Common Ground plans a community celebration Sunday

Warwick — It will be a celebration of Warwick’s diversity as well as its sameness. It will acknowledge what we all have in common and explore what makes us unique. Common Ground is an initiative that seeks to build on the already strong foundation of compassion and mutual respect in our town. This Sunday, Aug. 26, Common Ground will host a community picnic on the Railroad Green from 4 to 8 p.m. Everyone is invited. It is the group’s kick-off event, one they hope will be the beginning of many more. Common Ground started earlier this year as the brainchild of Warwick Village Mayor Michael Newhard and Barbara Priestner-Werte, a local psychotherapist and founder of The Source of the Healing Arts. They wanted to bring the community together to appreciate one another’s different heritages, traditions, and faiths. They approached many in the religious community of Warwick and got things in gear. “We had some great conversations with local clergy,” said Priestner-Werte earlier this year. “We all live in a wonderful place. We want to come together in a more compassionate way and listen to one another.” Sunday’s picnic is the first event for the group, and Newhard is looking forward to it. “It is a community picnic, a way of sharing with each other, breaking bread,” said Newhard. “We want to recognize and share what we have, where we came from. To recognize our humanness, our frailty, our vulnerability, but also our strength and beauty, the community we share.” And that’s what it will be. Rev. Don Heatley of the Vision Community Church here in Warwick, along with his wife and the church’s creative director, Pam Heatley, will emcee the event, which will include interfaith entertainment from the Bellvale Community, Jubilate Youth Choir from Christ Church, The Vision Community Church band and Bahai’ chants. “Part of this is just to bring the community together,” said Heatley. “We are working through Common Ground to make the interfaith connection. When we all know one another, when issues come up we are better able to handle things. As the town grows and gets more diverse, it is important to have that.” Everyone is asked to bring a covered dish to share, as well as their own lawn chair or blanket. This picnic is the first planned gathering for the group, but certainly not the last. Candlelight vigils are planned in various faith communities come the fall. “We want to build on the foundation of strength and the things we share as a community,” concluded Newhard. “It doesn’t happen by being in front of a computer or going to just your own church. Open the walls and be with others.”