The Abraham Festival, an interfaith gathering which includes the three Abrahamic faiths, is celebrating its 20th anniversary in Peterborough this year. The festival, which includes sessions of worship from each faith in addition to a party, will be held Oct. 13-15.
“It is a gather of the descendants of Abraham. Basically, Jews, Christians, and Muslims. We all have the same history; we all come through Abraham,” says Elizabeth Rahman, co-founder and vice chair of the Abraham Festival.
Rahman shared that the three Abrahamic religions share a history, and a spiritual origin, because they each begin with one of Abraham’s sons: Ishmael (Islam) or Isaac (Christianity and Judaism).
In 2003, Rahman only intended to hold a “one-off” celebration of the Abrahamic faiths. Rahman, who is Muslim, organized the first festival with two friends: one Christian (Catholic), and one Jewish.
“We found, by talking, we both had this vision for bringing the Abrahamic people together,” says Rahman, while reflecting on the initial conversation which led to the Abraham festival.
“But then, it was so popular that first year. And everybody said they wanted to get to know their spiritual cousins.”
The festivities of the Abraham festival are open to everyone, not just people of the Abrahamic faiths: including people from other religions, or those with no religious affiliation.
“As people of faith, we want to put our beliefs into action: that is, to include everybody,” says Rahman.
The festival will consist of three sessions of worship, followed by a party and celebration of the 20th anniversary.
On Friday, Oct. 13, there will be Jummah Prayer at The Oasis (a community centre based on Islamic principles, located at St. James United Church) and Shabbat, or Jewish prayer, at the Beth Israel Synagogue. Then, on Sunday, Oct. 15, there will be a Christian prayer service at St. James United Church.
After Sunday’s Christian service, there will be a vegetarian potluck-style lunch, also at St. James United Church. The lunch is vegetarian to best accommodate dietary restrictions, which is especially important here because some people of the Abrahamic faiths follow religious guidelines in their diet, according to Rahman.
After lunch, there will be a celebration including guest speakers, and live music performances representing the three cultures.
“A lot of the discrimination and hate [in the world] is based on misunderstanding and fear of ‘the other.’ So, we attempt to demystify ‘the other,’” says Rahman on the purpose of the Abraham festival.
To find the weekend’s full event schedule, or to learn more about the Abraham festival, go to their website.
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