Interfaith services encourage understanding among religions

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Two Christian churches included Jewish and Muslim readings in their services Sunday to demonstrate respect for other faiths and to counter recent religious conflicts.

The Rev. Denise Yarbrough, pastor of Episcopal Church of the Ascension, 1360 Lake Ave., was joined by Nathan Jaschik, a member of Temple Beth El, who read from the Micah 6:1-8, in the Old Testament, and Abdurrauf Bawany, the Muslim chaplain at Rochester Institute of Technology, who read from the Quran.

At Lake Avenue Baptist, 75 Ambrose St., the Rev. Gordon V. Webster, the pastor, was joined by Paul Duberstein, a member of Temple Beth El, and Farzana Islam, a member of the Islamic Center of Rochester who is on the staff of the Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue at Nazareth College.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • * Religion News & Commentary • Inter-Faith Relations

4 Comments
Posted January 30, 2011 at 4:28 pm [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. deaconjohn25 wrote:

Just two thoughts. I don’t know about Episcopal Sunday services, but the Catholic Sunday Mass almost always includes at least one Old Testament (Jewish) reading.  When I saw the story I at first thought they were going to use uniquely Jewish readings like from some of the Hasid Spiritual masters or from the Kabbala, but they used an OT reading.
  And second, I don’t think Christians need to hear a call to them to leave Moslems alone. For nothing at all has happened to Moslems in the Christian world comparable to what has happened regularly in Egypt to the Coptic Christians or regularly in Iraq to the Chaldean Christians—done in the name of Allah.

January 30, 7:22 pm | [comment link]
2. Lutheran-MS wrote:

Thank goodness this type of feel good service doesn’t happen in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Why on earth would they want Christian to worship with Muslim, Jews or whatever. Neither recognize Christ as the Savior. In Muslim countries try to preach the Gospel or open a church.

January 30, 9:08 pm | [comment link]
3. padreegan wrote:

Can someone please show me an example of a Mosque reading from the New Testament??????

January 31, 9:29 am | [comment link]
4. Henry Greville wrote:

Since it makes no sense to speak of “interfaith” faith, why does it make sense to speak of or attempt “interfaith” worship? Shared human service work and perhaps even advocacy for such causes in the public sector I completely understand - but not common worship!

January 31, 9:48 am | [comment link]
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