Together We Heal: Interfaith Perspectives on Loving Our Neighbors

On Tuesday, February 23rd the Parliament of the World’s Religions hosted a special observance of UN World Interfaith Harmony Week on the theme of healing and loving our neighbors.

The program featured the participation of Chicago faith leaders reflecting on “How do we as communities and individuals heal and build better together?” The theme drew inspiration from the City’s Together We Heal initiative, which aims to build racial healing across Chicago and promote civic unity by encouraging Chicagoans to connect across lines of difference and support a collective conversation about our truth and our promise as a City.

Featuring:

• Janaan Hashim is a co-founder of and civil rights attorney with Amal Law Group, LLC, the nation’s first law firm founded by six Muslim women.  Janaan has practiced law since 2006 and is also an adjunct professor at McCormick Theological Seminary where she team-teaches “Religious Pluralism and Ministry.”
• Fr. John Pawlikowski is a Servite Friar priest, Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics, and Former Director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies Program, part of The Bernardin Center for Theology and Ministry, at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He is also a Trustee of the Board at the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
• Rabbi Michael Balinsky is a Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions and served as the Executive Vice President of the Chicago Board of Rabbis, an organization representing two hundred rabbis of all denominations. He is a member of the Jewish Catholic Scholars Dialogue in Chicago and serves as a member of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago.
• Sharan Kaur Singh is a Business Consultant and a Program Manager.  Currently, she works at SALDEF (the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund) a national Sikh organization based in Washington DC. Sharan organizes and develops programs that help to educate, inspire and empower the Sikh community.
• Syda Segovia Taylor is the founder/executive director for Organic Oneness and has 25 years of nonprofit experience working with Black and Latino youth and families in Chicago. She prides herself on being a social justice advocate by promoting racial and environmental justice, physical and spiritual health, and the oneness of humankind and religion. Segovia Taylor also serves as a member of the local spiritual assembly of the Baha’is of Chicago.