Anglicans in Manitoba elect first Black bishop, Jewish women in Winnipeg wage peace, Muslims gather for Eid al-Adha prayers: Religion round-up

 

Anglicans in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario have selected the first Black person to be their bishop, Jewish women in Winnipeg want to “wage peace” between Israelis and Palestinians, and 15,000 local Muslims gather for prayer during Eid al-Adha—three of my recent stories about faith in Manitoba for a religion round-up.

 

Anglicans in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario have selected the first Black person to be their bishop—and the first who was born in Africa. Naboth Manzongo was elected to be the 14th bishop of the Diocese of Rupert’s Land May 31. 

“It’s a burden to be the first of anything,” he said about becoming the first Black and African bishop in the diocese, adding he can be an inspiration to Black youth and to youth from other marginalized communities. 

Read my story about Naboth in the Free Press.

 

Esther Blum doesn’t know how peace is going to happen between Israel and Palestine. But, she said, “We gave war a chance for 77 years. Maybe now is the time to give peace the same amount of time.”

Blum, a member of the Winnipeg chapter of Women Wage Peace, made that comment to a group of about 25 Jewish seniors at the Remis Luncheon at the Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre a week ago.

Read my story about Esther and Women Wage Peace in the Free Press.

 

And around 15,000 local Muslims converged on the convention centre Friday to mark Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice. 

The event remembers the story in the Qur’an of Ibrahim’s willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son, Ishmael. It was held in three sessions to accommodate everyone who came to pray and hear sermons from Islamic leaders. 

Ismael Mukhtar, an imam at the Grand Mosque, preached about the importance of being willing to follow God in life and to submit to him. 

“As Muslims, we are to follow the example of Ibrahim, to be willing to sacrifice what is most precious to us for God,” he told the gathering. 

That, he added, is the essence of Islam, that “we are willing to go to the furthest point of sacrifice in obedience to the creator.”

Read about the prayer service in the Free Press.