Footsteps: A Journey in Faith

A dozen years ago I journeyed to the Holy Lands with a group of seminary students. I still recall looking down from Neve Shalom, a cooperative village of Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs, and seeing the beautiful land of Israel. Neve Shalom, translated Oasis of Peace, overlooks hayfields and sunflowers, not battlefields and armaments. That evening we gathered in Neve Shalom’s House of Silence, a place for inter-faith reflection and meditation, and prayed silently for peace; fragile, sacred, illusive peace.

Today we continue to pray for peace in this land that is home to our three Abrahamic faith  traditions —J udaism, Islam and Christianity. As we see daunting walls arise in this sacred place — especially those concrete barriers created to separate Israelis from Palestinians — we are challenged to plant mustard seeds of hope and unity.  

Recently a group of twelve religious leaders from Minneapolis, representing each of the three religious traditions, traveled to Israel and Palestine. Their trip — footsteps of faith — was not just about seeing Holy sites, but rather opening a dialogue: discussing the similarities across their many faiths, while looking honesty at the differences that stand to divide our world today.

Upon their return home, these religious men and women realized that their journey had just  begun. Together they created an interfaith, documentary film entitled Footsteps: A Journey in Faith. The story empowers the group and challenges us to really listen and act in faith, so we might nurture seeds of peace…in the Middle East…and here at home.

White Bear Lake United Methodist will be one of the first churches to host Footsteps: A Journey  in Faith, outside the participants’ home congregations. The showing of this documentary will take place in our beautiful, new sanctuary on Sunday evening, May 18. We’ll begin at 6:30 pm with music by film scorer, composer and talented pianist, Phil Thompson. At 7:00 pm we will show this 60 minute documentary, followed by a question and answer session with Joseph Garven, Executive Producer, and Phil Thompson.

A special thank you goes to Amy Maakestad and Don Craighead for their willingness to bring this documentary to our church. Don writes, “This film helped me to better understand the complexities of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, the significance the physical wall between them plays, and how — through taking the time to understand one another — peace might someday be attainable.”

Footsteps is a unique and enriching experience. This documentary received nominations at the Trenton International Film Festival and the Twin Cities International Film Festival. 

As a precursor to Footsteps consider joining our United Methodist Women on May 12 at 7:00 pm, as they host Dwight and Debra Haberman, who will speak on Palestine: Problems and Possibilities. 

Both events are free and open to the public. Please join us on May 12 and May 18. 

Shalom, Salaam, Peace,
Donna