Nic Cable, executive director of Columbus Interfaith, addresses guests at a past event.
Photo provided
Nine faith entities will participate in a first-ever Interfaith Day of Prayer for the nation and world at 6 p.m. Thursday at Southside Elementary School Auditorium, 1320 W. County Road 200S in Columbus. That day marks Christians’ National Day of Prayer.
The local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has worked alongside Columbus Interfaith to plan the gathering that they believe will attract about 200 people.
Organizers of this event said they simply want to bring together those of a variety of beliefs for the sake of community unity in what they see as a frequently divided world.
“I have a conviction that our father in heaven wants to hear from each of this children a prayer for the world, whether that prayer comes from a Hindu, a Muslim, or a Jewish or Christian person,” said Ernest Lifferth, interfaith representative for the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and one of the organizers. “As parents, don’t we like to hear from all our children?”
Participating are the following houses of worship:
- Open Mind Zen Indiana (Buddhist)
- St. Bartholomew Catholic Church
- St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
- Sri Ganesh Mandir (Hindu)
- Islamic Society of Columbus Indiana
- First Presbyterian Church
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
- Tree of Knowledge Indiana Community Coven
- Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbus
David White, an interfaith outreach specialist of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints assembly on 30th Street, conceived the gathering. It will mark the first time locally that faiths other than Christian have held a public prayer event on this date and day founded by a joint resolution of Congress in 1952.
The new event also is significant because local Christians and others such as Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and other faiths rarely have joined in this kind of prayer event since Mayor Fred Armstrong’s prayer breakfasts in the 1990s. In fact, a group of Christians walked out of one of those events when a local Hindu stood to offer a prayer.
James Shoaf, second counselor in the Indianapolis Stake for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, will speak briefly. Also, Nic Cable, minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbus, and also the leader of Columbus Interfaith, which is a mix of local houses of worship, will also speak.
Juliette Gilchrist White, the organizer’s wife and a local music instructor, will direct an interfaith choir. Songs will include traditional numbers such as “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” with a few modest lyrical changes.
Ideally, White and Liffereth would like to see the event unfold annually.
“I believe that we all share more commonalities than we do differences,” Lifferth said.
About the event
What: Interfaith Day of Prayer, featuring representatives from a mix of faiths in Bartholomew County, offering spiritual petitions for the nation and the world.
When: 6 p.m. Thursday.
Where: Southside Elementary School, 1320 W 200 S, Columbus.
Information: Facebook page for Interfaith Day of Prayer.
