Published in the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram on May 19, 2018

By Bob Lesniewski and Amy Renshaw
 

Let’s make a date — and keep it.

Most of us have had the experience of running into a friend or acquaintance, chatting for a few minutes, and then saying, “Let’s have lunch” or “We should get together for coffee.” But life gets busy, and we don’t follow through.

After awhile, we find out these people are moving away, or they’re losing their health — or they may even pass away unexpectedly. Then we’ve lost the opportunity to connect with them and show our support.

Let’s evaluate how we’re spending our time. Five years from now, when we look back, which memories will mean the most to us? Are those the activities and people we’re devoting time to today?

One area that our interfaith community is concerned about is peace and harmony for all people. It’s common for people to gather in times of disaster or tragedy. In those situations, we realize the importance of joining together and demonstrating our beliefs through action.

If we want to see peace in our community and the world, why not gather with other people in a peaceful time to pray? It’s a great opportunity to connect with our friends and neighbors. Why wait for an emergency?

Eau Claire’s interfaith prayer gatherings offer the space for making those connections. If you’re truly concerned about wanting peace in our world, this is a great place to start. The interfaith services also help us to become more aware that people from all faith traditions share many of the same values and concerns. We all want peace and harmony in the world.

After the prayers, you’ll find a great opportunity for meaningful conversation over refreshments. Talk to someone who may change your thinking about something. Step outside your comfort zone. Learn what people from different faiths are really like. It may be a lot different from what you’ve seen in the media.

We make time for funerals or for visiting people in the hospital. Don’t wait for a challenge to remind us that we want to spend time with our neighbors and friends.

Prioritize the people and beliefs that you care about. Give your friends and neighbors more than a few rushed minutes while you’re thinking about the next thing on your to-do list.

Take the time to talk with a friend or meet someone new and develop that relationship. Get together to share principles that you believe in. We need to make time for these important connections, before we’re saying goodbye to a friend who’s moving across the country and we’re apologizing to them or ourselves because we didn’t spend enough time together.

We encourage you to get out your calendar and write down the date and time in ink: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Lake Street United Methodist Church, 337 Lake St., Eau Claire. Invite a friend to join you for an uplifting evening of prayer and conversation in a peaceful environment. We look forward to seeing you there!

Bob Lesniewski is a monastic Catholic, a Benedictine oblate and organizer of the Interfaith Prayer Service.

Amy Renshaw is a Baha’i and a writer for Brilliant Star, a kids’ magazine and website published by the Baha’i faith (brilliantstarmagazine.org).