By Peter Willott
On Sunday afternoon, a group of faith leaders and community members gathered at Mission Nombre de Dios in St. Augustine for a public conversation about hope.
Hosted by the Diocese of St. Augustine in partnership with Jacksonville-based OneJax, the event was held in the Pilgrim Center at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche—near the site of the first Catholic Mass in what would become the United States. It was part of the diocese’s Jubilee Year of Hope, a global observance proclaimed by Pope Francis inviting all people of faith to embrace a renewed vision of unity, healing and resilience.
“This sacred acre is not just a historical landmark—it’s a living symbol of faith and encounter,” said Erin McGeever, director of Christian Formation for the Diocese of St. Augustine. “Today we gather not to debate doctrine but to share from our deepest wells where we find hope.”
The panel, titled Hope in Action: An Interfaith Conversation, featured six speakers representing Christian, Jewish, Baha’i, Sikh and Catholic traditions. Each shared how their faith communities sustain hope amid personal, social and global uncertainty.
The Rev. Rebekah Hutto, a Presbyterian minister and director of Interfaith and Cultural Programs for OneJax, opened the gathering with a contemplative interfaith prayer.
“Let gratitude and fellowship move us to action,” she said. “That we may become instruments of peace and bearers of hope.” She closed with, “Amen. Shalom. Salaam. Namaste. Ashe.”
While the speakers came from diverse traditions, their reflections revealed common threads: connection, compassion, service and belief in something greater than the present moment.
“I didn’t first think of my faith tradition when I was asked where I find hope,” said the Rev. Dr. Priscilla Durkin, parish associate at Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine. “I thought of organizations like Bread for the World, Doctors Without Borders, and people in my own church who show up for each other every single day.”
Durkin reflected on her Methodist and Pilgrim-Holiness upbringing and leaned on Romans 12:12—“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”—as a spiritual anchor. She reimagined the parable of the Good Samaritan as a directive to love even one’s enemies.
“Hope is the extended hand of mercy that breaks cycles of revenge and retaliation,” she said. “It’s seeing humanity in the person we’re taught to fear.”
Dr. Holly Nadji, chairperson of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’i of Jacksonville and a practicing dentist for more than 30 years, opened with a Baha’i prayer calling for unity and spiritual renewal.
“Our faith teaches that all religions come from the same divine source,” she said. “Religion should be a force of unity, not division. If it causes conflict, then we must rethink how we practice it.”
She described how the Baha’i community offers children’s character classes and English lessons in underserved neighborhoods. “Hope is found in service,” she said. “When we align our personal transformation with the needs of our communities, we become conduits of God’s love. And that gives me hope.”
For Bishop Erik Pohlmeier of the Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine, hope is inseparable from the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“Our faith tells us that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain,” he said. “Hope is not wishful thinking. It’s grounded in the eternal reality that death does not have the final word.”
He described Christian hope as both future-oriented and present-tense—“a call to witness the kingdom of God already breaking into the world through acts of love, justice and unity.” He shared a recent visit to Mission House in Jacksonville Beach, a day shelter and free clinic, as “a powerful image of hope in action born from interfaith collaboration.”
“Every time someone is treated with dignity, when someone receives care they thought they couldn’t afford—that’s God at work,” he said.
Suhkbir Singh, co-founder of the Sikh Society of Northeast Florida, wore a traditional turban as he spoke about Chardi Kala, the Sikh teaching of eternal optimism and spiritual resilience.
“Sikhism teaches us that God lives in each of us,” he said. “Hope begins with recognizing that we are all created from the same divine light.”
He shared the tradition of Langar, a communal free meal served to all. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Singh and temple volunteers distributed meals to hundreds weekly. “We don’t serve out of charity. We serve out of equality,” he said. “That’s where hope lives—in the act of sharing, in the absence of ego, in recognizing we are all one.”
Rabbi Merrill Shapiro, founding president of the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society, brought both humor and history to the panel.
“In times of hopelessness, don’t turn to God—turn to yourself,” he said, referencing the Israelites trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea. “God said, ‘Why are you crying to me? Move forward!’”
He recounted how 16 rabbis came to St. Augustine in 1964 at the invitation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to support the Civil Rights Movement. They marched into a segregated hotel with black teenagers and were arrested.
“They acted because hope requires movement,” he said. “Paralysis is the enemy of hope. And God has already given us what we need: the courage to take the next step.”
As the panel closed, Rev. Hutto invited each speaker to share where they’ve witnessed hope in action. Nadji spoke of immigrant parents learning English with their children. Durkin recalled families in Bali offering daily prayers of gratitude. Singh emphasized how Langar continues to erase divisions through shared meals.
Rabbi Shapiro offered a final challenge: “Hope is not something you wait for,” he said. “It’s something you practice.”
Before closing in prayer, Bishop Pohlmeier reflected on the historic location and its relevance to the day’s theme.
“It’s extraordinary to imagine the history that has played out here—the people who came, what they hoped for, and how they put those hopes into practice,” he said. “We are part of this human legacy, in search of a better life, as we continue on our pilgrimage journey.”
He concluded with prayer:
“God of all, source of all hope, we pray that when our paths are uncertain, we look to you for our strength. Infuse our very beings with the hope that radiates from your unwavering love. Let this hope be our guide, leading us to walk side by side with one another, even as we meet challenges. Give us grace and confidence to be witnesses to the world of your goodness. May we always find solace in your presence, reassured by the promise you have made to us through the ages.”
