Siblings in faith

Some years ago I helped chaperone an interfaith youth trip to Northern Ireland, where we learned peace and reconciliation skills while exploring the backdrop of that troubled country. Our youth were Muslim and Christian, so we scheduled worship in each other's traditions - a local parish church and a mosque in Belfast - as well as conversations about our different beliefs and customs. The kids became particularly close over the week, staying up to watch the late sunsets (about 10:30 pm in midsummer) and playing endless card games. One Muslim girl remarked toward the end, "it's funny, we have more in common with each other than I do with the kids I know who don't practice any religion." Everyone nodded vigorously - this group of religious teens recognized that living the alternative lifestyles of people of faith set them further apart from secular kids than from those practicing their own faith, even a different one. That observation has stuck with me - I think she was onto something. We might be less aware of it, as Christianity is still the more dominant faith in our culture. But we who actually practice it have different habits from most people - our Sunday commitments are different, our holidays are spent not just with family but at church, our friends are more likely to be part of our church too. We stand out.

So we pray fervently for those who were killed in the attack on the Islamic Center Monday, and for the nearby Jewish communities who went into lockdown as soon as they were warned. And we need to call out those who try to suggest otherwise, who further foment the hate that led to the attack. This is no us and them - this is all of us.