Hundreds gathered at St. Bartholomew of the Apostle Church in Scotch Plains Tuesday evening for the fifth annual Union County Day of Prayer, which featured speakers from the Sikh and Hindu faiths for the first time in the event’s history.
With the theme “Striving to Make a Beloved Community,” the evening delivered a variety of messages centering on unity, embracement of diversity and goodwill toward others. Each year, the Union County Day of Prayer brings together leaders and individuals from across the spectrum of religious identity.
Sharmila D. Jaipersaud, an attorney with the law firm Schenck, Price, Smith and King, was one of the first-time speakers representing Hinduism.
“Division is simple,” she said. “We can see the differences between us. When you have an interfaith gathering like this and we can come together to pray, it shows those who are against us we are unified. There’s a power in numbers.”
Navdeep Tucker, a Sikh from DashMesh Barbar Gurudwara in Carteret, read two passages from the scriptures.
“The first describes [the Sikh] belief in the attributes of God,” he said. “The second relates to the different ways people worship, but how we’re all seeking a relationship with God.”
Welcoming the audience, the Rev. John Paladino of St. Bartholomew touched on the dividing forces that work against community values.
“It’s no secret we live in a divided time. There is much strife,” he said. “People see themselves as belonging to a certain race or ethnicity or class. Is that what the reign of God should look like?”
Other speakers echoed Paladino’s theme.
“Interfaith and the idea of unity of all people is an essential principal of our practice,” said Michael Petkov, a Buddhist with the New Jersey chapter of Soka Gakkai International. “All people have the Buddhist nature, this higher condition of life and the ability to make all people happy.”
Zagham Chaudry, secretary general of the Muslim Community Center of Union County, noted most Americans have never met a Muslim and said he strives to change misperceptions about the religion.
“Interfaith is extremely important, especially in these times,” he said. “People are comfortable in their communities and with like-minded people – but when you interact with other people with other backgrounds, you realize they are not so different from you. We all have the same passions, the same insecurities and we all seek a peaceful, happy life.”
The Union County Interfaith Coordinating Council (UCICC), which sponsors and organizes the event, promotes inclusion of all people within the community and creates a clearing house of faith-based, nonprofit and government community services available to the public, promoting greater awareness of these services, according to Sid Blanchard, executive director of Community Access Unlimited (CAU) and co-founder of the council.
CAU, a Union County-based, statewide nonprofit that strives to integrate people with disabilities and at-risk youth into the general community, supports its members with housing, vocational and life-skills training, education, advocacy and recreation.
Blanchard said people with disabilities experience the greatest level of discrimination in this nation, and the UCICC was founded in part so that CAU members would have greater access to houses of worship where they would be welcomed, he added.
“Our mission is to help people with disabilities and young people become part of the community,” he said. “To be able to do that, we have to have a community. If one person is excluded, everyone is excluded.”
About Community Access Unlimited
Community Access Unlimited (CAU), celebrating its 39th year in 2018, supports people with special needs in achieving real lives in the community. CAU gives a voice to adults and youth who traditionally have little power in society, assisting its members with housing, life skills, employment, money management, socialization and civic activities. CAU also supports opportunities for advocacy through training in assertiveness, decision-making and civil rights. Currently serving more than 5,000 individuals and families, CAU continues to grow each year. For more information about CAU and its services, contact us by phone at 908-354-3040, info@caunj.org or by mail at 80 West Grand Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07202.
(above) Members of the Union County Interfaith Coordinating Council and others who took part in the fifth annual Union County Day of Prayer.
