New Year Eve's Interfaith Service

Every year on New Year's Eve St. Ignatius Roman Catholic Church hosts the Interfaith Prayer Celebration. The year 2008 was the 16th annual New Year's Eve Service. I attend most years, not because I enjoy the service, but to support our Orthodox clergy. I also believe that this is an opportunity to let people know who we are.

Two years ago a Roman Catholic gentleman told me, "I can't understand how anybody who is not Russian could be Russian Orthodox" and my reply was "I can't understand how anybody who is not Roman could be Roman Catholic." He got the message.

Imam Earl El-Amin said that Christians have bells, Jews have horn, and Islam uses the human voice to call people to worship.
Fr. Dean said the first prayer. It was addressed to Christ our God.
Rev. James Taylor prayed that we all may be one, regardless of doctrine or beliefs or how we call God, etc. He ended the prayer in the name of God’s job description.

Rabbi Jon Konheim of Congregation Beth Am was the homilist. He was relieved not to have to preach on the Epistle of Saint Paul as some have done. A rabbi speaking on the Epistle of Saint Paul in a Jesuit church on the eve of the Circumcism. He said that every one of our traditions affirm the omnipresence of the Divine. Some times the almighty Glory catches us by surprise. The Jewish tradition has a prayer for coming out of the bathroom.

If God is everywhere, God is in everything. Isaiah 45:7 is a part of the morning service:
I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe,
I am the LORD, who do all these things.

It is difficult to deal with before you have your first cup of coffee, but you have to. This is why Jewish response for a blessing for bad things as well as good.

“Seek” in Hebrew and in English have two meanings. One is to find and the other is inquire. How do we inquire of God? Our different traditions determine what God wants of me. It is our task to inquire. Inquire what is it that God wants from me. We are her to seek God in the context of this city, state, world, and year. We ask in this piece of bad news what does God require of me.

Rabbi told us the story: A master walked by those city and stumbled on a rock. He stumbled on the rock and found under it 10 rubbles. In Jewish law you have to keep it there for 30 days. He wrote a note under it “Thou shalt not steal.” He came back in 30 days and his ten rubbles dropped down to five. On the other side of his note he saw “That your brother might live with you. That your sister might live with you...” We shall depart in peace and in peace may we come back

Father William Waters SJ said that all of us together as God’s people have praised our God. We are honored to have our governor, mayor, and City Council president. Cantor David Perper is ill tonight and can’t be with us. Cantor David Perper and his wife Cantor Faith Steinsnyder have been with us since the very beginning. If you wish to make a free will offering, we won’t say no to that. With our governor this has become a state-wide celebration.

Rabbi Konheim said that the shofar reminds us of the time that we have spent together in sacred service.

After te service there was a reception downstairs. At the reception I happened to sit next to Lucy and we got into a conversation. I noticed that she seems to have an accent so I asked her "Wher are you from?" She said France so I started talking to her in French. It became obvious to me very quickly that I really do need to work on my French, but I was also surprised at how well I did speak it and I almost understood what she said. So there is hope.