Starting with those of Other Faiths

Once again, the Interfaith CommUNITY of South Country (ICSC) hosted a powerful and moving interfaith gathering, in this case to celebrate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. It took place last January 15, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Gilroy. I was there along with a number of parishioners from St. Stephen's, Francine Head and Anne and Loren Cantrell among them. I didn't learn until I read through the program, moments before it was to begin, that I too was among the speakers. Somehow, I missed that. All was well, though. MLK inspired my talk. The service began with calls to worship from three faith traditions — the Islamic call to prayer, the sounding of the Jewish shofar, and a Christian chant. Following that, local politicians reading from the works of MLK alternated with short reflections by area clergy on how MLK has inspired their tradition. Interspersed between all this were songs provided by the superb South County Choir. They sung "We Shall Overcome" of course, but also "What a Wonderful World" and "America the Beautiful." Each was powerfully done. It was a perfect way to honor the man who has so influenced our recent history, beautiful and touching. I was honored to be a part of it.

Although nearly two months old, I want to hold up this event because I believe it is significant. It is just one small step in what I hope to be an ongoing process of community outreach. We do a beautiful job of taking care of each other and those who come in to seek our help at the Resource Center. Now, I think it’s time to begin to turn outwards a little more and begin to explore what we can do as a church to assist our wider community of Gilroy and surrounding areas. The Interfaith group is a good place to start. There is a group of Interfaith lay people who are part of this organization. Please let me know if you might be interested in joining them.