Interfaith service creates unity in faith

At 9 a.m. on Monday students, faculty and members of the Bloomington community nearly filled the Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union for an interfaith prayer service. \nThe event was sponsored by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration committee, Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, Muslim Student Union, Helene G. Simon Hillel Center and the Center for University Ministry.\n"I wanted to see God's love transformed on this campus," senior Christina McDougall said.\nThe program began with words from Reverend Rebecca Jimenez from the Center for University Ministry. Jimenez spoke of how the event reflected the "beloved community" King worked to create during his lifetime.\n"He wanted to see racism and bigotry replaced by brotherhood and sisterhood," Jimenez said.\nShe also spoke of religious diversity as the "final frontier" in creating the beloved community. Jimenez even showed some humor in explaining how the program was put together to the congregation.\n"A priest, a rabbi, and two Baptists came together--and that's not the beginning of a joke," Jimenez said. \nAfter Jimenez spoke, graduate student Valerie Lambert performed a liturgical dance. The dance represented a celebration of the body and called to attention religious symbols from the different faiths represented.\nFollowing the dance, Reverend Donald Griffin of the Second Baptist Church read excerpts from a sermon given by King in 1967.\nAn interfaith choir directed by Kelly Corcoran of the Center for University Ministry then performed the traditional spiritual "Go Down, Moses."\n"It was wonderful to work with a group of such eager people that were very diverse in their religious beliefs and their lives," Corcoran said.\nThe program also featured members of various faiths reading prayers. \n"It was incredible how people came together," Jimenez said.\nSenior Philip Ohriner was the first to speak, offering a traditional Jewish prayer in Hebrew. The prayer was followed by a traditional hymn.\nThe hymn was followed by a reading of three traditional prayers from the Koran, first read in Arabic and then translated into English.\nAfter a presentation of Jack Reimer's responsive reading "Social Action," graduate student Bea Garner read a traditional Christian prayer. \nThe African American female a cappella group Sojourner also presented a rendition of the hymn "Amazing Grace."\n"It was very interesting to see the different faiths represented through music and prayer," Corcoran said.\nGraduate student Gregory Maytan then read a prayer of the Baha'i faith, which was followed by Rabbi Sue Shifron's reading of a traditional Buddhist benediction. \nThe service concluded with the congregation singing a hymn made popular in King's lifetime, "We Shall Overcome."\n"It was an incredible success," Jimenez said. "I think that it will become an annual event"