Dialogue on Peacemaking

In an era of growing tensions between religious communities, the rise of ISIS, the attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and other conflicts around the world, there is a need for honest dialogue between our Muslim and Christian faith communities.

With this goal in mind, and with the help of Eastern Mennonite Missions, we are endeavoring to discuss peace at an event to be held at Calvin Theological Seminary on Feb 13. The evening of dialogue will consist of three questions:

1. What did the founder of your religion teach and practice in regards to peacemaking?

2. Share one or two inspiring examples of peace making from your religious tradition.

3. In what ways is (or could you see) your faith community trying to build peaceful relations with the rest of the inhabitants of Grand Rapids?

An Imam (a Muslim religious leader) and a Christian pastor or professor will respond to each question.

We are looking forward to a productive evening of dialogue and better understanding of each other’s faith tradition. Our goal is to promote peaceful relations between our communities.

If you are in the Grand Rapids area we encourage you to set time aside to join us for this dialogue as well as other events over the weekend.

Before the dialogue on Friday evening, we are planning a visit to a local Mosque on Friday afternoon. On Saturday we are planning a conference for Christians where we will learn together about topics such as: forgiveness and mentoring Christians from a Muslim background; how to read Scripture with your Muslim friends; the diversity of the Islamic world; and a panel discussion by Calvin Seminary students on living in a Muslim majority context. There is a lot we can learn as we seek to love our Muslim neighbor.

For more information and to register go to: www.crwm.org/calvin

For more info contact Greg Sinclair at [email protected] or 905-336-3490