Lincolnwood is looking to religion for help with the ongoing search for ways to highlight the diverse cultural origins of its residents following the indefinite suspension of its long-celebrated Lincoln Avenue flag display.
Priests from three Chicago-area churches will lead a panel discussion during the village’s first interdenominational “Coffee with the Clerics” event from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Lincolnwood Community Center, 6900 N. Lincoln Ave.
If the event is successful, Lincolnwood Police Chief Bob LaMantia said he hopes the village will continue hosting open-dialogue events geared toward encouraging residents to embrace one another’s cultural differences.
LaMantia, who helped organize the panel, said the idea was modeled after similar community events hosted by different towns across the U.S. that provide a casual setting for the public to meet with public figures, such as police officers and mayors.
More Top Picks Best Solar Generators For Off Grid Cabins
“Coffee with the Clerics” will host priests from three different churches with origins in the Middle East. Speakers include Archpriest Nicholas Dahdal, of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Cicero, Father Theodore Labib, of Burr Ridge’s St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, and Father Fawaz Kako, of Mart Mariam Chaldean Catholic Church of Northbrook.
Each priest will give an overview of their religious beliefs and guests will have an opportunity to ask questions afterward, according to Beryl Herman, a member of the village’s Multicultural Task Force who also helped organize the event.
“Coffee with the Clerics” is the second diversity-focused event in Lincolnwood in recent months. It follows a cultural dance party the Lincolnwood Human Relations Commission hosted in Proesel Park last month.
Village officials have been working with both volunteer-based groups — the Multicultural Task Force and the Human Relations Commission — to come up with new activities to replace the former Diversity Month tradition of hanging flags to represent Lincolnwood’s nationalities along Lincoln Avenue during the month of August.
The showcase of flags came under fire two years ago when some residents opposed the presence of the Palestinian flag. The display hasn’t reappeared since.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.