By Dr. Sarah SayeedICNY Director of Community Partnerships
Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer Retreats for Social Justice
Muslim-Catholic Initiatives
You might be surprised to learn that ICNY runs a women’s interfaith dialogue group. Initially formed in 2010, the group is an offshoot of our Catholic-Muslim Social Action Partnership; the Catholic and Muslim women who came together initially wanted to expand to include Jewish women. The group meets roughly once a month (taking a break for summer and for religious observances), and has discussed a range of topics, including spiritual journeys, health, and forgiveness. Anywhere from 8-15 women attend the meetings. More recently, the group has been using the Scriptural Reasoning (SR) approach to discuss the story of creation according to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
SR is an interfaith dialogue methodology that brings together people to read and reflect on sacred texts. There are various groups in New York City that have recently been established using SR, and there are also online groups. Through these discussions, participants are able to better understand one another’s religious beliefs and practices. SR does not expect participants to agree with one another’s texts; rather, the goal is to develop mutual respect and deepen friendships based on a reading of texts that are important to participants. While participants can bring their own selection of texts, SR has also assembled text bundles to guide people’s discussions. The women’s group has so far discussed the bundles “Encountering God,” “Wisdom,” “Beginnings 1” and “Beginnings 2-Human Beings.”
The text-based discussions led ultimately to a question about our individual and collective responsibility towards the earth, which is shared ground across many of the world’s religions. The participants noted that we need to develop a better vocabulary to identify the nature of our responsibility. Earlier, people thought of human beings as “masters,” and more recently as “stewards.” More recently, Pope Francis identified people as “protectors” of the earth, and our responsibility to “care for creation,” ideas that find echo in the teachings of Judaism as well as Islam. The women also spoke about the nature and cycle of human life, and human beings’ interference in the natural order, which ultimately contributes to wasting natural resources and destruction of the environment. According to religious teachings, what distinguishes human beings however, is knowledge and choice to do good, and the women spoke about the importance of raising awareness about environmental issues.
Following these themes, participants recently watched and discussed Journey of the Universe, a film that brings together science, humanities, and religion to “narrate the 14 billion year story of the universe’s development, from the great flaring forth at the universe’s inception to the emergence of simple molecules and atoms to the evolution of galaxies, stars, solar systems, and planetary life of greater complexity and consciousness.” Ultimately, as we concluded, all of the universe is interconnected, and as noted in the film, “humans are the microcosm of the macrocosm – they are the mind and heart of the vast evolving universe.” When it comes to human responsibility for the earth, religious teachings are increasingly converging with the latest scientific discoveries. Sr. Carol D’Angelo of Sisters of Charity shared the film with participants, and the group’s last two meetings have been held at The Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood and St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church. The women have a range of affiliations, including Sisterhood of Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood; Sisters of Charity; Little Sisters of the Assumption; Franciscan Handmaids of the Most Pure Heart of Mary; B’nai Jeshurun; and Temple Beth Emeth.
