Spiritual Hospitality

When I began my interfaith journey I never expected that my own faith would be deepened and strengthened. It has come as a complete surprise to me. If I would have known this was going to be the result of making friends with people from other faiths I would have started along time ago. I feel so blessed by my new friends.

Richard Mouw, who is the president of Fuller Theological Seminary and actively involved in interfaith dialogue, writes about spiritual hospitality. It is through spiritual hospitality that my faith has been deepened and strengthened. When showing hospitality I attend to a person’s physical needs, I make room for them in my physical spaces. I prepare food. I provide a bed. I make sure their needs are met. Spiritual hospitality is making room for people in my heart and my mind. Making room for someone does not mean that I change my beliefs. Instead when I make room for someone my life is enriched. I care about them as my friends. I pray for them. I listen to them. I want to know them. My faith is deepened and strengthened.

As we approach the Thanksgiving season I hope that you will demonstrate spiritual hospitality to those in your community. In the Fort Wayne community there are two important interfaith services occurring were hospitality can be demonstrated.

The first is an Interfaith Thanksgiving Service to be held at First Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, November 22, beginning at 7:00 pm.  It is being jointly sponsored by Plymouth Congregational Church UCC, First Presbyterian Church, Trinity Episcopal Church, Trinity English Lutheran Church, Temple Achduth Vesholom, and the Fort Wayne Islamic Center (Masjid al-Quds).  This year's preacher is Imam and Khateeb J. Tamir Rasheed from the Muslim community.

The second is on Sunday, December 4, 6:00 pm, at First Presbyterian Church. Representatives from nine religious traditions in our area (Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Ethical Humanist, Earth Traditions, Hindu, Jew, Muslim, Sikh) will gather together to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in an Interfaith Prayer for Human Rights.  Prayers, Scripture, song, dance, and other expressions of faith from the various religious traditions will be shared.  Dalia Eshkenazi Landau, from Jerusalem, founder of The Open House of Ramle, and a main character of Sandy Tolan's internationally-acclaimed “The Lemon Tree”, will be the keynote speaker.  Fellowship will follow with sweets and treats from various cultures.

            Showing spiritual hospitality will enrich your life more than you can imagine. Happy Thanksgiving.

Suffering Leads to Understanding

Last night was a powerful experience for me.  Using the topic of suffering as a lens to look at the faiths in our community proved to be a powerful tool of understanding. More so then I could have imagined. We truly did learn much about each other. Each story that we heard was heart breaking but moved us closer to understanding each other.

The purpose of the Interfaith Events is to learn about those in our community who are of different faiths so that we can live at peace together. For truly how can we say we live at peace together if we know very little about each other? In the past I have challenged the speakers and the audience with the words of Martin Marty, a Lutheran theologian, "People these days who are civil often lack strong convictions and people with strong religious convictions often are not very civil. What we need is people with convicted civility."  When I met with the speakers several weeks ago we once again discussed convicted civility. I told each speaker to be convicted about what they would be presenting, so that I could learn, so that the audience could learn. But I also asked them to be civil in how they presented their theologies to the audience. The answers the speakers gave to the second question, “Why Must I Suffer?”  highlighted the differences in our theologies. As the speakers spoke we could clearly identify the differences in our faiths. The speakers were civil, kind and convicted in telling us their beliefs.

It was in the answering of the last question, “From the viewpoint of your faith, how should we response to those who are suffering?” that we once again saw the commonalities among our faiths. Each speaker discussed the importance of just being present when someone is suffering. They also talked about the importance of silence.We heard the common things that meet our heartfelt, human need when we are suffering.

After the event someone made the comment to me that even though we have our own beliefs, an event like this reminds us that we are all people. "And just like me," she said, "we all suffer."  Thank you to the speakers who were convicted in their theologies but who were civil in their presentations. They helped us find our similarities and they helped us identify our differences. Thank you to the audience for being humble listeners. You truly demonstrated the desire to learn and to strengthen our community. Thank you for a great evening!
Photographer for Interfaith Event: Why Must I Suffer? Maria Kirkland, Fort Wayne, IN. She may be reached at mkirkland@canterburyschool.org.

Speakers:

Buddhist: Arjia Rinpoche, Protestant: Dr. L. Michael Spath, Islam: Amani Elhefni

Ramona Fisher - Moderator

Judaism: Rabbi Mitchel Kornspan, Hindu: Dr. Prasad Mantravadi, Catholic: Robert Rogers

Depending on God

Once again this year I was invited by my Muslim friends to the Taste of Ramadan. The Taste of Ramadan is an 'iftar', a community meal to break the fast during Ramadan in which the Muslim community in Fort Wayne hosts people like me, a non Muslim. The Taste of Ramadan organizers invite Muslim and non-Muslim speakers to speak on various topics before the fast is broken. We broke our fast at 8:53 pm. Fasting is not easy and as much as I was trying not to watch the time, I was completely aware of the time. The organizers had a wonderful meal prepared with food from around the world. As a community we broke our fast together.


Once again this year I decided to fast for one day. Ramadan lasts for thirty days so my fasting for one day is quite insignificant. As a Christian I have to admit that I have never fasted as a spiritual discipline. Many Christians do, but I have not. That is not something I am proud to admit. As I fasted again this year I realized that there is something powerful about coming  together as a community, as in the Muslim faith, that says we are doing this together. This being my second year of fasting for one day (and it truly is insignificant) I begin to sense the power and life changing force of the spiritual discipline of fasting. Quite honestly, the first year I fasted, my mind was on survival. I remember opening and closing the refrigerator and pantry doors what seemed like a zillion times. I remember counting down the hours. But since I had done it once, this year I knew I would survive. I knew it was not a good idea to stay around my home so I kept my mind and body occupied. And when I did get hungry (at 2:30) I prayed. I prayed that my life would depend on God as much as I depend on food to maintain my life. During my one day of fasting I did not wonder if I would survive, but instead I begin to contemplate my dependence on God. My insignificant one day of fasting made me admire my Muslim friends for their discipline, but I also became, maybe somewhat envious, because I experienced how fasting deepens a person's spiritual life. As a follower of Jesus I am thankful for what my Muslim friends are teaching me. Maybe next year I'll fast for more than one day.


I'm wondering if there are spiritual disciplines that you do or have partaken in that have deepened your faith? If so, please post a comment and let me and fellow readers know about your discipline and how it impacted your faith.

An Interfaith Event: When I Die

Shalom! My summer has been filled with growth and God's grace. The academic calendar is such a wonderful thing because it typically gives me the opportunity to become refreshed with new ideas. This summer, though, was different. There has been much sadness and pain experienced with those I care about. And there has been much celebration and joy with those who I care about.  Isn't that the how life works? Even amongst our pain we celebrate, and when we celebrate we often have pain. My own growth comes out of much sadness and much joy. I'm reminded that God is a God of completeness and wholeness.  I am often asked why I even bother with this endeavor of Interfaith Dialogue, because it seems so hopeless to many. These verses from Psalms 25:4-5 are my prayer. "Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." Amidst the sadness and the joy, my hope is in God for He desires us to live in peace.
I am just now getting the last Interfaith Event, "When I Die" up on YouTube. I apologize for the delay for many of you have asked about it. Here is the link to the event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrAsedoVqv0&feature=related
I am anticipating a great year filled with God's hope of living in peace.