Singing, preaching and a healthy discussion over differences in religions encompassed the events that took place during an event dubbed “Unlikely”at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood.
Several hundred people gathered in the church’s sanctuary Wednesday night to listen to pastors, rabbis and imams discuss how to live as a good neighbor while holding on to their deeply held religious beliefs.
The event was organized by the Texas-based Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, whose mission is to build mutual trust and respect among faith leaders through civic dialogue in order to create stronger communities.
Why it matters: Church of the Resurrection Senior Pastor Adam Hamilton said the forum’s message of unity is important in Johnson County, where many residents do not know neighbors of other faiths.
He said this lack of knowledge can lead to a natural fear of people who are different from themselves, so he hoped the forum would encourage local residents to go out and get to know others with different backgrounds.
“I think there’s a lot of sense in our community of we want to come together and care about people, we just don’t know how to start the conversation sometimes,” he said.
The details: The night was full of guest speakers including the founders of the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, Pastor Bob Roberts, Imam Mohammad Magid and Rabbi David Saperstein.
Additionally, local Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff of The Temple-Congregation B’nai Jehudah and Hamilton spoke of at the event, as well.
Each speaker took turns sharing a portion of their faith, whether it be with a song, a passage or something else, while calling for peace and unity among the different religions.
“We use the term multi-faith a lot because we don’t want anybody to feel like we are asking them to give up what they believe in,” Roberts said. “We just want people to see others more in terms of human beings.”
After almost two hours of testimony from a variety of religious leaders, the night ended with a promise from the crowd full to go out and connect with those who are from different religious backgrounds.
Looking to the future: As part of the forum, the religious leaders who gathered together Wednesday night offered up some advice on how Johnson County can build bridges across the different faiths.
Among the ideas presented were:
- sharing a meal with someone of a different religion,
- hosting more socializing events as a multi-faith community,
- partnering in community project together for civic engagement
- and standing up for each other during a crisis.
Hamilton said, as a way to show unity, COR has made a covenant with Jewish organizations across the metro that says when somebody is attacked in synagogue, the Methodist church is standing in support with the jewish community.
Additionally, he said, the church is always looking for more ways to incorporate these types of community-diversifying practices in its future gatherings.
Key quote: “The goal isn’t to get everybody to agree on theology, because we’re not all going to agree,” Roberts said. “Instead, what we’re trying to say is we don’t have to see everything the same in order to love each other.”
Our comment section is reserved for subscribers. Try a subscription today for just $1
Monthly Subscription
$1 for your first month, then just $8.50 per month thereafter. Cancel anytime.
Try for $1Annual Subscription
$1 for your first month, then just $85 per year thereafter. Cancel anytime.
Try for $1