This Sunday at 6 p.m., the Metuchen-Edison area Interfaith Clergy Association will show a film at the Centenary United Methodist Church that will serve as a unique opportunity for local Christians, Jews, and Muslims to begin a conversation with each other.
The film is called Footsteps: A Journey in Faith and is the story of 12 senior religous leaders of Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Unitarian faiths who make a trip together to Israel and Palestine. Pizza and salad will be served, and a discussion will follow the film. The evening, which will end by 8:30 p.m., is free for all participants, although those planning to attend are asked to RSVP by today’s end.
Israel is one of the most fought over places in human history, says the film’s director, Dennis Mahoney.
“It’s interesting that a relatively small country like Israel has become such a hotbed of conflict and disagreement – it’s a land without many notable natural resources; no exotic minerals, no oil, no real military advantage, and there’s even a lack of water,” he said. “Yet, there are daily outbursts of violence and bloodshed between various religious groups who all have a connection to the land – be it promised in the Torah, inscribed in the Koran, or written in the Holy Bible. With so many different and prominent religions with roots in the same place, it’s daunting that very few people know anything at all about their neighbor and especially about their religion. After all, it would be a little harder to kill somebody you knew, wouldn’t it?”
The willingness [of the 12 leaders] to open their minds to new experiences and to achieve a higher level of understanding in today’s political setting was the reason I wanted to make this documentary, said Mahoney, who suffered serious medical issues while filming that only served to deepen his faith.
Pastor John Painter of the United Methodist Church of Metuchen agrees.
“In our feeling, in this particular area where we have such a rich diversity of faith experiences and expressions, this was a good opportunity for us to start a conversation with each other,” Pastor Painter said.
“We as an Interfaith Association sponsor several events during the year,” he said. “We do an annual Martin Luther King observance around town, do a Holocaust rememberance service, and arrange interfaith community Thanksgiving services each year. But showing this film is a new experience for us. When we first saw this particular film, we we were really impressed with it, and the general tenor was that we need to make this available to the entire community.”
Space is limited, and so RSVP emails may be sent to interfaithclergy@verizon.net, preferably by today’s end. The film showing is free but donations are welcome to cover the cost of food.
