Special thanks goes out to the Western Justice Center Foundation in Pasadena for hosting an Interfaith Dialogue I was privileged to attend this past week.
The evening had the feel of a homecoming for me—as previously I produced a promotional video for the WJC during which I met the Foundation’s charismatic founder, Judge Dorothy Nelson, who sits on the Ninth Circuit Court. In that video, during an interview with Judge Nelson, I learned of her personal “path to peace” that began when she was introduced to the Bahá’i Faith during law school at UCLA.
The WJC Foundation fulfills its peacemaking mandate with many mediation and conciliation programs in the local community—with the interfaith dialogue being my personal passion. The panel that evening included a Muslim, a Sikh, a Quaker, a Baptist, a Jew, an Episcopalian, a Bahá’i, and a Buddhist.
Engaging in honest and creative dialogue with people from diverse faiths never fails to lift my heart. Witnessing the common search for peace and participating in the shared striving for love and compassion makes me appreciate the mysterious ways in which God brings men and women of faith to an appreciation of the divine love that hastens the coming of the Kingdom.
I was particularly touched by the kind words expressed by a Buddhist Priest regarding the Buddhist-Catholic dialogue that has been taking place for many years. His comments reminded me of a wonderful book, The Gethsemani Encounter, and reminded me the Order to which Friar Joe belongs, the Franciscan Friars of Atonement, hold an annual Buddhist and Catholic conference.
I was pleased to donate a copy of Taming the Wolf to the library at the WJC, which is available to the public. A big thanks to the staff of the Western Justice Center for the hard work they put into hosting the event in their beautiful Pasadena headquarters.
