By EmilyRose Johns, Special to JTNews
On the eve of the presidential inauguration, progressive Jews raised their voices with Christians and Muslims to talk about ending poverty, promoting peace and caring for the earth.
The Jan. 19 event, held at Seattle’s Town Hall, was the opening event for the organization Faith Forward.
“Many Voices, One Vision: a Progressive Response to Poverty, Peace, and Planet Earth” brought together a panel of prominent figures from several religions to discuss the ways in which the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Koran encourage followers to end poverty, promote peace, and care for the Earth.
Faith Forward began as an answer to the religious right, which since the 1980s has been the loudest religious voice in politics, say founders Rabbi Daniel Weiner of Temple De Hirsch Sinai and the Very Rev. Robert Taylor of St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral.
Both men sat beside Minister Jamal Rahman of the Interfaith Community Church, Sister Joyce Cox, the Seattle Archbishop’s Delegate for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs, and Rivy Poupko Kletenik of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s Jewish Education Council in a panel that educated the audience from its own faith-based expertise.
Strategically planned to precede the presidential inauguration and follow the day of celebration for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the panelists preached a unity of faiths to get done what their scriptures ask of the faithful. In doing so, they challenged the way the government handles the needy.
“In the Jewish faith, we give because it is a spiritual tax,” Rabbi Weiner explained to the crowded room. “Our nation, our society must help the most vulnerable in our society.”
They also challenged the war in Iraq.
“From a Christian perspective, the criteria [for making war] was not met,” said Rev. Taylor.
“We should always be a conscience to our government,” added Sister Cox.
The discussion also turned to the environment.
“We are as much stewards of our planet as we are stewards of our body,” Rabbi Weiner said.
The panelists took turns addressing the audience to act on behalf of their faith. We find the answers, said Rev. Taylor, “not in drawing lines between one another but by building bridges.”
Faith Forward is part of a larger interfaith movement to focus on the issues important to progressive religious groups. “Many Voices” was one of many ways that Rabbi Weiner, Rev. Taylor, and other interfaith and progressive organizations are trying to get their message heard.
Much of what matters to the progressives religious population in the U.S. is being ignored by the fundamentalists, Rabbi Weiner said. “It is about more than just gay marriage and abortion.”
Several participants in the event were intrigued by the event because of its focus on reaching for common ground between religions. One Jewish couple, Paul Strasko and Sandra Andrews-Strasko, went because of their involvement in prior interfaith events.
“It’s all the same God,” said Andrews-Strasko.
“It’s an alternative voice to the religious voice in this country,” Strasko added.
For others, it was a chance to experience something new.
“I’m intrigued. I think [a coming together of faiths] is the inevitable given the political climate,” said Barbra Hume, English and humanities teacher at Bainbridge High School. She and another instructor and about 15 high school students attended “Many Voices” to hear Minister Rahman speak.
Their presence was inspirational for Rev. Taylor. “There were so many young people here and it’s my hope that more will get involved,” he said after the event.
For many it was about children. “This function should be an exchange of views for our growing children,” said Dr. M.E. Haque. He joined the festivities to be a Muslim contributor to the exchange.
“What is positive in the future is created today,” said Roman Catholic A.M. Noel after the event. “Here, we find out something we can share.”
For Faith Forward, “Many Voices” was a step in the right direction. But there is still more to do.
“We will tackle whatever key issues arise in our national and global culture,” Rabbi Weiner said. For now, according to him, the group needs to “come up with a common message, get it out in clear, accessible ways, and build a community who can get that out efficiently.”
EmilyRose Johns is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Lab.