Sisters in Spirit: A Day of Shared Faith, Stories and Song
Siloam was filled with voices lifted in song, prayer, conversation, and teaching moments as 85 women gathered on July 18th for the annual Antler River Watershed Region UCW retreat day, Summer Event. This year’s theme was “Sisters in Spirit: Sharing Our Faith Stories,” and our guest speakers were Rev. Jennifer Prince, Ghadeer Abdallah, and Roxanne Andrighetti, who represent the Christian, Muslim, and Baha’i faith traditions, respectively. We were unable to secure a Jewish women to speak as Saturday is their Sabbath.
It was a wonderful day of learning about the various faith traditions, and realizing how much we share in common. Margaret Smith brought greetings on behalf of Siloam, and Neila Lawson was at the piano to lead us in our hymn sings. Worship was on the theme of “The Golden Rule,” which every major religion follows, although the words may be different. In addition to the honorarium that each of our guest speakers received, the morning offering of $819 was shared between them for a charity or special project of their choice. Jen asked that her $273 be directed to Mission and Service, Ghadeer will give her money to the London Mosque for their charitiable works, and Roxanne chose to support St. Joseph’s Hospice in
memory of her late father. We closed worship with the Sacrament of Holy Communion with Rev. Michelle Owens presiding. Michelle is the minister at White Oaks U.C. and is in shared ministry with Calvary, Riverside, and Wesley-Knox. One of Ghadeer’s friends asked to share an Arabic prayer prior to lunch.
The Book Room, courtesy of Grand River Books at Five Oaks, and their presentation on the various resources available was appreciated, and lots of books were purchased. Many thanks to Judi Emery and her dedicated group of volunteers who worked all day Friday and Saturday to ensure that participants had a delicious lunch. There was an incredible variety of food and special attention was given to accommodate those with food allergies and restrictions. Our Muslim friends very much appreciated the Halal food choices.
Roxanne, who spoke in the morning about the Baha’i tradition, shared her beautiful singing voice with us after lunch. She takes the words of sacred texts and sets them to music, and taught us the chorus to a couple of her songs. She is extremely talented, and is fluent in 5 languages!
It was a wonderful day, and many positive comments were received. Many women commented on our beautiful church, noting that it is an excellent venue for this event with its accessibility, available parking, and air conditioned sanctuary. Planning will begin in September for next year’s event.
Pastor Mary Dillon