Religious liberty topic of half-day session

Charles Watson, education and outreach specialist for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
Charles Watson, education and outreach specialist for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty

Religious liberty will be the featured topic during Interfaith Arkansas' annual assembly Thursday.

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Mahmoud Al-denawy, imam at the Islamic Center of Little Rock

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Jim Winkler, general secretary of the National Council of Churches

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John DiPippa, professor of law and public policy and dean emeritus at the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock

The gathering will be from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Islamic Center of Little Rock, 3224 Anna St. The public is invited.

The Rev. Steve Copley, executive director of Interfaith Arkansas, said religious liberty is a "critical issue to our country and to the faith community now."

He said he hopes those in attendance will leave with a better understanding of religious freedom and what it means, and will be able to talk through differences in the "true spirit of dialogue."

"My hope is perhaps we come out with more information to be better able to participate in the larger discussion going on in our country," he said.

The assembly will include a panel discussion featuring Jim Winkler, general secretary of the National Council of Churches; Charles Watson Jr., education and outreach specialist for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty; and Mahmoud Al-denawy, imam at the Islamic Center of Little Rock. Copley will serve as moderator.

The panel discussion will be followed by a response from several local faith leaders, including Rabbi Eugene Levy, who will speak from a Jewish perspective; Avinash Thombre, from the Hindu faith; the Rev. Betsy Singleton Snyder, associate pastor of Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church; and Jennifer Reimer, who serves as secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahai's of North Little Rock.

Copley said time will be allotted for questions from attendees and among the panelists and respondents. Lunch from Ali Baba Mediterranean Restaurant will be served, and John DiPippa, professor of law and public policy and dean emeritus at the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, will discuss religious liberty from a legal perspective.

"We hope at least we're having folks engage and think about religious liberty," Copley said. "It really is a complicated issue."

The afternoon portion of the program will include presentation of the Mimi Dortch awards.

"She was the executive director for 30 years and we wanted to do something to honor her memory," Copley said.

Three categories of awards will be given. This year's recipients for work in unity and relationships are All Saints Episcopal Church in Bentonville; the Interfaith Center (a ministry of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Little Rock); and Carl Rose, who helped start the Interfaith Fellowship in Fort Smith. Longtime member Anna Cox, who recently retired from a prison ministry she started -- Compassion Works for All -- will receive the mission and service award. Church Women United will receive the legacy award.

Interfaith Arkansas, originally known as the Arkansas Council of Churches, was organized in the late 1950s in response to the Little Rock school desegregation crisis. Copley said the organization participates in ecumenical and interfaith work.

In January the group will participate in an ecumenical Christian event by celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The organization also will work with the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission to offer training in the six principles of nonviolence with local clergy Jan. 14.

"Another project in mission and service is an immigration and legal services project for low-income immigrants in conjunction with Catholic Charities," Copley said. "And we have launched bridges out of poverty to work with faith communities to help them understand poverty and its effects on the community and individuals."

The program is $25 for the entire event, which includes lunch as well as a 2017 membership to Interfaith Arkansas, or $15 for lunch only, which will begin at noon, all payable at the door.

Reservations for lunch are requested by Tuesday and can be sent by email to interfaithark@gmail.com. Information is available by calling (501) 626-9220.

Religion on 11/12/2016

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