WASHINGTON: The Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington (IFC) released its pastoral reflection on drugs and violence in news conference last month with leaders of the Islamic, Jewish, Mormon, Protestant Roman Catholic and Sikh Faith communities Participating. Speaking for the IfC Episcopal Bishop John T. Walker also announced that the IFC will Convene a Metropolitan Washington Action Forum Against Drugs and Violence, a major leadership meeting in July of Key persons from many area governments and Organizations. This was in response to Washington D.C. drug crisis. Recently Federal government also got involved in solving the problem of drugs and violence which has been resisted by the City’s administration.
Bishop Walker stated that “this action forum will bring together the best minds from all segments of the community who have developed programs that work and who are ready to collaborate with strategies for this metropolitan area. Together we need to develop the commitments to jointly implement these strategies backing up these commitments with the necessary skills and resources.”
The proposal announced at an interfaith news conference on drugs, represents the first significant effort by local area churches to work with city government in combating 2 years of drug related violence.
”Our declarations is that from this day forward we are going to shrine our lights of hope on this region,” said Bishop Walker. He added, “Only by working together across political boundaries, among people of different races, faiths and cultures … will the Longterm solutions be found to the scourge of substance abuse and its related violence.”
The Interfaith Conference will invite to this forum a broad spectrum of leaders in area governments and in diverse field such as education, law enforcements business organized labor, health, law and Judiciary civil rights media, drug treatment and other social services, housing human relations foundations as well as parent civic and community groups.
Bishop Walker the founding President of the Interfaith Conference in 1978 described the Ultimate goals of such increased collaboration and commitment as four fold;
- Stopping the abuse of drugs and the abuse of weapons;
- restoring hope in those most susceptible to drugs;
- returning the use of neighborhoods to their residents, and
- standing united against the legalization of drugs. Central to the religious communities deep concern and work on the crisis of substance abuse is the conviction of the sacredness of life. the Pastoral Reflection states that “we are encouraged by this senseless and brutal destruction of life. We have counseled drug abusers, we have buried the victims, and we have confronted their loved ones. Our commitment to act is drawn from the prophet vision of a just and merciful world where each life is infinitely precious. The Hebrew Bible and New Testament proclaim that every human being is formed in the image of God. The Quran emphasizes that every person is created in excellence, endowed with a nature that is good. The Sikh scripture the Guru Graath Sahib, identifies each ones soul with the supreme soul of god. Such teachings are the foundation for our common conviction that life is sacred. Each person has immeasurable value because life itself is a gift from the Creator.”
”Our combined effort is to bring back the sense of God to this community,” said Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop William Curl in, who participated in the news conference.
“And if we fail at that, we don’t deserve to be in our leadership role.”
“We are going to take our streets back” said Imam Taalis Abdul Samad a conference representative for the Muslim faith.
Dr. Rajwant Singh a Sikh representative at the news conference said, “we as a religious community from this social problem. Giving a positive note, Rajwant Singh said, that “It is not permanent degeneration and we must follow the examples of Jesus Christ, Mohammed and Guru Nanak who in their own times presented the solutions to all problems of the world. We must try hard to take the ‘whole society to the higher plane of thinking.” This was the first time the Sikh community was represented at a high profile event in the Washington area.
“We as Sikhs and as American citizens must share pain with the victims of this violence and we as a community will do whatever we can to help share the burden and solve the problem,” said Dr. Singh.
On June4 4, G.G..S.F also participated in a interfaith meeting in Silver spring presbytyrian church to express concern over earth’s deteriorating environment. This was in response to a call made by United Nations under its environment program which has tried to bring major religions to make a statement over this issue. Ozone layer and greenhouse effect are the major topics on its priority, Dr. Surjit Kaur, Vice President of G.GSF translated shabad “Gazan Mai Thaal Ruv Chand the Aarti in Kirtan Sahib by Guru Nanak. She said, “Sikhism stresses on keeping the environment clean and preserving the nature. Gurus taught that one has to see nature as God’s manifestation and man is also part of that nature.”
Article extracted from this publication >> July 7, 1989
