(L-R): Rabbi David Steinhardt of B'nai Torah Congregation, C.B. Hanif of New Africa of the Palm Beaches, and the Rev. Andrew Sherman, our host, at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Boca Raton.

I’m thanking our Maker for the Rev. Andrew Sherman and his St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church congregation of Boca Raton, for Rabbi David Steinhardt of the nearby B’nai Torah Congregation, and for all who gathered for last night’s “Children of Abraham” event to which I was invited to speak.

The evening’s wonderful spirit seemed to me a tremendous tribute to Rev. Sherman’s stewardship, to his and Rabbi Steinhardt’s G-d given warmth, wit and wisdom, as well as to the quest for understanding and unity among those present.

Thanks again to all who, after the program, shared your kinds words of encouragement, unity and love. Insha’Allah — G-d Willing — we’ll meet again soon.

Meanwhile I promised to a link to Lesley Hazelton’s wonderful TED video, “On reading the Koran,” the subject of my previous post.

Enjoy. Peace & Blessings. More St. Gregory’s scenes:

Speaking to the capacity audience regarding our shared prophetic tradition, Rev. Sherman described the prophets as not only recipients and speakers of G-d's Word — they became the embodiment as well as the bearers of G-d's Word.

The Golden Age is not in the beginning of history, Rabbi Steinhardt reminded us — it's in the future.

Among other verses, I quoted the Quran 3:84, in which we are reminded to say: "We believe in G-d, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in (the Books) given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets, from their Lord: We make no distinction between one and another among them, and to G-d do we bow our will ( in Islam)."

For the audience's questions, never enough time.

But the conversations...

The information shared...

The exchanges...

And new friendships forged...

Were a blessing.

Rabbi Steinhardt, Rev. Sherman and Carl House.

A hug of unity from Ruben Cedeno, a dear friend from the worldwide Christian lay movement, the Focolare.

Reuben, Hanif and Carl House, who was instrumental in my invitation to St. Gregory's.

David Cominole, Hanif, Marilyn Athey.

— C.B. Hanif

Much appreciation to my friend and teacher Tom O’Brien (whose New Testament Bible Study Course just started up again at  Bethesda-by-the-Sea) for recommending this wonderful video of Lesley Hazelton’s 9-minute talk so aptly described at the TED site:

“Lesley Hazleton sat down one day to read the Koran. And what she found — as a non-Muslim, a self-identified ‘tourist’ in the Islamic holy book — wasn’t what she expected. With serious scholarship and warm humor, Hazleton shares the grace, flexibility and mystery she found, in this myth-debunking talk from TEDxRainier.”

I know nothing of this amazing lady beyond what I saw and heard in the video. And what I learned from following the TED-provided links. Such as her accidentaltheologist.com site, where I’d love to spend more time.

But I’ve already taken to quoting this self-described agnostic Jew. In part because, as I’ve been known to say, I love hearing my own spirituality coming back at me in different language.

Question: In the video, Ms. Hazelton describes the opening chapter of the Quran, Al Fatihah (literally, “The Opening”), as a combination of The Lord’s Prayer and … what sounds like a Hebrew title that I can’t quite hear clearly.

I can ask her, of course, but who else might help me with that? First one gets a free year’s subscription here at InterFaith21.com

ADDENDUM. Our Dear Lady, Lesley Hazelton, was first to respond:

“Greetings and many thanks for the kind words, which came bouncing back to me this morning on the ‘dashboard’ of the Accidental Theologist –

“What I was referring to is indeed Hebrew: the Shema Israel, the central declaration of faith in Judaism (“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One”). And the way the Fatiha is used in Islam — the frequency and variety of its use, that is — does indeed give it the status of the Lord’s Prayer and the Shema combined.

“Here’s to arcing, graceful bridges — Lesley H.”

— C.B. Hanif

“I was part of an extraordinary interfaith meeting that took place in Switzerland this winter. The gathering was nothing less than the attempt to create a common movement among Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus to delegitimize the use of religion as a technique of either state or personal violence.”

It was the kind of email I love to receive — and share, “Inspiring people to think differently about religion.” Please keep ’em coming:

“TED, a think tank that concentrates on new ideas in Technology, Entertainment and Design, gave its Make a Wish Award to theologian Karen Armstrong last year.  Armstrong’s wish, after years of religious scholarship and writing, was that TED would help create a universal charter for compassion among all the major religions of the world.

“To launch the project TED built a website that invited people all over the world, in multiple languages, out of every religious perspective, to contribute ideas for the Charter for Compassion —perhaps the first example of a universally created document in the history of the world.”

If you have further interest in this, check out their website:

http://charterforcompassion.com/

They expect this Charter for Compassion will be launched in cities around the world in November of this year.