Qur’an began to be revealed to Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him. We commemorate the night of the first revelation, called the Night of Power (Laylat Al Qadr). If you spend this night worshiping, praying, reading Qur’an, and making supplication to Allah, he will accept your good deeds and reward you greatly. You will receive a better reward for worshiping with sincerity on this night than if you spend 1,000 other months in prayer and worship. There will be peace and blessings on this night from Maghrib prayer time until the Fajr prayer.

 

 

Commentary: On Faith

(The opinions in this article are opinions of the writer and may -- or may not -- represent the views of Interfaith Winston-Salem. It is written by Alan Williams, IFWS board member and professor of history at Wake Forest University.)                                                        _______________________
 
On Faith
I do not see myself as a person of faith, I don’t belong to any faith community, and even the word faith itself makes me uncomfortable.  Yet I am a member of an organization in whose name this word figures prominently, Interfaith Winston Salem.  What am I doing collaborating in a project founded on ways of approaching the world I do not share?  One answer is that I admire the people I’ve met in this organization; but still, is there anything about this thing called faith I can honestly say I share with my religious friends?  If so, perhaps it can be found in the answers three prominent variants of religion give to one or more of the following questions about faith:  What is it?  Does it enhance our lives?  Can it be acquired, and, if so, how? (read more...)
 
Catholics, the Protestant Reformers (Luther, Zwingli, Calvin), and Muslims concur, I think, in conceiving of faith as as a human capacity--the capacity to respond in trust, with appropriate practice, belief and emotion, to an omnipotent deity and “his” revelation(s) about the way things are and how one is to live.  They also see the practical and cognitive dimensions of this response as “surrender” or “submission” and describe its emotional content as some mix of fear, love, and gratitude.  But on the matter of how and whether we can acquire this capacity, they disagree.  While Muslims and Catholics see us as capable of playing some part in the attainment of faith, the Protestant Reformers do not.  Faith is beyond the reach of human volition or effort, they argue.  It is wholly the work of a deity, not something we can get, but a gift we receive, bestowed on a few and withheld from most for reasons inscrutable and unimpeachable.   As for whether faith is worth having, all three of these communities believe it to be not only valuable but essential.  Muslims do not see human beings as afflicted with some original sin from which they must be redeemed by a savior, but, like Christians, they do see faith as necessary if we are to obtain essential truths and gain the ultimate good of an eternal life passed in a variously construed hereafter, rather than in some unending condition of torment.  Clearly, none of these communities see any reason to doubt that faith enhances our lives.
 
But the problem I started with is that I do.  The various forms religious faith takes have too often served among us as occasion and rationale for reciprocal exclusion, fear, hatred and mistreatment.   Religious faith too often brings with it a confident and determined certainty about how things are and how to conduct our lives, a certainty that sometimes leads its possessors to close their own minds and hearts, while, proud of their humility, they intrude their “gospel” officiously into other peoples’ lives.  And finally, if faith is, in the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the capacity to respond to a deity and his revelation so as to become “a man [who] submits his will and intellect to God,” ready to believe what Kierkegaard acknowledges is “absurd” and then do, upon this deity’s command, what Abraham, whom the same Catechism identifies as the Sacred Scripture’s “model of obedience” (Articles 142-44), was prepared to do, I can find nothing in faith so understood to value. 
 
And yet, despite all I’ve just said, there is some piece of this thing we call faith I do honor and hope I share with my companions on the Interfaith Council.  Faith, I’ve said, seems commonly understood to be a capacity for responding appropriately to another being.  For my religious friends, this other is a deity, a being as wholly different from themselves as it is possible to be; but the people of faith I have looked at here are, nonetheless, called upon to hope they find in themselves the capacity not only to trust this ultimately unfathomable other, but also to believe that from their welcome of “Him” into their lives will come essential new truths and a better hereafter.  Having found or acquired such trust in relation to an ultimate other, some of these people then find it possible to trust and welcome the lesser forms of otherness we all bring to one another and to do this with evident good will and grace.  It is faith, in this sense, faith as the capacity to trust my fellow creatures that I aspire to share with my religious companions.  For me this capacity, this trust, comes neither in whole nor in part as supernatural grace, but as the gift of other living things and of my own persistent effort in the face of all hesitation.  Through this faith I too hope that I may always welcome others and otherness into my life with trust and gratitude, believing they and it will show me truth and joy I would never otherwise have found.

Alan Williams

Journey's Interfaith Breakfast

The first Sunday of each month Interfaith Winston Salem presents Journey's, an opportunity to explore the path we all take in encountering or discovering our faith. This past Sunday Charlene Hunt shared with us her Journey about embracing her Lumbee heritage and faith and the geographical and cultural challenges of living as a Lumbee indian in North Carolina. If you were not able to attend you can watch Charlene's story here .... https://youtu.be/peKBoO9yUsU

Book Club

Summer Vacation for the Book Club

Interfaith Winston-Salem’s book club will take a summer vacation. The book club will not meet on July 12th but will return full force in September.

In acknowledgement of the fifteenth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the book club will take part in what is shaping up as a community-wide reflection on religion, violence and peace.

The book club has chosen When Religion Turns Evil by Dr. Charles Kimball, chair of the Department of Religion at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Kimball previously held the same position at Wake Forest University. The public is invited to join the club’s discussion on Tuesday, September 13 at Highland Presbyterian Church.

The discussion will be a precursor to Dr. Kimball’s Carlton Mitchell presentation on Thursday, September 2, which will take place at Brendle Recital Hall on the Wake Forest University campus.  Dr. Kimball is an internationally recognized scholar on the Abrahamic faiths with a special focus on Islam.

In addition to these two events, other local organizations are in the early planning stages to offer additional study and discussion opportunities. Details will be provided later. For additional information contact interfaithws@gmail.com.

Conversations

“Conversations” Features Variety of Traditions

 

Conversations is a discussion based program highlighting topics with the intent to distill those topics among a diverse range of faith traditions. This gathering is held monthly on the third Tuesday of each month. The gathering occurs in the Social Hall of Highland Presbyterian Church on Cloverdale Ave.

 

They typical format for discussion includes a guest presentation for a duration of roughly 25 minutes followed by small-group conversations related to the presentation and concluding with a final period of group discussion.  The program ends at 8:30.

 

To highlight the variety within the program offered see the examples below of recent presentations:

·         “A Profile of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons)” with Bishop Nathaniel Ivers

·         “The Feminine Principle of Shakti in Hinduism” with Sita Somara

·         “The Power of Prayer” with Bob Coley

·         “The Hajj to Mecca” with Shadi Qasem

·         “The Hare Krishna Tradition” with Sarva-drik Das

 

Conversations’ diverse planning team includes Barry Geller, Wilda Spalding, Issa Badarin, Michelle Voss Roberts, Bob Coley. Truman Dunn oversees and organizes the planning commitee.

 

“Conversations” grew out of “Journeys,” another monthly program sponsored by Interfaith Winston-Salem.  While “Journeys” is built around an early Sunday morning meal, “Conversations” is held in the evening without food.

 

The meetings are open to the public at no charge.  Registration is not required to participate.  Ample parking is available in the parking lot adjacent to Highland Presbyterian’s Social Hall.  The entrance to the social hall is located on the side of the building facing the parking lot.

 

 

 

 

April’s “Conversations” Features “The Power of Prayer”

 Our "Conversations" gathering has moved to Highland Presbyterian Church at 2380 Cloverdale Ave. Also a reminder that we moved to the third Tuesday of each month.  Our guest this month is Bob Coley, a long-time supporter of interfaith work. Of Holy Family Catholic Church in Clemmons, he will present on the power of prayer and meaning therein.  The meeting will be held at 7-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 19th, in the Activity Building across the street from the sanctuary.