May 15, 2009
by Rev. Dr. Joel Mason
The most painful meeting of the Chappaqua Interfaith Council, for me, was held at The Church of St. Mary the Virgin on Thursday, January 15. As a multi-faith, multi-ethnic community we were faced with the horror of the war that was grinding on in Gaza. It raised an incredibly important question for all of us: how do we, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Quakers, and Baha’is, genuinely share with each other how we feel and what we think about the conflict while remaining sensitive to and respecting one another?
f we, who have met together for years and knew each other well, were having a difficult time we realized this distress was only magnified out in the larger community. At that meeting it was agreed upon that we and our neighbors needed an opportunity to learn how to present our point of view as well as listen to another person’s perspective with respect.
We decided to design a program that would model dialogue in two areas: political and on-the-ground experience. To that end we have enlisted the aid of Marcia Kannry of The Dialogue Project of New York City to assist us. Our program will begin this Sunday, May 17, at 1:30 p.m. with refreshments and socializing. Then Ms. Kannry will guide us through a dialogue exercise and also present two people, one Israeli and one Palestinian, who will share with each other and with us their personal story of loss and fear amidst war in Palestine and Israel and their hope for a future of peace.
The second part of our program will be led by Dr. Mark Rosenblum, the director of the Michael Harrington Center Middle East Project, Queens College, and Dr. Hatem Bazian, senior lecturer, Department of Near Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley. They will each speak for 20 to 25 minutes about the current political reality of Palestine and Israel from their unique perspectives and offer their vision of the path to peace. After a short break Dr. Rosenblum and Dr. Bazian will take questions from those gathered. The program will conclude with a final dialogue exercise moderated by Ms. Kannry.
Can we learn to hear with respect the opinion of another when it is very different from our own? Beyond that, can we move towards resolution of long standing divisions that have bred poverty, fear, and war? We can take the first step, and for our community that will be this Sunday at The Church of St. Mary the Virgin at The Dialogue Project beginning 1:30 p.m. Persons of all faiths and those without are invited to attend.
Rev. Dr. Joel Clark Mason has been Rector at The Church of St. Mary the Virgin for the past 13 years and a participant in the Chappaqua Interfaith Council for the same amount of time. He is also an adjunct professor in the Doctor of Ministry Degree Program at Drew Theological Seminary.
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