December 20, 2012
INTERFAITH PRAYER SERVICE

For the victims of the tragedy which occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday and for their families and the Newtown community

All are welcome!

The program will consist of prayers for Sandy Hook from various faith traditions including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Sikh, and more. Program will be hosted by CAIR Oklahoma board member, Saad Mohammed.

Sponsored by CAIR-Oklahoma, The Oklahoma Conference of Churches, and The Interfaith Alliance Foundation of Oklahoma

Confirmed speakers:

Saad Mohammed (Host)

Saad Mohammed was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up as a Methodist Christian. He spent six years in the Navy as an Aviation Electrician, He converted to Islam on Easter Sunday in 1996 and has a wife of twenty-two years and three sons. Mohammed is a founding and current board member of CAIR Oklahoma, as well as Director of Islamic Information for the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City. Mohammed received the ‘Outstanding Muslim of the Year’ award for community service from the Governor’s Ethnic Advisory Council in 2009. Mohammed has also been an active member of the interfaith community having had served on the Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma board from 2002 – 2010 and the Religions United committee from 2004 – 2010. Mohammed resides with his wife and their 3 children in Moore, Oklahoma.

Rabbi Vered Harris

On July 1, 2012, Rabbi Vered Harris became Temple B’nai Israel’s spiritual leader, only the fifth rabbi in our congregation’s 109 year history.

Prior to coming to Oklahoma City, Rabbi Harris served for 12 years as the Education Rabbi at Congregation Beth Torah in Overland Park, Kansas. During her tenure there, she developed family education programs, an innovative Hebrew program and spearheaded collaborative programming with other congregations in the city in the areas of young adult outreach and youth engagement. She brings a strong record of successfully working with volunteers to build award-winning congregational programming and experience developing tefillah for different settings and experiences – like youth worship for the High Holy Days, adult services for Shabbatonim, and prayers for women’s groups.

Adam Soltani: Executive Director CAIR Oklahoma

Adam Soltani is a graduate from the University of Central Oklahoma, where his studies focused on sociology and the development of an American Muslim identity. He has served the Muslim community in various capacities as a professional including promoting and managing American Muslim artists, serving as an assistant director for outreach at the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, coordinating youth development programs at the Islamic Society of Edmond, and being one of the founding members of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Prior to joining CAIR-Oklahoma as the Executive Director, Adam worked as a social services specialist with the state of Oklahoma providing aide to underprivileged families. Adam relocated to Oklahoma from Kansas fifteen years ago, and he currently resides in Edmond with his wife.

The Rev. Dr. William Tabbernee: Executive Director Oklahoma Conference of Churches

Before taking up his new position as Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, Dr. William (Bill) Tabbernee was President and Stephen J. England Distinguished Professor of the History of Christianity at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from 1991 to 2009.

Dr. Tabbernee also has extensive experience in ecumenical relations, including more than 20 years service as a member of the World Council of Churches’ Commission on Faith and Order. In the early 1990s, he served on the board of OCC. More recently he has been a member of the board of the Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice (OCCJ) and Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry (TMM).

An ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Dr. Tabbernee co-moderated the international bi-lateral dialogue between the Disciples of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church from 2005-2009. More than forty of his many publications are directly related to ecumenism.

Dr. Tabbernee’s academic specialty is Christian thought and history. He continues to write, teach and publish in this field. He also co-directs an archaeological project, exploring the site of two long-lost ancient cities which he discovered in Turkey. His most recent book is Prophets and Gravestones: An Imaginative History of Montanists and Other Early Christians (Hendrickson, 2009).

Imam Imad Enchassi

Motivational speaker Dr. Imad Enchassi is founder and Executive Director of the Mercy Education Foundation, as well as founder, Imam and President of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City Enchassi received degrees from American universities in pursuit of a successful career in the private sector before becoming an Imam. He studied at the Daawa University Institute and the University Institute of Vocation for Islamic Studies in Beirut Lebanon, receiving his Bachelors, Masters, and two Doctorate Degrees in Islamic Studies.

Dr. Enchassi is the first Muslim to provide invocations at both the Oklahoma State Capitol, and before the Mayor and City Council of Oklahoma City.

Rev. Jeff Hamilton

Associate Minister at the First Christian Church of Oklahoma City. Previous President of the Interfaith Alliance Foundation of Oklahoma. Hamilton holds a Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy/ Religion, Phillips University; Master of Divinity, Yale University Divinity School. Hamilton has been a leader in interfaith activism in Oklahoma City for over two decades.

Sabi Singh

Sabi Singh is the current president of the Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma.

and more….