Putting political and religious differences aside, local Jews, Muslims and Christians will unite next weekend and pray together as brothers and sisters.
The event, “An Afternoon of Interfaith Prayer and Reflection for the Children of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar,” will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 29 at the Holy Family Motherhouse, 159 Washington Blvd., in the Mission San Jose area of Fremont.
Sponsored by 13 religious organizations, including the Board of Rabbis of Northern California, the afternoon is intended to point out the similarities among Jews, Muslims and Christians: the belief in one God and the hope for social justice.
It is also intended to be a nonjudgmental way to expose participants to other faiths, thereby broadening their learning, understanding and compassion, and to further the hope of living together peacefully.
“There are a lot of stereotypes out there about these three religious groups,” said Gustav Nystrom, a member of the Bay Area chapter of Pax Christi and a main organizer of the event. “In the news, all that we mainly hear and see is the violence and the accusations.”
The afternoon will kick off with a welcome and introduction by the Pax Christi group. Then, under the guidance of Rabbi Steve Kaplan, Muslim leader Mohammad Rajaballi and Christian leader Siana Wear participants will partake in three hours of prayer and reflection, an hour from each religious perspective.
The prayers will take place inside the Holy Family Motherhouse facility, but the reflection time may be spent wandering the retreat grounds individually.
Nystrom expects that each leader will provide insight about how to “reduce animosity and bad feelings between people of different religions” and hopes each will give thoughts and suggestions for “getting along, in a way consistent with their faith.”
Kaplan, the rabbi at Reform Temple Beth Torah in Fremont, for instance, said he planned to read ethical passages from the Torah, such as Leviticus 19, which includes the passage to “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
He will also read from Pirke Avot (Ethics of the Fathers).
“Peace is very, very important to the Jewish people; I emphasize the very,” he said. “Achieving peace is believed to be a fulfilling of the ultimate covenant of God.”
The Bay Area chapter of Pax Christi, an international Catholic peace movement, has hosted afternoons of prayer and reflection every year for the past 12. This will be the first time, however, that it will be interfaith.
It all started in September, after the outbreak of Middle East violence, said Nystrom. Pax Christi took part in a Christian-Muslim dialogue, which brought out many similarities between the two religions.
From there the group had the idea to extend this year’s afternoon of prayer and reflection to Muslims as well as to Jews.
“The bottom line is that all three groups trace their roots back to Abraham,” he said.
While the idea of the afternoon is to promote peace and nonviolence, Nystrom stressed that it would in no way focus on ongoing Middle East clashes or any other political issues and opinions.
“This is for prayer and reflection only — not for pointing fingers,” he said.
“Those wanting to raise a stink and talk about who’s killing who are not wanted here.”
The assurance of a nonpolitical afternoon is what intrigued Kaplan about getting involved. Although the Jews, Muslims and Christians “have historically been known to be at each other’s throats,” the afternoon of interfaith prayer, he said, is a positive way to “get past faceless hatred.”
A religious leader for many decades, even Kaplan admitted that much of the other groups’ teachings, particularly those of the Muslims, would be very new to him.
“I’m hoping I will feel spiritually connected to both, and I will see the value in their teachings and respect their faith,” he said.
“We are all related — we’re just a family that doesn’t always get along.”