Young Adult
Eternal God, Creator of the universe, there is no God but You.
Great and wonderful are Your works, wondrous are your ways.
Thank You for the many splendored variety of Your creation.
Thank You for the many ways we affirm Your presence and purpose,
and the freedom to do so.
Forgive our violation of Your creation.
Forgive our violence toward each other.
We stand in awe and gratitude for Your persistent love
for each and all of Your children:
Christian, Jew, Muslim,
as well as those with other faiths.
Grant to all and our leaders attributes of the strong;
mutual respect in words and deed,
restraint in the exercise of power, and
the will for peace with justice, for all.
Eternal God, Creator of the universe, there is no God but You.
Amen.
~ authored by Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy
Great and wonderful are Your works, wondrous are your ways.
Thank You for the many splendored variety of Your creation.
Thank You for the many ways we affirm Your presence and purpose,
and the freedom to do so.
Forgive our violation of Your creation.
Forgive our violence toward each other.
We stand in awe and gratitude for Your persistent love
for each and all of Your children:
Christian, Jew, Muslim,
as well as those with other faiths.
Grant to all and our leaders attributes of the strong;
mutual respect in words and deed,
restraint in the exercise of power, and
the will for peace with justice, for all.
Eternal God, Creator of the universe, there is no God but You.
Amen.
~ authored by Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy
For faith formation this month the parish focused on learning more about the Islamic faith. There is so much we can learn about and from this faith! Unfortunately, popular media has influenced our culture into bundling Islam and terrorism together. The Dalai Lama, leader of Buddhists around the world, has a very good response to this:
I encourage you to do some research and learn about the faith our Muslim brothers and sisters practice. The best way to fight prejudice is through understanding. There are a lot of sources out there, with both positive and negative messages so use caution when forming your opinion. One of the best, most scholarly sources that is worth checking out it the website for the Zwemer Center for Muslim Studies. There are several articles on there from
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"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says “Love your enemies,” he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies– or else? The chain reaction of evil–hate begetting hate, wars producing wars–must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."
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Get in touch with the Islamic Center in Des Moines. Their website alone has some very good resources, including a link where you can read the Quran for yourself in English. Their homepage, along with the news section can let you know about some special events in the area and their community. The greatest thing you can do is to contact some one and go for a visit. See what it is like and take a friend. We must spread love not hate. It is encouraging to see all of the positive support from the community that can also be found on this site.
