Welcome to the Club

Dates: March 6 and 7
Locations: Temple Israel and Brookside Church
Faith/Denomination: Reform Jewish and Evangelical Free Christian

Oy. I'm one week into this project and I think my brain might implode. But in a good way. That's possible, right?

First things first: I finally finished Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom. Recommended to me by Angela Maurstad, the book is a true story and a dedication to two men of God: one Jewish, one Christian. Fitting that I should be reading this book at this time of my life. I have no intentions of masquerading as a book critic (but it was really fun to type masquerading just now...you should try it), so please forgive my amateur review which can be summed up as this: the book is good. I wanted to love it because Angela loved it. I think I expected it to delve more deeply into the author's journey toward, away from, and back to faith. He pays beautiful homage to these inspiring men, but I was hoping for a more personal account. Part of the book takes place in Detroit, and I can tell you that I know exactly where the I Am My Brother's Keeper Church is located (on Trumball) and I probably thought it was abandonded. I hope I will take a second look next time I'm in Detroit. I do recommend the book, especially if you have been a fan of Albom's previous works.


On Thursday, I attended Omaha's annual Young Professionals Summit. There I was, in a conference center full of hundreds of YP's, ready to network, plug my blog, smile confidently and knock 'em dead, and shootohmygodIcan'tbelieveitbutIhadapanicattack. During the opening session, I sat next to a handful of women whom I didn't know. Turns out it would be "b'shert" or "kismet" or "fate" that I sat at that table. As I felt my pulse start to race, my arms get tingly, and my eyes scan the room from side to side locating the nearest possible exit, I lost control of my anxiety and quietly excused myself from the table. Okay, fine, the unemployment thing is getting to me a little. Apparently a lot that day. But thankfully my dear friend Lora (see 28x1x1 Project day #19) was there and available to talk me down from the panic. She helped me dance it out, which by the way always works.

I tip-toed back into the ballroom only to see that I had missed the entirety of the opening speaker. Boo on me. Back at my table, a woman named Andrea was waiting for her friend. I introduced myself (conversation: another tactic to distract myself from anxiety). Not only was she very friendly, but she had also recently survived a bout with unemployment. We vented about the strange rules of the Nebraska Department of Labor website and the emotional roller coaster one experiences. And then I met her friend, Beth. Sort of. Pay attention. Beth will appear later and there might be a quiz.

Later in the afternoon, Marjorie (see 28x1x1 Project day #16) and I were catching up during a networking session. She knew about my Servant of Two Faiths project and said, "you have to meet my friend Beth. I told her about your blog and I think you two would really connect on interfaith discussions." I told her that I briefly met her in the opening session but we didn't have time to talk. We walked down one of the long corridors and literally bumped into Beth. Marjorie tried to introduce us, but Beth had just lost her phone and was in her own state of panic.

RANDOM SHOUT OUT:
The keynote speaker of the Summit was Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS Shoes (www.toms.com). His speach was outstanding in its honesty and moving in its simplicity. Please read about this organization and consider buying your own pair of TOMS.

After the luncheon, I attended a seminar titled "Managing Business in a Pluralistic Society." Perfect topic for me right? Yeah, well it should have been. I don't want to be critical so I will just say that I was disappointed, not in the seminar speakers, but in the small group to which I was assigned. If you have met me, you might have noticed that I'm not shy. Especially on passionate topics such as religion. I quickly observed that my small group was either tired, embarrassed, or simply disinterested. So I was the annoying girl who kept talking and bringing up discussion items. And then guess who I saw in another of the small groups? Beth. The same Beth I had been trying to meet all day. I walked right up to her, presented my hand and said, "Beth, I would like to officially meet you. We have a million mutual friends, and I'm Jew"ish" and you run Project Interfaith and I think we should know each other." And she totally agreed, and now we are connected and I'm so excited to get to know her and her organization better. Visit www.projectinterfaithusa.org to learn more about her work.

Here is my faith lesson from this long-winded story: God, or the Lord, or Jesus or whoever it is, forces you to cross paths with someone even when 2,000 YP's are holding up traffic.

I attended Shabbat services at Temple Israel on Saturday morning. Guess what? I was late. But just couple minutes. I entered the sanctuary and sat in the back. A young man was becoming a bar mitzvah (son of the Commandments) so the service was largely focused on his journey. Since this is a Reform Temple, about half of the service was in English, the other half in Hebrew. I sang along to the tunes I recognized, trying not to butcher the Hebrew.

The Rabbi talked of the significance of the days between Purim (the Book of Esther) and Pesach, or Passover (which celebrates the Jews' freedom from slavery). He talked of preparing our homes and hearts for redemption. I'm lucky if I remember to prepare my home for my spring wardrobe. Have I not tried hard enough to bring faith into my life? The young bar mitzvah, in his personal comments, reminded us as he reminded himself that faith isn't tangible. How did this 13-year-old squeaky voiced boy know what I was thinking? The Rabbi, in his closing words to the boy said, "you have struggled with your faith? Welcome to the club." Oh Mr. Rabbi, you and I just might be great friends.

Faith lesson learned from Shabbat services at Temple Israel: It's okay to admit doubt, but you shouldn't live in it.

Today, I attended services with Angela (mentioned at the beginning of this blog) at the Brookside Church. Guess what? I was late. But just barely. Angela greeted me in the foyer with her bright smile, and escorted me into the sanctuary. The room wasn't like any other religious facility I have been to. It was more of a theatre with a full stage, lights, and scenery. The congregants and the pastors were dressed casually. There was a band and choir performing on stage. And they were really good! For the sake of visitors like me, they were showing the song lyrics on two giant screens on either side of the stage.

The pastor (or is it minister?) was a man around my age. He spoke passionately about his faith, his congregation, and his dedication to God. The service was centered around the Book of Romans. Many of the congregants bring their own Bibles to service (as there are no pews or racks of Bibles at your seat) and Angela was kind enough to share her Bible with me. We read along and interpreted the lessons. To be very honest, I was caught off guard by the pastor's and the Bible's references to the "Upright Jew" and the "hypocrisy of the Upright Jew." I tried to listen with an open mind, tried to understand why the Jews were being singled out in this sermon, and wondered what my friend was thinking about the half-Jew seated next to her.

When the pastor concluded, I put my confusion and growing resentment aside and analyzed his message: do not pass judgement. As he said, "religious acts for show are worthless." He wasn't condemning all Jews. He was quoting the scripture in which Paul addresses his would-be converts about living their word. I think. Angela and I had a moment to debrief and she agreed with me. I'm glad I didn't go with my instinctive reaction of raising my hand in the air and shouting "excuse me, Jew in the room!" Because that would have been all sorts of wrong and unfair.

Faith lesson learned at Brookside: The more you know, the more you learn you don't know.

This past week has been validating and overwhelming. I was worried that I bit off more than I could chew with this project, and wondered if my friends and family would enjoy these posts as much as the 28x1x1 Project. I guess only time will tell on both issues.

From Mitch Albom's Have a Little Faith: "Faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe." I'm workin on it.

Goals for week 2:
- start "book club" with Adrienne
- coffees and lunches with friends who don't judge me for being faithfully challenged
- finalize Shabbat plans for Friday/Saturday; church services for Sunday
- try to write shorter blog entries

I'll be seeing you.....