Tri-Faith News and Updates

TRI-FAITH FAMILY PICNIC

Celebrating Health and Wellness

SUNDAY, AUGUST 2, 2009

12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Rain or Shine

All Saints Episcopal Church, East Lawn

93^rd and Blondo

Please RSVP by email to info@trifaith.org

Main dish and beverages will be provided.  Please bring a dish to share – salad, side dish or dessert.  Because our three faith groups have a variety of dietary restrictions, good choices are fresh and dried fruits, vegetables, salads with veggies, pasta and rice, breads, chips, salsa and any dishes you would serve on Jewish or Muslim holidays.We ask that you do not bring a dish with pork in it, or a dish which combines meat and dairy in one dish (a meat casserole with cheese, lasagna, etc.) 

Activities for children and adults

Sports, bounce castle, therapy dogs and more

Health fair provided by Creighton Medical School

Free blood pressure screenings, osteoporosis information.

The Undercroft will be available for those who need air conditioning as a respite from the heat.

The Dinner in Abraham’s Tent: Conversations on Peace, was a remarkable night.  If you missed dinner, we have a solution for you — a replay of the live webcast that was on last night. 

To watch the webcast which runs just over an hour go to this link:

mms://209.200.118.182/tfi032709

We had an overflow crowd at the Qwest Center in Omaha — almost 1100, including 141 high school and college students who served as Tri-Faith Ambassadors — greeting people at the doors, stuffing and handing out programs, ushering people to the Worship Service and the Dinner in Abraham’s Tent.

There was so much energy in the room and there was a real sense of being in the presence of God.  Please share this experience by watching the replay of the webcast and let us know your response.

Volunteers are working full-speed to get ready for next Friday’s Dinner in Abraham’s Tent at the Qwest Center on March 27. 

Breaking News:  We have been able to make arrangements to webcast the “Conversation on Peace” live from the Qwest that night.  Just before 8 p.m. Central Time Friday night, log onto this website and you will be able to click through to the  webcast at mms://209.200.118.182/tfilive.  (If you try to go there now it will just come up as a Windows Media screen.)

If you can’t join us at the Qwest, consider organizing your own Dinner in Abraham’s Tent, inviting some interfaith friends over for dinner and to watch the webcast.

The deadline for reservations for the dinner and program at the Qwest Center is Monday, March 23.  If you haven’t signed up for the live event, click on the tab for the dinner and make your reservation now.

Members of Temple Israel hosted a series of informal dinners last night for members of the other two partners in the Tri-Faith Initiative — the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture and the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska.  The dinners were great — thoughtful hosts, good food and even better company.  In some cases, the participants had met before, but at every house there were people who did not know each other. 

Wendy Goldberg from Temple Israel suggested a series of questions to consider as we ate, designed to put everyone at ease while still talking about very important and very personal subjects. 

After the general conversation, at the house where I ate, we were given index cards to write down any questions we would ask members of the faith groups other than our own if we felt totally comfortable with them.  At the dinner I attended this brought out subjects that are generally not discussed on first meetings — how the faith groups deal with same sex relationships and use or non-use of alchohol by members.  These questions brought up important discussions of what is included in our scriptures and sacred writings, what is cultural and what happens in families.

Thank you to all the hosts who so generously opened their homes last night and those who served as facilitators for the evening.  Thank you also to all the guests who accepted the invitations to participate and to open themselves to new experiences and new friends.

Hopefully these are just the first in a long series of social gatherings in safe settings that allow us to know each other better and to discuss important subjects.

This article appeared today in the Omaha World-Herald

BY RABBI ARYEH AZRIEL, WENDY GOLDBERG, NASER Z. ALSHARIF AND THE REV. CANON TIM ANDERSON

The writers, all of Omaha, are board members of the Tri-Faith Initiative. Azriel and Goldberg are senior rabbi and program director, respectively, of Temple Israel. Alsharif is secretary of the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture. Anderson is canon for development of the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska.

Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

In 2006, a group of Omaha leaders made a bold decision to form a partnership with the goal of co-locating to an interfaith campus. Temple Israel, the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska and the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture signed a mutual agreement of understanding to create the Tri-Faith Initiative of Omaha. We remain committed to this goal. Our dialogue actually began nine years ago. From its inception, we knew the day would arrive that would require us to gather at a table in the midst of war in the Middle East. How would we continue building our friendships of mutual understanding?

It took place at a meeting involving the emotional sharing of personal narratives of three leaders of the Tri-Faith Initiative — an Israeli-born Reform Jewish American rabbi; an American Muslim professor born in Palestine; and a native Nebraskan Episcopal priest. The tearful conversation was the kind of honest exchange that is necessary to reach peace.

The initiative, one said, “gives us all strength to have each other and to each respect our individual relationships with God. To understand and to know each other will move us forward.”

Another added: “The pain is so great. What is really at stake in our Holy Land? We are suffering. Who is scoring political points? Is this about geopolitical struggle? What is the value of every human life? All people are victims. The violence must stop. The violence will not bring safety.

“This ongoing war has decimated my entire family. I no longer have a family. Just tears. There is no monopoly on pain. We all have people being killed. Will we strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being? Our response is, ‘We will, with God’s help.’ ” Our stories are woven together with threads of pain and love for our people and the land. We shared stories of loss of friends and family. We acknowledged our mutual regard for human life, especially those who have died as a result of the ongoing struggle.

We heard each other’s memories of war — pain and fear, dreams for the Holy Land. We cried. We hugged. Our years of conversation and education had clear rewards as we witnessed and felt the pain of the others.

The participants said, “We stand together in condemnation of the violence, pain and suffering. We hope for peace and coexistence in the Holy Land. We understand that politics alone will not end this conflict.”

The Holy Land is more than borders and settlements. The tragedies reach beyond Gaza; our message must be a global one. In Omaha, we are privileged by our influence and freedoms. Yet we feel guilty; our selfishness and greed have desensitized us. Are we assuming our responsibilities?

Today we, the leadership of the Tri-Faith Initiative, call upon ourselves to honestly reawaken our consciences, including progressive change to build relationships, to honor a nd respect the other. We raise our voices to work toward peace.

Recognizing the challenges ahead requires hope, faith and a commitment to work hard, together, to solve the many problems of our generation. TriFaith gives us hope — hope for the future in the midst of despair.

Despite the strong feelings roused around our table by the crisis in Gaza, the initiative continues to move forward and remains committed to its first public event, “Dinner in Abraham’s Tent: Conversations on Peace,” featuring the national leaders of each of our movements: Rabbi Peter Knobel, Dr. Ingrid Mattson and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the U.S. Episcopal Church.

The event, set for Friday, March 27, at the Qwest Center, will feature a worship service followed by a dinner and a conversation among the faith leaders on the theme of “Shalom, Salaam, Peace.” In the words of Rabbi Jonathan Magonet, “May our courage match our convictions and our integrity match our hope.”

How can we still attempt the Tri-Faith Initiative when there is a war going on in the Middle East?

How can we not?

You can make reservations for the Dinner in Abraham’s Tent: Conversations on Peace by clicking on the tab on the menu and following the link to the secure shopping cart.

As we watch events in the Middle East, people ask “how can you continue with the Tri-Faith Initiative?”  Our best answer is — How can we not? 

Our Board spent much of it’s meeting last night discussing the events in Gaza and the responses of members of our faith communities, and our responsibilities as leaders of an interfaith movement.  We are working on a joint statement from our three faith groups to express our pain, our sorrow, our faith and our hopes.  In the meantime, the prayers which opened and closed our meeting last night may help as we consider how best to fulfill our responsibilities to each other, to our faith communities and to our God.

The opening prayer was offered by Temple Israel from the book by Chaim Stern, Day by Day.

“For the times that I could have made peace with my neighbor but picked a quarrel, forgive me; and forgive me, too, for the times when I could have accepted with grace an offering of friendship or reconciliation but did not choose to listen.  At times,  in my wilfullness, I may have closed my heart to the possibilitiy of a healing word: Today — and tomorrow — let my heart be open.

May I be among those who are hard to provoke and easy to appease.  May I be a friend of peace at home and at work, and everywhere I go.  When I am angry let me reflect whether my anger is proportionate to its cause and appropriate in its expression.

Keep me from stubborn insistence on always having my way, even when my cause is doubtful, and the truth is unclear.  Keep me however from conceding to wrong and from accepting violence as a way to resolve disputes.  O help me to walk serenely and with good conscience, to accept that I am not the only one with integrity.  May I seek the good, even when it seems not to my advantage.

Make the door of my heart wide enough to receive all whom I meet this day. And make it too narrow to allow entrance to envy, pride and strife.

Help me to enter into the mind of the one who stands before me, and keep me alive to the feelings of each one present.  Let no word or act — mine or theirs — divide me from my kin. Give us all, instead, a quick eye for little kindnesses, and that we may be ready in doing them and gracious in receiving them.”

Our closing prayer was offered by the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture.  It is a Prayer for Unity from the Movement for Reformed Society in Lahore, Pakistan.

“Merciful God, you made all the people of the world in your image and placed before them the pathways of salvation through different preachers who are your Saints and Prophets.  But, the contradictions in their teachings and interpretations of their messages have resulted in creating divisions, hatreds, and caused bloodshed in the world community. Millions of innocent men, women and children have so far been brutally killed, horrifying crimes against humanity have been committed.

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the controversial teaching of arrogance, divisions and hatred which have so badly infected our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; reunite us in bonds of love and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth and in your good time, all people may jointly serve you in peace and harmony.”

Amen and Amen

The Tri-Faith Program Committee met last Wednesday at Temple Israel to plan the March 27 event featuring Rabbi Peter Knobel, Dr. Ingrid Mattson and Bishop Katherine Jefferts-Schori (see earlier post for details). The original concept called for three separate evening prayer services to start the evening.  The Committee quickly decided to do a joint prayer service with the Jewish Shabbat service first, the Episcopal Evening Office next and concluding with the Islamic evening prayers.  Everyone attending will get to participate in or observe all three services as a way to better understand each other’s worship traditions.

We will gather at 5:30 for the prayer service followed by dinner and a conversation among the speakers on the evening’s theme of “Shalom, Salaam, Peace.”

Leadership Omaha added religious inclusivity to their schedule yesterday with a panel from The Tri-Faith Initiative.  Bob Freeman, chairman of the Tri-Faith board and member of Temple Israel, Bilal Khaleeq, board president of the Islamic Center of Omaha, The Rt. Rev. Ernesto Medina of Trinity Cathedral, and Executive Director Nancy Kirk spoke to Class 31 about the history of the project, the natures of the three faith groups and plans for the future. 

The class asked good questions — was there opposition among the congregations? Yes. 

What were the fears?  We discussed them. 

Why not involve Hindus and other faiths?  Partly a practical consideration — the Omaha Hindu community had just built a new large temple and partly the idea that the three Abrahamic faiths have a shared heritage as a starting point.  The vision for the interfaith center on the property leaves open the possibility for use by all faiths, and depending on the size of the land parcel, could even accomodate other houses of worship as space permits and interest grows.

At the “debriefing” at the day’s end, the participants said they were glad religious diversity/inclusivity had been included in the day.  As one person said “It’s something we don’t talk about a lot, but it affects everything.”

Leaders of the three faith groups who make up the Tri-Faith Initiative will be in Omaha to speak at the Tri-Faith event scheduled for March 27, 2009.  Rabbi Peter Knobel, president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Dr. Ingrid Mattson, president of The Islamic Society of North America and Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori of The Episcopal Church will meet in Omaha.

The evening will include evening prayer services for the three faith groups, followed by a dinner and conversation about peace in our time.  Large screens and audio systems will allow 1000+ people to sit in on their conversation.  We also plan to create a video of the event which can be broadcast later.

The Program Planning committee will be meeting Nov. 19 at Temple Israel.

We just received this email from the Midwest Islamic Foundation, the organization in charge of the Musallah in Millard.  I spoke with Bilal Khaleem who gave me permission to share it on this site. 

The response of the Foundation Board is to say ”We pray to Allah to keep us all safe and to guide the persons responsible for this act to the right path. Ameen.”  To which we add “Amen.”

For those unfamiliar with the term, a musallah is a house of worship used for the five daily prayers.  It is like a mosque, but a mosque is a permanent location, while a musallah can be in rented space or a building which is being financed.  Once the organization owns the property outright, it can be converted to a mosque. The Midwest Islamic Foundation is closely connected with the Islamic Center of Omaha.

Here’s the email we received:

Assalamu alaikum brothers and sistersThe Millard Musallah was vandalized on Tuesday 10/21/08. A big rock was thrown through the glass door and shattered the front door. Alhumdolillah, no person was injured but the property was damaged. See

http://omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10465833. for details.I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately. We have contacted the FBI to see if this is a possible hate crime. About two months ago a car was vandalized near the Islamic Center of Omaha when all four tires were slashed.

We pray to Allah to keep us all safe and to guide the persons responsible for this act to the right path. Ameen.

Wasalam
Bilal A. Khaleeq.
Abdullah Yaseer
Abdul Hikmat
Midwest Islamic Foundation, Inc
5135 Marshall Dr.
Omaha, NE 68137
402 707 1225
402 917 2111