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Interfaith gathering sparks connection | The Village News
September 2025
ELAINE DAVIE
Breaking down barriers between ‘us’ and ‘them’ occurs instinctively when there is a desire to gain an insight into the life of ‘the other’ — what drives them, What makes them tick.
This was the principle behind an interfaith dialogue recently held at the Volmoed Retreat Centre in Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. It involved members of the Volmoed Youth Leadership progamme and a group of young people from the Ahlul Bait Mosque in Ottery, Cape Town, led by Mowlana Syed Haider and imam Rashid Omar.
By the end of the jam-packed weekend, the participants had delved into the meaning of their individual religious rituals and practices, as well as engaging in discussion on a variety of associated topics.
Unsurprisingly, they discovered that at the core, there was more to unite than to divide them. This was both an Interfaith and an intra-faith experience, since leaders of both the Sunni and Shia streams of the Islamic faith presented interactive sessions, as well as clerics from various Christian denominations.
The main emphasis of the weekend was on prayer, with both groups participating in Muslim as well as Christian prayer rituals, For some of the young Christians, getting up in time for the early morning Muslim prayers required some self-discipline, and while the Muslims took part as observers in the Christian communion service, according to the tenets of their religion, they were prohibited from drinking the wine. One of the most moving sessions for them all was the prayer for peace in the Taizé tradition, conducted by Rev Wilma Jakobsen of Volmoed.
But as Mowlana Haider said,”The way of praying and connecting to God may be different, but we share the common spirit of serving the people of God. We’re not in competition with one another. Religions succeed when they help us become the best versions of ourselves. Our goal is peaceful co-existence between the faiths, not just in a spirit of tolerance, but in acceptance.”
There were opportunities for these young people to relax and get to know one another on a personal basis, There were drumming sessions around a bonfire at night and walks in the mountains around Volmoed. From being slightly hesitant at the start, they were firm friends by the end, and there was consensus that the initiative should be repeated.
The weekend concluded with an up-beat service at the Hermanus Dutch Reformed Church, with a sermon by Father Edwin Arrison, Director of the Volmoed Youth Leadership Group. His message, based on a reading from Luke’s Gospel, was that we all have a mission to fulfil, which is not exclusively to minister to ourselves, but to break down the barriers and reach out to others.
“Forget about being members of separate tribes; we are one people. God unites, where we divide. As Ubuntu people, this principle of community is one to which we must be pledged.”
To prepare for its tenth anniversary in June 2026, the Volmoed Youth Leadership Training Programme (VYLTP) recently launched its 10/10/10 campaign. Its aim is to ask 10 000 people from across the globe to donate R10 per month for 10 months (or R100 once off) in order to sustain this dynamic young adult programme – the focus is on 18 to 25 year olds – and to begin the planning for the 10th anniversary celebrations. Those who are interested can email Edwin@volmoed.org.za for more information,
”n Infame leuen het die een prediker gespreek om te sê, dat die verskilende gelowe waarna hy verwys het, van dieseltde “TRIBE” is. Dit is lynreg téén God se Gees, dat Christus alleen die Weg, Lewe en Waarheid is tot God. Natuurlik kan enige geloof ‘n diens bywoon, maar dan moet die leraar tog Christus se eksklusiwiteit voorhou, en kan dit op ‘n baie mooi en sagte manier doen. Dit is tragies dat die res van NG se leraars en kerkrade in 🇿🇦, só sáámloop met ‘n valse leerstelling, en stilbly – selfs ánder kerke in 🇿🇦 bly maar ook stil. Christus het nié stilgebly teenoor satan sélf, en ook nie teenoor satan se magte ín mense nie. Dit is juis die probleem: satan is nié bang vir die NG Kerk nie, en dit spreek van iets ontsagwekkend verkeerd in die siel van die kerk. Word duiwels dan nie meer uitgedrywe nie? Hul sê hul volg Jesus, maar duidelik is dit seker die grootste leuen, want hul volg ‘n Jesus wat net gepraat het en liefdadigheid verrig het, en die rés van Sy dade, word maar as “stories” verkoop, en nie mee saamge👣. Het hy nie uitgevaar teen Fariseërs, siekes genees, nagte omgebid, sáám sondaars geëet, tussen die mees sondiges geloop en gehelp, duiwels uitgedryf, wonderwerke verrig, Sy eie dissipels soms geweldig ernstig aangespreek? Die NG – en baie ander in 🇿🇦, is ‘n klug.