Christians, Muslims, Jews to share pulpits later this month

Details, from Catholic News Service:

It will happen for just one Sunday in June, but on that day, dozens of houses of worship across the United States will open their pulpits to clergy from the other two Abrahamic faiths to read from their scriptures.

The project, called Faith Shared, is set for June 26. A few synagogues and mosques are among those that have signed up for the initiative, as well as Christian communities across the denominational spectrum, including one Catholic church in North Carolina.

“Just having something public is not going to be a big, big deal here, but to have someone come in and read from the Quran and to recognize publicly the existence of Islam and to reverence and respect is a good thing for the church to do,” said Jesuit Father Pat Earl, pastor of St. Peter Parish in Charlotte, N.C.

The project is co-sponsored by the Interfaith Alliance and Human Rights First. “The United States is the most religiously diverse nation in the world,” said the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, a Southern Baptist minister who is president of the Interfaith Alliance, during a May 18 conference call with reporters. “Crucial to peaceful relationships across this land, as well as to our democratic form of government. are pluralism and religious freedom.” Rev. Gaddy said, “We’re calling upon congregations to say by means of their actions, ‘We come from different traditions, hold different beliefs and engage in different rituals in our churches, mosques and synagogues. have different beliefs yet emphasize religious freedom and search for answers to life’s questions through our respective faiths.'”