1" ANNUAL
INDOOR PRE-OWNED
VEHICLE SALE
ed ministers and others seeking to con-
vert Jews in the name of interfaith dia-
logue. "It is morally wrong to take
advantage of that situation of trust."
Father Budde agrees. Following
Vatican II, the church stressed relating
to other faiths in an effort to achieve
greater understanding, not to produce
a greater crop of Catholic converts.
By and large, the interfaith relations
tend to strengthen participants' faith,
leaders say. This is mostly because par-
ticipants see themselves as representa-
tives or ambassadors of their religions
and accordingly feel a certain pride.
"People don't become less interested
in their religion. The opposite is true,"
Krichbaum said. "They become more
knowledgeable because they have to
find the answers to questions the oth-
ers ask."
David Gad-Harf, executive director
of the Jewish Community Council of
Metropolitan Detroit, said the coopera-
tion among religious groups on political,
social and moral issues has been the
most significant development in inter-
faith relations in the past several decades.
"It has gone beyond dialogue," he
said. "You have to build trust through
dialogue, but working together on any
issue of shared concern helps to build
ties between religious groups. It is hard-
er to consider that group as being alien
if we have identified a shared goal."
A small success story
(
;Th
Temple Shir Shalom in West
Bloomfield and Trinity Missionary
Baptist Church in Pontiac have created
just such a shared goal.
After a chance meeting between the
church's pastor, Rev. Robert Bailey, and
Rabbi Dannel Schwartz of the Reform
congregation, a friendship formed that
blossomed into a cross-congregational
sisterhood affiliation. Members of the
Jewish congregation have attended
some Sunday celebrations while church
members have come to Friday-night
services at the temple. Bailey and
Schwartz have spoken at each other's
pulpits and the choirs of both congre-
gations have sung in each other's wor-
ship space.
More remarkable is the work that
has been done in the joint social action
and educational projects between the
two congregation's youth groups.
In the week after Thanksgiving,
teenagers from both congregations
piled into the church's bus and cruised
area streets searchina for homeless
men, women and children
t'
to whom
they gave blankets, socks, hats, gloves
and toiletries. The groups also visited
the Charles H. Wright Museum of
African American History in Detroit
and the Holocaust Memorial Center in
West Bloomfield to gain greater under-
standing of each other's histories.
The result of the good deeds and
learning has been friendships, not just
between the clergy but between families
in the different congregations and
between teens in the different youth
groups. These friendships, said Rabbi
Michael Moskowitz of Shir Shalom,
who heads the youth group activities
with Trinity's Rev. Kenneth Jones, are
the basis of greater understanding and
better ecumenical relations in the future.
"The kids are learning that it is
about relationships," Moskowitz said.
"When you know someone and care
about someone, they are important to
you. Then respect and trust is that
much deeper.
Bailey says the interaction will go a
long way toward interfaith and inter-
racial understanding.
"We need to go about the business
of teaching people about being human
to each other," Bailey said. "This has
to happen at the ground level over a
period of time."
The benefits of doing the ecumeni-
cal work are felt beyond the area,
indeed on a global level, interfaith
leaders say.
The Ecumenical Institute's Blewett
says the dialogue has led to significant
change in the way Christians perceive
Israel and to growing support for the
Jewish state. Krichbaum said the
implications of greater understanding .
and respect among divergent ethnic
and religious groups will be felt in larg-
er proportion with generations to
come, in part because of the significant
globalization ofthe economic climate.
"Our kids are growing up on the
Internet," he said. If they want to suc-
ceed in business, they are going to
have to work with people of a variety
of religious backgrounds."
Having good interfaith relation skills,
he said, "will be a primary necessity for
people to succeed in the work world."
Gad-Harf said expanding interfaith
efforts is essential. We can cite prob-
lems and wring our hands that we
aren't there yet," he said. "But the ulti-
mate goal to reach is having people feel
comfortable with each other, under-
stand and respect each other's religion.
You look around the world and see
that people in other countries don't
have near the level of interfaith rela-
tions that we do," he said. "I believe
America is a stronger country today
because of the religious diversity,
respect and understanding that we
have achieved." II
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Detroit Jewish News
1 /2 1
1999
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