IN THE SUMMER OF 2016, WE WENT TO THE COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, AIRPORT TO MEET A FAMILY AT THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY. But we were a part of an enriching journey of our own. Members of McGregor Presbyterian Church and the Noor Ul Huda Mosque would, over the coming months, journey from places of assumption to truth, from limited perspectives to fresh viewpoints, from communities of tolerance to relationships of deep respect. And the journey continues. In 2014, through an intentional visioning process, McGregor Church identified three areas of focus for ministry: nurturing spiritual growth, building community partnerships and practicing God’s justice. We have discovered that building interfaith partnerships satisfies all three areas. The first introductions between members of McGregor Church and the Noor Ul Huda Mosque occurred before the arrival of a Syrian refugee family. McGregor sponsored the Syrian family through Lutheran Services Carolinas, which works together with … [Read more...]

IN 2016 MCGREGOR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, SERVED AS A HOST COMMUNITY FOR A SYRIAN REFUGEE FAMILY. The family of six was Muslim, and it was scheduled to arrive during Ramadan, a month of fasting considered one of the central pillars of Islam. McGregor Church sought guidance from Interfaith Partners of South Carolina, and was introduced to leaders of a neighboring mosque, the Masjid Noor Ul Huda. In preparation for the arrival of the Syrian family, members of both church and mosque came together to arrange accommodation, furnishing, employment, school enrollment and general orientation for the new family. Members of both faith communities greeted the family at the airport. As its arrival coincided with Ramadan, members of McGregor Church arranged to pick up the family’s members each day and drive them to the Noor Ul Huda Masjid so they could participate in Ramadan prayers. At the end of Ramadan, members of McGregor shared Eid Al-Fitr, the festival … [Read more...]

WINTERS IN CENTRAL VERMONT ARE LONG, USUALLY LASTING FROM A FIRST SNOW IN EARLY NOVEMBER THROUGH MUD SEASON (the season people elsewhere call “spring”) in early April. While many people enjoy outdoor activities all winter long, the homeless and precariously housed members of our Barre, Vermont, community need a place of warmth. Churches in our community, in partnership with our local library, created a patchwork schedule based on the conviction that there should always be a place in town where one can be warm. Collaboratively providing warm spaces was the beginning of BiG (Barre Interfaith Group). Since BiG’s beginning a decade ago, partnerships have strengthened. Our scope has broadened to feeding ministries of body and soul, working on housing and educating around the intersections of spirituality and mental health. BiG’s work shows up in a variety of annual interfaith efforts ranging from union summer services to Good Friday prayer walks (with focus on violence, addiction … [Read more...]