A Multi Cultural Day

I just returned from a truly inspiring day.  It was both educational and uplifting.  Regina and I had scheduled an afternoon at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation in Southeastern San Diego to see the Soweto Gospel Choir.  What a treat.  The 24 group choir is powerful and jubilant.  They sang a mixture of hymns we did not know and contemporary songs, with their own twist.  The group has been around since 2002.  They have a Grammy, an American Gospel Music "Best Choir" award, five albums, and they have performed for Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Oprah Winfrey.  They tour the world spreading gospel music, and are a joy to listen to.

  The choir performed in the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation.  This philanthropic organization was started in 1995 by Dr Joe and Vi Jacobs.  He was the founder of Jacobs Engineering Group in Pasadena, and devoted much of the latter part of his life  restoring the Diamond Neighborhoods in Southeastern San Diego through grants that included job training and education.

Regina called me a few days before the event to tell me there was something she really wanted to attend in the morning, and that she thought I might find it interesting.  Would I attend?  Yes, I did and I'm so glad I did.  Because of the terror attacks in recent weeks and the reaction of some politicians to Muslims and Muslim immigrants, Christians, Jews and Muslims are working together to educate the public and bring understanding and peace to all communities.  There was an open house at the Masjid Alittehad Mosque in Vista, that Christians and Jews were invited to attend.  The Imann spoke to us for about 30 minutes, explaining the basic principals of Islam, and pointing out some of the likes and differences between the three main religions.  We all have a lot in common.  The goal of the meeting was to get a dialogue started between the religions, to get to know Muslims in our community, and learn to respect each other.

There were priests, rabbis and pastors from dozens of churches and synagogues in North County.  Many churches have an interfaith laison, that will work with the Muslim community to create greater respect and understanding for each other.  One idea that was discussed, is to have 8-10 Muslim families meet with 8-10 Catholic families for a pot luck, with the hope that they will get to know each other and understand each other better.  Our fears about Muslims and Muslim immigrants comes mostly from fear, and fear often comes from lack of education.  Learning about Islam and getting to know Muslims in the community will help minimize fear.  I was inspired by the  love I felt from all participants at this interfaith meeting.  It gives me hope that one by one, if people give each other a chance, we can get to know, understand, and appreciate each other.