Breaking bread, forging friendships

From Maundy Thursday, I had spent the Easter Triduum with my Christian community, celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus. We recalled the infinite love and sacrifice of Jesus and his triumph over darkness and death. On Easter night I had the privilege of being present in the sacred moment of another religious tradition. During the month of Ramadan, the Muslim community is called to a time of prayer, charity and fasting. Like Christians during Lent, it is a holy time focused on growing closer to God. For many Muslim people, this fasting includes abstaining from food and water between sunrise and sunset for around 30 days. The Iftar meal is a ritual which breaks the fast each night of Ramadan.

With the company of my daughter Tilly, aged 7, we travelled 1.5 hours to the home of Namik and Mujgan Berber in Western Sydney. We were joined by two other guests from the Uniting Church, Raúl and Mikali, and Muslim guests Derya, Yasmine, Matt, Jeff and Helen.

The nerves of knocking on a stranger’s door were quickly swept aside with the warm welcome we received. After a short time of introductions, we were invited to sit around the table together. As the sun set, the time of fasting was broken with dates and water. In the sharing of food, we relaxed, and conversation flowed.

Mujgan, Community Engagement Manager at Amity College, had spent much of her free time over the weekend preparing for the meal. We were treated to delicious Turkish fare, three courses, countless dishes. Like the welcome and hospitality, the food was abundant.

During the meal, the discussion turned to the practice of Ramadan and what it meant for the Muslim hosts and guests. We heard them speak about how it was a “reset”, both for their bodies and spirit. We were reminded about the scientific benefits of fasting, they shared about the discipline it required, the significance of denying one’s ego, how it reminded them that many go without simply because they cannot afford food to eat. We spoke about similarities with the Christian practice of fasting. This Lent I tried to eat less chocolate. For me, the practice of Ramadan has always required a much deeper commitment than my own. I find its selflessness inspiring.  

After an enormous amount of food, we retreated to a sitting room. Over Turkish coffee, tea and sweets, we had the opportunity one-by-one to go around the room and share our story. This was such a special time in the evening – an opportunity to listen and share, to learn, to laugh and make connections. We heard about experiences of coming to Australia, being treated as outsiders, building a career, starting a family, meeting a future wife on a trip to Gallipoli, learning about and converting to Islam, being grateful for the safety and freedom we share. Some experiences we shared in common, others were new. What struck me most was how each person’s story was valued.

As the evening drew to a close, I felt it had only just began. My daughter spoke to me the next day about how she had felt at home. It felt like we had shared the evening with friends.

The invitation from my hosts was borne out of a desire to build greater understanding across religious divides. They opened up their home so that guests of different religious and cultural backgrounds could learn first-hand about their faith and culture. In a world of conflict, racism and xenophobia, where religion is used as a weapon to divide, surely a greater level of understanding and trust is vital to shaping a more peaceful world.  

That is why such invitations to encounter the other are so important. We all came away with a greater understanding of one another, but even more so, we were reminded of the humanity we share.

The home Iftar program is organised by the Affinity Intercultural Foundation. Each year, they invite around 150 guests to share the Iftar meal with Muslim hosts who generously open up their homes throughout the month of Ramadan. Affinity does this alongside a number of other larger Iftar events focused on the promotion of harmony and social cohesion. Similar programs operate in different parts of the country. This year Uniting Church President Rev Sharon Hollis was a guest of a Muslim family in Melbourne.

Tonight the NSW/ACT Synod will co-host with Affinity the Building Harmony Iftar Dinner at Blacktown Uniting Church. This is one of several Iftar dinners being hosted by Uniting Church communities across the country.

In the Uniting Church, we are committed to this because we believe that in engaging with other faiths, our understanding of God is enlarged. One of the Uniting Church’s theological affirmations about interfaith relationships is that as Christian’s we are called to love the neighbour who is different, inspired by the indiscriminate love of Christ. Further, that God delights in our diversity, and seeks unity. “The unity God intends for humanity does not destroy difference, but weaves difference into a single human mat.”[1]

Deep down, as people of faith, we all seek more love, peace, and kindness in the world. My experience of engaging with other faiths is that we are led to the revelation time and again that God’s Spirit is present in all life.

In the sharing of the Iftar meal together, I was in no doubt that God’s spirit which rose Jesus from the dead was present and moving among us.

To learn more about what the Uniting Church says about relationships with other faiths, read two Assembly resources, Living with the Neighbour who is Different, received and encouraged for use by the 9^th Assembly in 2000 and Friendship in the Presence of Difference Study Guide, based on the report received at the 13th Assembly in 2012.

[1] https://ucaassembly.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/345