Chatham United Methodist Church Hosted Abraham Interfaith Lunch

Pastor Jeff Markay and guest speakers, among the are the Peace Islands Institute members.
Pastor Jeff Markay and guest speakers, among the are the Peace Islands Institute members.


Date posted: May 4, 2019

By C. ZIEGLER

The Chatham United Methodist Church hosted its 6th Annual Abraham Interfaith Lunch on Tuesday, April 30th. The theme of the event was to embrace faiths of all kinds while joining together to help refugees in need. “You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10:19) Jesus said, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” (Matthew 25:35) “Was not the earth of God spacious enough for you to flee for refuge?” (Quran 4:97)

Members of different faiths from Judaism to Islam to Christian literally and figuratively “broke bread together” in an effort to understand the backgrounds and experiences that helped mold who they are as citizens who volunteer time and money within their communities to provide food and shelter for the less fortunate.

Over 120 people of all faiths gathered to celebrate and share food generously prepared by the Peace Islands Institute. The menu included grilled vegetables and meat, garbanzo beans and rice, string beans and sauce, and baklava for dessert.

Offering a place for all to pray, meet together for conversation and fellowship, the Chatham United Methodist Church (CUMC) allowed for an inclusive and prayerful vision to become reality. “The guests may have entered the doors as strangers, but they left having made new friends and a new understanding of faith,” said Peggy Melvin.

The Chatham United Methodist Church Senior Pastor, Jeff Markay was host and gave the opening remarks. Markay is known for, among other things, his outreach and networking abilities to provide food and shelter to refugees, homeless, and others on the fringes of society. “His compassion and hope for all to grow in appreciation of each other is infectious, “ said one guest. 

CUMC Associate Pastor, Sharon Yarger gave the invocation. Speakers on the topic of Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Those that Welcome Them included Osman Dulgeroglu of Peace Islands Institute; Mary and Gerry Gannon and Frank of Refugee Assistance Morris Partners (RAMP); Jenny Tananbaum of the Saturday Morning Fun Club at Temple Emanu-El in Westfield; the Rev. Julie Yarborough and Robby of One World One Love; Andrea Wren-Hardin of First Friends; and the Rev. Kristin Markay of Lambeth Refugees Welcome (London).

The message of the speakers was that despite a difference in faith and background, the driving force in helping those in need, whether they be refugees, asylum seekers, or homeless, is more powerful than language, country of birth or religion. Working together as all of God’s children can make a positive change in the world.

Source: TAPintoChatham , May 2, 2019

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Ambassador says US having difficulty in seeing clear criterion in anti-Gülen operations

Speaking to a group of reporters in Istanbul on Friday, Bass said although the Turkish government insists that the anti-coup measures it has taken against followers of the Gülen movement are proportionate, it is difficult see that the Turkish government is taking its actions based on a clear criterion. Bass said the US was having difficulty in assessing whether the measures are proportionate and reasonable.

Clifton Mayor Anzaldi receives Diversity Award

The annual PII award dinners were established to publicly recognize the outstanding achievements of those who have distinguished themselves in their profession and service to communities in the Garden State. PII’s goal in presenting the awards is to advance the causes of peace, cross-cultural tolerance, interfaith dialogue and human dignity.

Report: Turkey Mulling Attack On Fethullah Gulen

Turkish security services have reportedly been planning an attack on U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric suspected of masterminding the July 15 coup plot, a number of sources confirmed. The source said a Turkish intelligence unit in the U.S. had been monitoring the Gulen’s compound for several weeks and that the security was easy to breach.

Saudi scholar finds what he has been looking for in Gulen

The prominent Saudi scholar Salman Al-Ouda said : “From this day on, I will refer people from our world to you. Please let them see all these services because we have serious problems in our world. We have a radical Salafi line and an emerging secular one. But we need a moderate attitude which is, I believe, the Hizmet. Please do not neglect it and tell them about the Hizmet. It is of vital importance for us.”

‘We see in Mr. Gulen a man teaching God’s words’

As an educator I may be a bit biased, but I think the focus on education that we see in Hizmet, that we see in Gulen and his teachings and his being, that focus on education which is critical to the work of Hizmet is itself the most critical work that can be done in this age.

Toward a culture of coexistence

Nigeria is an important and relevant place for this conference because it is where volunteers of the Hizmet Movement inspired by Fethullah Gülen’s ideas have established 16 schools, a university and a hospital.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Şifa University rector says gov’t move to shut down hospitals won’t affect education

Turkey’s Global Anti-Gülen Crusade Puts Tbilisi in Diplomatic Bind

Tentacles of Turkey’s growing autocracy reach Thailand

By Extraditing Anti-Erdogan Leader, Trump Would Betray American Values

Islamists lost test with power, Arab and Turkish intellectuals agree

Int’l students delight Washington in language festival

Fethullah Gülen undergoes successful cataract surgery

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News