Bishop on a mission: Wester aims to maintain community cooperation

Calling it "a moment of grace," Bishop Wester explained "You can either set your heels in and say to yourself, 'Well, I'm just going to put up all my defense shields and be nice,' or say, 'This is an opportunity to get to know people, to appreciate the beauty of their faith, their religion and to see how God is being given glory through all this.' "

Both instances confirmed to Bishop Wester "We have unity through diversity and not unity through conformity." It resulted in a memorable, positive experience.

"It's proof positive to me," he said, "that our different cultures — religious and otherwise — can come together. We can work together, respect each other and develop friendships that are great gifts from God."

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