“Go Home and Love Your Family”
WFWP Canada Hosts Women of Faith Meeting with Multi-faith Speakers
The Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) Canada hosted its first in-person meeting with multi-faith speakers called Women of Faith Bringing Hope to Our Broken World on Saturday, June 25, 2022. There were people in attendance both virtually and in person.
WFWP Canada president Lilly Tadin opened the event with the initial question “What can you do to promote world peace?” Inspired by Mother Teresa's advice "Go home and love your family.” President Tadin encouraged the attendees to become agents of change, healing, and reconciliation in a broken and divided world.
The first guest speaker, Jasmine Edwards [Co-founder of Charity Service Faith Mission] commented that the world is broken and it is not crazy to have hope. She encouraged self-reflection with the question “Is Christ my motivation and hope in life?” She believes that the problems of life abound because we ignore guidance from God. Since God did not discriminate in making us in his image, we must also do the same.
Atiya Ahsan [Director of Zonta, Zonta Club, Mississauga] gave a powerful presentation called “Sweet & Strong” where she highlighted the connections between Christianity and Islam. She asked the audience to self-reflect with the question “What did I do today to create harmony and peace?” Her proposal was to focus on the cooperation of Christians and Muslims as the largest closely related faith groups. Her presentation included many facts about where the Muslim and Christian faiths are intertwined in history and scripture. Highlights included many verses from the Quran that mentioned Jesus and his mother Mary and their significance to the Muslim faith. She also said that Pope Francis visited Saayid Ali Seestani, a Shia Muslim High Scholar, in Najaf, Iraq in March of this year to bring attention to the reception of the Muslim faith by the highest leader of the Catholic Church.
Julia Tarasova [Co-director of the Support Ukrainian Project] implored the audience to go beyond international, religious and racial divides as the solution to world peace. As a German, Russian, and Ukrainian Jew she has concerns for all people involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. “I represent all and God who cares for all. Will Jews let me be their representative?” Julia is working toward providing much needed supplies for newcomers to Canada who are being given refuge from the war in Ukraine. She is coordinating a great response to the tremendous suffering that is being experienced by these people. Her words are backed up by her actions. In fact, meeting attendees were asked to donate to the Support Ukraine Project.
At this point, a question period proceeded where one audience member, Jaqueline, commented that Julia’s remarks moved her. As a native of Congo, she thinks about the suffering of the people in eastern Congo from the massacres.
A final comment from Atiya Ahsan stated that when we fail to be respectful, we are being unjust.
When asked what was needed to make a change in the world, Jasmin Edward responded that ability and willingness to be a leader are all that are necessary.
Lilly Tadin remarked also that the path to peace is the unification of North and South Korea. Through unification, Korea can become a beacon of freedom, peace, unity and happiness. In addition, President Tadin spoke about the WFWP education program “Cornerstone for Peace" which educates couples about the importance of blessed marriage established by our founders, Father and Mother Moon. In conclusion, President Tadin encouraged women to take on leadership roles, to find their talent(s) and act on them so that through it they can make the world a better place. “Let’s collaborate, not alienate each other as women. Let’s continue to dialogue and search for peace jointly.”
