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Second faith fest spring event discusses pilgrimage
OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) — It's a gathering grounded in faith and unity. In Owensboro, people of different religious backgrounds came together for the second annual Faith Fest spring leaders explored a shared spiritual tradition and invited the community to reflect.
Faith Fest spring is in its second year, but the efforts that led to its creation started over a decade ago. It's centered around a theme sacred to both the Islamic and Christian faith: pilgrimage.
Everything from reflection to celebration. This year's faith fest brings together two spiritual voices: Dr. Aseedu Kalik and Father Larry Hostetter.
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Officials say the message is simple: faith can unite.
'Christians, Muslims and Jews live together in Spain for centuries in peace and harmony. This is an old idea that we need to return to,' says Claudia Ramisch, the event's organizer.
The two speakers dove deep into the topic of pilgrimage as over 4 dozen people listened.
For Muslims, Hajj begins June 4. It's an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. People are required to travel to the mecca at least once in their life.
Dr. Kalik says he saw the mecca in December.
'We believe it's built by the angels and prophets. You see how the religion evolved, and how it spread the message of commonness [and] equality,' says Dr. Kalik, the spring event's speaker.
Father Hostetter's speech focused on the attitude of a pilgrim and what it means to walk together toward God from the catholic perspective.
His last pilgrimage was in Rome, Italy, but he says the practice can start small.
'Sometimes, I do a little chapel in the woods, and that's the pilgrimage for an afternoon. Then other times, I might be part of a group that travels to Rome,' says Father Hostetter, another speaker at the event.
Officials say it reminds Owensboro that we all have a journey and sometimes the most powerful steps are taken together.
'It's really important right now that we know our neighbors, and religion is one of those things that sometimes is a taboo topic. We should be talking about [religion] because that's the source of our values and our interests,' says Ramisch.
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