Sneak a peek at I21 in The Coastal Star’s latest

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:16:35 +0000

The beautiful smiles of Delray Interfaith Clergy Association members Donna Brueggmann of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boynton Beach, and the Rev. Joanna Gabriel, Unity Church of Delray Beach.

Earlier I shared some scenes from Delray Beach’s 9th Annual Mayors Interfaith Prayer Breakfast. Below is my essay on the event from the new edition of The Coastal Star, which hits the streets in print tomorrow. Next up I hope to share observations on the Dalai Lama’s visit to our area. For now:

Pay it forward: message from Delray prayer breakfast.

It is a basic principle of people of faith that our Maker will judge all. So to suggest which was best among the prayers at a prayer program would be a fool’s errand. Better to report what touched this beneficiary of all the goodwill articulated during Delray Beach’s ninth annual Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast.

Mayor Woodie McDuffie, in his introduction, showed again why his is a two-time All America City, with his call to what any individual can do: serve.

“Let’s make 2010 a great year and remember to ‘pay it forward’ — it will come back to you,” the mayor urged the audience of 200, hosted by the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce, at the Delray Beach Golf Club on Jan. 7.

“Sometimes, helping your community can be as simple as offering a smile, calling a neighborhood latchkey kid in the middle of the afternoon to make sure he’s doing OK or helping an older resident at the grocery store when an item is unreachable for them.”

A prayer for our military was all the more moving given that the minister who offered it, the Rev. Chip Stokes of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, was filling in for retired U.S. Army Col. William J. “Bill” Condry, absent because of illness.

Keynote speaker Trent Green, a former Miami Dolphin and a minister at Calvary Chapel in Fort Lauderdale, inspired with his personal story. He said the faith he had claimed never truly opened up for him until he gave it priority over all else, including the sport that had been his lifelong preoccupation.

In offering a prayer for our nation, the Rev. Dr. Waymon T. Dixon of St. Paul A.M.E. Church requested he be joined at the podium by fellow members of the Delray Beach Interfaith Clergy Association (in which I also participate). Flanking him, representing various Jewish, Christian and Muslim denominations, they demonstrated Delray’s — and our nation’s — rich religious, ethnic and gender diversity.

On that bright morning, Cornella Wilder’s reading from 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 also resonated. For example:

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.”

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

“And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”

She later said she chose her verses because “they seemed to best speak to all.”

I suggest pulling out the Good Book and reading them again. Then, go forth and serve some more.

C.B. Hanif is a writer, editor and media and inter-religious affairs consultant. Find him at www.interfaith21.com.

Oh what a beautiful morning: 9th Annual Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast in Delray Beach

admin — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 11:41:15 +0000

Another sign of why Delray Beach is a two-time All America City — and a sign of what other towns can do — is the Mayor’s Interfaith Breakfast in its ninth year. The program hosted by the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce at the Delray Beach Golf Club Jan. 7 is the focus of my next column in The Coastal Star. For now, here are some scenes:

Another sign of why Delray Beach is a two-time All America City — and a loud hint of what towns all over the planet should be doing — is the annual Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast.

Delray Beach Mayor Nelson S. "Woody" McDuffie with the Rev. Dr. Waymon T. Dixon of St. Paul A.M.E. Church, co-chair of the Delray Beach Interfaith Clergy Association.

The program, hosted by the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce at the Delray Beach Golf Club observed its ninth year Jan. 7. It also is the focus of my next column in The Coastal Star newspaper. For now here are some scenes:

Andrew Strickland of Calvary Chapel set the tone with "Beautiful" and other musical selections.

Mayor McDuffie with keynote speaker Trent Gamble, former Miami Dolphin Pro-Bowler, now a minister at Calvary Chapel, Ft. Lauderdale.

In offering "A Prayer for our Nation," Rev. Dixon requested he be joined at the poduim by fellow members of the Delray Beach Interfaith Clergy Association.

Delray Beach Commissioner Angeleta Gray (R) with former Commission Alberta McCarty.

Mayor McDuffie with Delray Beach Interfaith Clergy Association Co-Chair Rev. Kathleen Gannon (L) of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and Interfaith Clergy Association members Rabbi Howard Meridy, of Abbey Delray South Jewish Services, and Dr. Bassem Alhalabi, of the Islamic Center of Boca Raton.

Aneesha Hanif, president of the International League of Muslim Women's South Florida Chapter (and my better half), participating with the Delray Interfaith Clergy Association, with Peretheiura Baker.

The beautiful smiles of Delray Interfaith Clergy Association members Donna Brueggmann, of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boynton Beach, and the Rev. Joanna Gabriel, Unity Church of Delray Beach.

Commissioner Gray and Rev. Dixon.

And I get to pose for one.

InterFaith21 » Mayor Woody McDuffie

Sneak a peek at I21 in The Coastal Star’s latest

Oh what a beautiful morning: 9th Annual Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast in Delray Beach