MIDLAND, TEXAS, February 24, 2012 (Odessa American Online): Their ideologies may differ, but their quest for understanding remains the same. Religious leaders from five faiths will gather together for an evening of conversation at the second annual interfaith panel 6:30 p.m. Tuesday (February 28) at the First Baptist Church of Midland.
The panel will feature the Rev. Randel Everett of Midland’s First Baptist Church, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami of Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii (publisher of Hinduism Today), the Rev. James Bridges of St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Midland, Rabbi Holly Cohn of Temple Beth-El in Odessa and Imam Wazir Ali of Masjid of Al-Islam and Masjid Al-Qur’an in Houston.
More than 500 people attended the inaugural interfaith panel last April, which served as the impetus to continue the event another year to promote understanding and respect among people of different faiths, Dr. Padmaja Patel said. “Last year’s event was a huge success, something that was unprecedented for West Texas,” Patel, who initiated the event, said. “Immediately, I had a lot of feedback from the event, and a lot of people said they thoroughly enjoyed the discussions. It is a harmonious tone. There’s no one criticizing each other for their beliefs.”
The event, moderated by Midland Memorial Hospital Chief Executive Russell Meyers, will be structured around a series of questions suggested by each panel member.
The panel is notable for its representation of the United States’ minority religions. People of Hindu, Jewish and Muslim faiths only account for 2.7 percent of the population, according to the survey conducted in 2007.
“People will gain exposure to different faith communities and beliefs they may have never been exposed to before,” Rabbi Holly Cohn said. “Hopefully then that will create understanding and communication in the community and dispel other negative stereotypes others may have.”
“People generalize, ‘People are all this way, (or) everyone is this way,’ and that breeds hatred rather than look at it and say we all believe in the golden rule. We may phrase it differently, but that’s the similarity,” Cohn said. “I like to keep my mind open and learn more from the source.” And even if there might still be some inherent disagreement in the ways the different faiths are practiced, Cohn said that interfaith discussions can create tolerance.
“With interfaith relationships, you learn and can agree to disagree,” Cohn said
Watch the live video on February 28 at 6:30pm (CST) here (save this link).