21st World Sabbath celebrates interfaith unity
People of various religious faiths across metro Detroit are coming together in peace for the 21st World Sabbath of Religious Reconciliation on March 1.
Founded by The Rev. Rod Reinhart in 2000, the idea of the interfaith World Sabbath grew from reaction to wars around the world. Regardless of religion, race or ethnicity, peace is the underlying message most people can agree on.
World Sabbath is hosted each year at a new house of worship. This year it is North Congregational Church in Farmington Hills.
Through the years more religious faiths have participated, including Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhism, Sikh, Baha’i, Jain, Quaker, Unitarian and Zoroastrian.
Gail Katz took over as chairwoman of World Sabbath in 2004 and has since incorporated
more youth activities through the Children of Peace program, which works with third- through seventh-graders.
“My background is teaching English as a second language in middle and elementary school,” Katz says. “This was a perfect fit and I decided we are going to focus on youth giving the prayers.”
One representative teenager from the Jewish, Muslim and Hindu faiths each will signal the beginning of World Sabbath by sounding the shofar, giving the Muslim call to prayer and blowing a conch shell.
In the weeks leading up to the World Sabbath, Katz delivers supplies to the children’s religious schools so they can decorate peace banners to wave while marching in the processional.
As part of the festivities, Katz will call the Children of Peace to the front of the house of worship to sing the song they’ve rehearsed, “We Are Children of Peace.”
“It’s so beautiful to see all these youths from different faiths coming together,” Katz says. “For me it’s the highlight of World Sabbath.”
Each year, Word Sabbath presents the PeaceMaker award, intended for someone in Metro Detroit who has proven to be an example of interfaith peace. This year’s award is presented to Najah Bazzy, founder of Zaman International, a nonprofit organization based in Inkster, which provides clothing, furniture, food and education to individuals in need. Bazzy was named a 2019 CNN Hero.
Katz has dedicated her life to interfaith work with organizations throughout Metro Detroit. Throughout her career as an elementary school teacher, Katz has organized diversity clubs for children, which sparked her passion for interfaith work.
Katz is the co-founder of Women’s Interfaith Solutions for Dialog and Outreach in Metro Detroit (WISDOM), and she is the educational committee chairwoman for the Interfaith Leadership Council.
“I spend about 90% of my time doing interfaith work,” she says. “We can’t solve what’s happening in the Middle East or the tensions with Muslims and Hindus but we can keep peace and bring people together in metro Detroit, and that’s my goal.”