Each week we feature one of the many ministries that make up the work and witness of All Saints Church. This week we offer this reflection from Barbara von Mayrhauser on her experience with the Interfaith Study Group.

For me and my husband Stan the Interfaith Study Group get-togethers are warm opportunities to be with people who come from different religions and for whom sharing our spiritual backgrounds and getting to know one another is very important.  Each time I feel that openness and I always come away grateful for what I have learned from conversations around the dinner table, the wonderful presentations and group discussion that follows.

In a way, I grew up  in an interfaith home, in the sense that my father’s family was Protestant and my mother’s was Jewish.  Despite that, I knew much more about my Protestant faith.  My mother did not share the spiritual beliefs of my Jewish heritage with me and my siblings.  However, she did share something very important that has stayed with me throughout my life.

When we returned each Sunday from our Congregational Church, my mother always reminded us that different religions worship the same God.  She used the image of all faiths being in one house, with each faith having one room with walls that were so high no one saw they all had the same God.  As I became an adult this message deepened and became increasingly important to me.  I also yearned to understand more about my Jewish heritage and to understand the commonalities and differences across faiths.

When we started to attend All Saints about 10 years ago I felt at home in many ways, not the least of which was All Saints’ openness to interfaith worship.  We started going to the Interfaith Study Group which was a natural for me.  It’s very special to meet in our church, in the mosque and in the temple,  to learn about the traditions and beliefs of these three faiths, and to listen to people from each faith talk about how their faith guides them in our challenging world.  Above all, I am always moved by the feelings of common ground in our lives, and our feelings of connectedness, and come away deeply appreciating that we are one.

For more information about the Interfaith Study Group visit their web page or their table on the lawn this Sunday, March 10.