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Dear Covenant Friends,
A few days ago, I was a guest teacher for Professor Ramez Islambouli’s course on Sacred Space. More than twenty of his students gathered in our sanctuary to learn about Reformed tradition and perspectives. I began with the many outdoor sacred spaces in the biblical text- The Garden of Eden, the rainbow after the flood, Abraham’s call in the land of Ur underneath a star-filled sky, the near sacrifice of Isaac, Moses and the burning bush, the law given on Mount Sinai, the Exodus and travel in the wilderness, Elijah’s cave, baptism at the river Jordan, Jesus teaching in boats and on seashores, on mountains and plains.
Eventually it all came indoors to temple, synagogue, mosque, and church. I shared with the students how the priority for Protestant worship space is pulpit and communion table. Early in the Reformation, Protestants took down symbols and images, destroyed statues and stained-glass windows, preferred the simplicity of psalms and chants in their sacred space. Together we went into the Chancel area for a closer look at the stories embedded in the Reredos, and we talked about access to leadership in sacred space, and the ways in which that has been denied to women and LGBTQ individuals over the years.
The students themselves were a mix of Christian, Jewish, Muslim and some who would claim no religion. They came from all over the world to attend Case. And now the violence of the world seeps into their academic space, relational space, communal space. I shared a prayer with them and acknowledged the tension that exists on campus and within each of us, suggesting that we might think of the space between us as sacred; our conversations amid difference, our strangeness to one another. I told them we were praying for them.
Later that day I attended a yoga class downstairs in the education wing. We rolled out our mats on the same ground where Muslim students kneel and bow on their prayer rugs. Through the big windows I could see the Jewish Hillel center with its outdoor Sukkot shelter still standing and glimpse the windows of my own study. I wondered what God might be calling our church to do and to be in this moment of interfaith tension and devastating war? How can we be a house of prayer for all people? How can we hold sacred space for one another?
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