Stories about Mennonites and Muslims in the US

Expanding on "Relationships between Mennonites and Muslims in the United States" from "Faith, War, and Government," these stories present a closer look at the process and details involved when Mennonites and Muslims build relationships together. Contact information is provided at the end of each story so that interested readers can get in touch with those involved for further information or consultation. The accounts are presented with the hope that we may learn from one another, sparking new relationships that enliven and enrich both traditions.

Jason Shenk
January 2006

Rochester Mennonite Church - Rochester, Minnesota

Rochester Mennonite Church (RMC) is a congregation of 22 members in a small city with a very diverse population. Immediately after September 11, 2001, Pastor David Brunner was invited to join a sharing circle of persons representing a cross-section of the community to discuss how to address issues of division, misunderstanding, hatred and violence. At his suggestion, RMC decided to invite a spokesperson from the local Islamic Center to present information on Islam and establish a mutual awareness of each other. After three presentations, three Muslim families joined the adult Sunday School class for conversation, followed by meals in church members' homes. These encounters were a rich time of learning, fellowship and beginnings of friendships. Participants have continued to enjoy meals together and involvement in community activities.

One challenge has been to work through perceptions of Islam as "so different that we can't share with Muslims at all in learning or prayer." Brunner notes that first establishing a relationship and trust has been a successful way to lead into deeper dialogue.

RMC has joined other faith groups in various inter-faith and inter-cultural events in the larger community of Rochester. One partner that has cooperated very actively with the congregation - the Rochester Franciscan Community - is an order of Sisters with a deep commitment to a global outlook, which brings experience from its history of intentional activity in working with persons of other faith groups. RMC also works actively with other Historic Peace Church groups in responding to community needs, especially in peace education. An ongoing congregational interest in reconciliation and renewal has led to RMC's continuing involvement in promoting interfaith relations, including helping to organize a prayer and celebration event with Muslims, Jews and Christians in October 2005.

Rev. David D. Brunner, DMin
Rochester Mennonite Church
2219 15th Avenue NW
Rochester, MN 55901-1569
Ph: 507-529-7910

Covenant Mennonite Fellowship - Sarasota, Florida

Members of the congregation at Covenant Mennonite Fellowship began together to learn more about Islam in 2003 when they invited Muslim teacher and journalist Samar Jarrah to speak during worship and jion in fellowship afterward. A number of people who attend Covenant Mennonite and participate in local peace and justice groups had gotten to know Jarrah and other Muslims when they spoke at peace rallies earlier in the year.

The Southwest Florida Peace & Justice Coalition has served as the primary forum for cooperation among Mennonites, members of the Muslim community and other groups. Pastor Randall Spaulding credits his involvement with peace groups with moving him out of his protective Mennonite community into a diverse and incredibly beautiful world.

Building on the common ground of their monotheistic heritage and faith, these Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Sarasota recognize that God is the same God for them all. Further impetus for collaboration for these groups arises from acknowledging their non-indigenous status in Florida and the Sarasota community. The fact that no one culture - Christian, Muslim, Jew - claims cultural rights to their community helps them realize their similarities and the necessity of working together for change that will bring peace.

Describing lessons learned, Spaulding brings out the common goals of daily life shared among people in the coalition - raising their children, chatting at soccer games, mowing their lawns, worshiping God and living a life of faith. He cites connections and lasting relationships as valuable both for their own merit as well as for combating stereotypes and whole-group condemnations.

Spaulding also notes that many Christians in Sarasota harbor ill will toward the Muslim and Jewish populations. Many churches have emphasized that Muslims and Jews are damned to hell unless they 'believe' in Jesus. Drawing on biblical imagery, Spaulding advocates for the "search for common ground rather than seeing the 'logs' that are in each of our eyes." He further calls on Mennonites to realize that marginalized peoples are our neighbors.

Noting that Muslims in Sarasota have been stymied by local government in their desire to build a mosque just down the road from his home, Spaulding declares, "Historic peace churches need to keep pressing on, keep speaking out on behalf of the powerless and marginalized, keep encouraging their church members to take risks for peace and justice." While these things may make traditional Mennonites uncomfortable, he insists we must remain uncomfortable as long as our neighbors are not receiving justice and equal rights.

Randall Spaulding
Covenant Mennonite Church
3205 Southgate Circle
Sarasota, FL 34239
Ph: 941-366-3545

JustPeace Seminars - Goshen, Indiana

A wide-ranging series of seven seminars being held in Northern Indiana is notable not only for its scope, but also for the occupational status of most of its organizers - retired. This round of seminars taking place every few weeks from January to May 2006 comes from the planning committee of JustPeace Seminars, which consists in good part of retired Mennonites. "We're capitalizing on the availability of discretionary time and accumulated wisdom," explains executive secretary John Fisher, tongue-in-cheek. The impressive array of activities planned as part of the series "Getting to Know You: A Series of Seminars for Muslims and Christians," draws upon the experiences of the organizers. Their backgrounds in education, institutional peacemaking and institutional service have facilitated participation from people across wide spectrums of age and profession. The seminars build on one another, seeking to explore a variety of ways that Muslims and Christians can become acquainted:

• An opening evening lecture at Goshen College "An Islamic Definition of Peace" by Muslim professor Rashied Omar from the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame;
• "Muslim Neighbors in their Mosques: An Afternoon Visit" consists of traveling to two mosques in South Bend, including prayers, sermon, discussion, and refreshments;
• A seminar in nearby Dunlap "Iraq: The Sunni-Shia Context" examines Iraq's current struggle toward political autonomy in terms of Islamic cultural history and theology;
• In "Global Islamic Cuisine: A Cooking Class," Christians join Muslims in testing an international selection of recipes at a mosque visited in the second session;
• At the session "Varied Perceptions: A Community Survey," students from Goshen College and college-age Muslim youth will provide results of attitudinal surveys from a broad sampling of northern Indiana citizens. Planners hope analysis and interpretation of the data will foster deeper understandings of how faith groups see interfaith work and each other.
• Back in Dunlap, the seminar "Palestine, Israel and Abraham" focuses an inquiry on the relevance of the Abrahamic heritage for peoples living in Israel/Palestine today;
• As a final session, "Commonalities in the Natural Creation" features an afternoon carry-in picnic outing at Goshen College's Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center, with discussion of its eco-philosophy and demonstration of its facilities.

JustPeace has grown from its origins in Seniors for Peace and benefits from the group's experience planning more than a dozen seminars on diverse topics in the past few years. The group charges modest fees to sustain its programs and cooperates with a variety of church and peace-minded organizations depending on the focus of the seminar. Addressing the motives of the group's peacebuilding, Fisher describes the members as "trying to do their part in light of the global situation and its implications for their local community."

Just Peace Seminars
C/o College Mennonite Church
1900 S. Main St.
Goshen, IN 46526
Ph: 574-533-3014