By Khalida Sarwari
Saratogans of different faiths are invited to come together and celebrate unity and religious diversity at an interfaith service set for Saturday, Dec. 16.
Sponsored by the city of Saratoga and the Saratoga Ministerial Association, this year marks the second annual “Celebration of Light” event aimed at honoring four of the biggest religious traditions that represent Saratoga residents: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism.
“Our hope was to bring people together and … celebrate the holy days as one community,” said Rev. Erik Swanson from Westhope Presbyterian Church. “In these times where there’s a lot of separation, and separating of us and them or our group and the other group, we want to bring people together to celebrate our unity.”
This year’s event starts at 5:30 p.m. in Blaney Plaza.
In its inaugural year, the event drew close to 500 people, but the decision to bundle it with the city’s popular 25-year-old traditional tree lighting ceremony in 2016 was met with some controversy by a number of people who didn’t agree with changing the date from a Friday, when the tree lighting has traditionally been held, to a Saturday. Councilman Manny Cappello, as mayor the year of the first event, had suggested the change in an effort to be inclusive of all faiths, but the move backfired when the date change caused confusion and smaller crowds. This year, organizers decided to separate the two events again.
The City of Saratoga and the Saratoga Ministerial Association for the Celebration of Light will be holding the Celebration of Light in Blaney Plaza on Dec. 16 at 5:30pm. From left are Rev. Erik Swanson with Westhope Presbyterian Church, Rabbi Philip Ohriner with Congregation Beth David, the Rev. Sara Pearson with Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and new Saratoga Vice Mayor Manny Cappello. (Jacqueline Ramseyer/Staff Photographer)
“At a time when the public discourse is so negative and so concerning to many of our residents, this is a really important thing for me to help foster this togetherness and not just accept the differences between us, but to celebrate them and to bring them out and engage with one another despite our differences,” Cappello said.
Similar to last year, the event will feature symbols representing the four religions, each one about 6 feet tall and illuminated. There will be a crèche for Christianity, a green crescent moon and star for Islam, a menorah for Judaism and a trident and om for Hinduism.
Children’s choirs from local faith communities in Saratoga will perform, and there will be a ceremony where guests will be invited to light candles together.
The significance of that, said Swanson, is that “the light of God shines in all of us and continues to shine in our world, and the light of community inspires people to hope and to peace and maybe even to love.”
The religious communities taking part in the celebration include Congregation Beth David, the West Valley Muslim Association, the Saratoga Hindu Temple and Community Center and the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.
The Saturday, Dec. 16 event is free and open to the public. It begins at 5:30 p.m. in Blaney Plaza.
Link:
Saratogans invited to ‘Celebration of Light’ interfaith event
