wfn.org | Commentary: Can we live together?

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

March 27, 2002   News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.  10-21-71BP{133}

NOTE: A photo of Bishop Ann Sherer is at
http://umns.umc.org/photos/headshots.html.

A UMNS Commentary
By Bishop Ann B. Sherer*

I picked up the paper last week to discover that a church in Islamabad,
Pakistan, had been bombed. Only a month before, I had been part of a team
from the Council of Bishops, including two of United Methodist general
secretaries, who had flown through this city. 

I could imagine the church's congregation, filled primarily with American
and European citizens, living expatriates' lives in Pakistan. This is much
like the little Protestant church served by Alex Awad, our United Methodist
missionary in Jerusalem: local folk and people from other cultures finding
community in church. I pictured that church as I read the article, and my
heart broke for its members. We in the United States have been drawn more
into the whole world's pain since Sept. 11.

One of the hard questions we keep asking: Can we - members of the Christian,
Jewish, and Muslim communities - live together and share the planet with one
another and others? These three faiths share a common heritage in Jerusalem
and worship one God.  Each tradition has enough diversity to make one dizzy.
And the radical fundamentalists in all three traditions can create deep fear
just by speaking.

I listened as we traveled in Pakistan, Israel and the Palestinian
territories, and I found reason to hope that violence and anger do not have
the last word. It is possible to find signs of mutual respect and need. 

In Lahore, Pakistan, we sat in the home of the Church of Pakistan's bishop,
in the shadow of three church-supported schools: one a highly competitive
high school, one a secondary school for girls from rural villages, and one
for the mentally and physically handicapped. Bishop Samuel Aziriah told us
of more than 50 schools in nearby small villages. All those schools are
attended by local residents who are predominantly Muslim. The schools are of
good quality, and Christian and Muslim children study together in a
congenial atmosphere.

The principal of one of the schools shared her experience with me. "Of
course being a minority can be difficult," she said, "and we must be
cautious, but we share in festivals with our Muslim neighbors, and we are
careful to be respectful of the feelings of the majority. My neighborhood is
mostly Christian, and I can even put up Christmas decorations." She laughed
as she said this.

"The atmosphere is much better with President Musharraf. When President Zia
was in office, he used the radical Muslim movements to control and
intimidate persons to maintain his own power. With this president in power,
I feel safe."

One evening in Lahore, clergy and laity of the diocese gathered. A
clergywoman led the gathering in prayer. Pakistan now has two ordained
women. The women dress modestly and cover their heads as they pray and often
when they are out in the community. They are careful not to offend about
non-critical issues. Yet, as Bishop Azariah stated, "The church has played a
prophetic role in Pakistan." As this woman led us in prayer, my heart sang
with the promise and witness of her ministry. Her very presence embodied
another perception of reality. 

Another evening, we listened as Christian and Muslim leaders gathered at a
church-supported school and talked about how they are working together to
build a common community. Their presence in the same room, with television
reporters present, suggested some openness to a safe and productive,
mutually shared community.  

We visited with Jean Zaru, a member of the World Council of Churches
governing board and president of the Palestinian Quaker movement, in
Ramallah, on the West Bank, where she and her family have lived for dozens
of generations. She shared an image: "A Muslim neighbor of mine recently
remarked that the Christians are the embroidery thread in the fabric of our
Palestinian nation. We are essential to the beauty and wholeness of this
fabric."

On Sept. 12, many citizens of Columbia, Mo., had gathered for prayer in
Missouri United Methodist Church. A variety of religious leaders, including
a local physician, Dr. Hasan Askrari, spoke. Dr. Askrari, an Iraqi-American
and a Muslim, shared his concern and prayers, and then told us, "My own
brother works in the World Trade Center, and I have not yet heard from him."

The voices of violence and hate are certainly present in our world. But in
this Easter season, I hear an invitation to listen to the other voices and
to know that God is at work in every land, creating in us a capacity for
mutual compassion and respect, and granting us the capacity to work for
justice and peace in a world where we are brothers and sisters.
# # #
*Sherer is leader of the United Methodist Church's Missouri Area.

Commentaries provided by United Methodist News Service do not necessarily
represent the opinions or official policies of UMNS or the United Methodist
Church.

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org