A mantra led by Jiwan Shakti Kaur Khalsa fills the First Christian Church on Oak Street, as the Interfaith, Prayer and Reflection Service begins. The sound of many voices chanting in unison vibrates the pews and rings as loud as the sounds of a church organ.
The Interfaith, Prayer and Reflection Service, held monthly, brings together various faiths within the community in order to share, listen and reflect on each others’ spiritual similarities and differences.
Looking around reveals a variety of religious symbols, such as head wraps, yarmulkes and crosses, and these only represent a few of the 10 faiths present at this month’s service.
“This puts all world religions into perspective,” Jeffrey Wells of Eugene said. Wells attends Presbyterian services regularly, but he said he admires the Hindu faith because he finds it “open.”
In the “next lifetime we might be a Buddhist or an atheist,” Wells said of his inspiration to learn about different faiths. He said he hopes this will lead himself and others to open-mindedness. “Understanding and loving other people is a good motivation to go to this service,” he said.
Thursday marked the 64th service; the first was held after the attacks of Sept. 11.
Siri Kaur Khalsae-Harris, a 65-year-old Sikh, said she received a vision for the services several years ago.
“If we could hold this service with a deep given respect for each other and each others’ beliefs, like a pebble in a pond, it will grow,” Khalsae-Harris said, wearing all white and a head wrap, following the Sikhist tradition.
Including a variety of faiths is essential to the services. They are led by representatives from different community religious groups who share their perspectives on a selected monthly theme through speaking, praying, singing or reading from sacred texts.
This month’s theme, reflecting on “peace within,” is something Simona Smarandache, 26, said she believes is especially difficult for young people, since they are easily distracted.
“It’s a great topic; pretty hard to achieve sometimes,” said Smarandache, a practicing Russian Orthodox from Russia.
“I like to call it eye-opening,” she said of the services. “People get to see that people from other faiths aren’t totally different.”
Thursday’s service included presenters from ten faiths, including: Baha’i, Buddhism, Hinduism, Native American, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Taoism, Self-Realization and Christianity.
Normally between 250 and 300 people attend the services, Khalsae-Harris said, but up to 600 have come for September services. Thursday’s attendance gathered fewer due to the snow and cold, she said.
The hour contained eclectic reflections on the month’s theme, including formal readings, entertaining stories and songs accompanied by guitar.
Every chant, prayer and song is preceded by encouragement for all those who “feel comfortable” to participate.
Khalsae-Harris said an important part of Sikhism is to not pressure others to convert because she believes different people and faiths recognize the many forms of God.
“Most people in this room don’t belong to one religion, but borrow from other religions,” she said.
Thea Albright, a University alumna, ended the service with a prayer song from a Native American faith perspective. Even though she is not affiliated with a tribe, she follows the traditions and beliefs.
The service “offers another example of a wide variety of people coming together with a wide variety of perspectives,” said Albright, the president of the board of directors for the Interfaith, Prayer and Reflection service.
“Everyone is welcome here,” she said, adding that the non-profit organization would like to reach out to different Christian traditions and invite them to participate in the services.
The 65th service, which will be held on Feb. 11, will focus on “infinite compassion,” a theme Khalsae-Harris said stems from finding peace within.
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Religions gather for local interfaith service
Daily Emerald
January 15, 2007
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