Aptekar Productions' Blog

Congregation to Congregation with Interfaith Ministries-part 2-”What I Believe”

On May 25^th Interfaith Ministries & C2C held a second program entitled “What I Believe” The panel discussion included Rev David Garnier Parochial Vicar at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Melvin K Grey, Priest of the Epsicopal Church, Cheryl K Gray a member of the Bahai Faith, Reverend John W Price who serves at the Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, Kevin Sinclair of the Baptist Church, Dr Mehmet Tanis from the Islamic Spirituality Center, Rabbi Ranon Teller from the Conservative Synagogue, Congregation Brith Shalom, & Reverend Kristy Forbs Vits who is currently serving as Interim Associate Pastor at St. Phillip Presbyterian Church. The Panel was moderated by the dynamic & charismatic Ajit Giani,

Unlike the previous C2C program I had attended, which divided the representatives of 40 religious congregations from around Houston into smaller round table discussion groups, the hundred or so participants sat in an audience and listened as each religious representative spoke briefly about the main principles of their faith. A question and answer period followed.

The religious leaders were surprisingly funny at times. In particular the Catholic Priest , who began his five minute presentation with a self deprecating remark indicating he could use up his entire five minute allotted time apologizing. This comment was received with chuckles and sympathy as his religious conviction and sincerity became evident . An ongoing theme with many of the religious leaders through out the night was how their institutions had undergone many necessary changes throughout their history.

I particularly enjoyed listening to Melvin Grey who shared that 3000 of the 9000 members of his congregation were homeless. His church offers drug & HIV counseling and gives away over 100,000 meals a year. I laughed when he invited the attendees to come visit his church & that they “would steal our hearts & our lawnmowers”

When Reverend Kirsty Forbes Vits graced the podium , she spoke of how proud she was of the Presbyterian Seminary’s long history of acceptance of women. However she then described a familiar scenario in both Jewish & Christian religious institutions that has female clergy working primarily in youth oriented positions with a glass ceiling separating them from top paying jobs.

Although it was not as intimate a gathering as the C2C previously held, I did get a chance to visit both before & after the presentation with some of the other attendees . It was particularly pleasant to meet again with Sam Craven an Episcopal Priest who was part of my roundtable discussion from earlier in the year. I also was pleased to meet two very charming women of my parents generation who’s were happy to share with me details of their involvement with Palmer Memorial .

All in all the event was educational and interesting. The religious leaders were adept at speaking publicly and many of their remarks were insightful. The importance of this kind of religious dialogue goes without saying. Religious intolerance is growing at an alarming rate. Clearly it is much more desirable for people of faith to build a community of understanding and mutual respect.