UNDERSTANDING LIFE AFTER DEATH: 6TH INTERRELIGIOUS SHARING SERIES IN COLORADO
The Sikh community greeted us warmly at their Gurdwara (place of worship) in the Greater Denver area, where we had the opportunity to hold our 6th Interreligious Sharing Series on September 7th, 2019. This is an ongoing series for people of different faiths to openly discuss topics that matter and find common ground. This time, the topic of discussion was "What is your religion's understanding of life after death?"
Our hospitable Sikh hosts were celebrating the conclusion of the reading of their entire holy text, and so we were blessed to enjoy their delicious traditional food and sacred music with them before beginning our sharing.
In addition to the Sikhs, we had representatives from the Church of the Latter-day Saints, the Lady Fatima Mosque, and Family Federation for World Peace (FFWP).
Gale Alves, representing the Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP), began by reading some words from the autobiography of Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, WFWP co-founder, on interfaith harmony. Next she read the mission statement of WFWP, then the mission statement from FFWP and lastly welcomed everyone and thanked the Sikhs for hosting us so well.
Dr. Michael Hentrich, who represented FFWP, then opened the main discussion and made many good points in the 10 minutes allowed. Each faith leader conveyed their beliefs clearly and sincerely.
Through this sharing, we found that we all agreed on the following points:
The physical life is very important and its purpose is to prepare for our eternal life. Our eternal life is our true life.
We need to use this physical life wisely and develop a relationship with God, Allah, Jesus, Supreme Being, the Lord.
We need to serve, perform good works and live for the sake of others while on earth.
If we live a good life on earth, we will go to a good place in the spirit world or hereafter. If we don't, we will not go to a good place.
We must live our truth, not just think, talk or pray about it.
In the end, everyone was happy to participate in this ongoing Interreligious Sharing Series and, through these meetings, hope to spread greater religious understanding and unity within their local communities and beyond.
Editor’s Note: Gale and Antonio Alves both contributed to this article.
