![]() Trinity’s dear friends at the Islamic Civic Center of America, ICSA/Dar Al-Hijrah held their first fundraiser last week. Five of us from Trinity were able to attend. It was a wonderful evening with great food, conversation, and friends old and new. Several weeks before the event Wali Dirie, the Executive Director, asked if they could borrow our plates and chairs. They knew we had them. In 2014 and 2015 they had used our lower level, Augsburg’s Cedar Commons, for a year and a half while their building was being repaired after extensive smoke and water damage from a fire in the building next to theirs. Asking to use our plates and chairs might not seem like a big deal. But it is. They have supported us and we have supported them in various ways over the years. We have worked together in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood on a number of initiatives. They have hosted us at annual Iftars and other gatherings and we have invited them over number of times, including a Fat Tuesday pancake supper with all the fat you could want before Lent. We have even prayed together. While chairs and plates are nothing special, to me they are a symbol of the relationship that we have been building together. In a world where we are supposed to be afraid of each other and suspicious of each other’s beliefs it seems to me that asking to borrow chairs and plates is a big deal. It is a downright neighborly thing to do and speaks of great trust and respect and friendship. It turned out that they did not need our plates. But I saw our chairs there, some of them held together with black duct tape. And as all of us ate together with our friends at ICSA/Dar Al-Hijrah some of the guests were sitting on our chairs! It’s not about theological debates or arguments. It’s not about having the same name for God or proving that one’s belief system is the right one. Sometimes it is just about simple chairs and plates. It made me smile and I can’t help thinking that God was pleased as well. Original journal entry date: 10/5/18 © 2018 Copyright Jane Buckley-Farlee All rights reserved.
5 Comments
Nancy Loving Tubesing
1/2/2019 06:00:46 pm
Inspirational.
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Nancy Tubesing
4/11/2020 07:17:26 pm
Hi Jane, please put me back on this mailing list. I in advertently voided my subscription. I truly enjoy reading your inspirational updates. Nancy
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Jane
4/25/2020 08:42:00 am
Your name is on my blog list. I don't know what happened. I am about to post another blog. If it doesn't work, let me know. Is your aol email still your correct email? 5/20/2019 07:47:38 pm
I did not expect plates and chairs to be a symbol for building relationships. But I do remember when I was a child, bracelets are I and my friends' symbol of friendship. Whenever we see bracelets with unique designs, we really wanted to buy them. But because we were still kids back then, we still do not have our own money to buy such bracelets, we always end up making our own bracelets. Before, not being able to buy bracelets was just a sign that we do not have money. Now, as we mature, I am able to realize that it is indeed a sign of true friendship. The effort that we exerted in making those bracelets are enough, I think, to justify true friendship.
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10/7/2020 06:02:14 am
I know about the site and getting the more tables and designed chairs as well, thanks for finding the more techniques with us. We all are getting here a lot of methods and great interiors.
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AuthorAt less than 4'11'' a pastor and the congregation she serves practice radical hospitality in a primarily Muslim neighborhood. Archives
June 2020
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