STROUDSBURG — During his pontificate marked by an emphasis on inclusion and mutual respect, Pope Francis instructed his Catholic flock that the first step towards finding fraternity with people of other faiths is to “sit down together and listen to each other.” (Fratelli Tutti, 48)
In accord with the Holy Father’s vision, the Faithful Neighbors Ministry was born in May 2023 at Saint Luke Parish in downtown Stroudsburg, with the pastoral goal of forming meaningful relationships with fellow Christians, Jews, Muslims, Unitarian Universalists, Hindus, and Buddhists in the Pocono Mountains.
Led by the pastoral insight of Saint Luke’s spiritual shepherd, Father Michael Quinnan, the ministry soon partnered with the Pocono Interfaith Council. Professor Emeritus Anthony Stevens-Arroyo represents the parish in the organization that fosters ecumenical and interfaith dialogue.
In response to the call to unite Christians during troubled times around the globe, Father Quinnan announced the Church of Saint Luke will host an ecumenical prayer event on Sunday evening, Jan. 19, 2025, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
“In a time when faith is often overlooked and our Christian faith is often sidelined, ecumenical prayer is an opportunity for us to pull together and remember our shared belief in Christ,” Father Quinnan said. “This prayer is a graced opportunity for the Christian community to stand together in solidarity, remembering Christ our Savior.”
The Faithful Neighbors Ministry has established its foundation on the Dialogue in Truth and Charity, a 2014 instruction set forth by the Holy See.
The first dialogue — the dialogue of life — in which people strive to live in an open and neighborly spirit to share their joys and sorrows, as well community challenges, is reflected in the Faithful Neighbors Ministry name.
“We have sought to achieve this dialogue with in-person, six-on-six meetings with other faith communities,” Professor Stevens-Arroyo explained. “With these small groups we can sit down with congregation members to listen and engage in a friendly dialogue about what we already share in common and what we can learn from each other.”
The communal gatherings led to the “dialogue of action,” whereby faith communities work together to help others in need through collaborative ministries of social justice. The traditional Thanksgiving interfaith service and donations to church-run homeless shelters and food pantries have provided fitting examples.
The dialogue of theological exchange may be the most challenging, but can also be the most rewarding. This was evidenced in June 2023 when Bishop Joseph C. Bambera joined Father Quinnan and Professor Stevens-Arroyo in meeting with the leadership of the Islamic Hizmet Movement at the Chestnut Retreat Center in Saylorsburg.
“With the outbreak of war in the Holy Land (in October 2023) and the humanitarian suffering that accompanied the Israeli campaign in Gaza, we heeded the calls for peace by our Holy Father, Pope Francis,” Father Quinnan shared. “We reached out to both the Muslim and Jewish communities in our area to discuss the impact of the war on their families and their own lives.”
The final dialogue proposed by the Vatican — the dialogue of religious experience — opens the door for “persons, grounded in and convinced of their own religious traditions,” to share “their spiritual riches of prayer and worship.”
A fitting example of such opportunities was the National Day of Prayer gathering last May at the Monroe County Courthouse Square in Stroudsburg, where Father Quinnan gathered with representatives from various faiths, including Rabbi Daniel Zucker of Temple Israel, Hindu spiritual leader Sri Swami Swatmananda, and Imam Erol Dincer.
“Our hope is that the prayer in the Poconos for Christian unity and interfaith relations will find echo everywhere,” Father Quinnan remarked.