Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Christians and even atheists and agnostics were welcomed at the fifth annual United Hearts Music Festival in Victoria on Saturday. Everyone was invited with one purpose. It is about breaking down religious and cultural barriers between citizens at the crossroads during this interfaith event.
“Here we are sensitive to all faiths and our goal here with this event is to come together,” said Bishop Brendan Cahill of the Catholic Diocese of Victoria. “We come to this gathering to praise and worship God and to bring a message of unity and to pray to God. As you can see, we do that here from different faith perspectives. We have our differences, but serving God and humanity is what unites us.”
Click here for a photo gallery of the event.
Mike Olson, CEO of Citizens Medical Center and a local LDS Church leader, echoed Bishop Cahill’s words.
“We are all children of a loving God whose sole purpose is to bring immortality, eternal life and joy to all humanity, both men and women,” Olson said. Ta. “As children of God, brothers and sisters, we have a responsibility to look out for each other and help each other realize our best selves. Victoria is a very faith-based community. …where much is given. A lot is required.”
Olson said she experienced the love of community and neighbors looking out for each other at Crossroads in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
“We (he and his family) had only been in Victoria for a few years when the earthquake happened, so we had never experienced anything like it,” Mr Olson said. . “As a community, as neighbors, as a church congregation, we organized to go and help those in need. We were shocked by some of the damage, but we are grateful that everyone helped. I was very impressed.”
In the wake of recent hurricanes that hit both North Carolina and Florida, Olson encouraged local residents to work together to help those in need in states other than Texas.
“We all know what’s going on there and why the hurricane had such a dramatic impact," Olson said. “We’ve seen the same effort of neighbors helping neighbors taking place there. If you have people who want to volunteer to help those people, and you need people who are willing, , we have a system called Crisis Clean Up, which you can learn more about by visiting Crisiscleanup.org.”
Pastor Larry Green of God’s Church in Victoria presented a stark challenge to Christians attending the Uniting Hearts Music Festival on Saturday.
“A part-time Christian can never overcome a full-time devil,” Green said.
Local artists John Westphal, Mark Zepeda and Friends, Glory Road, Grupo Alabanza, G824 and St. Peter’s Adult Choir from St. Peter’s Baptist Church in Victoria will perform Saturday afternoon and evening. provided music at the event.
