Wednesday, April 19, 2000

Building a bridge between faiths

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Passover Project brings Jews, Christians together to find common ground

BY Richelle Thompson
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        Minerva Marion is a spry 61-year-old African-American homemaker who lets “Amens” fly during prayer and is quick to call strangers honey.

Shelley Cowan and Bill McBride of Congregation Beth Adam. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        Shelley Cowan is a self-employed writer with an easy smile who belongs to a Reform synagogue and would rather leave her age at an ambiguous 40-something.

        To an outsider, it would appear they have little in common.

        Yet for two hours on a nippy spring evening in Mrs. Marion's fundamental Christian church, the two women found common ground.

        Mrs. Cowan shared the story of Passover, which commemorates the deliverance of Jews from slavery in Egypt. The themes of persecution and freedom resonated with Mrs. Marion. The celebration of Passover begins at sundown today.

Minerva Marion (right) and Sarah Rhodus. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        “Once we were slaves; today we are free,” Mrs. Cowan read.

        “Amen,” Mrs. Marion said. “Amen.”

        And a bridge between two faiths was built.

        Chalk up another success for the Passover Project. The program was launched this year to increase understanding of the Jewish holiday and foster interfaith relationships. It has paired more than 50 area churches with members of the Jewish community to share the Seder, the traditional Passover meal and retelling of the exodus story.

        “Interfaith dialogue is really critical,” Mrs. Cowan said. “Look at how many wars are fought over religion. It's important to discuss and talk with each other.”

        Volunteers attended 10 hours of training classes for the project, sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Melton School and the Congregation Beth Adam.

        Cincinnati lawyer Ed Marks led the Seder during an Ash Wednesday service at St. Paul United Church of Christ in Colerain Township and for a group from the First Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Ind.

        Inviting a stranger to Seder was a tradition Mr. Marks carries on with his own family. He believes in the importance of educating others about his faith.

        “People misunderstand Judaism and what it's all about,” the 59-year-old Clifton resident said. He recalled a woman years ago who asked him to see the horns on his head.

        “One of the things you find out when you get around is this world is that peoples' misunderstandings of other (faiths) led to conflict and tension,” Mr. Marks said. “I think that when we hold out our hands, if we reach them out, there will be someone there to take them.”

        At Macedonia Living Church Fellowship in Springdale, arms were open.

        Mrs. Marion spent her afternoon preparing some of the symbolic foods. She cut apples and walnuts for 1¹/₂ hours to mix with raisins, cinnamon, grape juice and honey for a concoction called haroses.

        It's eaten with matzo,the unleavened bread, and a bitter herb, both important symbols of Passover. According to Hebrew Scripture, Jews did not have time for the bread to rise before they fled Egypt. The bitter herb, often horseradish, represents the persecution of slavery.

        The meeting started with song. With a mix of breathy altos and full, round sopranos, “What a mighty God we serve,” filled the room.

        Macedonia member Betty Davis began praying and speaking in tongues. Around the room, supplications of “Hallelujah” and “Thank you, Lord” sprang out like exclamation points.

        Then Mrs. Cowan and Bill McBride, both members of the Congregation of Beth Adam in Madisonville, began the Seder.

        They gave some basic statistics: 13 million Jews worldwide, 5.5 million in the United States, and 25,000 in Cincinnati.

        Seder is a home-based celebration guided by a book called the Haggadah. Although the theme of Passover is the journey to freedom, there are thousands of different Haggadahs, with an emphasis on a variety of topics, such as feminism or the environment.

        Mrs. Cowan poured grape juice, a substitute for wine, into Dixie Cups. In the course of Seder, participants drank four times from the cup to represent four promises God made in the book of Exodus.

        The group ate parsley, which would traditionally be dipped in salt water to signify the joy of springtime and the sadness of slavery.

        They asked questions about Judaism, exchanged stories and laughed together.

        By the end of the night, the lives of Jews and Christians seemed a little closer.

        Passover “reminds me of our own exodus from slavery in America,” Mrs. Marion said. “The same things that happened to them have happened to us.”

       

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