Insight can occur through the oddest of circumstances. Sometimes I’m deeply moved by the most mundane events. Whoever would have thought that a bit of innocent internet dating could unlock thoughts about cultural diversity and instigate a deep recognition that our country needs interfaith ministers who are willing to act as bridges between communities and cultures?
My new insights began to unfold a few months ago while I was sitting in my living room drinking tea with a friend. We were planning her wedding ceremony and discussing the various rites she and her fiancé could incorporate into their service. The sun was fading and our conversation turned from wedding planning to relationships. It seemed to me that my friend was marrying the last single, straight man in the Bay Area. I commented on the seeming abundance of incredible female friends that I have, but noted that I was having a difficult time meeting male friends. I jokingly stated that I was considering placing an on-line ad with the intention of meeting men from Minnesota because I miss the unique connections I have with male friends from back home. Much to my chagrin and surprise, my friend encouraged me, suggesting it was a good idea to post an ad. I repeated that I was joking, knowing full well that I had no intention of meeting friends from an on-line post!
Well, a week went by and my friends’ encouragement kept echoing through my mind. It wafted around me like a faint breeze and continually tickled my curiosity. Finally, I decided that I had nothing to lose and submitted an on-line post that confessed my lack of male friendship and a desire to meet some earthy descendents of Vikings. I entitled the post Seeking Minnesota and suggested that we meet for coffee or lutefisk. (As an aside, if you don’t know what lutefisk is, you’re probably not from Minnesota; but just to let you in on the secret, lutefisk is salted cod that has been soaked in lye. To some, it’s a delicacy; for most, however, it’s a food that requires tricky avoidance during the holiday season. This story is obviously not about lutefisk, but if you really want to learn more about it, click here for a good laugh: Make Love, Not Lutefisk!)
The day after I sent my post, I received an interesting reply. I knew right away that I liked Scott because he got my lutefisk joke even though he’s from Wisconsin, not Minnesota. We had long conversations discussing things like Norwegian cuisine and how much we miss hot summer nights with crackling thunder and flickering lightening. All of this reminiscing brought up an interesting issue for me. Scott and I were both raised Lutheran Christian, have a deep understanding of the stoic Nordic persona, know who The Replacements are and that lefse is flat bread made from potatoes. We connect from a rich, deep place, a place that includes common values and a shared Midwestern and ancestral cultural inheritance. Spending time with Scott makes me feel like I’m at Home with a capital “H.” So the question I ask myself is this: why is it that I, an interfaith minister who loves world traditions and religions, feel so much more comfortable with people from my own cultural heritage?
As I contemplated this question, I began to consider my role as an interfaith minister. As interfaith ministers we are called to act as bridges between communities. We study different traditions in order to better serve with compassion. In order to serve with compassion we need to recognize the ingredients that people use to make meaning in their lives, culture and community so that we can better understand the underlying dynamics of conflict and creatively aid in resolution. We never know where, when and in what capacity our services will be needed. As I write this, I realize how important it is to become well versed in issues of cultural identity and global diversity so we can more fully understand how cultural shifts will affect our global cultural inheritance.
America is quickly shifting from a predominantly Christian country to a rich arena filled with Indigenous wisdom, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Hindus. It’s probably obvious to most people that our neighborhoods are growing more and more diverse. In this day and age, communities of people who haven’t historically interacted with one another frequently find themselves sharing common grounds. This growing diversity is particularly evident in Minnesota, which is no longer a simple mix of Scandinavian and German Christians. Of course, it’s no Oakland either, but with the influx of Hmong (pronounced “mong”), Somalians and Mexicans, Minnesota is an evolving region with quickly changing demographics. More and more women in Minnesota walk in neighborhoods wearing hijabs (head coverings), an Islamic custom that was rarely witnessed in Minnesota less than 10 years ago. The streets of Saint Paul bustle with thousands of people during Cinco de Mayo, and the Hmong cultural festivals draw thousands as well, offering Minnesotans an opportunity to experience new cuisine and view colorful folk art.
One warm morning, about six years ago, I was walking to work in Minneapolis. I turned onto Nicollet Avenue and found a street lined with Islamic men wearing prayer shawls. It was Ramadan and they were congregating for prayer. I was thrilled to experience the buzz of excitement as the men prepared to pray together in community. I had never experienced anything like it before in my Lutheran Church and quickly looked up Ramadan on the internet. I learned about the tradition of fasting and praying, and found myself curious about Islamic customs.
At the time, I worked for a human resources consulting company. One of our clients was experiencing difficulty in their workplace because there were so many people from different religious and cultural backgrounds, and there was a bit of a clash between groups. Our client had an on-site cafeteria and one day they served turkey for lunch. Shortly thereafter, there was a rising commotion in one corner of the café where the Islamic community congregated. None of the English-speaking people could figure out what was wrong because they didn’t speak the same language as the Muslims. Finally, someone discovered that the Islamic community thought the meat was pork and they were upset because their religion prohibits them from eating pork. A manager was able to explain that the meat was turkey and once everyone understood, the situation was resolved. This wasn’t the only problem, though, that occurred as a result of religious and cultural diversity in our client’s workplace. There were tensions building among the various communities and the employers didn’t know what to do or how to address the issues at hand.
Another area of conflict in Minnesota is within the Hmong community. There are tremendous pressures for Hmong teenagers to join gangs, and unfortunately, these gangs frequently become violent. The Hmong are a historically tribal people who have only been living in Western civilization for a short period of time. It is natural for them to congregate in tribal-like scenarios, and gang communities help them feel a sense of kinship and belonging. But within the greater Hmong community there is a schism between those who have embraced Christianity and those who are committed to the old shamanic ways. The Christian Hmong frequently feel that the shamanic traditions are superstitious and irrelevant in their new, Western home, while those who practice healing through herbs and magic are saddened by the tragic loss of their healing arts and feel that the Christians are turning their backs on something meaningful.
My immigration to Oakland was not as dramatic as a Hmong family’s immigration to Minnesota, but I still feel an internal schism caused by an introduction to new surroundings coupled with a struggle to maintain a hold on that which is traditionally meaningful to me. Several years ago while I was attending graduate school, I took a class called Prejudice, Culture and Social Change taught by Sarah Amira De La Garza (formerly Cristina Gonzalez). This class was designed to help students understand their personal connection to their culture, community, and “in-group” so that they could better understand their relationship to themselves and others. The class was incredible and helped paved the way for my studies in interfaith ministry. We discussed our cultural identity and the ways we attach to it in order to make meaning in our lives. We discussed the ways in which our value systems or the style of clothing that we wear help us to identify with a particular community or ideal so that we feel a part of something greater than ourselves. We began to bring into consciousness our life choices so that we could contemplate our reactions to other people’s life choices. We asked ourselves questions like - what does that item represent to me and why am I so connected or attached to it? Why does that person’s choice of clothing, religion, or language make me feel uncomfortable (or comfortable)? How are these people different from those people and where do I fit into the big picture? How can I interact with that person if s/he is so different from me? What fears or joys do I feel when I am around him or her and why? And ultimately, as the layers of my attachments became clearer to me, and as the veils of separation between others and myself revealed themselves as illusions, I began to realize that spirit is eternally at the core of all things.
The inner journey I took during that class was profound and the effect has been lasting. It helped me to understand the reasons why I connect more deeply with some people than I do with others and also, it helped me to realize that listening with an open heart can truly alter my perception of my surroundings, helping me to connect deeply when I think it is impossible. I realized that my judgments usually stem from fear of the unknown and that if I am going to be an interfaith minister, I need to be conscious of this dynamic. I also need to contemplate my cultural identity and evaluate my attachment to the things I use to define who I am. Strangely, when I understand myself, I can more easily recognize in others that which is sacred and meaningful to them. I may not relate to their symbols in the same way that they do, but I can at least honor their choices and their history.
As I mull over these thoughts, I realize that there are many dimensions to interfaith ministry. Here are some questions I feel we need to contemplate as we create and define the greater interfaith community:
1. How, in 21st century America, can we successfully integrate various cultures, traditions, and religions while still maintaining our unique, individual communities?
2. How can we learn to honor our neighbors’ cultural differences?
3. How can we teach others to honor their neighbors’ cultural differences?
4. What will our melting pot look like when it’s all melted and congealed? Who will shape it and care for it once it’s developed into something greater than we could ever have imagined?
We are not just chaplains. We are not just ministers who marry Hindus to Jews or Buddhists to Christians. We are bridges between cultures, between people, between religions, between the living and the dying. It is important that we recognize the necessity of helping others honor their traditions while acting as a catalyst to help deepen global awareness of the growing diversity that is spreading throughout our neighborhoods, communities, country and world. The world needs midwives who are willing to birth a new era, to nourish it and help it grow. We are the leaders of change and we will be called to action. Are you ready?
Resources:
The Nature of Prejudice, Gordon W. Allport
Review of book from Amazon
If you have truly studied Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X then you have probably seen pictures of this book next to them on their desks. Don't think for one minute that you understand prejudice without reading this book first. It explains why prejudice occurs and how it is part of our basic makeup. Mr. Allport also explains how to change these perceptions that generate the discrimination. For any Civil Rights Advocate this is a must read. It puts you inside the mind of those who practice bigotry and discrimination. If you cannot understand them then how can you defeat them?