By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic
Photographer: TOM TRACY | FC
From left: Rev. Randal Cutter, pastor of New Dawn Community Church in Coral Springs and Rabbi Bradd Boxman of Congregation Kol Tikvah in Parkland meet with Msgr. Michael Souckar, pastor of St. Andrew Parish in Coral Springs. The three are part of the Clergy Coalition of Coral Springs & Parkland and their Interfaith Rapid Response to Hate Network.
CORAL SPRINGS | While two culprits behind a spike of anonymous phone threats to Jewish community centers in Florida and around the country have been apprehended, the country’s political and social atmosphere remains tense enough to warrant ongoing vigilance, according to an interfaith group of clergy.
Several executive members of the Clergy Coalition of Coral Springs & Parkland met in late March at St. Andrew Catholic Church to discuss their ability to respond to hate crimes or tensions impacting faith communities.
On April 24, they will formally announce the creation of an Interfaith Rapid Response to Hate Network made up of individuals and faith communities in northern Broward County.
The Clergy Coalition is an informal federation of the spiritual leaders of local houses of worship. With the motto "supporting each other in fellowship as we serve our Maker and our community," the coalition enables local religious leaders to learn from and work with each other to strengthen their own ministries and to enhance the quality of life in the community.
The group maintains that hate acts and hate crimes attack the heart of American identity as a caring, diverse and inclusive society.
In recent years, the organization’s clergy have responded to threats, robberies and vandalism carried out against Muslim places of worship in Florida, as well as other hate crimes.
The coarsening national political scene and breakdown in civil public discourse remains a worrisome source of tension, members said
Msgr. Michael Souckar, pastor of St. Andrew Parish, told The Florida Catholic that during the coalition’s monthly discussions, members have expressed concern about an increasing sense of tension and division in society.
“We believe as religious leaders our job is to identify that and work at promoting the opposite � which is unity and the commonality of who we are as human beings and God’s children,” Msgr. Souckar said. “So the (Rapid Response Network) is something that we had been discussing and we all thought was a great idea to put our concerns into action.”
The priest said that he anticipates talking about the coalition’s activities and concerns with St. Andrew parishioners through the bulletin, through homilies and through the pastoral council so that they know and are engaged.
“We also have the benefit here in Parkland/Coral Springs of two major interfaith events every year: the National Day of Prayer in early May and a pre-Thanksgiving Interfaith Prayer Service,” Msgr. Souckar said.
“I do make it a point to go myself and a lot of our parishioners go,” he added. The benefit is that “we know each other, laugh with each other and have coffee with each other and we share each other’s concerns. So if God forbid any of our houses of worship were to be attacked or the object of a hate crime, it is not just toward a stranger. We are friends so therefore that action affects me and my faith community.”
Rabbi Bradd Boxman, chairman of the coalition and faith leader at Congregation Kol Tikvah in Parkland, said he experienced the fruits of good clergy cooperation following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and resulting community tensions. At the time, he was serving in Danbury, Conn. Some of that experience is being applied here in Florida.
The rabbi explained how the rapid response network will operate: Each member of the coalition will carry a cell phone “so that if there is a hate crime we are not aware of somebody can notify the rest of the coalition. We then interface with the victim and find out what do they want from us, what can we do to help and we activate this body.”
The purpose is twofold, Rabbi Boxman said. “We are ready to rock ‘n roll the first day if God forbid something happens. The other (objective) is to send a message of hope and unity in a very real way that our community stands for righteous behavior and against hate.”
On a personal note, Rabbi Boxman said he was touched to see members of other faith groups helping to restore vandalized Jewish tomb stones at a cemetery in Pennsylvania.
“I later saw the news of Muslims and Quakers working with Jews together to restore those stones. That picture is worth a thousand words and that counteracts whatever vandals or misguided people did and overshadowed that a thousand times.”
Another of the coalition’s chairs is Rev. Randal Cutter, pastor of New Dawn Community Church in Coral Springs. He said an offshoot of the coalition’s work is that “we have a unified voice that we can use to pour oil on the troubled waters.”
FIND OUT MORE
The Clergy Coalition of Coral Springs & Parkland will host its 29th Annual National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 4. For more information see: http://www.clergycoalition.net
