Bring them in peace to Prince Rupert

It will be an inter-denominational day when World Religions Conference takes place in Prince Rupert on September 15 at the Lester Centre of the Arts.

With a goal of promoting peace within society the Conference will bring together speakers on behalf of a number of different religions, including Christianity, Sikhism Native beliefs, Buddhism and followers of the Islamic world, all speaking from the same podium.

The one day discussion period will take place from 7-10 pm and will focus on Religion and Social peace.

The Daily News had a front page story on Monday about the upcoming event in its Monday edition.

CHURCH GROUPS PUTTING FAITH IN ABILITY TO UNITE
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, August 28, 2006
Page One

In a world where religion often divides, it is faith that will bring people together in Prince Rupert this September.

The B. C. branch of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is hosting a free World Religions Conference in Prince Rupert on Fri. Sept 15, at the Lester Centre of the Arts from 7 to 10 p. m. A panel of five people representing the five major world religions will speak on the topic of Religion and Social Peace from their own perspective in an effort to promote inter-religious discussion.

“People are killing one another in other countries… but here in Canada we can come to the same podium and talk about those issues. If we disagree, this does not mean we should start fighting,” said Naseem Mahdi, national president and missionary in charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Canada.

“The purpose of these forums is to promote peace within society. We bring people from different religions- Christian, Jewish, Native, Buddhist and Muslim speakers from the same podium. Instead of attacking one another and criticizing one another, when we talk about the beauties of our own religion, then we come to the conclusion that there are more commonalities in our religions than differences. We have experienced this in many many different communities across the country and we have found this is the best way to promote peace and harmony.”

Mahdi will represent Islam as one of the five panelists. Other panelists include Balbir Singh Parmar, or Prince Rupert, who will represent Sikhism. A devoted member of the Prince Rupert Sikh Missionary and Society for the last 19 years Parmar is an active member of the community and is fond of inter-faith dialogues – he believes that people must be brought together on a common platform to put forth the beauties of their faith.

Rev. Jim Whaley, also of Prince Rupert, will represent Christianity. Another active member of the community, he serves as the chaplain for the hospital and Acropolis Manor senior’s residence and in 1983, he accepted a call to serve at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Prince Rupert.

Representing Buddhism will be Judith Johnson of Prince George.

She is a Zen student practicing in the Rinzai Zen Buddhist tradition taught by Eshin at the Vancouver Zen Centre and by her teacher Joshu Sazaki Roshi at the Mount Baldy Zen Centre in California. She works as a biology instructor at the college of New Caledonia in Prince George.

And Leonard Ward will represent Aboriginal faiths. Born on a Cree First Nation Reserve in Alberta, Ward is now retired after a career as the community developer for the Carrier Sekani Family Service. His knowledge not only comes from his experience but from listening to his elders.

Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond will chair and moderate the event.

“Peace, whether it is at home, whether it is one’s own peace of mind, or peace in the society – these are the issues that are hot and burning topics. Everybody wants to know more about this. When we will be speaking, the representatives of other religions will come, and what we say we will say will be from our own scriptures,” said Mahdi. “It will create dialogue, debate, discussion questions and answers. I think this will be a good opportunity for people to talk.”

There have been two conferences in Prince George in the past three years and they have been well received, he said.

“Every time people say for God’s sake come again. They say it is such a beautiful atmosphere – in one meeting in two or three hours we have gotten knowledge of those religions we have been hearing about but that we have not gone and read their books,” he said.

Anyone wishing to attend is asked to RSVP by calling 1-877-767-1965, in order to allow the organizers to inform the caterers of the number of people to expect, however it is not necessary to RSVP to attend.