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Religious leaders plan interfaith service in response to immigration ban

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Religious leaders from across the Rochester area are planning an interfaith prayer service this coming weekend.

Rabbi Peter Stein of Temple B'rith Kodesh says it's in response to recent events, especially the Trump administration's ban on immigration. "I think to close off access to refugees who are incredibly vulnerable, who are leaving dangerous, dangerous places, that to me, is something that is not acceptable and it's why I'm motivated to take action myself."

Representatives and leaders from all the major faith groups will be attending Sunday's service.

"We meet on a regular basis and we came together and said we really wanted to have a religious response to what's going on,” Stein said. “Many of us have participated in some of the rallies and some of the civic events, but we wanted to form a specifically religious response to what's been happening."

The theme of the prayer service is "welcoming the stranger".  Rabbi Stein says it's an opportunity to emphasize the things that make us alike, not the things that divide us.             

"It's a biblical verse that tells us to welcome the stranger - from the Jewish perspective in particular - to be mindful that we were strangers, we were foreigners, we were in a vulnerable position in the past, and therefore we have an obligation who are strangers today.

The service is Sunday afternoon at 3, at Temple B'rith Kodesh, 2131 Elmwood Avenue in Brighton. The building is wheelchair accessible and an ASL interpreter will be provided.

Beth Adams joined WXXI as host of Morning Edition in 2012 after a more than two-decade radio career. She was the longtime host of the WHAM Morning News in Rochester. Her career also took her from radio stations in Elmira, New York, to Miami, Florida.