Interfaith pilgrimage challenges prejudices (Fundamentalist who hated Catholics)

Huntsville Times ^ | January 19, 2007 | KAY CAMPBELL

[NYer]

The Rev. Wanda Gail Campbell, a minister of peace, thinks of herself as one of the most tolerant, respectful, open-minded people she knows.

So it was with shock last summer, as she entered the shrine to the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, France, that she realized some deep prejudices against Catholics were bubbling up from her Southern fundamentalist upbringing.

Lourdes draws pilgrims from around the world to pray at the spot where the young St. Bernadette said she saw and spoke with the Virgin Mary in 1858. Campbell traveled there with other clergy from The Beloved Community, the religious organization that ordained her.

"I guess the prejudices were engrained in me as a child, quite frankly," Campbell said recently. "I almost never went to church as a child and didn't hear something derogatory about Catholics - and we didn't even have any Catholics in our town! I realized I needed to heal that."

The trip was so transformative for Campbell that she returned to her home in Huntsville wishing others could share something like it. Then she looked around and realized it wasn't necessary to travel abroad to experience new ideas. It is possible to travel the world without leaving Madison County.

Campbell has organized a 10-week pilgrimage to faith communities in Huntsville for the Interfaith Mission Service beginning Jan. 28. The pilgrimage is free. It coincides with the "Season of Non-Violence" celebrated between the Jan. 30 anniversary of the assassination of Mohandas Gandhi and the April 4 anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination. The pilgrimage includes Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu services as well as others.

Linking increased religious understanding to the work of peace is natural, Campbell said.

"Huntsville has all this amazing diversity, all these spiritual cultures," she said. "We really don't know our brothers and sisters most of the time. We travel all around the world to find out - and we have all this here."

All of the congregations working with this year's Hometown Pilgrimage welcome visitors every week, of course. The difference, Campbell said, is that the pilgrims will attend as a group and then have time to speak with the religious leaders after each service to get questions answered. An emissary from each congregation will then travel with pilgrims the next week to the next place of worship.

The pilgrimage isn't meant to challenge anyone's personal faith, but to confirm it and enrich it through understanding something of the practices of others who seek a way to God, she said. Also, understanding someone else's beliefs can help build a true community across lines of differences.

"The idea is to go with your own faith intact and see from firsthand and experience what others think and feel about their faith," Campbell said. "You don't have to believe what someone else believes in order to honor and respect that they need that for their life experience."

Pilgrims can choose to attend all or even just one of the events, Campbell said. Her advice to someone who asked which he or she should choose is simple.

"Which one are you most afraid of?" Campbell said. "Go to that one because that's a real pilgrimage - when you push yourself beyond your comfort zone."

If you go

Sponsored by Huntsville's Interfaith Mission Service, the pilgrimage is free and open to new members any week. The first 30 participants will receive a small journaling notebook, a pencil and a simple necklace with a shell, the ancient symbol of pilgrims.

Pilgrims are asked to gather at each site 15 minutes before the service times listed below. Contact the Rev. Wanda Gail Campbell, aspwgc@hiwaay.net or 539-0654, for information on dress or customs.

Jan. 28: Center for Conscious Living, 308 Lily Flagg Road. 10:30 a.m.

Feb. 2: Temple B'nai Sholom, 103 Lincoln St. 8 p.m.

Feb. 10: Huntsville Islamic Center, 1645 Sparkman Drive. 6 p.m. followed by a meal.

Feb. 18: St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 10555 Hughes Road in Madison. 11:30 a.m.

Feb. 25: Trinity United Methodist Church, New Room auditorium, 607 Airport Road. 9:45 a.m.

March 4: United Church on the Mountain (will include introduction to Buddhism), 1328 Governors Drive. 10:30 a.m.

March 11: Progressive Union Missionary Baptist Church, 1917 Brandentown Road. 11 a.m.

March 18: Unitarian Universalist, 2222 Governors Drive. 10:45 a.m.

March 25: Church of the Nativity, Episcopal, 208 Eustis Ave. 11 a.m.

April 1: Hindu Cultural Center of North Alabama, 14854 Smith Drive (off Old Railroad Bed Road) in Harvest. 11 a.m.

[trisham]

"Which one are you most afraid of?" Campbell said. "Go to that one because that's a real pilgrimage - when you push yourself beyond your comfort zone."

***************

I can't say I'm afraid of any religions, other than islam, which I'm not convinced is much of a religion.

[stfassisi]

"I guess the prejudices were engrained in me as a child, quite frankly," Campbell said recently. "I almost never went to church as a child and didn't hear something derogatory about Catholics - and we didn't even have any Catholics in our town! I realized I needed to heal that."

If she takes this healing seriously,she is going to find out she has been brainwashed by heretics from childhood.

We should pray for her conversion to become Catholic!

[Alex Murphy]

Meet the Rev. Wanda Gail Campbell, member of The Beloved Community:

Wanda Gail Campbell
Huntsville, AL. USA
I was born to be a peacemaker. Most of my childhood was spent in rural Alabama- the southern part of the United States of America. This was during the turbulent birth of civil rights activities. In a strongly codependent community, I learned the strength of personal integrity and dedicated work ethics. Now I am astutely aware of our ignorance of and isolation from the global arena. I see our sheer unawareness of how our actions affected the bigger picture. We seemed to be mostly spiritually asleep and focused on physical survival with weekly attention to fundamentalist religious dogma.

Many years and several careers later, I presently serve as a Minister of Peace with The Beloved Community. It is my honor to coordinate national Spiritual Peacemaking Sacred Circles.

This ministry offers opportunities to serve joyfully in a “ministry of the moment”. Not only is this fun, it includes a wide variety of experiences such as LuvBucket, the clown and a puppet reading ministry with area low income children.

For my own spiritual nourishment, I enjoy spiritual pilgrimages. The most recent and treasured one was experiencing the rituals of another faith and culture from my own base practice of using The Sacred Office of Peace Prayers. It brought awareness to a lifetime of ignorance about other spiritual cultures and allowed healing and release of unfounded prejudices. Now, I personally understand that world peace begins in the individual heart and ripples outward. It is my intention to become loving peace and to live every moment from a peaceful heart.

One way to live peace is to assist and encourage others to connect to Divine Essence and to allow an authentic expression of that to emerge as a powerful force in the world. Part of this process is, I believe, empowering the energies of the divine feminine in both men and women. Then, we will feed all the hungry peoples of the world, encourage self responsibility, and live in harmony with each other and this precious planet.
 

---

So, what led you to the conclusion that she's a Fundamentalist, NYer?

[alpha-8-25-02]

"The Ultimate goal of the Beloved Community is to demonstrate the Divinity of Life that is revealed every moment of our lives, and in doing so, to create a world of lasting compassion and peace. We are a spiritual and educational church organization that strives to align itself with the teachings of inner peace at the center of every religion and sacred scripture.


The Beloved Community is an extension of and claims its lineage from the first century group known as “The Community of the Beloved Disciple,” founded by St. John the Apostle shortly after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. This ancient community has its roots in many other groups throughout history, including the Cathars (Also called the “Church of Love”), and the Knights Templar, as well as several other modern manifestations. Our goal is to fulfill the commission Jesus gave to St. John, asking him to reunite the feminine and masculine aspects of the Christ. Special emphasis is given to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene. The Community of the Beloved Disciple has always believed that Divine Revelation is a personal experience that occurs between the individual and God, and is not contingent upon an intermediary priesthood or church. The Beloved Community, though it has its roots in esoteric Christianity, strives to honor all paths to God, especially as they relate to inner and world peace."

SOUNDS SOLIDLY REFORMED!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jaded]

Certainly not Huntsville, Texas.

[Salvation]

**The Beloved Community is an extension of and claims its lineage from the first century group known as “The Community of the Beloved Disciple,” founded by St. John the Apostle shortly after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus**

Sounds Catholic to me.

[Notwithstanding]

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[markomalley]

Sounds Catholic to me.

Read on...

Sounds like a bunch of new age wiccan crap to me...

[Lexinom]

No, it sounds like a clumsy syncretizztion of Catholic tradition, "higher-life" experientialism, and modern new-age winds of doctrine.

[Alex Murphy]

Can any of you explain why the phrase "Fundamentalist who hated Catholics" appears in the thread title, especially as it wasn't in the source document's title?

[Martin Tell]

Reading over this list, I'm reminded of Woody Allen's remembrance of when he went to Inter-Faith Camp and was beaten-up by boys of all races, religions and creeds.

I don't think her "magical mystery tour" list has a real Christian group among it.

[Lexinom]

I'm not sure she hated Catholics from the article. "Prejudiced" is the word used. What are your thoughts?

NYer has always been friendly to me, but we usually meet on the pro-life threads. As a Reformed Protestant I don't think she meant anything dark with that phrasing and would give her the benefit of the doubt.