Scriptural Reasoning by Zoom in France, on Sunday 6 March 2022

Face-to-face meeting in the Espace Barrault, in Paris 13e and by Zoom.

Scriptural Reasoning by Zoom in France, on Sunday 6 March 2022, from 5 to 6.30 pm. On Sunday 6 March, “Dialogue & Alliance” Cooperation Circle organized its monthly interfaith meeting on: “Encountering God in Art”. This theme was inspired by the French Bible Society, which chose for its “Bible Month” the topic: “When the Bible inspires artists”. We received registrations from 16 countries: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Congo, France, Gabon, Italy, Northern Macedonia, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Spain, Tunisia, U.S.A. The moderator was Mr Dorian GRAVRAND, member of the International Association of Youth and Students for Peace (IAYSP-France). The first reading, Exodus, chapter 31, verses 1 to 11, was commented on by Mrs Ana AUROUZE, Biblical scholar and project leader at the French Bible Society (ABF). She described God as an architect or interior decorator who gives all the details for the construction of the Tabernacle. She urged us to become “craftsmen” ourselves, makers of beauty, who thus transmit the message that God wants to give to our world. The second reading, Psalm 8, verses 4 to 7, was commented on by Father STEPHEN, rector of the Orthodox Parish of Vézelay and former researcher in religious anthropology at the CNRS. He spoke to us about catechesis in the Orthodox Church, which is done first simply through beauty (Byzantine or Slavic chants, liturgical poetry, icons, etc.). We had a short musical break: a performance of a lyrical offering of the Indian poet Tagore by Sister Marie KEYROUZ, a Lebanese Maronite nun, specialized in religious singing, who travels the world and makes her voice resound with an incredible purity and perfect technique, singing God and Peace. Then, the last reading brought a Unificationist point of view: it was a passage from the 7th chapter on the Theory of Art, taken from the book “The Essentials of Unification Thought” which was very brilliantly commented by Mr Laurent LADOUCE, director of the site www.culture-et-paix.org. The meeting concluded with a question-and-answer session. The next meeting is scheduled for Sunday 3 April 2022 on the theme: “Growth and Spiritual Disciplines”, on both Lent and Ramadan.

P.S. You can see the recording of this recent program: https://youtu.be/cfH7Ou0Bix0.