On the evening of Wednesday June 28th at Temple Sha'arey Shalom, over 50 guests along with the Union County Interfaith Coordinating Council, religious and community leaders, gathered together to sing, pray, read sacred scripture, and reflect on the power of interfaith solidarity.

This event, coordinated by Springfield Township Committeewoman EricaDubois, is in part a response to the increased Islamophobic rhetoric following terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom. In an interview with the Patriot Times,Dubois stated:  “About a month ago after the horrific terror attacks in Manchester England Dubois stated I did not like to hear and see the divisive rhetoric across the country and even close to home. I decided that I wanted to use my position as a leader in the community to bring people together.  I contacted Reverend Carmine Pernini and he took the ball and ran with it!”

Reverend Carmine Pernini, Pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Rahway and Coordinator for the Union County Interfaith Coordinating Council said   “The event, Interfaith Solidarity Gathering: Hate Has No Home Here, came about in large part because Springfield community members, religious leaders, and elected officials from both the Republican and Democratic parties aspire to live into the best of America's history and traditions.  For my part, I helped organize the event because Islamophobic rhetoric is pervasive in both local and national discourse.  We see it in the news, in our schools, at the check-out line at the grocery stores, and in our houses of worship.  While I aspire to live in a world where love prevails over hate, I believe that we cannot move forward together until we recognize that hate has had a home in the United States which is evidenced by our long history of slavery, segregation, and racism. Islamophobia is related to racism in that it, like racism, ascribes to the majority of Muslims the atrocious acts of a few and judges the whole based on the part.  The Interfaith Solidarity Gathering addressed the misconceptions of Muslims as well as spoke positively of the future that I believe we all want:  a beloved community shaped by a love which casts out all fear.  This event was an important first step in creating a space for people to live and love together as a community."

Dubois further stated:  “I'm grateful to not only the council but the hosts RabbiEdelman and Cantor Daniels at Temple Sha'arey Shalom, as well as every attendee that spoke in support of unity in our community including my fellow Township committee woman Geri Bujnowski. Thanks to Freeholder Bruce Bergen, Senator Ray Lesniak, Sheriff Joseph Cryan, N.J Senate candidate Jill Lazar,  who all took the time to support this initiative like this and are always willing to show up and support our community. I thought it was a beautiful demonstration of unity to see members of multiple faiths to come together to share a similar message of love and acceptance. I hope to be a part of more events like this in the future especially involving the use of Springfield. In fact, I made a commitment last night to Rabbi Edelman to begin work on a program that will focus on our youth and bringing them together to emulate the love and unity that we modeled at last night's event.”