Interfaith Prayer Vigil: Praying with Our Sikh Neighbors
Sunday, August 12, 2012
6:00 PM
Liberty Pole
Main Street and East Avenue
Rochester, NY
The interfaith community of Greater Rochester – over twenty faith traditions – expresses their shock at the tragedy of violence that took place on Sunday, August 5th in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. The FBI is investigating the hate crime that left six congregants at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin dead, and three seriously wounded, as an act of “domestic terrorism.”
The entire community of Greater Rochester is invited to an Interfaith Prayer Vigil to stand in solidarity with those who bear the heaviest burden of violence and discrimination — the religious, racial, and ethnic minorities who often live in fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Prayers will be held for all Sikh brothers and sisters as the interfaith community pledges to work with them to build a better tomorrow.
Sikh leaders of both of Rochester’s gurdwaras (congregations) will attend the vigil where the violence against the Sikh worshippers will be mourned, in addition to acts of violence that have taken place in Aurora, Colorado and Tucson, Arizona. All violence – against Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhist and other racial and ethnic minorities – will be condemned.
Amardeep Singh, professor of English at Lehigh University, spoke on NPR’s PBS Newshour for 27 million Sikhs around the world when he said, “We have three core tenets for our daily lives: 1) we believe in working hard and honestly; 2) we believe in sharing our bounty with others; 3) our daily obligation is to remember God in everything we do.”
Rev. Gordon Webster, Chairperson of the Interfaith Forum of Rochester, said, “Together we will pray in vigil, standing in growing community connectedness, one faith tradition with another, one human being with another, learning each other’s sacred core tenets and how they can enrich the humanity of us all.”
Information is available through:
Interfaith Forum of Greater Rochester (Reverend Gordon Webster revgvw@aol.com )
Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester (Rabbi Debbi Till dtill@jewishrochester.com )
Brian and Jean Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue, Nazareth College, (Dr. Muhammad Shafiq mshafiq5@naz.edu )
We join together in our support for the Sikh community of Rochester:
Interfaith Forum of Rochester
Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester
Brian and Jean Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue
Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester
Faith In Action Network
Islamic Center of Rochester
Episcopal Diocese of Rochester
Interfaith Alliance of Rochester
Interfaith Rochester Area Youth
Rochester Board of Rabbis