Ramadan Gathering at St. Mary Church

There was a great excitement at the Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Church located in Wyandanch, which is in the urban renewal area of Long Island. This Ramadan Wyandanch Community wanted to invite Turkish Community to their church for Iftar and as well as to exchange ideas for future programs. We have had iftar dinners at this church in the past few years. We changed the format a little bit this year. We decided to have a small iftar with a few representatives from each side and after that to continue with a workshop.

Mr. Marc Hussey of the Medal Church expressed his desire to host events with broader participation such as Abraham’s table and comparative discussions among religions on selected topics like “Who is Marry, Who is Jesus, Life after death etc. He mentioned that ‘’ Sincerity and hardworking of our Turkish friends in organizing these events also motivates us.’’

President of Turkish Cultural Center New York, Mr. Sadri Altinok, speaking on behalf of Turkish Community first thanked for the kind invitation by the church. Then, he briefly talked about the history of TCC New York as well as its Sister organizations like Kimse Yokmu, Peace Island Institute etc. Mr. Altinok added that workshop for the future event should be accelerated and offered to do the next workshop at TCC.

After Azan, call to prayer, everyone broke fast with dates and water and had home made Turkish food. After the dinner VP of NEICC gave a speech about Ramadan and its traditions.

This Iftar gathering ended with the well wishes for the events planned for September and beyond to contribute to dialog between communities.