Swapping pulpits: Preach it, Rabbi!

Posted: Monday, Feb. 15, 2010

 

As usual, the sermon at predominantly black First Baptist-West elicited supportive shouts of "Amen!" "That's right!" and "Talk on!" from the pews. What was different Sunday morning was that the clergyman in the pulpit was a white rabbi, Murray Ezring of Temple Israel.

The scene Saturday morning at Ezring's synagogue was just as novel: Standing on the bimah, the raised platform from which the Torah is read, wearing a yarmulke, was a black Baptist preacher, the Rev. Ricky Woods of First Baptist-West.

The switch was part of a citywide sermon exchange that, so far, includes 24 houses of worship.

"We hope it's not a one-time thing, but rather the beginning of building relationships between diverse congregations across racial, ethnic and faith lines," says Maria Hanlin of Mecklenburg Ministries, an interfaith group that's co-sponsoring the pulpit swaps with Crossroads Charlotte. "That way, they can work together to build interracial trust in our city and address social issues."

That's important: Surveys have shown that, while Charlotte is more religious than most cities, it ranks low on trust among people of different colors and backgrounds.

Hanlin says individual congregations have been partnering with each other for years, but that this is the first Charlotte-wide effort involving various faiths - Jewish, Christian, Muslim, New Age. Though the initial push was to hold all the sermon exchanges in February to honor Black History Month, they are now scheduled to continue into April and, if others who have expressed an interest sign up, possibly into June.

"This is the next step: bringing the faith community together, not just doing it in isolation," Hanlin says. "Charlotte is a better place when we can work together to pool our resources. And when we build on the foundations of our faith, God is honored."

Also Sunday, the clergy at Holy Trinity Lutheran and Unity of Charlotte switched places. And the Rev. Al Cadenhead Jr., pastor at predominantly white Providence Baptist, preached at Masjid Ash-Shaheed Islamic Center, a mostly African-American mosque whose imam, or prayer leader, Khalil Akbar, spoke to the staff at Providence Baptist on Feb. 2.

"We are all the children of Adam," Akbar told the Baptists.

Finding common ground

Over the weekend, Ezring and Woods also stressed things that unite, rather than divide, Jews and Christians.

At Saturday's Shabbat service at Temple Israel, Woods' sermon focused on the story of Abraham - a father figure claimed by Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Like Abraham, who obeyed God's command to leave his home, Woods called for "stepping outside our comfort zone and walking together in the face of an unknown future."

On Sunday, Ezring linked the ancient Israelites who fled slavery in Egypt to blacks in America, whose bondage ended with the Civil War. In both cases, there were generations of difficulty and discrimination ahead. In this country, blacks launched a civil rights movement that drew widespread support from Jews.

Among those marching from Selma to Montgomery with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965, Ezring told First Baptist-West, was noted Rabbi Abraham Heschel.

"Our feet can be and must be a form of prayer," Ezring said. "But not when we stay safely in our church or synagogue.... Wherever people are turning against one another, wherever there's racism and (anti-Semitism), our feet must take us there."

After the Sunday service at First Baptist-West, which attracted about 200, including several members of Temple Israel, Baptists and Jews agreed they'd like more interfaith interaction for themselves - and for the rest of Charlotte.

"When you get to know other people, you can see their perspective," said Karen Jones, 63, a retired teacher who attends First Baptist-West. "That way, we don't get so angry at each other right away."

Laura Sinai, 45, a pediatrician and member of Temple Israel, said bringing different communities together builds peace.

"Without getting to know and better understand each other," she added, "you're building separate islands."