All in Good Faith

Author(s): Jean Potter, Marcus Braybrooke
Publisher: World Congress of Faiths

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Development of Interfaith Prayer and the Discussion
faithful of all theistic religions could join in the prayer of St. Augustine of Hippo: "Our hearts are restless and will not rest until they rest in Thee" (16).
The Times leader also referred to the Second Vatican Council's 1965 Declaration on NonChristians, which described all peoples of the world as having their own perception of 'a hidden power that hovers over the course of things and over the events of human life'. 'The Catholic Church', the declaration said, "rejects nothing which is true and holy in these religions'. In Britain, Catholic concern for positive relations with people of other faiths has been shown in many ways, especially by the varied activities of Westminster Interfaith. This has arranged a number of interfaith occasions, including an annual pilgrimage, in which people of different religions have read from their scriptures or said prayers. Some of these events have been held at Westminster Cathedral, including a memorable celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Day of Prayer for Peace at Assisi in 1986. Brother Daniel Le Faivre, of Westminster Interfaith, has published valuable resource material for those arranging interfaith gatherings (17).
Several of the Free Churches in Britain have also appointed special committees to foster understanding of people of different religions. Some of these committees have given attention to the question of interfaith prayer (18).
Developments Outside Britain
Occasions when members of different religions come together for prayer are by no means confined to Great Britain. At the Vancouver Assembly of the World Council of Churches in 1983, members of various faiths were invited to participate in a Public Witness for peace and Justice. World Thanksgiving, which has a beautiful Chapel of Thanksgiving in Dallas, USA, has arranged a number of interreligious ceremonies on the theme of thanksgiving and issues an annual Declaration of Thanksgiving, which is endorsed by a leading member of each religion. International interfaith conferences of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, the Temple of Understanding, the International Association for Religious Freedom, the Assembly of the World's Religions and similar organisations usually provide times of devotion led by members of a particular faith to which all the conference participants are invited as well as some joint opening and closing ceremony (19). In India there has been a long history of times when people of different religions meet for prayer (20).
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