Posted on 09/14/2002 9:45:39 PM PDT by Dog Gone
THE WOODLANDS -- Promoters of the largest 9/11 commemoration in The Woodlands last week had a clear answer when they were asked to change the format to make non-Christians feel more welcome.
No way.
Christian churches, once insulated by vast oceans from most other religions, are divided on how to relate to non-Christian groups that have grown rapidly because of immigration in recent decades, said Jay T. Rock, director of interfaith relations for the National Council of Churches.
"Islam is now outpacing Pentecostalism as the fastest-growing religion in the United States, and outpacing Judaism in terms of numbers," Rock said. "We have sizable Asian Buddhist communities, especially in Houston, and the Hindu community is growing."
The difficulty is apparent in The Woodlands, where the 31 evangelical churches sponsoring one 9/11 commemoration welcomed Muslims, Jews and other non-Christians -- as long as they accepted that the central theme was praise of Jesus Christ.
Interfaith of The Woodlands tried to negotiate a compromise in which all faiths would gather at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, the logical venue for any community event. But the organizers of "9/11: One voice, The Woodlands Remembers" refused to budge.
Interfaith instead conducted its own commemoration at a sports park.
Many Christian churches, as well as the non-Christian groups, thought that the evangelicals were implicitly stigmatizing The Woodlands' Muslim congregation and monopolizing the only local venue large enough for a communitywide ceremony
The Muslim and Jewish congregations stood together in criticizing their exclusion from what turned out to be the largest 9/11 commemoration in The Woodlands.
Rabbi James Brandt, of Congregation Beth Shalom in The Woodlands, defended the Muslim congregation, saying that the evangelicals were implicitly blaming them for last year's terrorist attacks by refusing to extend an invitation at a time when the community needed to stand together.
Interfaith Executive Director Chuck Ducharme failed to convince the evangelicals that the community needed a single 9/11 commemoration for all faiths.
Rock said it was not unusual for different faiths to hold separate 9/11 commemorations, but he was unaware of an instance in which a single faith monopolized the largest venue in the community.
The Rev. Greg Johnson, pastor of the WoodsEdge Community Church and one of the organizers of the evangelical commemoration at the pavilion, said that site was needed because of the large number of evangelicals in The Woodlands.
Between 7,000 and 10,000 gathered there, Johnson said, compared with 1,500 to 2,000 who Ducharme said attended the Interfaith event.
After the controversy became public, Interfaith and the evangelicals agreed to conduct a breakfast and a noon commemoration at the pavilion for all religions.
Representatives from the Muslim community were notably absent from both events.
"Only Christian communities were invited," said Joy Jamaluddin, spokeswoman for The Woodlands' Islamic congregation.
She also said that Faiths Together, an organization that includes non-Christian and Christian churches, was not allowed to co-sponsor the 9/11 breakfast.
The Rev. Paula Gable, interim minister at the Northwoods Unitarian-Universalist Church, said of the breakfast and noon event, "The events are at their best an attempt to smooth over something that can't be smoothed over easily.
"They are well-meaning in trying to heal the wounds," Gable said. "The point is that one breakfast isn't going to do it."
Brandt said it is a shame for the community that the groups were not able to come together.
"I do hope and pray that after this commemoration is over, the community will find a way to address some of the issues that are preventing us from having the feeling of unification," he said.
Evangelical churches put a positive spin on the breakfast.
The Rev. Ed Robb, minister at The Woodlands United Methodist Church, saw it as a successful effort to bring all faiths together.
"This is not a Band-Aid to fix it," Robb said. "You have a misunderstanding in a marriage and you can still have a strong marriage."
Rock, of the National Council of Churches, said Christian churches were divided into several camps in trying to relate to non-Christians. He said that, basically, there were those who focused on converting others to Christianity and those who were more accepting of other faiths because they believe God is in everyone .
Johnson agreed that the issue was complex.
"Jesus is really the sticking point," he said. "The most confusing thing is what constitutes a Christian."
In addition, the image of Islam poses a quandary. The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, holds that it is a destructive religion, Rock said.
Johnson said, however, that none of the churches that sponsored the 9/11 event at the pavilion shares Graham's views. They simply believed it was more important to adhere to their religious views than alter the commemoration to make it more inclusive, he said.
But the Rev. David Emery, pastor at The Woodlands Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), took the opposite view.
"We decided this was a day we needed to participate with people from many religious backgrounds," Emery said. "We felt it was important to recognize that this was not just for Christian people
AMEN!!!
Okay, but he is just talking to the people around him at the time and all the people of Israel. What does that have to do with you and me. You may be of Israel but I suspect you are not. I know I am not of Israel.
If true, it is universally true.
You may not be born of Israel according to the lineage of the flesh, but you're certainly under heaven.
Just let it be.
uh...
...yeah, it's getting pretty late. (sigh) :-(
Exactly where is this "heaven" that I am under?
G'night.
Sure does. When your plane is crashing, bail out!
That will stand on its own.
This, too, will stand on its own.
Indeed you are; however, you are just an interloper. Your only contribution to the debate has been a few catty remarks from the side lines. :-)
That, too, will stand on its own.
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