Faith Leaders, Educators and Local Elected Officials Unite for World Interfaith

 

New York – Free Yemen Eye

Faith Leaders, Educators and Local Elected Officials Unite for World Interfaith

Harmony Week Commemoration in Long Island

The bitter cold weather was no match for local leaders and youth with hearts burning to

advance peace and unity.

More than 100 people gathered on February 7 at the Plainview Jewish Center in Long Island.

Participants commemorated World Interfaith Harmony Week, designated by the United

Nations General Assembly as an observance celebrated each year during the first week of

February.

Saturday’s event, hosted by the Guru Gobind Singh Sikh Center, brought together faith

leaders, educators, and public figures to promote interfaith harmony. Co-hosts included

the Shanti Fund and Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), an

international peace group in special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social

Council and the UN Department of Global Communications.

The event began with opening remarks from the host and co-hosts and statements from

local elected officials, including New York State Senator Steven Rhoads and Supervisor

Joseph Saladino from the Town of Oyster Bay.

“HWPL does such amazing work and its mission is something that we should all try to take

to heart, because to me, interfaith harmony is really the only solution that will solve many

of the problems that we have,” Senator Rhoads said. “The world will divide us in a million

different ways if we allow it, but the one common theme that we have, the one thing that

unites us all, is our common belief in something greater than ourselves, and that’s exactly

what HWPL is focusing on.”

The gathering was divided into several different segments. Following welcoming remarks, a

Hindu leader addressed the issue of religious persecution and provided practical steps for

the community to take to protect the right to religious freedom. All participants stood for a

moment of silence and prayer for victims of persecution and violent extremism.

Jewish, Muslim and Sikh community leaders spoke about the significance of interreligious

harmony and peace from the perspective of their own religious traditions and scriptures.

Two educators emphasized the importance of teaching the youth core values, including

empathy, unity and understanding, to create young ambassadors for peace.

“In our schools, we engage in many activities and programs such as ‘No Place for Hate,’

‘Unity Day,’ and ‘Start with Hello.’ We also have embedded a civics rubric in all of our social

studies classes so students have a measurement by which they can judge themselves,”

said Dr. Mary O’Meara, superintendent of schools for the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central

Schools District.“We have created shared learning experiences for our school community through

workshops on inclusivity, conducting equity walks, hosting community forums and

attending events like today’s.”

The youth themselves played a key role in the program by participating in several cultural

performances. Young people from the Guru Gobind Singh Sikh Center danced and sang

traditional hymns. A fan dance team named after South Korea’s national flower also graced

the stage with a show promoting unity and harmony.

The event was a significant one for HWPL, which received a certificate of recognition from

New York State Assemblywoman Rebecca Kassay for their role in organizing the interfaith

harmony week event.

HWPL New York Branch leaders and Mr. Surinder Chawla from the Guru Gobind Singh Sikh

Center posed for a photo honoring their memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed for

the implementation of HWPL peace education, which will launch in New York for the first

time in February with a training to develop peace educators. The leaders of the Guru

Gobind Singh Sikh Center later gifted the HWPL New York Branch leaders with traditional

shawls.

The Plainview Jewish Center was honored to provide their venue for the commemorative

gathering and looks forward to future programs that can unite diverse members of the

community.

“I think in the times we live in, I mean, all we hear is hate and intolerance and conflict,” said

Plainview Jewish Center President Shea Lerner. “I think any opportunity to get together with

like-minded people who believe in peace and justice and equity—we have to avail

ourselves of those opportunities.”