Interfaith Dialogue
Check out the many opportunities to be informed and involved in our interfaith community
Interfaith Dialogue
Check out the many opportunities to be informed and involved in our interfaith community
MISSION STATEMENT
LOPC has a long history of Interfaith work based in love, collaboration, and mutual respect. We encourage members and friends to build friendships and discover more about other faith traditions through our partnerships with Neighbor 2 Neighbor and the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County. Our desire in our Interfaith dialogue is to hold onto and understand our own Christian identity more deeply while growing in friendship and shared understanding of how people of faith can benefit from each other and can benefit our local community.
People of Faith Respond
On March 5, 2023, LOPC Hosted a discussion on the historic 2022 Supreme Court decisions relating to abortion and prayer in public school. Panelists included LOPC’s Pastor Peter Whitelock, Sheik Hassan Maseehullah, Rabbi Jill Perlman, and Terry Clark, LOPC elder, as Moderator.
Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County
LOPC has had a long-standing relationship with the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County (ICCCC), a not-for-profit corporation with 108 congregations representing a wide variety of faith traditions. ICCCC is one of LOPC’s mission partners. Our own Terry Clark has been instrumental with ICCCC, having served 10 years on their Governing Board, and most recently for 6 years as President; Ken Sargent just retired from serving on the Governing Board and had also been Treasurer for several years; Sharon Campton currently is an Elected Council member. LOPC members and friends have participated in many ICCCC-sponsored programs and events over the years, including worship services, concerts, educational and advocacy programs and retreats.
Through its many programs and activities providing advocacy, education, awareness, and safety net services, ICCCC is responsible for meeting local needs as they arise on major issues affecting this area. ICCCC also partners with other established community programs to support their activities under ICCCC’s ICARE and “Caring Contra Costa” initiatives, linking and working with faithful volunteers to carry out needed projects across the County. In addition, ICCCC sponsors the Social Justice Alliance, Juvenile Chaplaincy Ministry, Singing Messengers, Interfaith Climate Action Network, Interfaith Disaster Preparedness Network, numerous retreats, concerts, worship services and prayer vigils, programs/education on racial justice, food insecurity, and homelessness. It also partners in support with Winter Nights Shelter, Trinity Center Walnut Creek, Monument Crisis Center, Shelter Inc., United Religions Initiative, and the Multi-Faith Action Coalition.
Visit ICCCC’s website for details about many upcoming programs and events, where you can sign up to receive their email blasts for updates. Some events will be highlighted in future Staying Connected emails, but there are so many things happening, it’s best to check the website to not miss out on events of particular personal interest.
Neighbor to Neighbor
For the past several years, LOPC has had an on-going interfaith “Neighbor to Neighbor” dialogue underway with Temple Isaiah and the San Ramon Valley Islamic Center.
Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) is an East Bay initiative among Christians, Jews and Muslims whose mission is to grow understanding and respect for the religions of the world, through social initiatives that promote deep inter-relationships among neighbors of different religions, ages and cultures.
As part of the N2N initiative, the LOPC Interfaith Team periodically presents speaker programs of significance on our efforts to learn more about each other and in the process deepen our own faiths. Other events involve:
- Joining in each others’ worship and prayer services
- Gatherings to discuss books we have read together
- Small group discussions on current timely events
- Informal “getting to know you” dinners
- Educational presentations on what each of us believe
- Classes on our respective faiths and holy scriptures
- Social Justice Projects for the Hungry and the Homeless
- Gathering for our Annual Interfaith Picnic