Dear Friends,
On May 2-4, I was lucky enough to be part of a delegation of rabbis, evangelical ministers and imams that traveled to Abu Dhabi for a peace conference. The purpose of this conference was to forge religious partnerships, broaden the reaches of multi-faith interaction, and deepen the levels of trust between Christians, Jews and Muslims. For three very full days, we devoted ourselves to generating programs for our respective cities. The Houston delegation consisted of Imam Danny Hernandez from the Pearland Islamic Center, Pastor Steve Bezner of Houston Northwest Church and me.
This Friday night, I will share some of the details of this remarkable program and our adventures in Abu Dhabi. On Yom Kippur, Imam Hernandez and Pastor Bezner will be joining us for our afternoon discussion hour.
At the heart of this noble endeavor is a desire to restore civil discourse and deepen trust that is needed to build pathways to peace. It is our hope that our encounters will help to diminish the fear and angst that seem to permeate society today. We hope that honest conversations about our values and our lives will help us see and understand that our commonalities far exceed our differences. Finally, it is our hope that our time together will enable us to find ways to engage those with conflicting beliefs with a willingness to listen and a sense of mutual respect.
L’Shalom-Steve