Faith Beyond Borders

Last week, Danny and I co-chaperoned TanenbaumCHAT Kimel Centre's 2nd annual trip to Franklin, West Virginia, a predominantly Christian area of the United States, to build homes with Habitat for Humanity and engage with local members of the community.

As Almost Heaven Habitat for Humanity and many of the community leaders in Franklin are inspired by their Christian beliefs, we felt that an opportunity to dialogue about our respective faiths would be important.  As such, we facilitated an informal dialogue and Q & A session with a local Lutheran pastor and Catholic Priest to share information and stories about our religions as well as the value of interfaith dialogue.

Below are some of the students' reflections on the evening. It definitely seems like it was a meaningful and eye-opening experience for all involved! 

I think that this experience was eye opening.  Having never been inside a church before, I learned so many new things.  However, what I feel like I gained from this experience, other than just information on the Christian religion, was understanding.  I think it was beautiful and amazing that strangers with opposing beliefs, with pasts that have clashed time and time again, everyone was so respectful and ready to learn.  I think it was important for me to “step outside my Jewish bubble”- I go to Jewish school, camp, and live in a Jewish community.  This experience is not something I will ever forget.  It showed me that you can understand each other’s differences, and use those differences to learn about yourself.


The most striking thing I learned yesterday was how knowledgeable Christians (pastor & priest) admire and respect Judaism and view it as the mother of their religion.  I was also surprised to hear that they acknowledge and accept Jews as the chosen people of God.  Their acceptance of Judaism’s special status was both shocking and inspiring.


I enjoyed the chance to learn something new.  I am always fascinated by religions and every addition to my knowledge strengthens my own belief and my ability to communicate it with others.  
It also helps with my ability to learn new trends and customs because there are so few Jews and the necessity to communicate and being respectful towards other faiths is a key corner stone to maintaining, in my opinion, an interfaith relationship.  


I think it is important to learn about all the religions around us in the world.  I think this unites us as humans- learning.  I really enjoyed this new experience, seeing how I have never been in a Lutheran church before.  I learnt a lot about Christianity, about things I never knew about before.  Christianity, as well as every other religion in the world, is very complex and therefore the questions that we had could only be answered in brief (which is understandable because the questions we had were century- long debates).  I really enjoyed hearing about Christianity, and that the dialogue opened up so many more unanswered questions, which I hope to find answers to in the future.  It was a great experience!


The experience of being welcomed into a church to share principles of, and discuss our religions, was a very unique one.  This type of setting really emphasized the close connection that we have with all people.  Although some specific beliefs and practices are completely different, it was evident that the basic morals behind them are the same.  What this experience really taught me was that although from the outside Christianity and Judaism appear to be completely separate from one another, we are actually very closely connected and should further this relationship.  


For me, last night was a learning experience.  When I was first told we were going to church, I didn’t understand why.  But I understand, now, the importance of communication and understanding of people different from yourself.  I really enjoyed listening and learning about the church and Christianity, and was fascinated by what I had learned.  What stood out most significantly to me was when the Pastor apologized for the cruel actions and words of his leader, Lutheran, for the negative actions of his fellow Christians, and for what happened in the holocaust.  I appreciated that, and will never forget it.


Yesterday’s experience at the church with Pastor Craig and Priest Mario was actually very uplifting for me.  I loved to listen to both of them speak with so much passion and enthusiasm.  The way they spoke of Jews made me feel very comforted that they thought so highly of us and were excited to have us there, because of the lack of Jews in their area.  Everything they told and taught us was very interesting to me and without a second thought I would love to go back and have more conversations with them.  As the conversation switched to Pastor Craig and Mario asking us questions about our religion, they were so enthusiastic to hear about our beliefs.  Overall, it was a great experience.  


It was interesting to learn specific details and beliefs of Christianity, and to hear a Christian perspective.  In school we have always learned about different religions in relation to the Jewish people, although I had never experienced being in a church.   I enjoyed listening to what the Pastor had to say, and would definitely do it again if I have a chance!


I felt very proud to be Jewish last night.  The Lutheran Pastor and the Catholic Priest spoke so well of our Jewish nation, when before I would have thought that they wanted us to be of their faith.  Pastor Craig apologized for what happened during the Holocaust, which was very genuine and meaningful.  Priest Mario told us that he reads the weekly Parsha, which made me see that our religions are not that different.  All in all, it was a very moving and memorable experience, and I am so fortunate I got to experience it.


Yesterday at Faith Lutheran Church, we had the great opportunity to meet with a Lutheran Pastor, Craig, and a Roman Catholic Priest, Mario.  This was a very eye- opening experience for me as I was amazed not only by how close Judaism and Christianity are, but also to see their ambition and want to know more about our religion.  A memory that sticks with me is when I was talking to Priest Mario, I was amazed when he told me that every Saturday he reads the Shabbat Service from the Jewish prayer book to prepare him for his Sunday service.  Going in I was nervous for what was to come, but leaving I felt insightful and very fortunate to have had this experience.


Last night’s experience was one I think I’ll remember forever.  I was very pleasantly surprised about the attitude of Pastor Craig and Priest Mario.  I have always thought of religion as a competition of who’s got the right beliefs. Last night, however, everyone was open to each other in a non- threatening manner.  I noticed through the dialogue something interesting about myself.  Mr. Held spoke about Deed vs. Creed and how in Judaism the focus is mainly on deed and that it is sometimes hard not to loose sight of creed.  I saw that in Christian faiths there is a focus on creed so by looking at them we could realize what we need to do to maintain focus on creed.  I realized that I don’t really have a strong creed as well.  I also realized, when Pastor Craig apologized on behalf of Luther and his writings that were used in the holocaust, that from being so affected by this apology I really do have a stronger connection to Judaism than I thought.  Overall this experience was life- changing and I look forward to more like it in the future.


I thought it was really neat how the connection between the Jewish and Catholic religion were recognized and made.  How both groups were equally interested in each other.  I learned how many sects there are in Christianity, and in some ways how diverse they can be.  Coming into such a small town with almost no Jews was a mind- altering experience for the better.

I really enjoyed the dialogue at the church with Pastor Craig and Priest Mario.  I enjoyed learning about a different religion through a different perspective.  In school we learn about Christianity from our Jewish teachers, which can be biased.  I believe that learning without a biased view really changed my outlook on why they do what they do.  Learning about the reasons behind their religion and traditions was really interesting.  Not only was learning about Christianity enjoyable, but also teaching about Judaism.  I felt really proud to be Jewish when we were teaching and begin asked questions because I enjoy sharing my knowledge with other people.

Going into the church last night was a very new experience.  The people were very knowledgeable about us and Jews in general even though there is no Jewish community. They were open to different opinions and were very hospitable.  I thought going in that I would learn about something different but that it might be better for me not to know about them and stay 100% faithful to my own g-d.  I have realized that I am still faithful to my g-d and this did not change my opinion, if anything enhanced it because seeing them so passionate about their faith made the whole trip and me more passionate about ours (when questions were asked to us).   It was a different experience and a good one to have because it opened up my mind to other things than my own Jewish Thornhill life/ community.