Mary Eastham shares her experience of interfaith dialogue.

No one coming of age in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s could have ignored the harm caused by racial discrimination and religious prejudice. It had always been part of my cultural experience. And no one could have experienced the euphoria generated by the liberation movements of the time without coming to believe that justice based on respect and openness to people of other races and religions was possible — if only we would talk to one another.

When I was in my early 20s, this vision of human possibility inspired me to study John Courtney Murray and Gustavo Gutiérrez at the Catholic University of America. Murray’s vision of a “conspiracy of cooperation” was based on the conviction that people of goodwill, regardless of religious differences, could establish a community of understanding by “breathing together” and “thinking together” for the sake of the common good. We might not automatically connect Gutiérrez, the father of liberation theology, with interfaith dialogue until we realise that his critique of institutionalised violence underscored the importance of listening to and privileging the voices of people who had suffered discrimination and persecution at the hands of powerful elites.

When I came to New Zealand, my strong interest in interfaith dialogue intensified because Palmerston North is precisely that multicultural, multi-ethnic, multifaith community for whom a conspiracy of cooperation could create a community of understanding.

Therefore, when Bishop Peter Cullinane appointed me to be his representative on the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Interfaith Relations 10 years ago, I had a unique opportunity to put into practice the insights of these great scholars.

Breaking Down Barriers

Fortunately for me, the interfaith soil was beginning to be turned in Palmerston North by St David’s Presbyterian Church and their visiting American minister Jim Symons. Their interfaith initiative in 2011, TalkBack on the Terrace, brought together in dialogue Buddhist, Anglican, Jewish, Muslim, Catholic and Presbyterian speakers — not in a lecture room or a church but in a coffee house. Here, where flat whites and long blacks could mingle freely, great conversation took place, with the organisers and speakers becoming the nucleus of the Palmerston North Interfaith Group (PNIG).

We began to get to know one another as people. During a series of conversations on how our faiths marked life cycle events, people shared stories about naming their children, becoming adults and getting married. By the end of the series, people from different faiths and ethnicities, who had first met at the evening on “baby naming", felt comfortable enough to share deep feelings evoked in rituals marking the death of loved ones.

Visiting the sacred spaces of our partners in dialogue became a key element in breaking down barriers between people of faiths whose histories were often riddled with conflict and persecution. Being together in one another's worship space encouraged us to understand what is most precious in the faith foundations of one another's lives. From this, bridges of friendship, trust and cooperation began to develop.

Over the last 10 years, we have been privileged to attend a Bat Mitzvah, a Shabbat service and learn about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at Temple Sinai in Wellington. We have celebrated Eid al-Fitr with the Muslim community; the spring festival of Vaisakhi with the Sikh community; Naw-Rúz, the Baháʼí New Year, with the Baháʼí community; and meditation classes with our Buddhist brothers and sisters. We were even invited to the puja of our very dear friend, Gen Kel-sang Demo, the former resident teacher at the Amitabha Buddhist Centre, when she passed away in 2019. All these experiences have been unique revelations of the divine presence in our midst.

It's about Hope

We have never found it difficult to find common ground. Our faiths have taught us to become deeply engaged with the crises of our time — to toil in indefatigable hope for justice, harmony and peace.

Today, no issue affects the entire human family like global climate change. But where you live — whether in New Zealand with its more developed infrastructures, or islands in the South Pacific, in which global warming means the flooding of their homeland — defines a vast array of justice issues and how they need to be tackled.

In 2015, we hosted the Regional Interfaith Forum of the North Island. Sharing Care of the Earth: Science-Faith-Action brought together scientists, faith leaders, students and politicians to share their informed views about how to mitigate the damage already caused by climate change and to prevent further damage.

In 2016 and 2017, we privileged the voice of young Pasifika Massey University students sharing stories of climate-induced devastation in their homelands. The video which emerged from these conversations, “Making Waves: Stories of Courage and Hope”, was given to the Papaioea Pasifika Community Trust.

Suffering is also common ground for the human family. The shock and horror of 15 March 2019 struck us all and required an immediate response to mourn the premeditated murder of innocent Muslim men, women and children at prayer, and support their families and friends whose lives had been shattered. Within two days of the tragedy, PNIG had organised a multi-faith vigil in which the most heartfelt prayers, hymns, chants, meditations and poems from the Baháʼí, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish and Sikh communities combined to express our love for the Muslim community, and our grief. The Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit created a space for us all to mourn. Four hundred people attended the vigil; the entire city had become a family.

Becoming a Family

At the 2011 inaugural meeting of PNIG, a founding member stated quite simply that interfaith dialogue was important because “life is about relationships.” This statement defines our mission to one another as well as the community at large. We are called to be brothers and sisters to one another. This goal has transformed relationships among faith communities, which once were confined to silos, into those of an ecumenical, interfaith family.

In our 2018 "Faith Family Feast" we shared both the sacred words and music of our traditions and a feast of ethnic cuisine — truly a family celebration.

We are increasingly nourished by the energy, insights and commitment of our interfaith youth leaders. Their forum, Generation 20/20: Agents for Change, addressed the present perils of climate change and racism from their faith- and lived-experience. Their insights, and a comprehensive history of PNIG, became the foundation of a book by the same title.

This year, Generation 2021 is “breathing together” through a city-wide conversation with young people age 15 to 25 on gender discrimination and religious and ethnic diversity.

When the dialogue becomes intergenerational, the “thinking together” for the sake of the next generation becomes the transcendent glue that gives hope to all.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 261 July 2021: 6-7