Staff photos b An 'e Bean

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Gail Katz of West Bloomfield and Weihan Li of Farmington Hills

Holly Owen of Oak Park and Aneesa Rashid of Bloomfield Township

Women's Wisdom

'Day of Learning' brings local women of different faiths together.

T

hey sat around tables eating lunch and chatting like old friends, but many of the
100 women who gathered March 10 at Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak Park
had never met before. The multi-cultural group was made up of Jewish, Muslim,
&hal, Catholic, Protestant and Lutheran women who came together to learn more about
each other during an annual day of learning. This year's theme was "Women in Judaism:'
"We're convinced that if we get to know each other we'll find out we have a lot more in
common than we think:' said Fran Hildebrant of Farmington Hills.
She chairs Beth Shalom's Sisterhood Education Committee,
which sponsored the program along with WISDOM (Women's
Interfaith Solutions for Dialogue and Outreach in Metro Detroit.)
The group, formed in 2006 by four local women of different faiths,
strives to empower women to connect with one another and take
action toward positive change.
"If we work together as friends, we're much more likely to have
peace Hildebrant added.
Shahina Begg of Bloomfield Hills, who is Muslim, agrees.
"I feel so blessed and I think it's wonderful to be with women
of all faith traditions and to learn about other religions:' she said.
"When we get together we have this connection; we find out we
have so many similarities."
The program included a talk by Beth Shalom Rabbi Dan
Wolpe, a presentation on women's roles at home and in the synagogue and a panel discus-
sion on how different women practice what they believe.
Eileen Hatzos of Berkley, who is Lutheran, left feeling energized. "It was great to be able
to talk with women of all different faiths in such a non-restricted way:' she said. "If every-
one could do this, we'd have a lot fewer conflicts in this world." ❑

For more information about WISDOM and the group's upcoming programs, go to their Web site:

www.interfaithwisdom.org.

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April 3 2008

Panelists Judy Lewis of Southfield and Wendy Robins of Huntington Woods along
with Cantor Kat Hastings of Temple Kol Ami in West Bloomfield

Moderator Phyllis Weeks