Abraham’s Tent

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“I felt that the cultural and religious demarcations that exist in the corporeal world were put to the wayside as we shared a serving of commonality along with the main courses of the dinner. By sharing a meal we were all aware of the humanity that exists beyond ourselves. Abraham’s tent is a good icebreaker for those wanting learn about other faiths and a good venue for those who wish to share about their faith.”

       -Ali Abdul-Hakim Ferraro, Abraham’s Tent participant

For almost ten years now, the Niagara Foundation has established and hosted programs that aim to build friendships and strengthen understanding between people of many different faiths and cultures. Whether people come to participate in the Abrahamic Traditions dinner, the Niagara Forums, or the Intercultural Trips, the Niagara Foundation has always encouraged dialogue, cooperation, and fellowship among attendees.

With these goals and efforts in mind, the natural extension to these programs is in the Abraham’s Tent initiative, which seeks to bring members of the three Abrahamic faiths in the Chicago area together for dinners filled with interfaith exploration.

The purpose of the Abraham’s Tent dinners is, ultimately, to promote interfaith dialogue, honor religious diversity, and encourage mutual respect among all members. These dinners, currently run by Niagara Foundation’s Director of Cultural Exchange and Interfaith Collaboration, Brendan Dowd, are held in the intimacy of participants’ homes. This is in order for participants to get-to-know one another in a more informal way than they would at one of Niagara’s larger-scale events. So far, Abraham’s Tent dinners have included anywhere from three to nine Chicago locals of all different ages, races, and backgrounds.

Although Abraham’s Tent dinners cater to a smaller number of guests, many participants tend to find that fulfilling and enlightening conversation is not absent. In fact, the cozy feel of this smaller event provides for a deeper approach to inter-religious understanding.

“I would say that for us it was a very enjoyable evening with lots of easy, interesting conversation. There was no “agenda” of topics to discuss, nor did there need to be.  The talk just flowed naturally. We had chosen to host the dinner on a Friday night deliberately, so we could share the Jewish home rituals of the Sabbath, which I hope people enjoyed participating in. I’m always happy to increase people’s knowledge of Judaism, and my own about other religions, and I think the evening provided opportunities for both.”

                                                                 -Lenore Mass, Host of the First Abraham’s Tent Dinner

Many other guests also felt that they didn’t need prepared topics to initiate or maintain conversation throughout the evening. Naturally, guests with similar backgrounds and shared faiths connected more easily, however everyone remained interested in learning about the other two faiths and even how their own faith might be practiced differently in particular places.

Each dinner has entertained a diverse group of people, from those who were raised in their faith and grew up abroad, to those who converted to their faith and grew up in Chicago. This assortment of guests allows for a unique experience at each event.

Initially, there was some concern that these dinners would not make a significant impact in the big picture, especially considering their size. However, program director Brendan Dowd noted that “in the business of building community cohesion it’s the small victories, the sharing of stories with strangers, and the planting of single seeds that brings hope for a fruitful harvest.” Abraham’s Tent dinners provide a fascinating opportunity to appreciate the traditions and ideas of other religions at the local level in order to build and expand to a global effort.

Overall, the Abraham’s Tent initiative has been taking off with over one hundred and fifty people of various interfaith dialogue experience signing up to take part in the program. Many of them end up asking to participate again after their first dinner, due to their appetite to learn more and their desire to delve deeper into issues. One host, Dina Rehab, even urged Niagara to expand the initiative to include religions such as Buddhism.

Here at Niagara, we see a lot of potential in this initiative and hope to watch it grow as it moves forward. If you would like to partake in our festivities, feel free to visit our website to sign up.

Advice for going into Abraham’s Tent dinners? Richard Tani says:

“It’s helpful to be open-minded and go with the idea of learning to meet new people and not worry about the faith or anything else…Go in with the right attitude – this is going to be a fun.”

The views and opinions expressed on The Falls are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Niagara Foundation, its staff, other authors, members, partners, or sponsors.

Abraham’s Tents


ABRAHAM’S TENTS

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

The Niagara Foundation proud to offer one of the most authentic forms of interfaith and intercultural engagement. This initiative aims to provide space for people of differing religious and cultural traditions to get-to-know one another in the cozy intimacy of each other’s homes and seeks to build community through casual conversation over a delicious home-made meal.

Abraham’s Tent programs are offered year-round in the months of November, February, April and May,June ideally on religiously significant holiday weeks/days.

We hope you consider becoming a part of this great initiative that will lead to a growing pool of open hearts in the Chicagoland area.

Please RSVP
This project was nominated for a Chicago Innovation Award!

This year, we have partnered with 30 Muslim families who want to welcome Muslim and non-Muslim families/individuals at their homes. Kindly, please fill out the form below for the dates you’d like to attend a Tent.

If you’d like to host, please contact our Communications office via email at: [email protected]
Nervous about hosting? We’ll help you prepare!

To ensure the safety of our host families, address information will only be disclosed to the attendees of the specific Tents.
Also, absolutely NO SOLICITATION allowed at these gatherings!

For more information and questions, contact our communications office via email at: Communications office

Abraham, “Friend of Allah” (c.f. Q4:125) and beloved patriarch for Christians, Muslims and Jews alike, is seen as a leading model of moral and ethical conduct. The biblical tradition illustrates the value of “hospitality” in the story of Abraham at Mamre (Gen. 18:1-33) where Abraham selflessly provides food, shelter and comfort to three unknown travelers in his and his wife Sara’s humble tent. Over the centuries, each of the three traditions has developed a unique cultural and theological expression of this value. Now our kitchens and living rooms provide the same space for hosting temporary and mobile gatherings of interreligious and intercultural encounter.

Although the reference to Abraham will speak to Muslims, Jews, and Christians, all faiths are welcome and encouraged to either host or gather under a tent!

“We very much enjoyed hosting an Abraham’s Tent dinner for Rogers Park-Edgewater neighbors this past February. The eleven attendees came from the Jewish, Muslim, Roman Catholic, Methodist, and Lutheran traditions. We served the Palestinian entrée maaklooba (chicken, eggplant, cauliflower and rice), along with hummus, olives, and Lebanese fatouche salad. The three-hour table conversation provided time for each person to share both life and faith journeys. It was especially interesting to hear about the experiences of two Turkish physicians getting settled into American life Chicago-style, as well as about the challenges and rewards of being American converts to Islam. Although both of us have decades’ worth of interreligious friendships, this occasion was a special experience because of the spirit of openness and welcome demonstrated by eleven people of many religious and ethnic backgrounds.”

Ryan and Carol LaHurd, Edgewater, Chicago (Christian)

 

“Over the past couple years; I have attended so many wonderful events organized by Niagara Foundation. These events have been successful at fostering mutual understanding by bringing people together and providing the opportunity to share ideas. With the Abraham’s Tent  program, my role was upgraded and I was given the chance and responsibility of hosting a dinner with the sole purpose of inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue.  I was so excited to see how food can help bring people together even though we were all from different  religious and cultural backgrounds. None of us had known each other from before. However, our conversation was so warm and friendly that it gave me the feeling of meeting with an old friend I had known for many years. I have learnt many things of which I was not aware. Now I look forward to meeting with my friends again to share a meal and deepen our friendship”.

A. Afsin Oktay, MD, Rogers Park, Chicago (Muslim)

 

“I would say that for us it was a very enjoyable evening with lots of easy, interesting conversation. There was no “agenda” of topics to discuss, nor did there need to be. The talk just flowed naturally. We had chosen to host the dinner on a Friday night deliberately, so we could share the Jewish home rituals of the Sabbath, which I hope people enjoyed participating in. I’m always happy to increase people’s knowledge of Judaism, and my own about other religions, and I think the evening provided opportunities for both.”

Lenore Mass, Hyde Park, Chicago (Jewish)

 

“Niagara never seizes to amaze me when it comes to being open to inventing new platforms to bring people together.”

Edip Pektas, Chicago (Muslim)

 

“The Abraham’s Tent dinners sponsored by the Niagara foundation are a welcome antidote to the distrust and misinformation so rampant in our media driven society. I have participated in two of these dinners and they were both very special and memorable experiences. They were opportunities for strangers of different faith and cultural traditions to come together and share their experiences. In a spirit of hospitality and open-mindedness, a group gathers for a meal and discussion. The atmosphere allowed for questions about other faiths and even broadened our understanding of how people of the same faith traditions choose different options. It is a program that improves the world by fostering understanding and focuses on our shared humanity while celebrating our differences. We arrived strangers and left fellow travelers on the journey through life. ”

Gregg Steigmeyer, Rogers Park, Chicago (Catholic)

Niagara’s Abraham’s Tent Host Guidebook

‘s Tent Guidebook (2)

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The views and opinions expressed on The Falls are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Niagara Foundation, its staff, other authors, members, partners, or sponsors.