We definitely stayed on message today at the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. The talking point was interfaith ministry, and the main event was actually in Chicago, where diocesan interfaith minister Tahil Sharma shared the benediction at the Democratic National Convention. We’re proud of you, colleague.
Interfaith Wednesday began when Canon Bob Williams and I met with nationally noted influencer Aziza Hasan, executive director and co-founder of NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change, which has championed Muslim-Jewish dialogue since 2006, in the wake of Sept. 11 and the Iraq war. Bob and I conferred with her about future collaborations at St. Paul’s Commons, Echo Park.
Then I was blessed by a visit from the Rt. Rev. Samuel Azariah, the former primate of the Church of Pakistan and now executive director of the Christian Study Centre in Islamabad. A former trustee of the World Council of Churches, Sammy is also a popular former assisting bishop in our diocese as well as former bishop in charge at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church – Rialto, CA. He specializes in ecumenical and interfaith affairs and is currently consulting with Pakistan’s government about religion’s role in what it calls the national narrative.
We also discussed his and the center’s plans for an international conference in March 2025 to mark the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. Bishop Sammy is shown here with his friend of many years, Canon Gail Urquidi.
