Various faiths to gather for day of peace
There will be multifaith clergy gathering at Lake Tahoe for peace on Sept. 21.
Area leaders of various religions and denominations are gathering at Tahoe Vista Recreation Area at 11:30am to celebrate International Day of Peace, aka Peace Day.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, will open the Interfaith Peace Service with invocation from oldest scripture of the world still in common use Rig-Veda; besides Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita, both ancient Hindu scriptures; in Sanskrit followed by English translation.
This service, reflecting the universal teaching of “Love thy neighbor”, will include prayers, readings, poems, songs and chants offering visions of a world of peace.
Other participants include the Rev. Clare C. Novak and Rector Eric Heidecker of Incline Village St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, Rabbi Meredith Cahn of Tahoe Vista North Tahoe Hebrew Congregation, Roman Catholic Diocese of Reno Life-Peace-Justice Commission Coordinator Rita Sloan, Kathleen Cornell Mahoney of Kings Beach United Methodist Church, the Rev. Liz Luoma of Tahoe-Truckee Center for Spiritual Living, Vicar Jenni Liem of Tahoe City St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, Washoe County Baha’i Spiritual Assembly Vice Chairperson Mary Jo Adams and Ana Lizbeth Servin-Bancroft of Kings Beach North Tahoe Family Resource Center.
If the followers of the world’s religions could make a genuine commitment to fostering peace among all, regardless of their seemingly inevitable condemnation of those who believe in a god or a philosophical notion other than their own, or whose spirituality rejects the notion of any kind of a god, their gathering would, indeed, be a step forward toward a truly civilized, and perhaps even peaceful, society.