As I write this, I am in Toronto airport on my way home from an interfaith meeting of seminary students, titled the Dialogue of Abrahamic Faiths. It was organised by a group called the Washington Theological Consortium (WTC), a group of theological schools and partners based in the DC area.

There were 24 of us students – eight Jewish, eight Muslim and eight Christians. We had three instructors, one Jewish, one Muslim and one Christian, plus our organiser, the executive director of the WTC. 

We spent five days together in Philadelphia, sleeping in the dorms of the local United Lutheran Seminary, eating together, learning together, visiting each other’s places of worship – a remarkable African-American mosque on Friday, a large synagogue with three different services taking place on Saturday morning, and a Catholic church on Sunday, which just happened to be Epiphany. All three places received us with kindness and generosity, explaining their rituals with great patience, sharing their food and their stories.

We had lectures and discussions – the most important conversations, of course, happened after hours as we sat around a table in one of the lounges in the dorm buildings, drank tea, shared snacks and marvelled at how much we had in common, and how we differed from each other, deep into the night.

There were difficult conversations, especially with regards to politics and the status of women. Since all of us were seminary students who were interested in interfaith dialogue, it was, to some extent, a self-selecting group of people who were open to learning new things, so the conversations remained civil, even when we disagreed vehemently. Curiously, the most fraught situations were between people who came from the same faith background but had different interpretations of what they learned from their traditions. This was true of all three religions!

Most importantly, we were able to ask questions in good faith and face our own prejudices – most visibly with regards to the Muslim women, scholars and academics every one, who all wore hijab out of their own free choice, and were very articulate in explaining that choice to us.

We explored how our traditions see the same characters in very different ways – from the irreverent affection that Jews have for our patriarch Abraham and his very human and flawed family life, to the awe and respect that Muslims have for the Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and how their view of Jesus is very different from that of our Christian friends. We developed the trust and friendship that allowed us to question each other and accept answers that might seem shocking in good faith and mutual respect.

Is it time for Winnipeggers of different faith traditions to get together and learn about each other in a safe and nurturing environment? Let’s make it happen!