Trinity Church Menlo Park

Trinity Church in Menlo Park held its Hearts for Justice half-day conference, titled Toward Understanding: a Jewish Christian, Muslim Conversation, featuring a panel composed of the Rev. Matthew Dutton-Gillett, Trinity’s rector; Rabbi Sarah Weissman, associate rabbi at Beth AM; and Sheikha Maryam Amir, an instructor at Hikmah Institute.

Reports Matthew: “We had about 200 people attend, most from the larger community, though there were a lot of Trinity people, as well. The audience forwarded a lot of questions – too many to get to them all. The energy was good and people seemed very engaged.

“People were very complementary of the event. One person described is as ‘powerful, informative, and incredibly interesting.’ There seemed to be a lot of interest in next steps, how we continue moving forward to break down barriers and misconceptions and work together.”

The immediate next steps are speakers following the Trinity 10:00 am service the next two Sunday, which the community is welcome to attend.

Sunday, Nov. 12, at 11:30 am: “Jihad and Pluralism in Islam” by Sumbul Ali-Karamali, JD, LLM (Islamic Law.) Sumbul is author of “The Muslim Next Door: the Qur’an, the Media, and that Veil Thing” (Bronze Medal Winner of the 2009 Independent Publisher’s Awards) and “Growing Up Muslim: Understanding the Beliefs and Practices of Islam”

Sunday, Nov. 19, at 11:30 am: “Muslim Women Beyond the Stereotypes” by Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director Islamic Networks Group

Photo by Robb Most (c) 2017

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