For a number of years now Jews, Christians and Muslims, living in South Jersey, have joined together to learn and celebrate religious perspectives that both unite and distinguish our respective faiths. This year the Jewish Christian Muslim Dialogue of Southern New Jersey will be gathering on Sunday, April 19 at 2 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 207 W. Main Street, Moorestown, for our annual series “Breaking Bread Together” to discuss “Civility in Uncivil Times: Lessons from Judaism, Christianity and Islam.” Seating is limited so pre-registration is recommended by emailing your name, phone number and number of attendees to breakingbreadjcm@gmail.com Parking is available at the Moorestown Town Hall at 111 W. Second Street at the corner of Church Street. Admission is free and all are welcomed to attend.
Kathy Kaplan, our publicity chair, shared with us a wonderful description of this year’s theme. Her statement is as follows: “In the last decade or so, a change has been evolving in our social discourse as public voices have become strident, inappropriate, downright rude, and sometimes even dangerous. This degradation of our public commentary is most visible on, and is facilitated by, the social media which is now an integral part of our society. Social media offers a platform for anyone to say anything, often under the cover of anonymity, and in ways that are false, biased or hateful.”
Where did our civility go? And, when did we forget that there are real people on other sides of our words, who might be hurt by what we say and how we say it? And have we forgotten the precepts of our religious faiths that teach us to love one another as we love ourselves?
Our gathering will feature three speakers who will share their insights about the scriptures of Judaism, Christianity and Islam that beseech us to treat each other with respect and dignity.
Rabbi Abby Michaleski is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth El in Hammonton and Beth Israel Congregation in Vineland. She is the co-founder of RAPHA, the Center for Healing and Spirituality, a non-profit center bringing Jewish learning, practice and community connections to spiritual seekers of all faiths. In addition to ordination, Rabbi Michaleski has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in Jewish Studies.
Dr. Jane Kopas is a member of the Soul Sisters, an Interfaith group of six women founded seven and a half years ago to explore deepening relations between Christian, Jews and Muslims. Before retirement, she taught theology and women’s studies at the University of Scranton and helped develop the University of Scranton Women’s Studies Program and Women’s Center.
Giovanni Herran has directed and developed curriculum for youth educational and grassroots initiatives. He has taught Comparative Religious Traditions, Islamic Intellectual History and Race and Empire. He is a doctoral candidate at Temple University where he teaches ethics. His research focuses on epistemology and non-dualism within the late Islamic Heritage.
The presentation will be followed by Breaking Bread, a fellowship gathering with refreshments for all participants and attendees.
Our gathering points to one of the great strengths and contributions of religious freedom in the United States. Because our religious freedom requires respect for our differing viewpoints here in America, we learn to appreciate the “other’s” view that points to the same goal of living together in harmony and mutual respect. When people of faith model this mutual respect for one another they positively affect our mutual goal of living in peaceful harmony.
At times we people of faith are presented in the media as instigators of division and incivility due to our divisions and divergent teachings on God’s word or will. Our gathering seeks to countermand this perception by presenting that which comes from our various sources of divine inspiration to show that essentially we have all received one common challenge from God to love our neighbor and seek the good for the benefit of all human beings.
I do hope you will be able to join us for our Breaking Bread together on April 19. Let us speak with one voice in challenging our faith communities and wider society to seek to live more civilly together!
Father Joseph D. Wallace is director, Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs, Diocese of Camden.
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”
