Chicago “Together We Heal” Program Highlights Interfaith Perspectives on Loving Our Neighbors
In 2021, the Parliament of the World’s Religions reaffirmed its commitment to support the global observance of UN World Interfaith Harmony Week by hosting a special program highlighting interfaith perspectives on loving our neighbors. The theme of the program was anchored in the City of Chicago’s Together We Heal initiative. The initiative aims to build racial healing across Chicago and promote civic unity by encouraging Chicagoans to connect across lines of difference and support a collective conversation about our truth and our promise as a City. The Parliament is headquartered in Chicago and has been working with the Chief of Faith Engagement at the Office of the Mayor to foster greater engagement between communities of faith and spirituality in the city and the Mayor’s Office.
“Together We Heal: Interfaith Perspectives on Loving Our Neighbors” was hosted on Tuesday, February 23rd and featured the participation of Janaan Hashim, a Muslim representative; Fr. John Pawlikowski, a Catholic priest; Rabbi Michael Balinsky, a Jewish Rabbi; Sharan Singh, a Sikh representative; and Syda Segovia Taylor, a Bahá?í representative. The panelists were asked to reflect on their faith’s perspective of caring and loving our neighbors, the ways in which their faith perspective expands the definition of our neighbors to cross boundaries, and the challenges their faith community have faced on racial issues and how the greater Chicago community and leadership responded to these issues.
The lively one-hour program was attended by 70+ live attendees and 150 virtual registrants. The program was well-received by the Parliament network, an attendee was so inspired by the discussion that their interfaith group in Edmonton plans to host a program on the theme of healing and racial justice focused on their city.
The Parliament plans to expand on the “Together We Heal” programming and will host two other programs on this theme this Spring, one focused on female leadership in March and the other focused on environmental justice in April.
Attached PDF FileImages for this event
