‘Imperative to have peace, unity and collaborative works among interfaith’

Dimapur, December 22 (MExN): An interfaith pre-Christmas celebration was organized by Christian Forum Dimapur (CFD) at Bethesda Celebration Centre on December 20. It was attended by members from various communities including Muslim, Jain, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh.

Highlighting the purpose of the gathering, Dr Fr CP Anto, Secretary, CFD cited that it is imperative to have peace, unity and collaborative works among all religions and denominations for a sustainable development and peace in the world as it is getting divided on the basis of various issues and realms. He said, “It is time for us to promote dialogue, listening without prejudice and working collaboratively for the betterment of universe. It is time to love the unloved, give hope to the distressed and do charity to help the poor to experience Christ in their lives.”

In a short greeting, Ahidur Rehman representing the Muslim community said, “We live in peace and harmony with each other in Nagaland. And we are happy to say that we don’t have any religious conflicts in Nagaland.” Rehman also reminded to remember and pray for the Oting village community as they are suffering in this Christmas season. 

OM Praksh Sethi representing Jain community said, “We are very happy to be part of this program and look forward to have same in the days to come.” He spoke on the importance of peace and harmony in the state and the region. “We should always come out of our differences to embrace the commonality,” he said. 

YP Gupta representing the Hindu community said that Christmas is celebrated in all religions. Gupta expressed that he was impressed by the initiative of the CFD in bringing together all the religions in one platform to celebrate pre-Christmas. 

Representing the Buddhist community, Bijayatha Barua said that ‘Christ is the source of joy, hope and peace in the midst of troubled world. This message of peace can be best shared with the interfaith cooperation.’ She also stressed on the uniqueness of Buddhism as the most peaceful religion in the world. 

Meanwhile, the speaker, Rev Dr N Papino spoke on the real essence of Christmas, which is ‘Redemption, inclusivity of God’s love and reconciliation.’ “It is through the coming of Jesus Christ that this estrangement was redeemed, reconciled and love prevails,” he said. 

He said that the coming of Christ is to reconcile both between God and human beings and amongst humanity itself. “In our world today torn apart by differences, hatred and prejudices, we need this kind of reconciliation where humanity can come together in love for a holistic and meaningful life.” He added, “Amidst our different affirmations, we need humility for reconciling with each other. This humility is commonly called ‘Swallowing your pride’ ‘Burying the hatched’ and ‘admitting you are wrong.’ Then only, we can experience real reconciliation. Today our society is facing so many challenges- Pandemic, brokenness, killings, violence, hatred, extortion has stained our lives. Let the reconciliation of God prevail in amongst our people in our land.”

Earlier, the celebration began with invocation by Rev Vitoshe Swu, Vice Chairman CFD, Rev Mosses Murry, Chairman, CFD welcomed the gathering, Bethesda Assembly of God led the carol singing, Rev Vangpong Phom, Joint Secretary CFD said the benediction and Imnatoshi chaired the programme.