The evolutionary scientists and theologians Fr. Teilhard de Chardin, Louis Savary, Patricia Berne and Sister Ilia Delio proclaim that God’s love is the core energy of the universe bringing the basic elements of the universe together. Evolution is “God’s Love Project”, with humanity emerging with the role of advancing this project. Teilhard states, “The day will come when, after harnessing space, winds, the tide and gravitation, humanity shall harness for God the energy of love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, humanity will have discovered fire”.
Humanity is successfully harnessing these other energies. Our task now is to harness for God the energy of love. Fr. Teilhard dreamed of a time when earth’s religious power would be gathered for love. I believe now is that time, and I believe that you are leading the way.
Working together on building and advocacy campaigns as Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Sais and Sikhs, we are discovering fire by:
- Leading with faith. There is a bit of a misconception that faith needs to be downplayed when bringing people from different faith traditions to work together. There is also a sense that organizations aligned to a particular faith need to deny that faith to connect with other faiths. However, our experience together shows a different way. People of other faiths have said to me that they are inspired by Habitat’s Christian motivation and are glad to have the opportunity to share their faith motivation for being involved. Rather than denying faith, we are discovering the need to go deep into the best of our faith to build a more loving community together.
- Developing relationships. As Pastor Jose Luis Villasenor of Fiesta Cristiana in Apex states, social change happens at the speed of relationships. In our work together, we know this to be true. In relationships, we are connecting with one another at our deepest level. At the funeral at the Islamic Association of Raleigh for the three Muslim students murdered in Chapel Hill, a Christian leaned over to me and stated with tears in his eyes, “Muslims mourn just like we do.” In relationships, sparks such as those experienced at the funeral take hold to ignite the fire.
- Celebrating the prophetic elements of faith. We are learning that all faiths teach to love others and desire a more loving and just world. Temple Beth Or’ and Beth Meyer are teaching us that the driving story of Judaism is the liberation of the Jews from oppression. The Hindu Society is teaching us about non-violence. The Sikh community is teaching us how Sikhism rejected the caste system when forming. We are celebrating these stories and learning how to boldly love together.
- Seeking greater impact together. We know that we are making an impact by building homes together. We also know that we are making an even greater impact by working together in a nonpartisan way to address the issues causing our affordable housing crisis.
- Naming and celebrating God at work. At our kick-off and dedication ceremonies, we celebrate that it is God drawing us together. At our fortieth anniversary worship service, we sang songs together and recited sacred scripture from our different faiths. We not only discovered fire that night; we created a bonfire.
- Rallying around the image of the Beloved Community, championed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This image resonates with the Christian concept of the kingdom of God. It connects with Judaism’s liberation story and their concept of shalom. Within this image, the Sikhs have a place to stand up against injustices, defend the marginalized, and usher in a new way for humanity. In the Beloved Community, the Sai community lives out their mantra, “Love all, serve all, help ever, hurt never,” and “experience the one religion, the religion of love.”
We are building God’s Beloved Community together, a community where all are loved, and all have access to the essentials of an abundant life. We are recognizing and honor the image of God in everyone, healing past wounds, and tearing down walls that separate people of different faiths, races, and cultures. While the Beloved Community is not fully realized in our area, it is at hand. Even though the present moment may appear dark across our land, it will not last forever. As Valerie Kaur from the Sikh faith states, “this is not the darkness of the tomb. This is the darkness of the womb. Because of you, God’s Beloved Community is dawning. God’s Love Project is advancing.
– Rick Beech