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The Issues
Conclusion
The debate within several faith communities about interfaith prayer is likely to continue, because of the growing number of situations where people consider this possibility. It is hoped that this book will help to clarify the issues and make people more aware of the particular concerns of members of different religions.
Fr Amalorpavadass, in his keynote address to the conference on 'Sharing Worship', as we have seen (14), distinguished two motivations. One stressed the need to affirm human solidarity, the other put the emphasis on meeting at the deepest level of spiritual experience. The two approaches, however, as he said overlap. Many of those who have taken part in interfaith services, perhaps initially with hesitation, have found them to be inspiring and moving occasions. They witness that their own faith has been deepened whilst their appreciation of others' faiths has been broadened. The experience of oneness in the presence of the Transcendent has been a powerful incentive to work for peace and justice, to seek to help those in need and to struggle to protect the environment.
Interfaith services are not intended to create a new religion nor to be a substitute for the regular pattern of prayer of any faith community. Rather they are special occasions which both acknowledge the rich diversity of humankind's spiritual traditions and affirm the unity of the human family.
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