Submitted. This weekend one of the most fascinating and informative symposiums will take place in downtown Vancouver and it is free and completely open to the public.
We live in a war weary world where religious conflict has always been with us as a constant reality. As brothers and sisters of one family (the human family) through ignorance we have allowed mistrust, fear, intolerance, and even hatred to poison the well of co-existence from which we all share and partake.
In Africa, from the dawn of time to the present, tribal warfare has pursued the dark roads of genocide. In the middle-east, a state vacillating between tribal enmity and a tenuous co-existence has always been the status quo among the sons and daughters of Allah. Before Europeans fled Europe to escape religious persecution (merely transplanting ignorance and intolerance from one soil to the next) the indigenous tribes North, Central and South America engaged in bloody conflicts that would make even Attila cringe. In India the caste system is the very definition of intolerance and ignorance.
In summary it can be said that although God has but one face, his children have many.
This weekend five prominent women representing the worlds great religions will meet in a spirit of love and sharing as they exchange knowledge, perspectives and dialogue.
There is hardly a man or woman in the Fraser Valley or, for that matter, in any corner of our beautiful province who would not benefit from the value of such a feast of religious, philosophical and spiritual knowledge. In a world where extremism has caused bitter divisiveness among the sons and daughters of our common Father it behooves we who are relatively untouched by the troubles and problems oceans away to understand the other side of the news behind the headlines.
On Saturday, April 11, 2015, these five distinguished women will provide such understanding.
Kirpa Kaur, (Sikhism) Social activist and Director of the Sikh Feminist Research Institute.
Kelsang Migden, (Buddhism) Western Buddhist nun, and Teacher at the Dorjechang Kadampa Buddhist Centre.
Susan Shamash (Judaism) Rabbinic student with the ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal and active member of Or Shalom.
Fiona Givens (Christianity) LDS scholar, frequent speaker, and co-author of “The God Who Weeps” and “The Crucible of Doubt.”
Shafquat Mallik (Islam) Regional outreach secretary/co-ordinator of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (Women).
Sidenote: For those who cannot attend the Vancouver symposium Dr. Terry L. Givens and Fiona Givens will be presenting a special missionary fireside on Christianity and it’s place in the world, for all who wish to understand more about Mormonism. Meeting to be held at the Temple View Chapel, 20370 82nd Avenue, Langley BC.
