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Last March, students, faculty, staff and members of the community listened intently as two close friends, one a Presbyterian minister and the other an Islamic leader, discussed their friendship and faith during a special presentation entitled "An Interfaith Relationship: Two Friends on a Christian-Muslim Journey."

Their friendship – and the public dialogue – continues with a second installment of "An Interfaith Relationship," set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24, in the Gault Fine Arts Center recital hall on the Martin Methodist College campus.

The Rev. Robert Montgomery, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Pulaski, and Daoud Abudiab, president of The Islamic Center of Columbia, will again take part in the college’s Big Picture series.

The event is free and open to the public. The Big Picture is a monthly discussion sponsored by the Taylor Honors Program and the five academic honor societies: Gamma Beta Phi, Kappa Delta Pi, Pi Gamma Mu, Sigma Beta Delta, and Sigma Tau Delta.

Montgomery, who grew up in Marshall County, Tenn., came to First Presbyterian in December 2007 in Pulaski after 23 years as pastor of Cahaba Valley Church in Birmingham, Ala. During that time he also worked at Greater Birmingham Ministries. He has degrees from David Lipscomb College and Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta and has done other coursework at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and McCormick Theological Seminary. He also has been in two special continuing education programs: "Faith and Reconciliation," from 2005-2007 at Columbia Theological Seminary, and "Building Abrahamic Partnerships," an interfaith focus in 2007 at Hartford (Conn.) Seminary.

Abudiab, a native of Palestine, is president of the Islamic Center in Columbia, Tenn., where he has made his home for the past 14 years. He was named administrator of Physicians & Surgeons, Inc., in Pulaski in 2001 and has been active in such local organizations as Leadership Giles County, where he served as president for several years, and Pulaski Rotary Club. He obtained his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and started his healthcare management career there.

For more information about this event, call 931-363-9815.