Interfaith Youth Cafés at Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue

Our Interfaith Youth Café on March 22, 2009 was held at Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue in Mequon. We had young people and adults attending from:

• United Church of Christ – Mukwonago
• Unitarian Universalists – Milwaukee
• House of Peace -- Milwaukee -- various Christians
• Congregation Sinai – Milwaukee – Jewish
• The Sikh community

We had food, we had live music, we had lots of story telling, and we had a wonderful tour of the worship space.

Here are some of the highlights, according to the young people who attended:

• Experiencing the mix of religious beliefs at one table is always great.
• Seeing people from past café events again makes us feel like a real community.
• Understanding the similarities and differences among the religions and chatting with youth and adults of all ages makes it interesting and fun.
• The food is always good. Thanks for the hospitality!

Here are some of the learnings from the group:

• The Sikhs get to carry swords – not for offensive attacks, but for defense.
• The Unitarian Universalists have a flower communion ceremony – they do a flower exchange because new flowers symbolize new beginnings.
• Meat and dairy cannot be mixed in Jewish kosher kitchens.
• The United Church of Christ and the Unitarians really care about the environment.
• The Jewish Sabbath goes from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.
• The Sikhs are open to all people. They have four doors, in all four directions to represent their openness to all four corners of the world.
• It was touching to hear about different people and their personal stories of suffering, and how they grew.
• The Jewish faith uses a lunar calendar.
• The tour of the Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue was great – especially seeing the Holocaust Scroll.
• Some churches like the Unitarian Universalists accept all beliefs at their church. Other religions, like the Catholics have a creed of beliefs they expect everyone to believe in.
• During Lent, Catholics don’t have to give something up. They can also add something good to their lives, like giving to charity.
• Different sects of Christianity view the death of Jesus very differently.

Here’s some advice from the young people who attended our March Café… When you invite young people from your congregation to join us for the next Interfaith Café, you can say something like this to encourage them to come:

• Your respect for other faith groups will increase.
• If we learn more about different faiths, we will turn away from generalizations.
• Through these interfaith cafés, we get to reflect on parts of our own faith … things you might not always think about.
• You might become more aware of the roll your faith plays in protecting the environment.
• It’s a great experience to see what other teens are thinking, to learn about other faith groups, to create tolerance, and to meet people of similar beliefs, but different faiths.
• Come for the food, the fun, and the chance to meet new and interesting people. Come to build interfaith relationships!

We are still putting our calendar together for next year… we have the dates and themes and have invited hosts… we are still working on the sites… and will post them as soon as they are finalized.

Thanks to all the groups who have participated this school year… we have enjoyed getting to know you better!

2009-2010 Calendar:

• November 23 – Reconciliation
• February 14 – Love between the Generations
• March 21 – How do we tell the story of our Faith? How do we pass it on?
• April 18 – Earth, Ecology, Environment, and the role of Faith

For more information on the Interfaith Youth Café events, contact Lisa.