On the first Sunday in May (or other times during the year) churches around the world dedicate their worship to a celebration of our interfaith world. Progressive Christians thank God for religious diversity! We don’t claim that our religion is superior to all others. We recognize that other religions can be as good for others as ours is for us. We can grow closer to God and deeper in compassion—and we can understand our own traditions better—through a more intimate awareness of the world’s religions. On PLURALISM SUNDAY, churches celebrate elements of other world faiths in their sermons, litanies, and music; many feature speakers and singers from other faith traditions. Some congregations have exchanges with other faith communities, going to each other’s houses of worship.
On May 3, 2009, the celebrations took many forms. For example, the Congregational Church UCC of Belmont, California, had Imam Abdul Anwar of the Yaseen Foundation Mosque in Belmont; Dr. Miriam Zimmerman of Notre Dame de Namur University, a noted authority on the history of the Holocaust and active participant in Israeli/Palestinian dialogue; and Rev. Kristi Denham of the church as the preachers. Mt. Hollywood Congregational UCC in Los Angeles included in worship a performance by the students of the Shanti Interfaith Choir from the University of Southern California. St. Paul’s Church in Laramie, Wyoming, read the Golden Rule in 6 different religious traditions. Other churches focused on sermons about religious pluralism: Rev. John Shuck, First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethtown, Tennessee; Rev. Christine Paulus, St Luke’s Church in Philadelphia.
SIGN UP your congregation to be listed as a participating church – by emailing Rev. Jim Burklo, Pluralism Sunday Coordinator for The Center for Progressive Christianity. (Churches can celebrate the event on other dates and still be listed as participants – indicate your plans for the event to Jim so these details can be listed on our site.)
PLURALISM SUNDAY is initiated by The Center for Progressive Christianity- a network of hundreds of churches nationwide. Our congregations have adopted a “Welcome Statement” that affirms that other religions can be as good for their followers as Christianity is for us. Pluralism Sunday is co-sponsored by The Institute for Progressive Christianity and The Network of Spiritual Progressives. Rev. Mark Farr, President of the Institute for Progressive Christianity (IPC) lauded the event: “At a time when interfaith healing is so desperately needed in the world, we are coming together to acknowledge the common bonds that unite all of us, no matter what religion or creed. The IPC is a proud co-sponsor of Pluralism Sunday.”
Learn here what churches around the world are doing to promote religious pluralism as a profound expression of the love and the humility that Jesus preached and practiced. You’ll find sermons, litanies, book reviews, and other resources your congregation can use to create a celebration of PLURALISM SUNDAY that is appropriate for your community.
