On Saturday, the Joplin Interfaith Coalition hosted a panel discussion with representatives from faith-based organizations. This is the coalition's second panel this year. Saturday's theme was charity and how to give.
Representatives from five diverse faith-based organizations graced the panel. The panelists were Pastor Rich Gates of Peace Lutheran, Imam Lahmuddin of the Islamic Society of Joplin, Rabbi Beryl Paddorr of the United Hebrew Congregation, Adam Compton of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and Bradley Shelby of the Temple Society.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints hosted the event. The church's communications director, John Metcalf, asked the group four questions about how their faith responds to charity.
In an interview the day before the panel, Metcalf said he hopes people will have a better understanding of different faiths after attending.
"I think a society tends to fear what we don't know and. There's just nothing to fear about people of faith," he added.
Pastor Rich Gates represented parts of Christianity, and because that religion is so broad, he only spoke about Lutherans' practice of charity. Gates said the charity is vast in his religion and an expression of 'God's unconditional love.'
"It goes beyond money to include kindness, to include service, to include selflessness for Christians, a foundation for such an understanding of charity," he adds.
The following person on the panel was Imman Lahmuddin of the Islamic Society of Joplin. Like Pastor Gates, there are broad and small ways in which the Islamic religion defines charity.
"The smallest form of charity is smiling," he explained.
As for Adam Compton representing Joplin's LDS temple, he spoke on his church's monthly fasting and praying.
"We fast for 24 hours and during these 24 hours, we saved the money that we would have spent on food during that time, and we give that as an offering," he said
Compton's religion also practices visiting people in their homes – a process he calls 'ministering.'
Rabbi Beryl Padorr said one of Judaism's core principles is giving in a practice called 'Sedaka.'
"It emphasizes Justice, righteousness, and social responsibility. And it's not just charity. It's a deep commitment to helping others and improving society," she adds.
Judaism also has a specific way of giving, according to Rabbi Padorr.
The Jewish religion believes each Hebrew letter is assigned numerical values, a system called Gematria. The word "chai," meaning "alive," for example, equals eighteen. The United Hebrew Congregation practices this – so members often donate in multiples of eighteen
As for Buddhism – giving is one of the core aspects of the religion, according to Bradley Shelby of Joplin's Temple Society. The word charity is referred to in Buddhism to dāna, meaning 'to give to without expectation, he said
"It is important to give and give a lot when you can, but it is also important to do it with wisdom and to do it with the right intention," he adds.
In some Buddhist communities, nuns and monks rely solely on what ''laypeople or the outside community give them. The nuns and monks will only take something if asked, even in non-charity settings.
Shelby recalled a time when he was dining with a monk and had to ask the server if the monk could eat. By doing this - the monk received permission to dine.
Even through their differences, the panelists found common ground in some philosophies.
According to Lahmuddin, the Islamic religion believes the best way to give is to give secretly.
"If the right hand gives to charity, the left hand should not know what it is doing," he said
Two other panelists agreed with this sentiment, saying their religion practiced the ideal.
The event started at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The audience's response was positive overall. Four questions were asked of the panelists, and there was a Q&A afterward.
