Pearson Lecture Series for Interfaith Understanding
Established: December 20, 2006
Description:
The Pearson Lecture Series for Interfaith Understanding was established by H.L. (Sonny) and Pat Pearson. The primary purpose of the lectureship is to foster understanding and respect between and among the three faith traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and to encourage an appreciation of our common faith heritage dating back to Abraham. Realizing that our understanding of the way God is revealed to us may differ, we also affirm our common and shared belief in the one true God and recognize that the teachings and scriptures of the other faiths can often serve to illumine our own understanding of God and the way God is revealed to us.
When Sonny Pearson was sent by his company to Saudi Arabia in 1989, his minister asked him to bring back a prayer rug. The search for the prayer rug went through an engineer he was working with and a pre-dawn journey into the desert. When Sonny was presented with the prayer rug, he was told, “You tell your minister that he may have this prayer rug on one condition: when he prays, he prays for all of God’s people, not just Christians.” That statement planted the seed for this lecture series that is now endowed through the St. Paul’s Methodist Foundation of Houston. “It is our hope,” said Pat Pearson, “that this lecture series will foster understanding and respect between and among the three faith traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and encourage an appreciation of our common faith heritage dating back to Abraham.”
Pearson Lecturers:
(2007)—Muhammed Cetin, founder and president of The Institute of Interfaith
(2008)---Dr. Weston Fields, executive director of The Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation
Contributions:
Additional contributions from those wishing to further this work will always be accepted. Contributions to The Pearson Lecture Series for Interfaith Understanding should be remitted to:
St. Paul’s Methodist Foundation of Houston
RE: Pearson Lecture Series for Interfaith Understanding
Attn: Rev. Shelli Williams
5501 Main Street
Houston, TX 77004
For more information about this fund or St. Paul's Methodist Foundation of Houston, contact Rev. Shelli Williams via email or by calling the church office at 713-528-0527.