ST. GEORGE — Week after week, faith leaders will offer a prayer or similar supplication at the start of a public meeting of the St. George City Council. It may be a Jewish rabbi one week then a retired Baptist minister the next.
They do this as members of the St. George Interfaith Council, a local group that fosters cooperation and unity between various faith groups while also promoting their overall visibility.
“The purpose is to have communication among all the faith communities and make sure that we are talking to each other, have service projects – to work together when there is a need for something to happen,” said Tim Martin, one of the founders of the interfaith council.
The St. George Interfaith Council does more than just offer prayers at St. George City Council meetings – though that is one of their more visible activities (council members also offer prayers at Washington County Commission meetings and more recently Washington City Council) it is involved in. It also takes part in charity efforts, networking within the faith community and the annual Prayer Over the City New Year’s Day event.
It was out of the latter event that the St. George Interfaith Council came into being 12 years ago.
At the time, Martin and his wife were members of local public affairs council of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and were among the first participants involved in Prayer Over the City when it was originally held at Pioneer Park in St. George. The New Year’s Day event, organized by Rev. Jimi Kestin of Solomon’s Porch Foursquare Fellowship, involved ministers from various faith traditions who offered short prayers for the community for the coming year.
Through this act of interfaith unity, as well as similar events and general encouragement to serve the community while involving other churches and faiths, Martin came up with the idea for the interfaith council.
Utilizing his own contacts and Kestin’s, the leaders of over 25 congregations were invited to join in the creation of an interfaith council in early 2010 in a meeting held at the then Dixie State College Alumni House.
“Around 22-to-23 showed up in February 2010 and Rev. Dr. Ralph Clingan (of the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church) was elected as president… and off we went,” Martin said.
Both Christian and non-Christrian faiths are represented on the interfaith council. This includes various Christian denominations, as well as leaders among the area’s Jewish, Baha’i, Buddhist and Muslim communities.
“We have faith leaders from across the spectrum of belief,” Kestin said. “It’s been a real joy to see the faith community come together.”
The interfaith council holds much the same philosophy as that had during Prayer Over the City and similar events, Kestin said.
“We come together in unity, but no compromise in faith,” he said, adding there are many points of belief no one wholly agrees on. Despite this, council members focus on what they have in common. “It has helped us build a spirit of unity that transcend differences and built great friendships over the years.”
The interfaith council has helped bring various groups and churches together for their benefit and the community overall. An example of this is the annual CROP Walk, Kestin said.
The CROP walk, which stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty, is a fundraiser that involves a 6-mile walk. The 6 miles is said to be the distance people in third world countries walk each day to get food, water and work. The charity raised over $90,000 by 2021 to help feed people in St. George and throughout the world.
The event was originally held by the a single church, he Kestin said, but through the interfaith council, that event has enjoyed a greater reach and impact than it would have otherwise had.
Other interfaith events have involved the Stations of the Cross, which is a tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. The event has been observed in St. George for many years with members of the interfaith council serving as volunteers at each of the 14 stations.
More recently, the council helped spread awareness of the plight of Ukrainian students at Dixie State University. They are stuck in the United States for the time being due to the war with Russia taking place at home, Martin said. So to help those students, the council has helped raise $4,000 so far to support the students through the summer.
“Being a part of the council allows for more impactful projects for the community,” Kestin said.
In addition to the unity and collaboration, the interfaith council fosters it also promotes tolerance and denounces incidents of hate.
“We don’t look at the religion or the skin color – we just want to help people,” said Rabbi Helene Ainbender, a former president of the interfaith council. “You can’t get much better than that.”
In the wake of incidents of anti-Semitic and racial violence across the country and closer to home last year, the interfaith council issued a statement denouncing hate that was shared with the Washington County Commission at the time.
More recently, council members met with an FBI analyst for training on how to best prepare and recognize terrorist threats and action, particularly during worships services and meetings.
Ainbender said it was great to have a network of support and comradery among the faith community where they were able to share ideas and resources like the training. Faith groups that weren’t a part of the council don’t have that network, she said.
“Those who aren’t a part of it may not be as strong of a voice in the community,” Ainbender said.
In order to join the St. George Interfaith Council, Martin said faith leaders can contact him through the council’s website.
“It’s been a joy to be a part of,” Kestin said.
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