Interfaith Journeys
  • Home
  • Interfaith Journeys
  • Stella Reekie

A Busy Week

6/5/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Last week was a busy old week in the world of interfaith in Scotland. It began with an event at the Skih Gurdwara to celebrate the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak in 1469. Like all founders Guru Nanak wanted to call the people of the time back to a renewed spiritual way of life. He was born a Hindu but early on in his life showed an interest in learning about Islam.  Like other founders he was able to see through much of the ritual of religion to reveal the sacredness of all life. So for example he wasn’t interested in wearing the sacred thread of Hinduism, saying that people should be marked out, not by what they wear but how they act.  When criticised for sitting with his feet towards Mecca he asked to be shown a part of the world where his feet would not be pointing towards God who is everywhere. He had a profound religious experience and the story goes that he emerged from this declaring ‘there is neither Hindu nor Muslim’. His message was universal and his love was for humanity. Guru Nanak could see beyond the confines of religion and recognise the truth and beauty behind them though now his teaching has become institutionalised in the religion we call Sikhism.

The celebrations for Guru Nanak will last all year as an opportunity for renewal and recommitment to his ideals. The theme for last week’s event was ‘Service to Humanity’, a theme running through the whole year.  Sikhs are well known for their hospitality and service. Gurdwaras offer a community meal each day to which everyone, no matter their creed, race, position in society are welcome.  But this year Sikhs throughout the world will be engaging in is a special scheme to plant a million trees as a ‘gift to the entire planet’, something the planet desperately needs in the light of the report just published by the United Nations on the perilous state of our world. In the state of Punjab there is a plan to plant 550 samplings in every village and here in Scotland 550 will be planted in the ancient Caledonian Forest.


Another event I attended last week was Yom HaShoah, the annual memorial of the Holocaust at which the Jewish community remember all those murdered by the Nazis.  This is a particularly moving evening. Not only does it take place with survivors and those who were part of the kindertransport present but members of the community submit the names of their relatives who died in the various concentration camps and these are displayed as we stand in silence. Then the memorial prayer is said and the mourner’s kaddish sung. It’s impossible not to be touched by it.

The guest speaker this year was a Christian journalist from Berlin who has been researching the fate of the approximately 40 Jewish residents who lived in his apartment block and who died between 1933 and 1945. Now each year, over a weekend near Yom HaShoah, the doors of houses and apartments where Jews once lived are open, the names of the former residents and their stories told through exhibitions, art, music, poetry, readings and talks.  All homes have a history and this is a poignant and unique way to remember people and families who suffered persecution in Berlin. It sets up a meaningful relationship with them and keeps their story alive. We too were asked to remember individuals. We were given a candle and asked to let it burn in memory of someone who had perished. My candles were lit in memory of Jacques Herzmil of Paris who perished at Auschwitz in 1942, aged 10 and Nikolai Shnaider of Gaysin who perished at Gaysin in 1943, aged 4. Surely they have now become part of me.

The third event of the week was the meeting of the Religious Leaders of Scotland, a group that has met twice a year for the last 18 years or so and, as a consequence, have formed strong ties and good friendships across the faiths. This was a particularly good and honest meeting which started with a remembrance of the bombings in Sri Lanka. We met in the Mosque and the Imam movingly asked pardon for what his co-religionists had done, reminding us that it was neither in his name nor in the name of the true and authentic followers of Islam.  Such atrocities do happen but we can use them to double our efforts to work together and show the world that friendships and respect across faiths is not just a possibility but in some instances a reality.

This set the tone and we reflected a bit on some of the issues facing us in society today – the ever present possibility of assisted suicide becoming law, the abolition of nuclear weapons which are housed in one of the most beautiful parts of Scotland (and not wanted by the Scots) and the paper on Human Fraternity for Peace and Living Together (the one signed by the Pope and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University) which raised for us questions of education and citizenship. They were all too much to be dealt with but they’ve laid the ground work for further discussion and the realisation that a much longer meeting is needed and will be planned for. The Pope and the Grand Imam warned against what they called indifferent conversations. Our meeting certainly didn’t fall into that category. There’s great satisfaction in a meeting of minds and hearts that deals with real issues and a sense of common concern for the society in which we all live, even if we weren’t to agree on the details.  

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    I am  a Catholic nun, involved in interfaith relations for many decades.  For me this has been an exciting and sacred journey which I would like to share with others.

    Picture

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    RSS Feed

    Categories
    Religious Performances
    ​​

    All

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.