A stirring interfaith send-off

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This article was published 30/06/2023 (1207 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I don’t know what heaven is like. But there may have been a clue June 11 at Westworth United Church.

That was the day the church acknowledged the retirement of its minister, Loraine MacKenzie Shepherd, with a service of gratitude and celebration.

What made the service a bit like heaven was how it included not only Christian scriptures and liturgy, but those from other faith traditions such as Islam and Judaism, along with contributions from Indigenous people.

The service opened with a treaty acknowledgment and included a Hebrew chant for peace and readings from the Hebrew scriptures, the Qu’ran and the New Testament — along with traditional hymns and choruses.

Participants in the service included Izzeddin Hawamda, originally from the West Bank in Palestine; Humaira Jaleel, founder and executive director of Healthy Muslim Families; Idris Knapp, executive director of Winnipeg’s Central Mosque; Rabbanit Dorit Kosmin, an interfaith health-care chaplain who has also worked as a cantor and Jewish educator; Cree elder and former United Church of Canada minister Stan McKay; Rabbi Kliel Rose of Congregation Etz Chayim; Anass Sebbahi, a musician who has been deeply involved with spiritual communities, notably with the Taizé community at Westworth United Church; Rachel Landrecht, a sacred singer and songwriter; and Jedediyah Swampy of Sagkeeng First Nation, a traditional singer and drummer.

It was a joyous service from the opening introit, through the anthem and the Taize chant to the reading of scriptures, the hymns and postlude — albeit tinged with a bit of sadness at seeing a much-loved minister depart the church.

After the service, I asked MacKenzie Shepherd why she chose an interfaith service for her farewell.

It grew out of the church’s history of interfaith involvement, along with her own personal commitment to engaging with people from other faith groups, she said, adding “I have long believed that the only way through generational conflicts between cultures and faiths is a third way that emerges between entrenched, oppositional sides.”

For her, “to find this third way requires us to listen deeply with compassion to views that may be anathema to what we believe. But as we listen, we develop relationships of trust where the other can know that they are safe in our presence. We may respectfully disagree, but we commit to standing with each other against societal hostility, such as antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and homophobia.”

MacKenzie Shepherd also believes triangulation is key to bringing diverse faith communities together — not focusing on interfaith dialogue but asking people to give attention to some other justice-related topic or issue.

For Westworth, the thing they focused on was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. MacKenzie Shepherd brought together people from the Islamic, Jewish and Buddhist communities, along with Indigenous people, to discuss those calls. In the process, “trusting relationships” were established, she said, leading to greater interfaith engagement.

Those meetings “touched a spiritual need” and fostered a “deep desire to come together,” she said.

So when she was asked what kind of gathering she wanted for her retirement service, bringing people from those groups together for an interfaith worship service was an obvious choice.

“This is the first time that both Westworth and I have ever been part of such a service,” she said, adding it was “a natural culmination of all of our work together.”

It was also deeply personal, going back to when she prayed with friends Carol Rose, from the Jewish community, and Shahina Siddiqui, who is Muslim.

“We each offered prayers from our traditions, as we were each deeply rooted in our respective faiths,” she said. “We were very aware of our differences not only of belief but also of our views on socio-political realities. But we were also committed to building a bridge of prayer and relationship across these divides.”

There was “no better way to end” her ministry at Westworth than with an interfaith service, she said, since it also reflected her own interfaith journey.

In the process, she gave others at Westworth that Sunday not only a glimpse of what that interfaith journey looks like to her, but maybe a glimpse of heaven, too.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

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