By Jonathan M.A.Ghaffar – BMH News Service

The first Thursday in May is designated as America’s National Day of Prayer and all across the country representatives from across the spectrum of religions gathered to offer prayers and spiritual insights into how to foster and maximize the power of prayer in our lives, our communities, our religious congregations and in our world.

This year the National Day of Prayer fell on May 1st, and at 6:00 pm representatives from the Upland Interfaith Council, along with members from local area churches, synagogues and mosques, convened in the courtyard between the Upland City Hall and the Library in support and commemoration of the power and necessity of prayer. The event began with students from Western Christian High School performing a choral number.

Jim Thomas from the local LDS-Mormon Church then welcomed all the attendees and participants and gave a brief introduction of the speakers and other presenters in the order they would appear. Rev. James Pike from Grace Lutheran Church in Upland then led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mike Ingram from the Church of Christian Science read a prayer dedicated to First Responders, followed by several verses from the Old and New Testaments on the subject of brotherly love.

After this, Rehana Mowjood from the Inland Empire Islamic Center in Rancho Cucamonga read the English translation of verse 13 from chapter 49 in the Quran explaining how God made people into tribes and sub-tribes so they may know one another in peace and friendship and not as adversaries, and that God recognized no superiority of one group or person over another except in matters of righteousness and good works.

Rabbi Zev-Hayyim Feyer delivered a bi-lingual English-Spanish rendition of a prose piece that was very affecting on the audience.

Imam Shamshad A. Nasir

Imam Shamshad A. Nasir from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino recited the Arabic text of verses 10-11 from chapter 10, Yunus (Jonah), and then read aloud the English translation:

. . .As for those who believe and do good works, their Lord will guide them because of their faith. Rivers shall flow beneath them in the Gardens of Bliss. Their prayer therein shall be “Glory be to Thee, O Allah!” and their greeting therein shall be ‘Peace.’ And the conclusion of their prayer shall be “All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.”

Imam Shamshad said, “These verses show that humbleness is the key to having peace. God loves humbleness, and it is humility that lays the foundation for peace – within ourselves and within our communities. We must all work at being humble in order to create peace in this life. Then we will experience peace in the next life.”

The Imam continued by saying that God made us different from one another not so that we should be separate and fear each other, but so we can come closer together as friends. He also reminded the audience and participants that “talking the talk” is easy, but “walking the walk” is hard. A key to successfully doing that is by working for justice, because without real justice — which affirms people’s equality before God – there can never be real peace. So to make this a reality, we must all strive to be just in our personal lives. This will start to create peace by itself.

Imam Shamshad said living in peace goes hand-in-hand with justice, respect, and better understanding of each other. “Everyone know the expression ‘you can’t just talk the talk — you have to walk the walk,’ but now days this saying has become so well-known that I feel it no longer has the impact that it should. Therefore,” the Imam concluded, “in order to impress it more deeply on our minds, we must all strive to ‘walk the talk’.”

Next, the Rancho D’Vines choral ensemble performed a multi-harmony musical piece that wonderfully demonstrated how people could be different, yet through mutual respect and a willingness to work together “in harmony,” they could all still be unique and yet still all sing together to make beautiful music. It was the perfect metaphor of the Interfaith experience of coming together to strengthen bonds of friendship while working to better the world.

A representative of Catholicism spoke about the recent canonization of Pope John 23rd and Pope John Paul II and the impact these Church leaders — the former responsible for Vatican II and initiating interfaith dialog and outreach programs never before seen in Catholicism, and the latter being perhaps the most well-known and beloved Pope of the 20th century.

A second song by the Western Christian High School choral group was followed by the closing address by Rev. Jan Chase of Unity Church in Pomona. She read a Jain Buddhist prayer affirming the essential elements of peace, love and health that make one’s life in this world a rewarding spiritual experience. This was made possible by the Jainist respect for all life. Rev. Chase added a final touch with her reminder to all in attendance: “Let us all rejoice that we have each other.”

Cantor Paul Buch from Temple Beth Shalom closed the event as usual with his energetic guitar playing and a unifying spiritual message taken from the Jewish tradition of marking the seven weeks from Passover to Pentacost. The evening ended an hour later with refreshments and informal conversation among the attendees.

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Who are the Ahmadi Muslims?

Ahmadis are members of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, established by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi, in 1889. Their motto is: “Love for All – Hatred for None.” Ahmadis are the only peaceful, non-political and unified body of Muslims in the world. They are united under a spiritual leader (Khalifa) who condemns all terrorism and works tirelessly for global peace and interfaith harmony. For more information, contact Imam Shamshad at 909-627-2252 or 909-636-8332

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