The Manteca Interfaith Community Appeal is hosting “An Evening of Respect”
It takes place Thursday, March 24, from 6 to 7 p.m. MICA invites the South County community to attend the program will hosted by the Manteca Seventh-day Adventist Church and Pastor Bruce Blum at 525 South Union Road, Manteca.
The topic of discussion will be “Religious Liberty, Tolerance, and Kindness.”
The evening will seek to address questions such as “Why does liberty of conscience matter for a healthy society?” “Why should we defend those whose beliefs differ from our own?” and “What do faith communities contribute to society when they are free to operate according to their beliefs?”
Guest speakers include Dennis Seaton, from the Seventh-day Adventist Office of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, and Ossama Kamel from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Seaton has served in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church as a pastor and administrator since 1978. In 2012 he became the Director of Governmental Relations for the Church State Council. The Council is the oldest public interest advocacy and legal services organization in the Southwestern United States devoted exclusively to issues of liberty of conscience and religion and the separation of church and state.
The Council serves a five-state western region for the Adventist Church. He works with people who have religious accommodation issues in the workplace, monitors Religious Liberty, and fosters community engagement.
Kamel serves as the CAIR Sacramento Valley/Central California Community Organizing and Engagement Manager. His approach to organizing at CAIR-SV/CC seeks to build spaces where community members are safe and empowered to share their stories, learn from one another, and are mobilized to fight against the violence of the everyday. O
He is active with various organizations across the state of California that seek Indigenous Sovereignty, Black and Palestinian Liberation and Immigrant Rights justice. He is a graduate student in Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University focusing on Race and Resistance Studies and Africana Studies.
Quoting from their mission statement; MICA, “endeavors to bring together people of various faiths, beliefs, and traditions around common goals of service, education, and peace for all people.” They achieve this by “acting with respect, appreciating diversity, and responding in solidarity to those most in need, while promoting these values in the community from generation to generation, one activity at a time.”
All are welcome, as public support is vital to protect religious liberties. MICA looks forward in this effort of bringing good-hearted people together. Light refreshments will follow the program.
