To be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of interfaith worship. From my experience at Harvard Divinity School in the 1980s, it always seemed to reduce itself to the lowest common denominator or be an opportunity for progressive Christians to feel good about themselves for their inclusivity.

Still, when I began thinking about doing something interfaith for 9-11 this year, I thought it was important for religious people in Madison to make such a statement. Our city is well-advanced in its de-christianization, and by extension, its secularization. To offer an interfaith religious witness on this 10th anniversary was one way to remind people that knee-jerk anti-religious responses to terrorists claiming Islam as their warrant, and Christians using crusade language in support of a military response, were not the only religious options.

We live in a polarized society in which the differences among us, political, cultural, religious, are often stressed. But there is also a great deal that unites us–as human beings, as American citizens, and, yes, as people of faith. My goal was to offer a service that was an authentic witness to the diverse faiths that were represented, but that also expressed the faith we do share. Whatever any else might say to the contrary, Muslims, Christians, and Jews do worship the same God. We experience that God in very different ways, through different revelations and in different historical and cultural contexts. Perhaps those differences are due to human frailty; perhaps they a result of God’s infinite mystery.

We also share values–a desire for peace, for a shared common life, and for the possibility of living together in the midst of our diversity. To come together in that way is no small thing, given the histories that divide us–the wars we have fought, the violence, discrimination, and the Holocaust. In many parts of the world such violence between faiths is still a reality–witness the attack on the Israeli embassy in Egypt last week, and the Muslim-Christian violence in Nigeria.

We bore witness yesterday to the possibility of a different future–one in which violence is supplanted by peace and mutual understanding. But in a small way, we bore witness to another possibility–that the divisions in our culture and country that express themselves in language of great violence, may give way to a realization that in spite of our differences, there lies in our hearts, whatever our political views, a deeply-shared love of country, freedom, and democracy.

Our service made no headlines (in fact it took extraordinary effort for the local newspaper even to publish it in their calendar of events for 9-11) but there was a report on Wisconsin Public Radio. That can be found here. I suppose we were not flashy enough to be newsworthy.

Here’s video of an interfaith service held in Newark, NJ last night: