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Think Tank 2022
Interreligious Association for Peace and Development
UPF-France Convenes 24th Interfaith Meeting
Sunday, April 16, 2023
Paris, France—"Cultivating Generosity" was the theme of a Dialogue & Alliance monthly interfaith meeting.
Twenty people gathered in Paris and six in the north of France on April 16, 2023, for the 24th Francophone scriptural sharing.
A total of 12 nations took part online. In addition to France, there were viewers in Austria, Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritius, Republic of the Congo, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.
The moderator was Soraya Ayouch, a member of the Dialogue & Alliance Sponsoring Committee.
The program began with a special tribute to Monsignor Jacques Gaillot, who had just left us at the age of 87, following a devastating illness. A member of the Sponsoring Committee of our circle, he supported and encouraged us for many years.
The first reading brought a look at Judaism. It was Exodus 36:1-7, in which God gave Moses instructions for building the Tabernacle and making the objects. The people eventually brought more than enough to do the work that the Lord had commanded to be done. To comment on this passage, we invited Rabbi Gabriel Hagai, who is an Orthodox Jew of Sephardic tradition, trained in Jerusalem and in Boston (USA). He is currently a teacher-researcher and lecturer in several universities and higher institutes in Paris.
The second reading brought a Christian perspective. It was Mark 12:41-44, the text about the poor widow who put only two coins in the box. It was read by Modeste Amoussou, then commented on by Sandrine Amaya Morisson, who defines herself as an alchemist because she recognizes this capacity to transform/transmit what is the spirit in the matter. (www.sandrine-amaya-morisson.com)
We had a short cultural break with a video of the song Chanson pour l'Auvergnat, written in 1954 by Georges Brassens.
The last reading brought a Muslim view. Two short verses of the 41st and 42nd suras of the Koran were read. To comment on them, we invited Aboubacar Sow, who was participating online from Mali. Mr. Sow is a young Malian blogger who expresses himself on various interreligious themes. He is currently seeking to internationalize his activities, in particular with the "World Committee of the Three Testaments." We were happy, despite some connection problems, because he was the first speaker from Africa in our program. (www.aboubacarsow.net)
The meeting concluded with a question-and-answer session moderated by Dr. Laurent Ladouce, a research fellow at the Universal Peace Federation.
The recording of this program is available on the UPF-France YouTube channel.