Judaism, Christianity, and Islam together are about 55 percent of all the world’s religions. They are called Abrahamic religions because all believe that God was revealed to the patriarch Abraham. The God of Abraham, a monotheistic conception who is both transcendent and personal, is common to all three traditions.

At this community forum, the panel will share the perspectives of their faiths in response to questions from the audience. The evening will begin with a short presentation about what the three religions share, historically and theologically. This will be followed by each panelist making a short presentation about himself and what he has learned from working with the others. The conversation will then be opened for audience participation.

The Panelists:

• Daniel Bruch serves as the panel moderator. He has lived in Hudson since 1996 and is a retired Lutheran clergy and academic. He has served as a parish pastor, university chaplain, university and seminary professor, and an administrator.
• Ozcan Kilic is a professor and chair of the Department of Management and Marketing at the College of Business and Economics (CBE) at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. He was born to Muslim parents in Turkey and grew up in Germany as the son of a Turkish gastarbeiter (guest worker).
• Dean Simpson has been a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for over 30 years, currently serving as pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Rovers for almost 18 years.
• Rob Wertheimer grew up in New York City, the only child of a German Jewish immigrant and Holocaust survivor. He has been living in Wisconsin since 1981 and a resident of Hudson since 1991, where he maintains his own law practice.

This event is being held in conjunction with In This Place: What Makes a Place Holy? on view at The Phipps from October 27 through December 3. A docent-led tour of this exhibit will be offered at 6:00 p.m., prior to the forum.      To schedule a private group tour, call Anastasia Shartin, visual arts director, 715-386-2305.