“Love one another as brothers and sisters." ~ Hebrews 13:1
Pastor Steve Stone awoke to the
steady patter of rain upon his window, droplets yet to scatter the promising
rays of the rising sun. The sound brought
a calmness to mind, a soothing melody, a natural serenade. He got up, poured himself a cup of coffee, and
picked up the local newspaper.
Reading it usually gave him a thought or two to use in the
sermon he’d deliver on Sunday morning at Heartsong UMC, the church he started
nearly two decades ago near Memphis.
Stone’s eyes settled on an article beneath the fold: “Muslims
Buy Land for Islamic Center.” He
read that leaders planned to build a gathering place not only for worship but
to host weddings and throw parties, to share holidays and relax on weekends, and
to house a daycare center for children and activities for the elderly. “Interesting!” he thought.
Then his face went pale. Stone closed his eyes. His stomach turned queasy. The mosque would be directly across the
street from his church.
Muslims had been victims of anti-Muslim
sentiment since 9/11. They were acutely
aware that their construction was happening at a time of acute interreligious
tension in this country.
They’d hoped to fly under the
radar without controversy. They didn’t
want to make an issue of first amendment rights. They just wanted to build a house of worship.
Stone sank into his old leather chair. “Lord,” he prayed, “what should we do?
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The Muslim congregation was both
shocked and surprised. The best they
dared hope for was apathy. Instead, they
were met with profound openness, welcome, and love.
Some of Stone’s faithful were
less enthusiastic. About 20 members of
his 550-strong congregation, including some key leaders, left the church.
Yet when the building project
fell behind schedule, those that remained at Heartsong invited the Muslim
community to celebrate Ramadan inside their sanctuary. It cemented a lasting friendship.
Since then, the two congregations have fed the homeless,
raised blood, and done many other joint community service projects. They hold interfaith discussions which help
break down stereotypes and questions about each other's faiths and misconceptions.
America is a free country. You’re free to hate whomever you want for
whatever reason you want. What you are
not free to do, however, is pretend that hate came from your faith in Jesus. Because when we read the stories about his
life, we find only welcome, openness, and love
