The world that can be, indeed.

Submitted by Rabbi Eric Linder

There is not one definition of what religion “does.” It is different things to different people, and often in the same faith. Of course, this doesn’t stop some from trying; the theologian Paul Tillich defines religion as one’s ‘ultimate concern.’ I like that.

But looking at it closer, it seems vague … ultimate concern? What is that?!

I think about my religious upbringing – going to Hebrew School as a young child, being bribed by my parents to attend a youth group conclave, taking college courses in Jewish mysticism, working at a Jewish Summer Camp … I think about all of these, and there’s one thing they have in common. They’ve helped me get from who I was to who I am. My purpose of religion, then? Religion helps move us from the world that is to the world that can be.

Normally there is a gap. In most areas of life, I can look to what I want something to be, rather than what it actually is, and there is a difference. And like everyone else, I have to make do, hoping for the best.

Last night, though, there was no gap. No separation. The world that is was the world that should be.

Three years ago I was interviewed for this job, as the Assistant Rabbi of Temple Israel, in Omaha, Nebraska. I was off-handedly told of a project called the Trifaith Initiative. Three years later, the dream of a visionary few has become the reality for a hopeful many. Like most meaningful things, change has been slow, as there have been challenges and obstacles. But not to our spirit; not to our hope, and not to the core belief in our souls – that we are stronger because of our diversity, and not in spite of it.

Success will undoubtedly be measured in numbers: 1000 people came to our event last night. Those people witnessed 3 different prayer services. 4 nationally renowned religious figures shared their thoughts on peace.

But, the true success lies between the numbers.

Like other moments that happen, you ‘had to be there’ to experience the sense of hope and strength that we felt last night. The real success of our project, though, is that you can be there. You can be open to hearing the ideas of others, even if you vehemently disagree. You can speak truth to power, while also doubting your own certainty of truth. And you can dream along with us.

The night ended with a version of what Jews call the Priestly Benediction. These words are a special blessing and said during various life cycle moments. They were chanted last night in three languages – Hebrew, English and Arabic. They were chanted by three different faiths, spanning time, geography, and theology. And we realized last night that by blessing each other, we in fact bless ourselves.

May God bless you and keep you.

May God cause a divine light to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

May God always turn his presence upon you, and grant you peace.

The world that can be, indeed.

A remarkable night

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.

To watch the webcast which runs just over an hour go to this link:
mms://209.200.118.182/tfi032709

Watch the Tri-Faith Promotion Video

Check out the coverage of our Tri-Faith Event in the Omaha World Herald


“Event promotes understanding among religions” Article in UNL’s Daily Nebraskan

Omaha Project is Attracting National Attention

Coalitions plans interfaith campus in Omaha NEW YORK (JTA)

About Abraham’s Tent
On March 27, 2009, leaders of the three faith groups who make up the Tri-Faith Initiative will be in Omaha to speak at the event. 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 included evening prayer services for the three faith groups, followed by a dinner and conversation about peace in our time. Large screens and audio systems allowed 1000+ people to sit in on their conversation.

The historic program will bring members of the community together for worship, celebration and a dynamic conversation on the topic of Peace—a common theme in each faith. The Tri-Faith Initiative is a partnership of the three Abrahamic faith groups — Christianity, Judaism and Islam. A remarkable project is taking place in Omaha, Nebraska. The Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska, Temple Israel and the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture have come together, planning to build a joint campus which will house a mosque, a temple and a church plus a shared facility on a large campus.

This is the only undertaking of its kind we know of in the world. On this site we will keep you in touch with the progress on the plans for the Tri-Faith campus and other news of successful interfaith projects around the nation and around the world.

SOLD OUT: Tri Faith Initiative’s Dinner in Abraham’s Tent

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.

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.)

WE NEED YOUR HELP
To get the word out about the webcast to everyone you know – around Nebraska, around the country and around the world. Send an email to at least five friends who would be interested, and ask them to send it on to at least five friends and on and on. If everyone receiving this sends it to 5, they send it to five, they send it to five and they send it to five – we can reach over 30,000 in the next 24 hours.

ABOUT THE EVENT
The Tri-Faith Initiative is host for a conversation on peace with national faith leaders Rabbi Peter Knobel, president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the Episcopal Church, and Dr. Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America. A worship service will include a traditional evening prayer service from each faith.

Community Diversity Dinners

Our very first Community Diversity Dinners were hosted in four Temple Israel homes on Saturday evening with a total of 52 participants.  As promised it was a memorable evening.

In preparation for the conversations on Saturday were asked to respond to the following questions for reflection and discussion:

1. We are all here for different reasons.  Each of us has different experiences when working with/communicating with people of different ethnicity and/or religions.  Please finish the statement, “After tonight, I …”
2. What do you think others here tonight may think about you, simply because of your race or religion?
3. Are there any barriers or difficulties that you may have that will hinder you from having a completely open and honest discussion here tonight?
4. If you’re comfortable, please share an experience in your life in which you have felt discriminated against because of your race or religion.

Thank you to our gracious hosts Deb and Doug Finnicum, Susan Rothholz, Suzanne Singer, Jane and Harlan Rips, and Jan and Les Schneiderman.

Here are some comments from some of the participants:

I just wanted you to know what a wonderful evening we had at Susan’s last night.  I think everyone really enjoyed it–Wendy and Len, 2 lovely Muslim couples, and 2 Episcopals.  It was a very successful evening–fun and interesting. –Suzanne Singer

Hi there, how was your dinner last night? We had a wonderful group and I think it was very worthwhile for all who attended. The questions worked fine as a starting point – my group was off and running – didn’t have time for “check-out” but got through everything else.

Gary and I had the very same reaction – got in the car, said how much we enjoyed the two Muslim couples (very bright, very engaging).  Anyway, thanks for working on this – hope we can do more dinners like this to gain more supporters for tri-faith. –Sally Kaplan

It was a great success. The only problem was I ate too much. The food was great, the company better. More later.
–Nancy Kirk, Executive Director Tri-Faith Initiative

War will not rend interfaith project

Omaha World-Herald 01/14/2009, Page B07

MIDLANDS VOICES
War will not rend interfaith project

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 geopolit ical 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? For more information about The Tri-Faith Initiative contact 402-934-2955 or 888- 934-9955 (toll free), or info@trifaith.org.