Our American Family

OUR AMERICAN FAMILY

I witnessed this small exchange this morning, September 11, 2011, after church in Mystic.  Two women were standing near the corner of Willow and Church Streets talking about the services they just attended. One went to St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, just a block away and the other had just come out of the First United Methodist Church Mystic.  The Catholic parishioner said, "We sang a beautiful hymn by Martin Luther, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." The Methodist parishioner said, "Our sermon was about forgiveness.   An example of the meaning of Christian forgiveness was cited in the sermon telling about Pope John Paul visiting the person who attempted to assassinate him.  The Pope knelt before the person and offered him forgiveness.”

This interesting intersection of religious traditions, the Roman Catholic using the Luther hymn and the United Methodist tradition citing the story about a Pope was not missed by the two women. They were comforted by the blend of the traditions that at one time might have seemed impossible.

          Along this same line an article appeared in the September 11 New York Times online. It was entitled, In Rockaway, Muslim Bagel Man Prospers Since 9/11.* It said, "For all Rockaway’s quaintness, in the Queens of Latino pizzerias and kosher spring rolls, no one seems surprised at the notion of a Muslim guy selling an archetypal Jewish food to Roman Catholics."

          We need to share more of these stories of acceptance.  We have had enough battles across religious traditions.  We need to lift up positive examples of how our country has mixed and matched the best of our religious heritages. 

Share your examples of ways our differences can sustain us and not divide us.

* In Rockaway, Muslim Bagel Man Prospers Since 9/11. New York Times By ANNE BARNARD Published: September 8, 2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/us/sept-11-reckoning/queens.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2