“An Evening of Respect” is being conducted Thursday by the Manteca Interfaith Community Alliance on Thursday, June 30.
It takes place from 7 to 8 p.m. The program will be hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church at 1233 Northgate Drive in Manteca.
The topic of discussion will be “Religious Liberty, Tolerance, and Kindness.”
MICA will seek to address questions such as “Why does liberty of conscience matter for a healthy society?” “Why should we defend those whose beliefs differ from our own?” and “What do faith communities contribute to society when they are free to operate according to their beliefs?”
Guest speakers include Douglas Maxfield, Sharon Solero, and Charles Eitlegeorge.
Elder Maxfield was sustained as an Area Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in April 2021. He was subsequently released as president of the Manteca California Stake where he had also served as a high councilor, and as the bishop of the Tracy Ward.
Raised in Boulder, Colorado, Maxfield served a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ in Santiago, Chile from 1988 through 1990. He then received degrees from Brigham Young University in business and organizational behavior.
Maxfield is a Senior Client Partner with the organizational consulting firm, Korn Ferry. Maxfield and his wife, Jennifer Reese Maxfield, have four children and one grandson.
Solero is a member of the Manteca California Baha’I’ Community and has worked collaboratively with the Manteca Interfaith Community Appeal (MICA) over the last few years.
Prior to retirement in 2018, Solero worked in human relations, civil rights, equal employment opportunity and affirmative action as a layperson, manager, and analyst. Over the years she has completed extensive volunteer work with community organizations and advocacy groups within the Central Valley, San Francisco Bay Area and Greater New York City. S
Solero has an Associate Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resources Management from Southern Nazarene University.
Eitlegeorge has served as the Manteca Stake Patriarch in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, since 1981. He served a full-time mission for the church in Minnesota and North Dakota, from 1958 through 1960 and served as bishop of the Manteca First Ward.
He was born and raised in Vallejo, California and served in the U.S Army from 1956 to 1958. He received a B.A. from San Jose State, M.A. from Sacramento State and teaching certificate from BYU.
Eitlegeorge was an elementary teacher, vice-principal, and principal in Sacramento and in Manteca. He was married to Dorothy Crockett, who passed away in 2015. They have 4 children, 15 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren.
MICA’s mission statement indicates it “endeavors to bring together people of various faiths, beliefs, and traditions around common goals of service, education, and peace for all people.”
They achieve this by “acting with respect, appreciating diversity, and responding in solidarity to those most in need, while promoting these values in the community from generation to generation, one activity at a time.”
All are welcome, as public support is vital to protect religious liberties.
A MICA spokesperson said, “we look forward in this effort of bringing good-hearted people together. “
Light refreshments will follow the program.