Thank you, Hindu American Foundation for this great honor for Bishop Bruno, Reverend Karen McQueen and myself. Please know how deeply touched and honored we each are to be receiving this very special and unexpected recognition from you.
I stand before you tonight wearing two different hats: as The Officer of Ecumenical and Interreligious Concerns for the Diocese of Los Angeles and as The Consultant for Interfaith Relations for the Episcopal Church in the United States.
As the representative of Bishop Jon Bruno, the Bishop of Los Angeles,
I bring you a letter. Bishop Bruno and Rev. McQueen both send their regrets that they could not be here tonight and Bishop Bruno has asked me to read you the following [Please click here to read Bishop Bruno’s letter].
As the climate in our country becomes less and less civil and more violent in rhetoric and action, the work that we do together and separately becomes ever more urgent and important. We must continue to bear witness to the truth that it is simply not possible to say with any integrity or authentic witness to the values that under-gird our two great faiths, that One loves God but hates another human being. Now more than ever we, as a community that seeks to protect the integrity of both our religions and our democracy, must stand firm in our collective commitment to eradicate hate, discrimination, defamation and the dehumanization of any and all of God’s created. In our ever increasing pluralism and our ever increasingly complex and challenging world there can be no room for that which seeks to erode the very fiber of the inherent goodness found in our two great faith traditions. We in the Episcopal Church are committed to eradicate fear and falsehood by linking arm-and-arm and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with you in dialogue, education, and speaking truth to power on behalf of the Hindu community.
This award in the name of Gandhi is particularly meaningful to me. When Gandhi traveled to London to meet with the Prime Minister of England he was followed everywhere by the international press. As he stepped out of a car in front of 10 Downing Street (the home of the Prime Minister) a reporter thrust a microphone in Gandhi’s face and said: “Gandhi, give us a statement.” In a clear and steady voice Gandhi said: “My life is my statement.” Let each of us be able to say, “My life is my statement.”
Congratulations and thank you, Hindu American Foundation, for all that you do on behalf not only of the Hindu community and also on behalf of all those who value religious liberty and justice for all. We are honored to work with you and deeply honored tonight to receive The Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Religious Pluralism.
Thank you.