Editorial Reflections Series

International ties strengthen local congregations

 

This is the first of several columns by David Gortner, pastor of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Coeur d'Alene, sharing observations related to his summer sabbatical journey in Mediterranean countries.

Many of our congregations give to international missions through their national denominations or faith communities. We form connections across the world this way with important work, even though those connections may not be visible. When we donate directly and engage in partnerships that include visits, the work of the congregation and partner is enhanced.

I saw numerous church and interfaith organizations abroad that are doing incredible things with limited resources. These organizations we encountered are working to build relationships in their communities and among people of different faiths. Many programs, including the last three below, received support from USAID for decades, as our country sought to support positive development abroad.

The Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church (Iglesia Española Reformada Episcopal) is a scrappy church born from Spanish and English people together in the late 1800s with support from American and Irish Episcopal churches. They built and consecrated their cathedral in Madrid in 1892. They have small churches across Spain, about the size of many congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane. Like many Episcopal churches in the Inland Northwest, across Spain they are "the little church that could," contributing significantly to care and defense of refugees and people in poverty, distributing food and clothing, teaching English and job skills, hosting ecumenical and interfaith gatherings and providing a gracious and loving form of Christian faith.

The High Atlas Foundation has grown over 30 years from the efforts of Yossef Ben-Meir, a Jewish American Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco. He fell in love with that country and boldly approached the young new king with his idea for restoring and using neglected holy sites of Jewish, Christian and interfaith pilgrimage. He proposed creating practical learning centers for environmentally sound agriculture, economic development of villages and empowerment of women in a spirit that honors the Abrahamic faiths together. They plant, grow and distribute fruit- and nut-bearing trees to plant in villages—more than 5 million so far—train rural women and men in ecological and agricultural care, empower women through their unique IMAGINE workshops and family literacy program, and help people develop cooperative businesses. They also train volunteers, especially college students, partnering with universities from around the world.

The Memories for the Future Foundation is a small, growing organization, led by political scientist Lamia Radi. Since 2008, it has focused on bringing young people together to learn and honor their shared and diverse heritage as Moroccans by participating in the renewal of important historical sites where people from different religious and cultural traditions shared life together in harmony and mutual respect. They are renewing sites like the Catholic Monastery of Toumliline, where Benedictine monks offered deeply respectful care and support for their Muslim neighbors and launched far-reaching interfaith gatherings of religious leaders from around the world. The foundation hopes to rekindle the unique work of this monastery, reopen its library and anchor its brief shining work in Moroccan cultural history.Working and learning together on these projects help young people—especially young men—broaden their minds, open their hearts and develop strong resistance to forces that seek to radicalize young people.

The Albanian Orthodox Church and Interreligious Council exemplify how religion has experienced resurrection and reemerged with strength after its attempted destruction and burial by the repressive Communist regime from 1946 to 1991. Albania is noted internationally for its leadership in positive, productive interfaith relations and partnerships among Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Sunni Mslim and Bekhtashi Muslim communities. The Albanian Orthodox Church stands out as an example and central leader in these efforts, even as it affirms the beauty and truth of the Christian faith. Funding helps strengthen ecumenical bonds across Christian denominations and affirms their work with other Abrahamic faiths.

These are places where peacebuilding and mutually strengthening efforts are happening between people of different faiths. It's important to be aware of programs like these and the example they set for all of us.

David Gortner, Episcopal priest
Fig Tree Board Member