THE PEACE OF ABRAHAM, HAGAR, & SARAH:
SHARING SACRED SEASONS, 2006

[5-25-06]

We have received this message from Rabbi Arthur Waskow of The Shalom Center, and Rabbi Michael Lerner of Tikkun and the Network of Spiritual Progressives.  But there are numerous other groups -- Christian and Muslim as well as Jewish -- supporting this effort.

Shalom, salaam, peace! --

In the fall of 2006, several sacred seasons of the Abrahamic faiths will come together. At a moment of history when religious conflict and violence have reemerged bearing lethal dangers for each other and our planet, God has given our spiritual and religious traditions an unusual gift of sacred time.

Let us celebrate this rare confluence of THE PEACE OF ABRAHAM, HAGAR, & SARAH by praying and learning with each other and by acting together to –-

SEEK PEACE, PURSUE JUSTICE,
FEED THE POOR, HEAL THE EARTH,
SERVE THE ONE

In 2006 and 2007, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish month of the High Holy Days and Sukkot will coincide. During this sacred month will come also the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4), and the Worldwide Communion Sunday of Protestant and Orthodox Christians (October 1).

The convergence of these dates will then not recur for another thirty years. We call on our generation of the families of Abraham to join in these efforts.

In accord with the ancient tradition that Abraham’s tent was open on all four sides to welcome travelers from everywhere, we invite into this celebration not only the three main families of Abraham but also on the fourth side others who share these goals. In that context, we note that Mahatma Gandhi's birthday is on October 2 and that Buddhist, Hindu, and other festivals also come during this sacred season.

Ramadan begins (depending on sighting of the new moon) about September 22-24 and ends about October 22 with Eid al-Fitr, the Festival of Breaking the Fast. The month-long commitment to fast from dawn to dusk each day offers food and life-abundance as a sacrifice, focusing on devotion to God instead of on material success, and calls us to turn toward each other in repentance.

Rosh Hashanah begins the evening of September 22; Yom Kippur falls on October 1-2; Sukkot begins the evening of October 6. The month is one of turning toward God and toward harmonious relationships among human beings and the earth.

St. Francis of Assisi stood almost alone among the Christians of his day in opposing the Crusades and investing months of his life in studying and praying with Muslims.

We urge specific communities to choose from among the many rich moments of the month a focus-time for learning from the past, celebrating the present, and transforming the future. *

For example, we encourage shared celebrations on Sunday, October 8 -- one of the dawn-to-dusk fast days of Ramadan and also the second day of the festival of Sukkot -- or on Monday, October 9, a civil holiday.

In the spirit of the Jewish prayer: "Spread over us the Sukkah of Shalom," we could gather in the fragile, vulnerable, leafy Sukkah hut to celebrate a joyful fast of Ramadan, to joyfully break the fast together after sundown, and to learn joyfully from such teachers as Francis of Assisi and Gandhi – all of whom taught that true security, true peace come from sharing the truth that we are all vulnerable, all fragile, all connected with each other and the earth.

We encourage our religious communities to take action to protect human rights, heal the earth, and -- in the regions where Abraham, Hagar, and Sarah sojourned--seek peace.

We urge those of all our traditions to begin NOW, in our own cities and neighborhoods as well as nationally and internationally, to plan with each other how to use these sacred seasons to carry out God's will that we live together THE PEACE OF ABRAHAM, HAGAR, & SARAH.

* Perhaps in clusters of congregations, each community could host one meal for members of the others, after nightfall on any of the evenings of Ramadan.

* Jews could, in line with old tradition, invite "sacred guests" from other traditions into the open, leafy Sukkah; invoke Sukkot blessings upon all "seventy nations" of the world; and implore God to "spread the sukkah of shalom" over us.

* Muslims could invite other communities to join in celebrating some aspects of Eid el-Fitr (the feast at the end of Ramadan), and Jews and Christians could (as in Morocco) bring food to the celebration of the end of Ramadan's fasting.

* Churches could invite Jews, Muslims, and others to join in learning about and celebrating the teachings of Francis of Assisi.

*  Synagogues and mosques could eat together in an evening break-fast (Iftar) and then join in reading and discussing both the Jewish and the Muslim teachings of the story of Abraham, Hagar, Ishmael, Sarah, and Isaac.

This statement, initiated by The Tent of Abraham, Hagar, & Sarah, has been endorsed by Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches; Dr. Sayeed Syeed, secretary-general of the Islamic Society of North America; and Rabbi Peter Knobel, along with The Shalom Center, the Jewish Committee for Isaiah's Vision, ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal and its rabbinic body Ohalah, Pax Christi, and the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and many other groups. See www.tentofabraham.org

Bonnie Reynolds sent this brief article with a note saying it describes "a project developed and pursued by a very small (20) people in a conservative community, much afraid of ruffling feathers and offending others, but committed to living their Christian Faith - I ... hope it might be used in some way to encourage others to actively work for greater understanding."

[5-8-06]

Resting in the foothills of Mt Adams is the Trout Lake Presbyterian Church (in Washington State) with a formal membership of 20 people and a larger congregation of participants who eschew formal membership. It struggles to meet the diverse needs of its small congregation by sharing minister Dorothy Franklin with Evergreen Presbyterian Church in Mill-A Washington. Responding to a parishioner's query regarding how to talk to those with whom we disagree about peace, the church's peace committee, Barbara Schramm and Bonnie Reynolds developed a project to make the subject of peace an open issue within our community. January through Easter Sunday, there were silent peace vigils at the Church and 3 forums: "Loving Your Enemy" based on Martin Luther King's work, "Smart Security" based on a video by Physicians for Social Responsibility," and "Every War Has Two Losers" based on writings by William Stafford and Dwight Eisenhower.

Culminating the project on Saturday April 8 the church hosted a multicultural, interfaith conference featuring guest speakers from four of the major world religions on the topic of peace and violence.

The four speakers – Rabbi Aryeh Hirshfield of P'nai Or Synagogue in Portland, Jiko of Dharma Rain Zen Center, Imam Mikal Shabazz of the Oregon Islamic Chaplains Organization, and Father Anthony Petrotta of the St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church in Wilsonville – expressed the views of their faiths as well as personal opinions on issues ranging from interpretations of the Psalms to the recent debate over immigration in the U.S. Despite the wide range of beliefs, speakers emphasized the similarities rather than the differences of their respective religions, as well as the need for a deep knowledge of other faiths to truly appreciate and respect them. As Mikal Shabazz pointed out during his speech, "It is more important to understand than to be understood."

While the speakers stressed that the basic tenets of all four faiths favor peace over violence, all readily admitted the disconnect between belief and action, as well as the need to balance nonviolence with justice. Shabazz and Petrotta, both Vietnam veterans, discussed the difference between justice and vengeance, as well as their own reactions to such events as the September 11th terrorist attacks.

In addition to speakers, the event also provided the opportunity for participants to peruse literature related to the topic, including religious histories, holy texts, and contemporary works on war and nonviolence. Reading lists and pamphlets were also provided.

The event was attended by fifty-five people, a very good turn-out for our rural community; even the guest speakers expressed surprise at the size of the crowd. The peace committee is also in charge of scheduling speakers for a once-a-month pot luck and lecture series that is entitled "How To Live Our Faith in Our Culture." They will use this opportunity to build on the concept of applying faith to decision making in our lives. Topics include "The Relationship Between Religion and Politics," " The Separation of Church and State," " Capitol Punishment," and "Spiritual Expression Through Haiku." These projects are not pursued without discomfort to members of the Church and generate a lot of soul searching within the church.