Faithful Relationships

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Faithful Relationships

• A history of Interfaith
• and
• Saint Peters Episcopal Church

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Interfaith Defined

• Interfaith can mean dialogue and or shared
  worship between different Christian denominations
• Ecumenism
• Unity among the separated branches of the
  Christian church
• Some other Christian denominations are in
  communion with the Anglican Communion
• Lutheran (ELCA)
• Old Catholic Churches of Europe
• Philippine Independent Church
• Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, India
• Interfaith can also mean dialogue and
  relationships between different religions

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World Religions
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The Abrahamic Faiths

• Three primary faiths
• Jewish
• Muslim
• Christian
• Includes other faiths
• Bahai
• Druze Musilms
• Abrahamic religions account for more than half of
  the world's total population.
• 3.8 billion followers of various Abrahamic
  religions

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The Common Story of Abraham

• Abraham (or Abram) was called by God to take his
  family from Ur and migrate to another place
• Jews, Christians and Muslims believe that God
  made a covenant with Abraham to keep the faith in
  One God
• To worship God
• To keep that faith and teach the practice of
  worship to Abrahams children down the
  generations
• That God would preserve, protect and multiply the
  children of Abraham.
• Abraham and his descendants settled a region on
  the eastern Mediterranean coast between
  Mesopotamia and Egypt, and the desert toward its
  south
• This is the land where the prophets described in
  the Torah, the Bible and the Quran lived,
  traveled, and preached. That is why this
  geographic space is holy in all of the Abrahamic
  faiths
• Today, that land includes all or part of several
  modern countries, including Israel, Palestine,
  Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and parts of Egypt,
  Iraq, and Syria

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Abrahams Descendents
Sons of Ishmael
Nebiaoth
Kedar
Adbeel
Mibsam
Mishma
Dumah
Massa
Hadad
Tema
Jetnr
Naphish
Kedmah
These 12 sons became leaders of their own tribes
Mohammed claims to have descended from Ishmael,
through his son Kedar
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What the Abrahamic Faiths Have in Common
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History of Interfaith Movements
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Saint Peters Faithful RelationshipsThe Beginning

• Beginning in the late nineteen century, Saint
  Peters enjoyed relationships with several Rabbis
  in Saint Louis including Rabbi (Dr.) Solomon H.
  Sonnenscheim, the first Rabbi of Shaare Emeth
• The relationship at that time consisted mostly of
  dialogue between clergy
• Rabbi Sonnenscheim left Shaare Emeth to form
  Temple Israel

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Saint Peters Faithful RelationshipsLong
Association with Temple Israel

• Saint Peters continued dialogue with Rabbi
  Sonnenscheim
• Rabbi Ferdinand Isserman began long association
  with the Saint Louis Episcopal Church and Saint
  Peters
• Lasted from 1929 through the 1960s
• Dr. William Laird, 10th Rector of Saint Peters,
  was the first non-Jew to preach in Temple
  Israels pulpit in its current building

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Saint Peters Faithful RelationshipsRabbi
Ferdinand Isserman

• Came to Saint Louis in 1929, from Toronto, to be
  head Rabbi at Temple Israel
• While in Canada, organized the first Canadian
  pulpit exchange between Jewish and Christian
  clergy
• Continued that practice with the Holy Corners
  churches (Temple Israel, St. John's Methodist
  Church, and Second Baptist)
• Strong Relationship with Bishop Scarlett
• One of the first people Rabbi Isserman called on
  in Saint Louis was Episcopal Bishop Will Scarlett
• The two became life-long friends and worked
  together promoting Interfaith understanding and
  social justice.
• Along with Catholic Cardinal John Glennon formed
• Interfaith clergy association
• Social justice commission
• Ecumenical integrated Nursery Foundation
• Attempted to motivate American leaders to
  pressure Germany to stop the persecution of Jews
  and others under the Nazi rule
• Made fact finding trips to Germany and Europe in
  1933, 1935 and 1937
• Annual Institute on Judaism for the Christian
  Clergy at Temple Israel - 1937-1962
• Taught Interfaith seminars to Saint Louis clergy
  using Hebrew Union College curriculum
• On of the founders of the NCCJ chapters in Saint
  Louis

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Saint Peters Faithful RelationshipsRabbi
Ferdinand Isserman

• Long relationship with Saint Peters
• Gave the address 70th Anniversary celebration in
  1938 in February, 1938
• Joined with Saint Peters clergy and parishioners
  at Conference for Peace and Democracy in February
  1938
• Gave a lecture to Saint Peters Mens Club on
  persecution of Jews and other in Nazi Germany and
  Europe in April, 1938
• Taught other classes
• Saint Peters participated in the Annual
  Institute on Judaism for the Christian Clergy led
  by Rabbi Isserman at Temple Israel

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Notes on SPEC Interfaith

• In 1/6/1928 SPEC service bulletin the following
  appears

Concerning Tolerance Perhaps it is just as well
that recent events have seemed to show that
religion plays an important part in the every-day
affairs of Americans. There is no good reason why
so vital and interesting a topic should be so
generally avoided by newspapers and magazines.
Tolerance for the other fellows faith should not
mean a total ignorance of his beliefs. Anybody
has a right to inquire into the dogma by which a
man lives, and tolerance does not demand that the
individual may not dissent in heart and voice
from any creed which seems harmful to him. The
right of each on of us to worship as his
conscience dictates does not carry with it any
lien upon public approbation. Heyward Broun
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Saint Peters Faithful RelationshipsTeachers and
Preachers from other Faiths

• Rabbi Samuel Thurman from United Hebrew
• 1935 preached at Saint Peters 1/27/1935 Vesper
  Service. Topic Russia and Crime
• Preached at the 1949 Festival of Lights service
  at the Cathedral where Saint Peters was a
  participant
• Comparative religion classes
• Several comparative religions classes taught in
  the 1960s and 1970s history. Some of the
  teachers were
• Dr. Amir Neyestani (Baha'ism)
• Dr. A. Mazdai (Zoroastrianism)
• Dr. Isaac Girillo (native African religions)
• Other sessions included Islam, Buddhism and
  Confucianism
• Rabbi Bernard Lipnick from B'nai Amoona
• Gave a series of five Lenten lectures on the
  Judaeo-Christian heritage in 1961
• Rabbi Leon Gotefried
• Gave a series of two Lenten lectures on the
  Judaism at the time of Christ in 1978
• Rabbi Joseph Rosenbloom
• Not just a recent friend of Saint Peters
• Various staff and members of Shaare Emeth
  participated in Seder suppers at Saint Peters
  beginning in the 1990s

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Saint Peters Faithful RelationshipsInter-denomin
ational Events

• 1950s
• Ladue Chapel Presbyterian and Saint Peters
  combined services in the summer
• 1960s
• Annual Interchurch program with womens groups
  from Ladue Chapel, Second Baptist, Village
  Lutheran, and Salem Methodist
• Several inter-denominational classes for youth
  and adults with
• Rev. Dr. Harry Phillips, West Presbyterian Church
• Rev. Fr. Constantine Andres, St. Nicholas Greek
  Orthodox Church
• Rev. H.H. Mirly, Missouri Synod Lutheran pastor
• Other denominations including Mormons, Baptists,
  Roman Catholics and Methodists
• 1970s
• Joint Thanksgiving Day services at various Ladue
  churches including Village Lutheran, Des Peres
  Presbyterian, Salem Methodist, and Second Baptist
• 1980s
• Worked with Otis Woodward and Lutherans (ELCA) on
  house for homeless, pregnant women in North City
  (prior to establishing Haven of Grace
• Recent events
• Participated in Habitat for Humanity house builds
  with various inter-denominational teams
• Williams Temple Church of God in Christ
  relationship

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Interfaith and Saint Peters Today

• Recent dialogues with Muslim and Hindu families
  and Saint Peters families
• Saint Peters plans for more dialogues with
  peoples of other faiths
• Families to families
• Adults to adults

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Interfaith Today

• It is not necessary that you believe anothers
  religion is true or beneficial. Just accept that
  followers of other religions consider their own
  beliefs to be true.
• The United States is now the most religiously
  diverse country in the world, claims professor
  Diana Eck of Harvard Universitys Pluralism
  Project in her recent book A New Religious
  America
• There are more than 260 Interfaith groups in the
  U.S. today

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Episcopal Church Interfaith Resources
www.episcopalchurch.org/iei.htm