The second Sunday in December is Peace Sunday, and Advent on the Christian calendar — so Pastor Drew Williard, of the United Church of Christ in Oxford, invited representatives of the Jewish and Muslim faiths to share the pulpit with him. In addition to the UCC congregation, the well publicized event drew new visitors.
“We have a flexibility here, as a progressive Protestant Christian denomination, that some other, more traditional, more orthodox religions do not have,” Pastor Willard said, “to hold this kind of ecumenical service. We are not here to blend or change each other’s religions or beliefs; but we hope to become more educated and respect the integrity of our three traditions.We have something to learn from each other. We stand to be better Christians when we learn from Judaism and Islam, and we pray this will have benefits for the wider society and the world.”
“We do this to demonstrate that God is calling us to reach across what seems like an abyss — of fear — of ignorance even. Make no mistake,” Pastor Willard continued, “there are some real disagreements and dangers out there. I was recently at a ‘triolog’ (panel discussion) in St. Pete[rsburg, Florida], which featured Christian, Jewish and Muslim speakers, and they were practically arguing on the stage. I just wondered what would have happened if the Messiah had shown up at that moment — would anyone have even recognized God?”
“Are our religious world views the same?” Pastor Willard asked rhetorically. “Absolutely NO!,” he replied. “But there must be another way we can relate — rather than war. We must overcome evil with good.”
The Pastor Introduced Sheldon Skurow, a former U.S. Navy chaplain and retired businessman, who is the spiritual leader of Temple Shalom; and Imam Abdurrahman Sykes, an American-born educator and Rollins College chaplain, from the Winter Park I.S.L.A.M, Inc. Peace Center. The Imam amazed his doctors with his ‘miraculous recovery’ from a major stroke with only minimal left arm impairment.
The service began with a beautifully sung Hebrew ‘Bar’ chu’ call to worship, which Skurow immediately translated into English; and the Adhan and Takbir — or traditional Muslim call to prayer in Arabic, which the Imam intoned and immediately translated as well — and the lighting of the Advent candles. “No matter who you are or where you are on your life’s journey, you are welcome here,” the Pastor said.
“I declare there is no God but God. I declare Mohammed is his slave and messenger,” Imam Sykes translated. “Hasten to worship. Hasten to success. Prayer is better than sleep. Allah is great.”
“It is peace Sunday for all,” Skurow said. “This is the day that in 1941 President Roosevelt called ‘a day that will live in Infamy…’ and here we are in 2014, we are still fighting. It is times like these when we all can get together, no matter how small the group– and if we continue, some day we may bring an end to all the war and fighting — and man can finally start to live in peace. I think we are moving ahead toward peace. It doesn’t seem like it, if you listen to the media about so much strife in the world, but I think we are gaining on it.”
“We read the Bible,” Skurow continued. “The first five books of Moses is the Torah. The Bible and the Torah are one in the same. When do we stop reading the Torah? Never. The word ‘peace’ is the central thought, as is the oneness of God. We are still searching for peace today. Let there be understanding among us — hope in our hearts and peace in our thoughts. Let there be gentleness and justice in today’s world torn by war. We come from wholeness, waiting to be redeemed. We are a small beacon of hope,” Skurow explained. “One day voices will rise above the fray and end the madness for our children, our grandchildren and for the new great grandson my wife, Eveline, and I will soon welcome into our family. May we find a way to make war and bloodshed vanish from this earth. Where there is ignorance and superstition, let there be enlightenment. Where there is strife and discord, let there be harmony and peace.”
“Peace is the most important issue for us all,” Imam Sykes said, “in the midst of what ISIS is doing, and the war on terror Terrorism is not Islam,” he repeated. “Any terrorist — anyone who commits an act of terrorism — is not a Muslim. In the Islamic paradigm, humans are dignified and life is sacred. All of us — Muslims, Jews and Christians — evolved from Adam and Eve — from the same first people on earth — but at some point, people decided not to co-exist peacefully. In Islam, life is sacred. The Qu’ran teaches the sanctity of life and property.”
“And despite what some politicians would have Americans believe, Muslims don’t want Shari’a law in America. Only two percent of Americans are Muslims. Muslims don’t want to replace the American systems of law with Shari’a. We have Muslims in our American government, and they are not pushing Shari’a law. We just want to practice our faith peacefully in America. Certain politicians have created a Shari’a monster and take credit for rescuing us from it. But that is not true. President Ronald Reagan said ‘no one group, color, faith or religion is better than another.’ We must ban Intolerance, bigotry and unkindness from our hearts.”
“To associate all Muslims with terrorism is like associating all Christians with the Ku Klux Klan. It just isn’t the truth,” Imam Sykes emphasized.
“The seeds scattered on fertile soil grow and bear fruit,” Pastor Willard said. He cited Bible scriptures about the importance of having an open heart and the dangers of hard-heartedness. “The hardened heart is not open to love. We all believe in one God, who will hold us responsible for how we treat each other.”
The uplifting service ended with pleas for forgiveness and pardon — and the passing of peace: Shalom, the peace of Christ be with you, Salaam aleikum. The congregants then joined hands for the singing of ‘Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”
All interested people are invited to the United Church of Christ, on CR 101 in Oxford, the first three Mondays of February (February 9, 16 and 23) at 4:00 p.m. for discussions with Pastor Willard and Imam Sykes.
