At Inauguration, Imam & Rabbi Pray For Justice

Rabbi Eric Woodward and Imam Omer Bajwa didn’t compare notes before giving back-to-back invocations at Monday’s mayoral inauguration. They didn’t need to — they knew what to say. And they had similar messages to impart.

Tasked with setting a spiritual tone to open the biannual inauguration of the city’s mayor and city/town clerk and Board of Alders as well as a member of the Board of Education, Woodward and Bajwa both led attendees with prayers for peace, for justice, and for officials new and old. Their joint message of peace came against a backdrop of strife over the war in Gaza, which has reverberated in New Haven as it has elsewhere around the country and world.

Woodward, the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel, began his speech by invoking President George Washington’s letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island. 

“‘May the children of the stock of Abraham, may all of us who dwell on this land, continue to merit and enjoy the goodwill of the other inhabitants, while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid,’” he recited. 

He continued, praying that Mayor Justin Elicker be granted ​“a wise heart, candor of speech, the courage to act decisively, and the strength to respond to every challenge with dignity. Give him a full measure of your compassion, that he may be the instrument of your compassion and justice in this world.”

Bajwa, who is the director of Muslim Life at Yale’s Chaplain’s office, followed with his own words of peace, justice and courage: ​“We ask that Mayor Justin Elicker, Michael B. Smart, Andrea L. Downer, and the alders of the city of New Haven will all find the courage to stand for that which is just, the courage to speak the truth, the courage to support the oppressed, and the voice to express the voices of the marginalized. To hear the concerns of those who speak without the benefit of our privileges.”

In a conversation after the ceremony, Bajwa was asked how he prepared for his speech, and his thinking of the call to service, and the domestic and international tumult of our time, a call that echoed throughout the day’s speeches.

“I didn’t speak to any of the other people when I prepared my remarks,” Bajwa said, laughing. ​“The fact that there were such echoes of that throughout, from our elected officials to all the speakers to the clergy, it was very heartwarming and says a lot about where our hearts and minds are at.” 

Woodward stated he felt the same way. When describing his preparation process, he said, ​“You think about the emotions and feelings that are in your heart, and that you feel like the moment needs, and you think, ​‘How can I give voice to them through my tradition?’ For me, it was, ​‘How do we give voice to a desire for connection and hope?’”

Bajwa and Woodward complimented each other on their remarks and found common ground in how they sought to find the right message for the moment through their traditions.

In his own remarks, after being sworn in, Elicker called back to the words of these two local religious figures. ​“When I think about inclusion, I think about our clergy like Imam Bajwa and Rabbi Woodward, who modeled today that no matter your faith or world events, we can come together in common purpose and unity to advance the greater good,” Elicker said.

Pastor Valerie Washington of Upon This Rock Ministry closed out the inauguration with her own prayer for the city and its updated roster of elected officials.

“You said that when the righteous are in position, the people can rejoice. We believe the majority are righteous, so we thank you for placing us in the position to be able to rejoice,” she said.

Later, Washington said that every summer her prayer team meets at 11 a.m. on Saturdays to pray for the city of New Haven. ​“I pray for them all the time, so to actually be able to do it publicly, for me, was a privilege.”

In her words, she wanted people listening to understand that God is protecting our city and leading our officials. ​“It’s a tough job for them,” she said, ​“so we have to keep them in prayer all the time.”