1.      Spring: The Northern Kentucky Dialogue Series 

The idea of organizing this dialogue series began when I met Roula Allouch, a young Muslim woman from Northern Kentucky, during the fall, 2007 Cincinnati dialogue.  I asked Roula and Faith Kemper, a long-time friend of Franciscans Network who also lives in Northern Kentucky, about their interest in doing a dialogue series over in the Bluegrass.  Both of them responded enthusiastically to the idea and the three of us began planning for a spring series.  

Meanwhile, in November, 2007 the Education Commission at Mother of God Church in Covington had hosted a successful talk on Islam by Shakila Ahmad of the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC).  I called Paul Miller, the chairperson of the Education Commission, to ask if they would be interested in learning more about Islam and he responded positively.  He and the pastor, Fr. Ray Hartman, agreed with our plan to use Mother of God as the host site for the series.  We then began to do more detailed planning, including publicity, and Roula spoke with the Muslims who gather in Florence to enlist their participation.

The Northern Kentucky dialogue began on April 6 with an introductory talk on Islam given by Roula and then continued on each Tuesday evening during April.  The format for the four dialogue sessions followed the pattern we had used successfully in the fall series: two brief sharings, from a Christian and a Muslim, on the topic for the evening and then small group dialogue with everyone having an opportunity to talk and to listen.  The first evening's topic was on our faith practices, particularly our personal practices; the other topics, as requested by the participants through a survey taken the first evening were: prophets and messengers (what Muhammed and Jesus mean to us); women (their role and position in our faiths); and faith and culture (how we live our faiths in the midst of American society).  As we had done in the fall, we also included tours of two worship spaces: on April 22 we met at the Clifton mosque and received an insightful tour from Karen Dabdoub of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and on April 29 Fr. Ray gave us an informative tour of the magnificent church at Mother of God.  The Muslims in the group were absolutely stunned by the stained glass windows depicting the life of Mary and we all enjoyed sharing this moment in the warm evening light; the reverence in which we both hold Mary is a beautiful connecting point between our faiths.

The dialogue was attended by a total of almost 70 people, with about 40 attending on any particular evening.  Most were Mother of God parishioners, but many came from other parishes in Northern Kentucky.  Here are some of the comments from the evaluations in response to the question, "What aspects of our dialogue series did you like best, appreciate, benefit from?"

2.      Ongoing Education

During the late spring there were two events in which I was able to participate that added significantly to my own understanding of Islam and the issues facing modern Muslims. 

In May I attended a day-long seminar at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo entitled "Culturally Appropriate Care of the Muslim Patient".  While this seminar was directly applicable to my position at the College of Mount St. Joseph, where I teach nursing, it also offered an excellent opportunity to talk with Muslims about how their faith impacts their choices and experience in healthcare.

In June, I was able to go to Chicago to participate in a summer session at the Catholic Theological Union.  The week-long course, entitled "Islam and Women" was taught by Syafaatun Almirzanah, chair of the theology department at the State Islamic University in Yogyakarya, Indonesia.  It was a unique opportunity to immerse myself in issues related to feminism and Islam, in the company of a pioneering Muslim theologian and an appreciative group of Muslim and Christian students.

3.      Summertime Activities

In the summer we organized an interfaith picnic with the help of CAIR and the Islamic Center (ICGC).  About 40 people came on a hot July Saturday, to rest and visit in the coolness of the Center's gymnasium.  Before dinner, two of the young Muslim girls recited the opening Sura (chapter) of the Quran.  The 7-year-old recited in Arabic, by memory, and then her older sister shared an English translation.  It was beautifully done and they were proud to share their Scripture with us.  I had prepared a printed version of a passage from the New Testament: Luke 1, 46-55, the Magnificat.  I picked this prayer because I know that Muslims have a high regard for Mary, as mother of the prophet Jesus, and that they could readily identify with the message in those verses. My plan was to have the Christians pray it together aloud.  I think I even said, "Alright, now we'll pray this together", thinking that only the Christians would join in with me.  But as we began, the Muslims all joined in with no hesitation!  As I realized what was happening, the prayer got even more beautiful for me: we were all, Muslim and Christian, praising God, the One who keeps the promise made "to Abraham and his children forever".

Toward the end of the evening one of my Muslim friends and I were talking and he said, "I want to get one of those red-word Bibles".  At first I was puzzled and then I grinned.  "Do you mean a red-letter edition, where the words of Jesus are printed in red?"  "Yes!" he replied.  As we talked, it was clear to me that he wanted to read more about what Jesus had said in our Scripture, that he was curious to know what was there and he figured that we (Christians) might have some insight into Jesus, since he is "our" prophet.  I told him where he might find such a Bible and then I joked, "Maybe I should do a Bible study for Muslims!"  My friend looked right back at me and said, "I think a lot of Muslims would be interested in that." 

In August, I was honored to receive the Inclusion Award from the Cincinnati Islamic Center at their annual pre-Ramadan dinner, in recognition of the work that we have done in the dialogue efforts thus far.

4.      Autumn

As shown in this report, we have used many avenues for educating one another and building our relationships as people of faith.  In November we tried an approach based on the "Five Pillars" of Islam that worked very well.  Christ Church (Episcopal) Cathedral, in downtown Cincinnati, had invited us to organize this series for their Sunday adult education time.  In consultation with our Muslim friends, we decided to use the three Sundays to briefly present the Five Pillars along with some personal sharing about their impact.  I invited 3 different Muslim speakers: Roula Allouch, whose parents are of Syrian background, to share about the daily & ritual prayers and the profession of faith; Rashid Mumin, a young African-American man, to talk about fasting during Ramadan and zakat (almsgiving); and Imran and Sara Merchant, who are of Indian and Cuban background to talk about the pilgrimage to Mecca, which they had been on just a few years ago.  The speakers each brought their own wonderful ideas and testimony and engaged in lively dialogue with the audience, which was three times its normal Sunday-school size.

Finally, in the late fall, we are just now starting our first Interfaith Book Club.  A dozen of us are meeting once a month at a local Panera restaurant and have picked The Tent of Abraham as our first book.

Summary

Looking forward to 2009, I will be sharing with the Episcopal women's group, the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross in February and am scheduled to present a workshop on our efforts to the national conference of the Federation of Christian Ministries in Columbus this summer. We are also talking with several area congregations about possible Muslim-Christian series to be organized in the spring and fall.

The Muslim-Christian efforts that Franciscans Network has organized since February 2007 have touched hundreds of people in the Tristate area.  Those involved have grown in their understanding of the other and in genuine relationships.  Both I and my wife Julie, with whom I share the Advancement Coordinator responsibilities, have been deeply touched by this experience.  Faith and hope have deepened as I have discovered Islam and appreciated the commonalities we share through our belief in the One God. I look forward to 2009 and to extending these opportunities for growth to others.