knowthyneighbors.org

#get2KTN,

Know Thy Neighbor – The Concept of God

Held On

October 23, 2019

At

St. Joseph University Church

A STEP FORWARD

WNYmuslims, recently initiated an interfaith collaboration with the Christian community of WNY called ‘Know Thy Neighbor’, based on its’ core values of diversity, awareness & service.

We believe in developing new bonds, strengthening interfaith relationship and spread the awareness about religious and cultural values through social exchange and Know Thy Neighbor will serve as a an interfaith networking channel to promote understanding and exploration of different religious traditions, which will further fortify the bond between the two faith communities and strengthen the diverse neighborhood of WNY.

On Wednesday October 23rd the public was invited at St. Joseph University Church for “Know Thy Neighbor’s” first conversation:

The Concept of God

Panelists:

• Deacon Ted Pijacki,
• Ms. Maria Chomicka, Music Director and Young Adult Minister at St. Benedict Parish in Amherst, NY, and also an under-grad in theology at Christ the King Seminary
• Professor Faizan Haq &
• Ms. Farina Mirza, Community Outreach Coordinator, WNYMuslims

and guests shared their knowledge of Christian and Muslim faith for the purpose of educating, finding commonality and joining in shared projects of good works and charity that benefit our community.

The program started with a brief introduction by sister Jeremy Midura followed by a speech by Ms. Farina who explained the concept of God in Islam and pondered upon its distinctive nature and how it affects the belief system of a Muslims believer. Later, Prof. Faizan was invited to the podium, he explained how faith in Allah, Islamic terminology universally used for God among Muslims, keeps them on Sirat – e- Mustaqeem, the righteous path. Further on Deacon Ted Pijacki elucidated the Christian point of view regarding the existence of God based upon Hebrew and Biblical scriptures. Lastly Ms. Maria spoke about the belief of common Christians and how they perceive God.

After the speeches question-answer session was conducted in which a number of questions were put up by the audience regarding the topic, and the panelists tried their best to satisfy them with detailed answers. Lastly the session was ended on the thank you note by the organizers and all the guests were invited for the refreshments.

We would like to thank The St. Joseph University Parish for hosting the event and being so hospitable and we highly appreciate such an over-whelming response from the community, we hope that we will get the same response in our remaining 3 sessions of the 4-lecture series out of which our second session is scheduled on Wednesday November 20, venue will be announced shortly.

Click here to see the promo.

The “Know Thy Neighbor” Conversation Series Topics:

Concept of God: Wed. Oct. 23, 2019

Traditions/Worship/Prayers Wed. Nov. 20, 2019

Putting Religion into Daily Practice Wed. Dec. 18, 2019

Our Sacred Text Wed. Jan. 29, 2020