New Year’s Message to the Interfaith Leaders
As the New Year dawns, let’s remember that, in order for us to lead successfully in our communities’ aspirations, we have to walk the walk as believers to provide hope to those vulnerable populations who suffer from homelessness, poverty and/or mental illness. Otherwise, we become irrelevant to the people who empowered us in this task. We are in a very challenging time, when norms of behavior are turned upside down, especially for those who have been following norms in houses of worship for centuries. As Interfaith leaders, we’re being challenged left and right when we ignore the call and the needs of the vulnerable populations. This is the time to even express our leadership skills beyond a reasonable doubt to these people who are hurting. Our leadership is at stake, if we put monetary value first in the order of priorities. This order does not encourage good ideas from developing. Therefore, If we cannot support and protect vulnerable populations in this challenging time, then we have lost our bearings or moral compass.
We as Interfaith Leaders seek to represent fairly and well, those who have empowered us in this task of leadership. That is our mission which we strive to fulfill. If we focus on doing good work, our work will build a strong foundation of credibility in the Greater Sacramento region and beyond. With a well-founded credibility, comes the trust from those who empowered us in this task of leadership, and then we become team players.
May our efforts be blessed with insight, guided by understanding and wisdom, may our personal faiths give us strength to act honestly and well in all matters before us in the new year and beyond. Let us be a team player in the eyes of those who empowered us this task of a leadership team. Teams are stronger than as individuals, and the same applies to entities or organizations we create that carry our belief systems and structures of faiths. Since we’re responsible to lead these organizations of congregations, our leadership has been put to test with a higher level of understanding in this challenging time, where norms have been turned upside down. We need to be reminded at all times that organizations need to focus and carry our values in them, because continuing with the status quo without revisiting this issue of money and greed. People who empowered us in this task of leadership are beginning to question our very essence.
As interfaith leaders, reflect on the future in perspective, with current situations of homelessness, children in poverty, and mental health issues are the root causes of our instabilities! With the world set an eye on the faith communities’ essence, let us be flexible and open to new ideas and change which takes us out of our comfort zones. However, that being said, let us be respectfully irreverent, questioning established ways, the “impossible,” and things that conflict with our goals and values because these values are embedded in our universal norms and common interests no matter where we come from.
We conclude with this quotation by President John F. Kennedy. “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.” Therefore, leadership in the coming year needs to be recalibrated in terms of our response to the call of duty and service to those vulnerable populations wherever they are, beyond our comfort zones as leaders of organizations that carry our faith commitments.
