East Bay Faith Trio’s work may be more relevant, needed than ever now
By Lou Fancher
A profound counterpoint to today’s intense geopolitical conflicts in Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere is embodied in a surprisingly simple group of people based in Piedmont. Known as the Faith Trio, the interfaith alliance creates a circular structure of uncommon solidarity with leaders and members of three faith communities: Piedmont’s Kehilla Community Synagogue and Oakland’s Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California and Montclair Presbyterian Church. Founded in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks in response to and anticipation of increased Islamophobic violence and oppression, the Faith Trio is shepherded by Kehilla’s Rabbi David Cooper, the Islamic Cultural Center’s Ali Sheikholeslami and Montclair Presbyterian’s Betsy King. Together, the coalition recently expressed their horror at the Oct. 7 murders and kidnappings conducted by Hamas and Israel’s subsequent bombing in Gaza that has reportedly killed about 10,000 people as of this week. While not claiming to represent every member of their Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities, they have issued a joint statement in protest proclaiming a unified stance opposed to violence of all kinds and supporting “that the value of a single human life is beyond measure.” They call for the killing to stop immediately and for peace to prevail. “We affirm that the Palestinian people and the Israeli people must have peace, justice, security and self-determination — and this cannot be secured by violence, occupation or expulsion,” the joint statement reads. “We will support whatever arrangements of sovereignty would secure these ends.” As has been true of the Faith Trio since its beginning, regular and special activities in the Bay Area bring these commitments to life. Kehilla’s annual Harvest Gathering that was a prepandemic in-person dinner and has since become a vibrant virtual gathering will take place from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday via Zoom. Originally planned to focus on food and climate change as topics for presentations and small, break-out conversations, recent events caused a change of direction. The gathering, renamed “Only Together,” will center on discussions involving opposing the demonization of others and affirming universal humanity. King from Montclair Presbyterian recalls the visit from an Iranian Shia Muslim woman and her two adult daughters who arrived at the church three weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, to show love and compassion for the Christian congregation. Struck by their generous hearts and knowing they might soon face an Islamophobic backlash, a later visit to their mosque launched 22 years of conversations, embraces and forums for learning held despite fear or misconceptions. In addition to having lived in three different countries during her 75 years, King says, “These experiences not only radically changed how I viewed my own faith, Protestant Christian, and my country, the USA, but also how I viewed other faiths and countries. It greatly influenced my sincere love, respect and appreciation for all peoples and their religions.” The Islamic center’s Sheikholeslami says participation in the Faith Trio expands his sense of community. He says providing food to communities in need, joining environmental and social justice protests and holding interfaith art exhibits have been opportunities to interact that enlarge his faith. “Now I better realize that no people of faith should proclaim to have an exclusive claim to faith or truth,” Sheikholeslami says. “There are many roads to knowing God, and the diversity of faiths and religions, as well as cultures, languages, races, ethnicities et cetera is something that we all should appreciate and celebrate because, above all, we are all human beings and no human being can claim to be above another one.” During times when anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have spiked in the United States and around the world, familiarity with each other has resulted in instant support. “After the killings of Muslims in a mosque in (the city of) Christchurch in New Zealand, there was an outpouring of support for the ICCNC (Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California) and Muslims in the Bay Area from many Faith Trio members, and after the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the ICCNC supported Kehilla and the Jewish community by attending services and issuing a statement denouncing the killings,” Sheikholeslami said. Immediacy is also on the mind of Kehilla’s Cooper. “The question is, can we be there for each other when it gets tough?” Cooper asks. “Basically, if one waits for a crisis to first attempt to be allies, it may be too late. “I am not alone in the Trio for believing that we are potentially much stronger in moments of crisis because we do not have to start from scratch to get to know each other. We have known each other for over two decades.” Cooper suggests that vulnerability is common to all and that the Latin meaning of “community,” which is “with oneness,” doesn’t mean we are all the same. Instead, a community is a gathering of distinctly different people who choose harmony over mayhem, he says, adding that the Faith Trio operates under a divine mandate — a “mitzvah” in Hebrew — that offers open learning and opportunities to better themselves and the world as a whole. “I have faith that human beings can achieve what we hope for, which is a world where all people are treasured and nurtured and the ecological balance of the planet and its species is maintained.” Kehilla member Lea Delson chairs the synagogue’s Faith Trio contingent. She joined the alliance in 2011 and has been highly involved in its art exhibits. “People spend a lot of time creating their art, and that shows the yearning for different understandings of peace, building bridges, coming together,” she says. Delson says her participation in weekly food-distribution activities for those in need has been especially influential for her. “It’s impacted my ability to understand that other faiths have the same well-meaning, good people,” she says. “We direct our prayers in the same direction, but we have different stories, customs and names for the divine. |