Plans Formalized For 'Many Paths To Peace: An Interfaith Conversation’
Members of Newtown Interfaith Council (NIC) met on Tuesday to finalize plans for a gathering they will present this month.
The event was suggested during the council’s February 21 meeting, when Rev Matt Crebbin introduced the idea during a general discussion about faith and international challenges.
The special event, open to all, is scheduled for Sunday, March 19, at 6 pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 36 Main Street.
Initial plans were to have the event begin one hour earlier, but the March 7 NIC meeting formalized plans including the start time and its format.
Now called “Many Paths To Peace: An Interfaith Conversation,” the event will be a dialogue among its attendees to share how their traditions understand and practice peace.
“This will be teaching and listening, vs more of a vigil,” Rev Andrea Castner Wyatt, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, said Tuesday afternoon. “In a world where many are not finding peace, we want to explore what various traditions teach us about seeking and finding it. There are attributes in many traditions.”
Wyatt envisions a circle of chairs in the front of Trinity’s sanctuary.
“We’ll invite everyone to sit together, rather than spread out, to encourage discussion,” she said. A moderator may be asked to facilitate the conversation.
Additionally, the event will not include an offering. The element had also been part of February’s initial discussion.
General Discussion
This week’s meeting was the second for the council in less than a month. Crebbin and Wyatt were joined in February by Eman Beshtawii, founder of Al Hedaya Islamic Center; Pastor Lori Miller, Newtown United Methodist Church; and Steve Bamberg, Congregation Adath Israel.
This week the group included Love Has A Home Founder Bill Donaldson. Beshtawii and Miller were unable to attend the March meeting.
Before the conversation turned toward the upcoming public event, the faith leaders last month talked about some reconfigurations that are happening at the national level within the Methodist church, which Miller said Newtown will be following suit with. They also discussed challenges many communities of faith are facing in terms of attendance and participation.
“We are facing a real clergy shortage,” Miller said.
Bamberg agreed, saying he and others see “a congregational shortage” in the town’s synagogue.
Beshtawii had good news, however, saying she sees growth in her community.
“I think perhaps because we’re a new, young community, that is beneficial for us,” she said of the local Islamic community. “In general, maybe for young people, faith is not making sense for them. Young people are going toward social justice. Religion, if too strict, doesn’t make sense to them.”
Beshtawii was also very pleased, she said, “to see so much positive coming from public schools.”
Beshtawii and members of Al Hedaya Islamic Center have reportedly met with local education leaders following reports from their children and other young adults of harassment and bullying.
“We’re seeing changes,” she said, before sharing a story of a Newtown Middle School student who was not only given time to pray “but they also gave him a prayer rug.”
The perception of religions, concerns over Christian nationalism, fundamentalism, and even cultural lifestyles all made their way into the general discussion that afternoon. It was those topics, and comments about general anger and vitriol that continue to make headlines, that led Crebbin to suggest the March 19 conversation.
Trinity Church last year hosted a prayer vigil shortly after the invasion by Russian troops into Ukraine. NIC members felt the recent anniversary of the February 2022 aggressions should be marked with the prayer event.
“Things are pretty dicey right now in Ukraine,” Castner Wyatt said. “The rhetoric is scary.”
Crebbin agreed, adding he thought this month would also be “a good time to pray for peace, especially with so many recent shootings and gun violence, and the earthquake in Turkey.” The latter reference was to a February 6th 7.8 magnitude event on the Turkey-Syria border that has claimed over 52,000 lives.
“It may be a good time to gather our people,” Crebbin said, with all nodding in agreement.
This week, Crebbin noted a general hunger for both education and peace.
“People want to learn more,” he said.
Donaldson agreed, and suggested “Many Paths To Peace” could be a starting point for local engagement.
“Maybe we’ll spark further discussion and action,” he said.
Managing Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.