Leaders of different Religions celebrate Easter together

Lahore (Sunil John): An Inter-faith Easter get together was organized by the National Commission for interfaith Dialogue and Ecumenism. A number of Muslim religious leaders and scholars were present as well as representatives from the Sikh community. His Grace Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw graced the occasion as the chief guest.

In his opening speech, Fr. Francis Nadeem OFM Cap; the executive secretary NCIDE welcomed all the guests and signified the Feast of Easter. He said that after His resurrection the first message given by Jesus Christ was ‘Peace be with you”. Easter is a feast of victory over death, overcoming darkness by light and of hopefulness. We must keep on spreading the same message.

In the beginning of the ceremony a cake was presented by Mr. Muhammad Akhtar. All the religious leaders joined the Archbishop for cake cutting. The students of Bait-ul-Quran also presented a gift of cake to the Archbishop.

An Easter candle was also presented by Muslim scholars. The Easter Candle is a symbol of peace , love and harmony. His Grace Archbishop illuminated the Easter Candle and followed by all the leaders who were requested to light their candles and take part in prayer for peace lead by His Grace Archbishop. He prayed for the peace and solidarity in the country. He too prayed for the success of the military operation against terrorists.
The Archbishop appreciated all the religious leaders who were present there and encouraged the young students who would become the preachers in future. He stressed that we should focus more on nationalism rather than our personal ego.

The Sikh leader Sardar Kalyan Singh cited the presence of the leaders in this place and encouraged them to witness Sikh festivals also. The participants who were present on this occasion were: Fr. Javed Kashif OFM Cap, Fr. Adnan Kashif OFM Cap, Rev. Emmanuel Khokher, Rev. Saleem Yousaf, Rev. Saleem Khokher, Sayyed Muhammad Ayaaz, Hafiz Syed Ashiq Hussain, Moulana Asghar Chishti, Moulana Muhammad Asim, Allama Dr. Badar Munir, Allama Farooq Ahmad Saeedi, Sardar Kalyan singh, Rev. Emmanuel Khokher, Rev. Saleem Yousaf, Rev. Saleem Khokher, Pir S. A. Jaffery, Shakeel Francis, Qamar Daniel, Ijaz Safdar, Mrs. Ishrat Javed, Mrs Naila Sunil, Mrs Sara Suleman, Ms. Sara, Ms. Mehwish and the students of Bait-ul-Quran Institute Lahore.