In a world of ever increasing, religious-based hate, members of a suburban organization, the Children of Abraham Coalition, find their message of tolerance and acceptance more important than ever.
For the third year, they will join with members of the Saint Viator High School community to host a potluck dinner for area families — as a way to promote interfaith understanding and peace, on the 13th observance of Sept. 11.
During the dinner, guests will hear brief reflections on peace from a Jewish, Muslim and Catholic teen.
Families will gather at tables in the high school’s Boler Center, where a framed centerpiece will bring home the event’s underlying message: Salaam, Shalom, Peace.
Fr. Corey Brost, CSV, president of Saint Viator, helped to form Children of Abraham in the wake of Sept. 11, as a way to advance interfaith dialogue among teens and their families, and build relations between religions.
He drew immediate support and members from area temples and Islamic centers in Chicago’s Northwest suburbs.
The organization and its mission even drew the interest and support of the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign, whose national campaign of interfaith organizations is dedicated to ending anti-Muslim sentiment.
“We can’t stop all the religious-based hate in the world, but we can do our part,” Fr. Brost says. “We can be people of peace in our corner of the world, especially on Sept.11, a day that showed how deadly religious hate can be.”