So...... A Jew, a Christian, and a Muslim walk into a bar....
OK....maybe it wasn't a bar... it was more like a chapel... actually, it was a chapel. In fact it was a chapel on the campus of Park University, located just across the river from Kansas City, in Parkville... and when these three ladies walked into a room of 300 people they captured everyone's attention. 
On this night, these three inspirational women not only represented the faith traditions from which they came, they represent for all of us an active attempt at, and perhaps the living embodiment of, interfaith dialogue. Individually these three are Ranya, Suzanne, and Priscilla...collectively, they are The Faith Club, and what started as a dialogue at a school bus stop, has developed in to a sincere friendship centered on an openness to paralogic conversation about the three Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. 
I was first introduced to this club in a course I am currently taking called, People of The Book, a class designed to examine the historical and theological relations among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We are using the Faith Club text as one of our primary texts to guide our exploration. The event, sponsored by the International Center for Civic Engagement...gave us all, or at least me, an opportunity to personify the words of their text by providing a glimpse into the author's individual personalities (which always makes reading easier for me). The event was two hours in duration, and included a dialogue between the authors, some Q and A time, and a book signing reception. 
There were a number of questions asked, but two, in particular, caught my attention. The first, asked by a young undergrad student, dealt with locating resources that she could use to help her begin to sort out her faith questions... to which Suzanne replied something like, "start by looking into your heart and by asking yourself difficult questions." The second question, that I found interesting, came from an older gentleman who asked if the three, by their comments, were advocating a Universal Religion, to which Priscilla pointed to a deeper understanding of a Universal God, at least that's the way I heard it, and would agree. At one point, I thought I heard one of them, perhaps Ranya, say that each of them return to their respective scriptures to find room for a Universal God. I think that the three of them were very clear to point out that each of them have remained steadfastly committed to their own religion while loving one another for who they are within their own distinct faith traditions. At one point in the dialog, Suzanne mentioned that conversations with a Jew and a Muslim led her to a deeper understanding for her, of her own religion, and that mutual reading of each faith's texts brought a deeper sense of understanding to all three of them. Near the end of the session, one person arose from the audience to proclaim, "What you are doing is essential for World peace." I am not exactly sure how we find our way into World Peace, but I do know that the world would be a very different place if we were willing to commit ourselves to interfaith diologue in the image and likeness of these incredibly faithful women. The Christian Faith in the 21st century, as I see it, will cease to exist in its purest form if we, as Christians, are not authentically committed to interfaith and ecumenical dialogue. Buy the book... and start your own faith club!!!
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