Beacon of Hope: Tri-Faith Center Virtual Grand Opening 2020

Beacon of Hope TRI-FAITH CENTER VIRTUAL GRAND OPENING OCTOBER 17, 2020

Tri-Faith Initiative

CONGRATULATIONS, TRI-FAITH! Vrana Construction is proud to have been involved with Tri-Faith Initiative from the beginning. Over the course of 10 years, Vrana built the synagogue, church, and interfaith center. It was a privilege to be a part of the extraordinary project. We celebrate the completion of Tri-Faith’s original mission co-locating three faith communities on the shared Commons!

Moving business forward since 1918

2558 Farnam Street | Omaha, NE 68131 | 402-341-2413 www.allmakes.com Tri-Faith Initiative

Blessings from our clergy Congregation of Temple Israel

ERUSALEM, IN THE JEWISH TRADITION, IS NOT ONLY A PLACE, IT IS AN IDEA—A VISION OF HUMANITY KNIT

together in friendship and peace (Psalm 122). For much of our history, humanity has failed to realize that vision, choosing instead to hate those who believe, practice, and see the world differently. Judaism teaches that God sits waiting for us to reach toward one another and work hand-in-hand to make the idea of Jerusalem a reality. By forming and nurturing Tri-Faith Initiative, we are building Jerusalem right here in the heart of America. The partners in this sacred endeavor are dedicated to religious pluralism, to affirming the beauty in our three faith traditions, to embracing not only our commonalities but also our differences, and to deepening our own particular faith commitments through meaningful, open, and loving relationships with each other. As Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel once put it: “It was a hatred without cause that brought about the destruction [of Jerusalem]. It will be love without cause that will save…all mankind.” May all who participate in Omaha’s Tri-Faith Initiative become partners with God in helping to bring about this redemption.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Builder of Jerusalem.

-Rabbi A. Brian Stoller, Senior Rabbi

ET THERE BE LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING AMONG US.

Let peace and friendship be our shelter from life’s storms.

God, help us to walk with good companions, to live with hope in our hearts and eternity in our thoughts, that we may lie down in peace and rise up waiting to do Your will.

-Mishkan T’filah for Shabbat Each time that I am asked to give a blessing at a Tri-Faith Initiative gathering, these words, which call to our deepest hopes and dreams for bringing people of different faiths together, are the ones that come to mind. This reading precedes the Hashkiveinu, a prayer that asks God to spread over us a sukkat shalom, a shelter of peace. As we begin this new chapter in Tri-Faith’s story, where our dream of co-locating has been realized and our buildings sit side by side, this is my prayer. As we live together, learn together, work together, pray together, and grow together, let it be with love and understanding. May our foundation of peace and friendship shelter us from life’s storms. And may God spread over all of us who are engaged in this holy work a sukkat shalom, a shelter of peace.

-Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin, Associate Rabbi

UR WORLD CAN BE ONE OF SEGMENTS, TRIBES, AND DIVISION. WE SEE ON OUR SCREENS EVERY DAY A HOME

where ideas are ripped apart and the people who hold them are ripped down. But in one small space in Omaha, Nebraska an idea to bring people of different faiths together was held up, uplifted, and turned into reality. Often when getting together for a clergy lunch or a Tri-Faith educational event, I discover ways in which my faith is radically different from the other faiths of the Tri-Faith Commons. But oftentimes I see the similarity. There are the shared stories even from our different texts, there is a shared focus on food and hospitality, and always a belief in God. We may have different names for God, we may have different beliefs about how God acts in the world or what God wants of us, but all of us connect through the discovery of those differences and similarities. I am so blessed to grow my faith through learning with my Tri-Faith colleagues. I am so blessed for the example, not of tolerance, but of shared partnership possible in a world that feels fraying at its edges. The Tri-Faith Commons, to me, is a beacon of hope and possibility. The work we are doing has really just begun, and each class, meeting, or gathering renews and rebuilds my faith in human partnership, the humanity of us all, and my mission to be a partner with God in creating repairs in our world.

-Cantor Joanna Alexander

UR GOD, AND GOD OF OUR CHILDREN,

As we dedicate the final building on this holy ground, Help us to bring up in our mind, a picture of one single picnic table, In order to help us move to the next chapter of our real work, with joy and happiness, Bringing our entire Tri-Faith community to fulfill the words of the prophet Micah 6:1-8, “What Does the Lord Require of You?” Do Justice, Love Kindness, and Walk Humbly with Our God. -Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, Rabbi Emeritus

02 · Blessings from our clergy

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Countryside Community Church AY THE HOLY SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD,

made known to the world by many different names and mercies: Go before you to show you the way; Go above you to watch over you; Go behind you to push you into places you may not necessarily go yourself; Go beneath you to uphold and uplift you; Go beside you to be your strong and constant companion; and Dwell within you to remind you that you are not alone on life’s journey, and you are loved.

Loved beyond your wildest imagination!

And may the fire of God’s blessing burn brightly upon you, within you, and through you, now and always.

Amen.

-Rev. Dr. Eric Elnes, Senior Minister

HE TRI-FAITH CONGREGATIONAL EXPERIENCE HAS TAUGHT US THE POWER OF ENGAGING GOD IN CONVERSATIONS

of discernment for our pathways into the world, as individuals and as communities of faith. May each of our communities continue to creatively build from these foundations an environment and culture of acceptance, seeing each other through God’s eyes. Each of us is a piece of, and participant in, God’s wild array of beauty and wisdom in creation. May we grow together to build living creations of God’s activity of love in the world as many generations dwell together here in this place.

Amen.

-Rev. Dr. Chris Alexander, Associate Minister

American Muslim Institute EACE BE TO YOU,

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

“And who could be better of speech than the one who calls [his fellow-Men] unto God, and does what is just and right, and says: Verily, I am of those who have surrendered themselves to God”? (Surah, Fussilat, 41-33) It was the mission of all Prophets of God to peacefully unite their people and march to God on a straight path. The Tri-Faith founders had a similar vision in mind; “Let’s get united around the Lord of Abraham.’’ Their vision turned into a mission that they nourished, preserved, and executed properly. Within a short period of time, the Tri-Faith Commons was completed, and the three houses of worship along with a visiting center shared the same grounds.

The mission is not over quite yet. Now to the harder and ongoing phase of building the Tri-Faith community. The three great children of Abraham: Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, peace be upon them (pbut), would be proud and happy as they look upon this small village of Abraham’s descendants living together in peace and harmony.

May Allah (SWT), the Lord of Abraham, bless everyone who contributed to this project in whatever capacity they did, and may He bless this initiative, protect and nourish it. Amin.

-Imam Mohamad Jamal Daoudi

Tri-Faith Initiative

Blessings from our clergy · 03

MISSION Inspired by the faith of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim congregations, we cultivate inclusive environments to advance interfaith relationships and understanding.

VISION Be a best practice model, resource, and trainer for successful interfaith relationships and understanding.

EDITORIAL AND DESIGN OF GRAND OPENING MAGAZINE Omaha Magazine, Production Todd Lemke, Publisher Sierra Salgado Pirigyi, Sarah Klein Masterson, Wendy Goldberg, Annette van de Kamp, Daisy Hutzell-Rodman, Editors Leo Adam Biga, Writer Derek Joy, Graphic Design Gil Cohen, Sales Alicia Hollins, Sales Associate Adam Casey, Photography Tri-Faith Archives, Photography Thank you to everyone whose hard work and vision helped bring us to this moment. We would not be here today without such an incredible team of Tri-Faith staff, clergy, board, founders, funders, architects, planners, community partners, and volunteers over the last 14 years. trifaith.org

An evening of celebration Blessings from our clergy............................................................

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Beacon of Hope: Tri-Faith Center Virtual Grand Opening...... 06 Welcome from Wendy Goldberg................................................ 08 A letter from Dr. Ali Khan...........................................................

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Team Tri-Faith............................................................................... 11 The Tri-Faith story........................................................................ 12 Beacon, oasis, bridge...................................................................

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Designing the dream...................................................................

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Commemorating what’s been, welcoming what’s next........... 26 Hearts and hands join in the Tri-Faith Garden and Orchard... 30 Learning—and unlearning—for mutual respect........................ 34 The difference Tri-Faith makes in peoples’ lives.......................

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Building bridges to understanding.............................................

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Table matters................................................................................

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The dream is possible due to the generosity of........................ 47

Photo Credit: Tri-Faith Archives

Tri-Faith Inititave Initiative

An evening of celebration · 05

Photo Credit: Wendy Goldberg

06 ¡ Beacon of Hope: Tri-Faith Center Virtual Grand Opening

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Beacon of Hope: Tri-Faith Center Virtual Grand Opening Saturday, October 17, 2020

Event Chairs

We celebrate the fulfillment of Tri-Faith’s original mission: to intentionally co-locate a synagogue, church, mosque, and interfaith center on one shared commons. Honoring past, present, and future, Beacon of Hope will celebrate the opening of the Tri-Faith Center as a safe haven for dialogue, prayer, and friendship-building.

Virtual Doors Open: 6:15 PM CDT Pre-show Greetings & Tributes: 6:30 PM CDT Original Performance: One More Chair: 7:00 PM CDT Connecting Conversations: Following the Performance This Special Evening Will Include: Pre-show featuring your tributes and messages of joy and hope

Mary Berstein, Temple Israel Guy Evans, Countryside Community Church Dr. Hesham Basma, American Muslim Institute

One More Chair Creative Team Beaufield Berry-Fisher, Playwright Tessa V. Wedberg, Production Denise Chapman, Production Cassandra Hicks Weisenburger, Production Bridget McQuillan, Production Eamann Al-Azem as Seba Susie Baer Collins as Siggy D. Scott Glasser as Hiram Haley Haas as Crystal Jessica Johnson as Asa Kathy Tyree as Dorothy Brandi Smith as Fatima Don Keelan-White as Bill

An original performance to bless our space Post-show Connecting Conversations with other Tri-Faith supporters from Omaha and around the world

3D model of Tri-Faith Commons Sponsors • Finegold Alexander Architects, Inc.

Via YouTube Live and Facebook Live

• Slaggie Architects, Inc.

Tri-Faith Initiative YouTube: YouTube.com/c/TriFaithInitiative

• Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture

Tri-Faith Initiative Facebook: Facebook.com/TriFaithInitiative

• TACK Architects • Morrissey Engineering, Inc.

Registered participants received Zoom links for Connecting Conversations the week of October 12. Can’t find your link?

Email us at info@trifaith.org for technical assistance.

Tri-Faith Initiative

Tri-Faith Initiative is grateful to the staff and creative team at Omaha Magazine for this special issue celebrating the Beacon of Hope that is the Tri-Faith Center.

Beacon of Hope: Tri-Faith Center Virtual Grand Opening · 07

Welcome!

T

ONIGHT WE BLESS OUR NEW INTERFAITH CENTER AND HONOR OUR REMARKABLE journey—past, present, and future. This milestone marks the completion of our mission to create the Tri-Faith Commons by co-locating Temple Israel, Countryside Community Church, and American Muslim Institute with Abraham’s Bridge and the Tri-Faith Center.

Our powerful public example of collaboration will help strengthen our nation’s social fabric and increase our resilience in the face of adversity. We feel a kinship with communities that understand the pain of prejudice and hatred, and the joy of love and belonging.

Our neighborhood brings us together with sacred mystery and beauty. And when we cultivate inclusive spaces to hear each other’s stories, we are on the crest of a social movement. We see you.

We hear you. We want to know you.

There’s positive energy, curiosity, willingness to learn and listen, to taste new food, and make new friends that openness brings a sense of appreciation to our initiative. Tri-Faith honors your integrity and your autonomy. I hope this openness brings a lightness of heart and makes you feel loved, even when you’re having a hard time. Human connection gives us strength.

We can make more of a difference if you join us.

Please do.

Wendy Goldberg, Tri-Faith Executive Director

08 · Welcome from Wendy Goldberg

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Dear Tri-Faith Friends & Partners,

T

HE TRI-FAITH CENTER OPENS tonight as a beacon of hope for preserving and protecting the right of all Americans to practice our faith in freedom and security—a central tenet of our democracy. We are grateful to add you in this effort, as together we make religious inclusiveness an individual, community, and national priority.

where religious diversity is celebrated. We can—no, we must—act now in this time of a great pandemic and social upheaval to be stronger together as friends, as neighbors, and as a nation. Institutions such as Tri-Faith are a way to help heal the fractures in our society by fostering a relationship with God and some empathy, reverence, and always joy.

This Virtual Grand Opening exemplifies TriFaith Initiative’s mission to cultivate inclusive environments to advance interfaith relationships and understanding. I hope you will be inspired by what you read in the magazine, witness in the performance of One More Chair, and share during the Connecting Conversations.

Here are my three requests for you today. Like faith, the first is the hardest:

Thanks to the visionaries—­the funders, founders, and champions who believed the audacious dream of the Tri-Faith Commons was possible.

Thank you to the three partner congregations’ commitment to the initiative and to each other. Thank you to the many board members, volunteers, and staff whose time and attention to detail helped plan this special event. Thank you to the believers, in communities across this land who have supported the effort to convert dreams into bricks and programs.

And thank you for joining us tonight to celebrate our bold experiment. I am honored to serve as the board chair for an organization so dedicated to meeting the needs of its community and serving as a model of a lived life Tri-Faith Initiative

1. Show up on the Tri-Faith Commons.

Get actively engaged.

2. Participate in ensuring our religious freedoms by voting, and become a Tri-Faith Bridge Builder.

3. I’ll borrow from the biblical parable from Matthew I learned as a young Muslim: “Even if our faith is as small ‘as a grain of mustard seed’ we have the ability to move mountains, and nothing will be impossible to us.”

I truly believe that nothing is impossible for you. Dream the next dream with us.

I wish you all love and peace in faith.

Ali S. Khan, MD, MPH, Tri-Faith Board Chair

P.S. Mask On! A letter from Dr. Ali Khan · 09

Congratulations to the Tri-Faith Initiative!

The supporting buildings around the ‘prayer places’ are the walls of a Byzantine fortress, rippling as they guard the inner holy city.

2007 Tri-Faith Master Plan conceptual sketch Option 3: The Distant View

1991 2007 2013 2018

TRI-FAITH CENTER

Architects for Beth El Synagogue Architects for Tri-Faith Concepts Architects for Temple Israel Interfaith Design Architecture Award for Temple Israel

10 · Team Tri-Faith

Omaha, NE

Finegold Alexander + Associates Inc September 11, 2007

Our work has been recognized with over 200 awards for design excellence in 55 years of practice. www.faainc.com

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Team Tri-Faith

Tri-Faith Board Of Directors EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

PAST TRI-FAITH BOARD CHAIRS

BRIDGE BUILDER HONOREES

Dr. Ali Khan, MD, MPH, Chair Rick MacInnes, First Vice Chair Andie Gordman, Second Vice Chair Karim Khayati, Treasurer Dr. Syed Mohiuddin, MD, DSC, Secretary Dr. Maryanne Stevens, RSM, PhD, Immediate Past Chair Rabbi A. Brian Stoller, Clergy Representative Wendy Goldberg, Executive Director (Ex-officio)

Robert Freeman 2006-2015 Dr. Maryanne Stevens 2016-2020 Dr. Ali Khan 2020-present

Robert Freeman, 2018 Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, 2018 The Rev. Canon Tim Anderson, 2018 D. C. “Woody” Bradford III, 2019 Mike Kelly, 2019 Dr. Ferial Pearson, PhD, 2020 Dr. Maryanne Stevens, RSM, PhD 2020

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bob Freeman Lisa Lewis Annette Van de Kamp Rev. Dr. Eric Elnes Trisha Hoffman-Ahrens Mary Fraser Meints Mark Stursma Dr. Hesham Basma Imam Mohamad Jamal Daoudi Farhan Khan Karim Khayati Rabbi Aryeh Azriel Susan A. Buffett Joe Gerstandt Andy Holland Deb McCollister Nuzhat Mahmood Martha “Mart” L. Sedky Dr. Paul A. Williams, PhD

PAST TRI-FAITH BOARD MEMBERS Shakil Ahmed Naser Alsharif The Rev. Canon Tim Anderson Bishop Scott Barker Basma Basma D. C. “Woody” Bradford III Rabbi Josh Brown Bishop Joe Burnett Rabbi Darryl Crystal Brian Gubbels Dr. Salman Haroon Pam Hernandez The Very Rev. Tom Hurley Azhar Kalim Dr. Qamar Khan The Rev. Ernesto Medina Jon Meyers Paul Rabinovitz Sammy Reagan Jan Schneiderman

TRI-FAITH STAFF Wendy Goldberg, Executive Director Erik Servellon, Deputy Director Amanda Ryan, Program Director Jeremy Fricke, Education Director Sierra Salgado Pirigyi, Communications Director Lachelle Rankins, Data and Administrative Coordinator

Photo Credit: Tri-Faith Archives

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Team Tri-Faith · 11

The Tri-Faith story

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G

REAT THINGS COME FROM deceptively simple origins.

Tri-Faith began with an inspired idea that woke attorney Bob Freeman in the middle of the night in 2005. He feverishly outlined this interfaith vision on a legal pad. To help process it, the Temple Israel member took a long walk. He even crossed paths with his faith leader, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel.

But Freeman couldn’t yet share the concept. It was only after working through seven pages of notes that he felt ready.

“A few days later I called Aryeh up and said, ‘OK, let’s get together.

But you’re not going to believe this.’ That was the beginning of it,” Freeman recalls. “From the first day, I had a comprehensive view of what all might take place.

I couldn’t have thought of this on my own, but these ideas were placed in my head. It’s so improbable so much of it was laid out.” ►

STORY BY LEO ADAM BIGA PHOTOS BY ADAM CASEY Tri-Faith Inititave Initiative

The Tri-Faith story · 13

Photo Credit: Apricity

“What we have accomplished required huge efforts from so many people. To solve the many issues and complexities it’s been important to get different people involved because of their expertise –in real estate or religion. Another dozen committees and task forces in between address all kinds of other issues.”

-Bob Freeman, Founding Tri-Faith Board Chair

14 · The Tri-Faith story

◄ The audacious plan excited many.

Others voiced doubts it could reach fruition. His research confirmed what they all suspected: Jews, Christians, and Muslims, despite sharing the Abrahamic tradition, had never purposely built in close proximity—and certainly not as a coordinated, intentional project.

Undaunted, Freeman “went out and recruited” fellow dreamers and doers.

He drafted a Memorandum of Understanding detailing “the very basics we would agree to follow,” adding, “Very clear separateness and autonomy was planned from the start.

What we have accomplished required huge efforts from so many people. To solve the many issues and complexities it’s been important to get different people involved because of their expertise—in real estate or religion.

Another dozen committees and task forces in between address all kinds of other issues.”

The context was Temple’s need to build a new synagogue in West Omaha, where most of its members live.

Freeman envisioned recreating a neighborhood like the one it had at 70th and Cass, with good partners that included a Christian church, ample parking, and attractive landscaping.

“Some of the things we accomplished are really hard,” notes Freeman, who serves on the Tri-Faith board with Azriel. “Just having a synagogue [Temple Israel], a church [Countryside Community Church], and a mosque [American Muslim Institute] all needing a new place, much less agreeing on where to build, was not easy. That still left somehow raising millions for each.

We had different personalities and organizational structures to match up, different timelines in play, plus everybody had a different status quo. Very little was a perfect match.”

Co-locating only happened because these faith groups shared the vision of one site on which to make a community together. Long before worship spaces were built, the founders convened in countless meetings.

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“The goal is nurturing and taking advantage of the co-location to deepen our understanding of other faith traditions and ultimately our own faith and beliefs.”

-Dr. Ali Khan, Tri-Faith Board Chair

Photo Credit: Wendy Goldberg

From seeds grow gardens Seeds for Tri-Faith were planted in the 1990s interfaith work Temple did with churches and the Muslim community, hosting dialogues and presentations to promote understanding. When Omaha Jews and Christians showed solidarity with Muslims in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, deep bonds deepened more.

Tri-Faith Initiative Executive Director and founding board member Wendy Goldberg calls it “valuing presence.” It still goes on: “We show up for each other for life celebrations and life uncertainties. We build trust and that trust bridges differences. The initial step of showing up is what the board did for 15 years, by showing up for our monthly meeting.”

Not everyone embraced the idea. The project could have derailed “if we had allowed ourselves to get discouraged by the dissenting voices and if we did not have the courage of our own convictions,” says founding board member Dr. Syed Mohiuddin. Tri-Faith survived, he says, due to the fortitude of the founding members “to stay with it,” adding, “We had such a strong belief that what we were doing was necessary

Tri-Faith Initiative

and needed to be done and that this was the right thing to do and the right time to do it.”

Tri-Faith was conceived as a beacon of hope, and for eight years the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska represented the Christian light in that lantern. The final composition emerged in 2013 when the Episcopal Diocese asked Countryside Community Church (CCC) to assume the role of Christian partner. CCC agreed, adding its own strong interfaith history.

CCC pastor Rev. Dr. Eric Elnes values the message Tri-Faith sends: “This action puts us on the forefront of waging peace.”

Key to success has been an unyielding focus on micro over macro. “Early on I decided we weren’t going to work on ‘the project’ per se,” Freeman says. “but on relationships—to see if there was a good enough ‘people fit’ to consider the bigger pieces. We maintained a strong focus on the work that needed to be done then, not on how cool the end result could be.”

“We refused to have a timeline,” he says.

“The concept was unprecedented, so why rush? But Tri-Faith leadership was painstakingly aware of what each faith group was doing and coordinated that among the partners. Finding the right site to co-locate on was always going to be a big challenge, and it proved even bigger than expected.”

After much searching, the former Ironwood Golf Course was secured in the Sterling Ridge Development. The co-equal partners of the three congregations and Tri-Faith worked it out.

“Each time we met, we practiced the theory of compounding interest,” Goldberg says, “whereby one little task, one relationship at a time built on the belief that this is possible. All those things guided the leaders in believing this is possible in small relational increments that build on each other.” ►

Letting this experiment take its course organically was vital.

The Tri-Faith story · 15

“We need to move from bricks and mortar to the topics that are part of our soul.”

-Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, Founding Tri-Faith Board Member

◄ People, not buildings At its core, Tri-Faith is about people.

“The entire dream from the beginning was about relationships,” Azriel, now rabbi emeritus, says. “It’s about talking to each other, arguing, hugging, debating each other. It was never the bricks and mortar. The buildings are merely the stuff above the surface.

What’s beneath is what will sustain the enterprise.”

As a result of these intentional bonds, Freeman says, “We have relationships that are really rooted.”

“The goal is nurturing and taking advantage of the co-location to deepen our understanding of other faith traditions and ultimately our own faith and beliefs,” says Board Chair Dr. Ali Khan.

“Relationships change things more than theology,” says Elnes.

The Tri-Faith Commons is a sublime expression of pluralism. Many posit it as a model for others to follow. “Hopefully, these buildings will be rebuilt many times as the philosophy grows out to the world, sharing this lived example with other faith communities regionally, nationally, and globally as an inspiration for their work,” Khan says.

All this from such a humble, intimate start. “We had the first meeting at my house,” recalls Shakil Ahmed. “We explored the possibilities.” Despite “our differences,” he says, “we started with common things,” including a common God, and a love for food and talk.

The next meeting took place at the Benson Branch Library. “We discovered you need a safe, comfortable place for the discussions to ensue,” Azriel says. Now that the Commons is complete, Azriel challenges participants to “roll up their sleeves and get busy with mending the havoc of this problematic world.”

16 · The Tri-Faith story

Dynamic exchanges always animated Tri-Faith. “We had ongoing, sustained dialogues on a variety of topics,” Freeman says.

“When I think about those first meetings,” Tri-Faith Board Treasurer Karim Khayati says, “I remember trying to learn more about the others and their faith traditions, and I’m sure they were doing the same thing. We put ego and all the other stuff aside. Even without buildings, or a common building, we did a lot of education trying to remove biases, working on sharing, teaching, and learning.”

That authentic curiosity and empathy still exist. “We are just people with a shared vision,” Khayati says. “The common denominator is the relationship and trust we’ve built.”

Then “there’s the pragmatism of this thing,” he adds. The three groups lean into each other as neighbors for advice, from landscaping to technology.

Events like Dinner in Abraham’s Tent, the Tri-Faith Picnic, and Crucial Conversations provide opportunities for interaction. Physical features like Abraham’s Bridge, the Tri-Faith Garden and Orchard, and the new Tri-Faith Center invite community.

A real strength, Freeman says, is the “top-notch people we’ve attracted from all three faith groups and the community of Omaha. These leaders have many successes behind them and know how to work with diverse groups on complex projects. Their coordination and communication have been exquisite.” He marvels at “the willingness of so many to work together, unselfishly, for so many years, in pursuit of a big and virtually impossible dream.”

“Everyone knew it was a long shot to end up with a commons,” Freeman says, “but we did.”

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“For me, the most important space is the space outside the buildings. It’s where people can continue meeting each other,” he says. “The buildings should not become a hiding space for the congregations. We need to move from bricks and mortar to the topics that are part of our soul.”

He calls for “meaningful connections that envelop an idea or an issue.” “We need to not only go back to studying and learning about each other,” he adds, “but find other ways to get in touch with the humanity of the other.”

Leaders hope this interfaith synergy “inspires other examples of collaboration for a collective impact,” says Goldberg.

“Ultimately our goal is to make the same impact at a much bigger scale,” Khayati adds. “But that’s going to come with time. We have to be really good at what we do here locally among ourselves, before we pursue bigger aspirations.”

Photo Credit: Scott Griessel, Creatista

“Ultimately our goal is to make the same impact at a much bigger scale.

But that’s going to come with time.”

-Karim Khayati, Tri-Faith Treasurer

“Just to get aligned around a set of values,” posed a challenge, says Khayati.

“It required “compromises to get a winwin-win, which is even more complex, especially when you add the historical, social, cultural threads of each group.

It’s next to impossible. This could be a fictional story, but we made it reality.”

Former Tri-Faith Board Chair Dr. Maryanne Stevens credits “the sheer doggedness of those involved” to make it work.

Tri-Faith Initiative

No time for complacency It’s only right to take pride in what’s been wrought, but Azriel cautions: “We are not there yet. Just having it is not enough.”

Khayati echoes the same: “The work of sustaining and deepening the initiative is ongoing. We have to be smart about our audience and make sure that without compromising our vision, we are adaptable in figuring out ways of sharing our message and creating the best faith-based conversations and relationships between people, regardless of their background and heritage.”

Tri-Faith’s updated strategic mission of cultivating “inclusive environments to advance interfaith relationships and understanding,” he says, “is a living mission.”

Always the rabbi and critical conscience, Azriel encourages Tri-Faith to reside beyond the “comfortable” structures.

“The story of Tri-Faith has not been written yet,” says Azriel, who encourages pushing limits. “We have wonderful leadership. We need to continue dreaming, Once you stop dreaming, everything will become frozen. We need to get more and more people involved, especially youths.”

Lighting and bridging the way Amid pandemic and revolution, Goldberg says Tri-Faith “plays an essential role in nurturing social connection and spiritual wellness, particularly for those most vulnerable and isolated.”

“In many ways, Tri-Faith is settling into its new space and maturing at just the right time,” says Stevens. “Because of the George Floyd murder, people are studying bias and discrimination more.

Bias with regard to religion is as old as religion itself and has been exacerbated by world events. Just as being white in the U.S. carries privilege, so has being Christian, even if in name only.”

“Just like a beacon of light guides the way during storms and turmoil, TriFaith’s beacon of hope serves as a guide for people of faith and non-faith alike,” Tri-Faith Deputy Director Erik Servellon says.

In the long-term, Tri-Faith’s beacon light and bridge-building promise to cross chasms and heal divides.

The Tri-Faith story · 17

Beacon, oasis, bridge

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OME LIKEN TRI-FAITH TO A beacon casting a light of hope and refuge. Others to an oasis formed by wells whose communal waters replenish.

Others see Tri-Faith as a bridge among neighbors, joining people together in social, cultural, and spiritual nourishment.

Holy spaces exist in and around the temple, church, and mosque on the Tri-Faith Commons. The expansive grounds and garden invite further reflection and interaction.

As the physical capstone to the Commons, the new Tri-Faith Center stands as the community space in which congregants and the public convene and connect. This hub for celebration, conversation, and study is at the center of it all.

It represents, too, the culmination of an ambitious building program led by hearts and minds, taking shape in structures.

But why not?

Tri-Faith Initiative board member Andy Holland sees an important milestone in the Center’s opening.

“It’s really thrilling that we’ve actually come to the place where we’ve got all the buildings in place and we can continue to build bonds of acceptance,” she says.

Fellow board member Susie Buffett sees it as an example of the city’s can-do Midwest ethos to collectively tackle challenging projects for the greater good: “It was definitely a long, hard job to get all this together and make it happen, with some definite bumps on the road. But we get a lot of things done in Omaha.”

“Nobody from the coasts would expect a project like this to happen here. But why not? I think Omaha is a very surprising and special place. We have a lot of really exceptional, intelligent and forwardthinking people here.”

-Andy Holland, Tri-Faith Board Member

For Holland and Buffett, who’ve seen this project flower from a concept many thought unachievable to a reality, there’s pride in this internationally acclaimed experiment blossoming here.

STORY BY LEO ADAM BIGA PHOTOS BY ADAM CASEY 18 · Beacon, oasis, bridge

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“It’s really thrilling that we’ve actually come to the place where we’ve got all the buildings in place and we can continue to try to build bonds of acceptance.”

-Andy Holland, Tri-Faith Board Member

“Nobody from the coasts would expect a project like this to happen here,” Holland says. “But why not? Omaha is a very surprising and special place.

We have a lot of really exceptional, intelligent, and forward-thinking people here.”

Not to mention Nebraska hospitality and an Omaha interfaith track record that’s been recognized by the national Pluralism Project.

“Omaha seems to me to be the perfect place for something like this,” Holland says.

Buffett takes satisfaction in the fact that diverse segments of the community came together to do something that outsiders “thought we couldn’t pull off here.” She and Holland rate Tri-Faith among Nebraska’s signature treasures, and perhaps someday one of its prime attractions.

Ever creating it Executive Director Wendy Goldberg notes the new multipurpose center is emblematic of this interfaith mission. The building at once serves as a welcome center, conference facility, educational and research site, and hub for collaboration and interaction.

Tri-Faith Initiative

“We are committed to a model, resource, and trainer of best practices for successful interfaith collaboration,” Goldberg says.

For Bob Freeman, a central player in Tri-Faith’s origin, experiencing the Center is emotional.

“It literally brings tears to my eyes to walk through it and to see it and to feel it,” he says. “To be able to look out the west windows and see there is a really viable, active church over there on the right and across the creek, a big Jewish temple, and over here on the left a vibrant mosque. Each of them doing all the things they hoped to do and should be doing in serving congregants and constituents of their own faith.”

“And now we have this fourth building,” he continues. “While members and visitors will always be able to take the pathway or Abraham’s Bridge to meet up with one another at each other’s places of worship, we now have this fourth place. It’s a crossover space where not only members of the three faith groups can meet up, but a welcome, safe spot for people from the outside who want to learn about TriFaith, the history of it, and what’s going on today. It’s also a place to come to for all kinds of events and occasions.”

“The Center really demonstrates we’re all here as one,” says Buffett. “It ties it all together.”

Though there is solidity in the buildings, Tri-Faith is not a fixed thing. It lives, breathes, and evolves with the people participating in it.

“Even with the completion of the Commons, we’re going to be continuing to create what Tri-Faith Initiative and the Tri-Faith Center will be about,” Holland says. “What we have are buildings, and now the fun begins. We need to continue to explore how we can create more bonds.”

She says, “we’re ever creating it” in the relationships, old and new, that develop.

Buffett sums it up: “It’s the end of putting up the buildings, but it’s the beginning now of the real work.”

Holland emphasizes that the Commons, with its bridge and pathway, orchard and garden, worship spaces, and now the Tri-Faith Center, is to be experienced. She and other leaders of this enterprise hope that someone sampling an aspect of Tri-Faith, whether a physical feature or a worship service or an educational program or a celebration, may then take a next step. And next after that, perhaps getting involved as a volunteer or donor. ► Beacon, oasis, bridge · 19

Photo Credit: Adam Casey

“The center itself is a microcosm for bringing people together to deal with issues critically important today. The Center welcomes people of all faiths and is a model for peaceful co-existence that builds on America’s promise of religious freedom and our desire for understanding.”

-Wendy Goldberg, Executive Director

◄ It’s also a place for breaking down barriers, dispelling myths, overturning stereotypes, and broadening horizons.

“The Center itself is a microcosm for bringing people together to deal with issues critically important today,” Goldberg says. “It welcomes people of all faiths and is a model for peaceful co-existence that builds on America’s promise of religious freedom and our desire for understanding. We hope for it to become a place where people from throughout the country come to study and interact.”

20 · Beacon, oasis, bridge

The Center includes informal meeting and common spaces. As a nod to the shared Abrahamic heritage and its historical desert dwellings, tent-like spaces will host dinners, performances, talks, and other multi-faith gatherings.

Goldberg notes the space makes an ideal retreat site with calm interiors, a great lawn, plus easy access to the Commons, conducive to contemplation.

“It’s a beautiful setting. The bridge is beautiful and symbolic. The Tri-Faith Center looks great,” adds Buffett.

Rooms equipped with advanced information and communication technologies can support permanent and traveling multimedia displays. Built-in, enhanced broadband internet supports electronic and remote learning, whose importance in connecting people has been revealed in the pandemic.

Other features include office nooks for programming and administrative staff, a digital research library and archives, a commercial-grade catering kitchen, and education-centered spaces.

Intended to be a community-wide asset, the Tri-Faith Center is available as a rental venue for weddings, parties, meetings, conferences, fundraisers, panels, or charity gatherings.

“It is the end of putting up the buildings, but it’s the beginning now of the real work.”

-Susie Buffett, Tri-Faith Board Member

Looking ahead With the Center capping the Commons build-out, Freeman says it’s time to bask in the accomplishment, while also looking ahead.

“We have fulfilled the first and second visions we had—to coordinate among the three faiths, and if successful in building proximate church-synagogue-mosque, to raise money for and build an interfaith center. Now we have restated our mission for going forward, with Tri-Faith Initiative acting as a facilitator in many respects and independently in a few. Omaha can be very proud of what we now have here and the impacts that it will have for a long time, over a very broad range.”

Goldberg reminds everyone “how grateful we should all be to come together on such an occasion, marking the completion of our mission to co-locate,” but that the work of “forming lifelong friendships with people of other faiths and appreciating the value of us coming together as a community” continues. trifaith.org

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Beacon, oasis, bridge ¡ 21

Designing the dream

F

INDING THE RIGHT SITE TO plant an unprecedented interfaith commons took years.

Once secured, the former Ironwood Golf Course and Country Club property would provide the desired West Omaha location, plentiful land, pastoral setting, and conducive neighbors for co-locating a synagogue, church, mosque, and interfaith center. But it was a journey.

“We probably looked at 15 different sites,” recalls John Waldbaum, who headed the Tri-Faith Site Committee.

There were detours and dead ends. A large tract gifted to Temple proved a poor fit due to railroad tracks running along one boundary line and a heavy flow of commercial truck traffic.

STORY BY LEO ADAM BIGA PHOTOS BY ADAM CASEY 22 · Designing the dream

Temple returned ownership of the land to the donor. The Boys Town Farm once seemed a promising location. A complete master plan was even drawn up for its reuse, but the Boys Town board decided not to sell at that time.

“Through this whole process we were watching all the sites that were available or that could be available,” Waldbaum says.

Members were aware the Ironwood operation was on shaky ground. “When the time was right we were there,” Waldbaum says. When the site was purchased by another party at auction, Waldbaum negotiated a deal to make it Tri-Faith’s home. “We ended up buying 38 acres and did four simultaneous closings. The Commons is made up of the individual parcels each congregation owns and a parcel Tri-Faith Initiative owns.”

“We ended up buying 38 acres and did four simultaneous closings.

The Commons is made up of the individual parcels each congregation owns and a parcel Tri-Faith Initiative owns.”

-John Waldbaum, Tri-Faith Site Committee Chair

trifaith.org

Spaces of cohesion and distinction After finding the right common ground, next came architectural firms designing each of the structures on the Commons—Temple Israel Synagogue, the American Muslim Institute, Countryside Community Church, Abraham’s Bridge, and the Tri-Faith Center. The goal: creating a cohesive commons from distinct parts.

Intersecting the site is an eight-acre watershed conservation area supervised by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “We got special permission to put the bridge across Hell Creek,” says Waldbaum.

Early conceptual drawings considered many possibilities for the Commons.

One envisioned a single large building housing each of the faith groups. That plan was rejected in order to preserve the autonomy of each congregation.

Tri-Faith Initiative

Structures imbued with individual and collective character As Temple Israel constructed the synagogue first, some of its design elements influenced later Commons development.

Finegold Alexander Architects of Boston designed Temple Israel, mindful of the Commons having a cohesive look and feel. “Wishing the whole to speak to each other, we suggested common materials, a common approach to open space planning for parking, for site lighting and graphics, and certainly to sustainability. We had the opportunity to establish and realize many of these overall principles,” Principal Maurice Finegold says.

Integral to its identity as a Jewish temple, he says, “The sanctuary is sheathed in Jerusalem stone while its top is translucent, being a beacon. A band of clear glass with Hebrew text clearly identifies this as a synagogue.

In addition to dedicated spaces for traditional-historical functions of prayer,

study, and assembly, there’s a ‘public square’ for meeting and greeting, easy wayfinding, and receptions.”

HGA Architects & Engineers from Minneapolis, in collaboration with local architects at Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture (APMA), designed Countryside Community Church to “feel like encircled arms, as a visual representation of its desire to be an inclusive, open and affirming family of faith,” APMA Senior Interior Designer Nancy Novak says. “Oversized glass panels allow for natural light, bring the outside in and reaffirm the church’s openness to community. Natural materials like clay, wood, and slate represent proverbial gifts of the earth. Sacred spaces feature wood panel styles that add warmth.” ►

Designing the dream · 23

Photo Credit: Tri-Faith Archives

“The very orientation of the building was designed to look out across the Commons, to the other two houses of worship and the shared spaces beyond.”

-Todd Moeller, APMA Architect-Partner

◄ “The design took cues from these architectural materials to complement and enhance the overall commons vernacular,” APMA architect-partner Todd Moeller says. “The very orientation of the building was designed to look out across the Commons, to the other two houses of worship and the shared spaces beyond.”

Omaha and Kansas City-based Slaggie Architects designed the American Muslim Institute. The firm’s Omaha Director, Patrick Morgan, notes the AMI exterior “draws from the materials palette and scale of its neighbors.” Morgan adds, “A domed skylight, contemporary minaret, and graceful, swooping roofline reinterpret traditional mosque forms in a Midwestern vernacular. The intricate lattice work at the upper levels echoes the traditional mashrabiya element of Arabic architecture.”

“The building is positioned specifically so that as you walk in you face Kaaba in Mecca. All gathering spaces are aligned so that the other faith buildings are visible.”

HGA Landscape along with Ten x Ten of Minneapolis designed the master landscape plan for the Commons

24 · Designing the dream

and Omaha-based Olsson designed Abraham’s Bridge, which connects the buildings and encourages community.

Landscape architect Doug Halvorson came up with the circular design the board members fell in love with. “It’s the epitome of spirituality. It’s clean, never ending, never beginning. And it ties everything together in a perfect way,” Halvorson says.

Finegold appreciates how this structural focus of “a circular walk reaches out to ‘touch’ each of the buildings.” To make the bridge inviting, Olsson engineer Adam Christensen says, “weathering steel and wood were used to give it a rustic, less polished feel.”

Tri-Faith Executive Director Wendy Goldberg says the bridge sees much activity: “The congregational partners and neighbors use the bridge daily to move between the buildings.

Neighbors didn’t have access to this land when it was a golf course, and now they bring their bikes and strollers to use the walkway. That’s the beautiful part because we want Tri-Faith to be accessible to our neighbors. We’re part of the fabric of the neighborhood, and the bridge is a beautiful asset that connects everyone.” trifaith.org

Early concept drawing courtesy of Finegold Alexander Architects

“Very early on there were just some sketches, and we had to figure out budgets and put things together to make it all a reality.”

-Matt Herzog, Project Advocate Principal

TACK Architects of Omaha designed the final piece of the Commons, the Tri-Faith Center, whose materials also echo those of its neighbors. “Three massive stone walls representing the three Abrahamic faiths of the Commons combine and overlap to anchor a façade that implies strength, solidity, and permanence, with slots between each to allow light inside,” says TACK Architectural Associate Jeff Davis.

An open floor plan invites many different uses. A stepped gathering space links the upper and lower levels.

“A multifaceted white ceiling radiates from a central column and is a playful reference to the nomadic tents of Abraham,” Davis says. “The tensile-like composition serves as one of many design elements aimed at balancing the juxtaposition of antiquity and modernity. Projecting eastward from the upper level is a room for quiet reflection, cantilevered out over the great lawn toward the bridge.”

The Center offers unobstructed views of the three houses of worship.

Tri-Faith Initiative

Once designed, Vrana Construction of Omaha built Temple Israel, Countryside Community Church, and the Tri-Faith Center. JE Dunn built the American Muslim Institute, and Hawkins built Abraham’s Bridge.

All for one, and one for all As the Commons came together, the four partners abided by a working agreement, facilitated by Project Advocates.

“Very early on there were just some sketches, and we had to figure out budgets and put things together to make it all a reality,” says Project Advocates Principal Matt Herzog.

“There was a period where we didn’t have anything on paper and the congregations did things a little differently—raised funds differently, got approvals differently,” Waldbaum says. “We had to have a lot of faith everybody would do what was reasonable—and they did. It has worked out well. It’s taken us a long time to get to it because it’s more complicated than just the congregations and Tri-Faith owning a parcel of ground somewhere.

We’ve got to share maintenance of the grounds. We’ve learned how to communicate on an administrative level, in addition to the religious and social justice kinds of things. And I think that makes us closer.”

Maurice Finegold echoes his colleagues in Boston and Omaha, admiring the Tri-Faith Commons as a physical manifestation of this interfaith experiment: “We and the other architects have spoken, shared thoughts and presented the whole at an architectural conference. It is so very pleasing to see the individual interpretation of each faith expressed in form and the common language we espoused incorporated.”

“This is a once in a lifetime project, and we have been blessed to be part of it,” Patrick Morgan of Slaggie Architects says.

“At a time when the world can feel very divisive, it was particularly rewarding to work on a project designed to bring people together through sharing ideas and spaces,” says APMA’s Nancy Novak.

Designing the dream · 25

Commemorating what’s been, welcoming what’s next This commingling of faith groups is unprecedented, anywhere in the world.

“It’s not an accident it’s never been done before.”

-Bob Freeman, Tri-Faith Founding Board Chair

C

ELEBRATION FOLLOWS A major accomplishment. And few feats compare with Tri-Faith realizing its founding mission: co-locating a synagogue, a church, a mosque, and an interfaith center.

This commingling of faith groups is unprecedented, anywhere in the world.

“It’s not an accident it’s never been done before,” says Bob Freeman, whose provocative idea to try it anyway led to the formation of Tri-Faith Initiative.

“It’s so difficult, so seemingly improbable,” he says.

Yet Temple Israel, Countryside Community Church, and the American Muslim Institute are neighbors today.

STORY BY LEO ADAM BIGA PHOTOS BY SCOTT GRIESSEL, CREATISTA 26 · Commemorating what’s been, welcoming what’s next

Disagreements cropped up from time to time, but a tacit pact to agree to disagree in a spirit of mutual respect smoothed over differences. “What really helped see the project through,” says Tri-Faith Board Chair Dr. Ali Khan, was simply “a commitment by the three congregations to make it work.”

On the path to building the Tri-Faith Commons, Freeman saw people of different backgrounds put egos aside in the preservation of the friendships underlying it all: “Everyone knew it was a long shot to end up with a shared commons, but the effort and the relationships and experiences everyone had along the way made it worth the effort. Collaboration, selflessness, vision, hard work—all have been present in large doses throughout our history. It really made for a strong base.”

trifaith.org

“What really helped see the project through was simply ‘a commitment by the three congregations to make it work.’”

-Dr. Ali Khan, Tri-Faith Board Chair

A celebration like no other With the daring dream of a shared interfaith commons now complete, a Virtual Grand Opening celebration marks the occasion. There’s much to celebrate, including the new Tri-Faith Center standing as a beacon of hope and safe haven for dialogue, prayer, and friendship-building, “We’re celebrating all that has been accomplished—all the funders and founders and friends who have made this dream a reality. But also, and perhaps more importantly, we’re looking forward to all that is yet to be known about what we’ll accomplish through this model of coming together,” says Tri-Faith Executive Director Wendy Goldberg.

Tri-Faith Initiative

“We commissioned Omaha playwright Beaufield Berry and Omaha filmmaker Tessa Wedberg to create an original performance piece that blesses TriFaith as a place where people study, gather and interact. The performance piece also acts as a ritual to make us feel connected to each other as we celebrate past, present, and future. It also sets the tone for our transition from a focus on bricks and mortar to a focus on creating inclusive environments and lasting relationships.”

Berry’s script for the grand opening play, One More Chair, and Wedberg’s visual production of it draw from a series of Zoom meetings the pair conducted with staff, clergy, and congregants.

“Conceived as a pandemic-era play, One More Chair is a comedy with heart and history exploring the depths and differences of our human village. The play will ignite your senses and invite you to a party where strangers gather and form unexpected relationships and bonds,” says Berry, whose Red Summer sold out the Blue Barn Theatre last year.

Taking a cue from the way folks gather in families, she says, characters “discuss their past and present while writing the future with every excited proclamation, botched joke, song, and prayer they share.” Adds Berry, “Through traditions

and commitments, conversations and conflicts, they discover what it means to be a neighbor and to go home to ourselves and each other.”

Voices from the community For the Zoom listening sessions, Goldberg invited diverse Tri-Faith participants to share their stories.

Hesham Basma shared that he was initially “really hesitant to join” TriFaith: “I took my time, I thought about it. Until I came to the point that this is really a dream” he wanted to participate in.

Deena Keilany says, “My participation with Tri-Faith is part of who I am. Because I grew up in a family that always taught that being Muslim means being a part of this one faith with all of our Christian and Jewish brothers and sisters, it was obvious to me I wanted to be a part of this. My goal is to participate in grand social justice movements, and this is maybe more of a quiet and subtle way to do that. I think unity is a form of protest.” ►

Commemorating what’s been, welcoming what’s next · 27

“I know from experience Omaha is a great incubator for ideas. It’s just daunting trying to put three faith groups together—Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

We worked through all of those issues. It was very complex, it was challenging, it was a lot of fun. And, hey, here we are.”

-Bob Freeman, Tri-Faith Founding Board Chair

◄ Countryside Community Church Moderator Russ Schertz, who served on the church’s relocation committee, said, “We talked to the architects about windows strategically placed where we could sit in our pews and look out at that grand scene [that includes] a Jewish synagogue and Muslim mosque.

That was quite a moment for me to realize the scope of what we’re doing and how rare it is in society. That’s where I really started getting excited about Tri-Faith.”

Naema Alalwachi has remained in Nebraska to be active with Tri-Faith, while her husband finishes a residency in New York. “I’m in love with Nebraska and the idea of Tri-Faith,” she shares.

“I’m feeling this is not my time to move now. I’m doing something different in my life. I just need to finish my message, whatever the message is, before going. I feel they need me and I need them, too. I’m learning. We are learning from each other. We need to listen to each other, learn about each other, and care about each other.”

Through participation in various TriFaith gatherings, Kyle Knapp said he and his wife Gail “have established some wonderful friendships with families from all three congregations,” as well as pushback from acquaintances opposed to the idea.

A synergy for change As a founder, Bob Freeman takes pride in the dream coming together here, of all places.

“I know from experience Omaha is a great incubator for ideas,” he says. “It’s just daunting trying to put three faith groups together—Jews, Christians, and Muslims. We worked through all of those issues. It was very complex, it was challenging, it was a lot of fun.

And, hey, here we are.”

Freeman’s confident Tri-Faith will flourish as new people take up its work: “I really feel good about passing the baton to other people and letting the next group now have ownership of whatever is going to come next.”

Others shared how their resolve to be part of the solution rather than the problem helped them stand up to resistance and criticism they faced for participating.

Wendy Goldberg sees this celebration as a show of solidarity for anyone committed to peace, love, and unity in a time of conflict, hate, and division. The theme Beacon of Hope and the title One More Chair speak truth to power.

For Mary Bernstein, it’s all about communing with others: “I care deeply about Tri-Faith. It’s so very, very important for us to learn to accept other people, to understand our differences, to embrace one another, to work together. We need so much more of that now in the world.”

“Our time is certainly calling us to come together, to lean on something bigger than us,” she says. “And I hope this performance inspires us and opens hearts and minds to participate in this work moving forward, and to join the cause of reconciliation.”

Connie Ware says she’s never felt “such connectedness” as when she engages through Tri-Faith.

28 · Commemorating what’s been, welcoming what’s next

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xxX · 29

The Tri-Faith Garden and Orchard, where volunteers from each faith group and the broader community work together to plant, till, weed, and pick— feeding both bodies and spirits.

30 ¡ Xxxx

trifaith.org

Hearts and hands join in the Tri-Faith Garden and Orchard

S

OWING AND REAPING ARE historically communal activities.

Planting and cultivating together makes good sense, because collective effort yields more. Its food and fellowship sustain the community.

Tri-Faith’s 38-acre Commons features hands-on opportunities for members of its partner congregations to put community into action. This is perhaps most obvious in the Tri-Faith Garden and Orchard, where volunteers from each faith group and the broader community work together to plant, till, weed, and pick—feeding both bodies and spirits.

The activity honors the traditional role harvest and bounty play in ceremonies and celebrations of the three Abrahamic faiths. It also demonstrates Tri-Faith’s mission in action, as people from diverse backgrounds labor in the soil of common ground.

Together they share its bounty and engage in conversation and community across differences.

Tri-Faith Program Director Amanda Ryan often hears testimonies from participants about what the experience means to them.

“They feel more personally invested where they live, with a sense of shared ownership and cooperative spirit, through working in the garden and orchard.”

-Amanda Ryan, Tri-Faith Program Director

“They feel more personally invested where they live, with a sense of shared ownership and cooperative spirit, through working in the garden and orchard,” says Ryan. “Neighbors also learn together about where food comes from and gain basic knowledge of environmental issues, work skills, and business principles.”

Tri-Faith board member and garden volunteer Deb McCollister describes “the joy of sharing stories and family histories while planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting with new friends from each of the three faith communities.”

Growing for the greater good This practical “Eden” sprang out of a social justice initiative to address food insecurity and a call for environmental stewardship.

“A small group of volunteers dreamed of a garden as a doable social justice activity to share fresh produce with the Countryside Community Church Community Cupboard,” recalls McCollister. “With a grant, invaluable assistance from The Big Garden, the generosity of Temple Israel designating property for the garden, and Sterling Ridge designating property for the orchard, we were off. Year one, we built eight raised beds and planted apple, peach, and pear trees. Several members established relationships with community pantry programs.” Giving Grove also assisted the orchard project.

Fresh produce from the Tri-Faith harvest goes to the Intercultural Senior Center, the food pantry at Clair Memorial United Methodist Church, Chabad House, and Benson Plant and Food Rescue.

“We know hungry families count on us, and we’re rewarded with new and deepening friendships,” McCollister says.

“In the fertile soil of the Tri-Faith venture, we’ve more than doubled our garden space and numbers of volunteers.”

“I love where our orchard is, what it is, and what it will be. It’s brought our community closer, grown relationships ,and fostered cooperation across faith groups.”

-Kathryn Beauchaine, Tri-Faith Volunteer

“We have started to know by name some people in the groups we donate to,” volunteer Bonni Leiserowitz says.

“We want the food we donate to be healthy and beautiful. We want those that receive the food to know there are others that send love through that donation.”

The garden also supplies ingredients for community gatherings on the Commons, such as the Tri-Faith Picnic, and will do the same for Tri-Faith Center events once the pandemic ends.

Besides providing farm-to-table food full of nutrients, Ryan says, the garden and orchard offer “a peaceful retreat.”

Volunteer Kathryn Beauchaine finds solace and inspiration in the orchard, whose larger mission of cultivating unity, enriching the environment, and educating people speaks to her: “I love where our orchard is, what it is, and what it will be. It’s brought our community closer, grown relationships, and fostered cooperation across faith groups. Its many pollinator plantings and grasses enhance the lovely setting.

It also gives us a new appreciation of and respect for fruit and fruit production. We are learning a great deal about how to care for the trees, watering and nutrition needs, and pests. We are learning to practice patience. Fruit production is a slow dance.” ►

STORY BY LEO ADAM BIGA PHOTOS BY ILENE ARNOLD Tri-Faith Initiative

Hearts and hands join in the Tri-Faith Garden and Orchard · 31

“People that drop by and ask questions have gotten to know us by just being on the Commons walking the bridge.”

-Bonni Leiserowitz, Tri-Faith Volunteer

◄ The endeavor is part of a larger environmental asset—a restored natural conservancy area governed and protected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—that runs through the Commons. A creek, small ponds, and natural wild growth are accessible by a circular walking bridge suspended over a boardwalk, connecting the three houses of worship and the Tri-Faith Center. Signage on the pathway educates visitors about Tri-Faith’s mission and the site’s natural habitat.

Nature is an apt setting for Tri-Faith’s bridge-building tenets to prosper.

“Rabbi Aryeh Azriel has said the work of Tri-Faith will happen outside the buildings. We are there each season learning and sharing,” says Leiserowitz.

Garden companions Volunteers become garden companions over seasons working together.

“The Tri-Faith Garden and Orchard has planted a seed that has grown inside me, nourished by newly formed friendships that have blossomed in a celebration of our similarities and differences,” says volunteer Ilene Arnold.

“I enjoy helping with the orchard and garden,” volunteer Maryam Amini says.

“I think the garden is going very well and the orchard will be a great success in the near future. It is very meaningful and rewarding for me volunteering for Tri-Faith, because I know what we do there is to help our Omaha community.”

Leiserowitz sees the experience as “a layered thing.” “We want to share the garden and orchard with others.

Not just produce. Each time we are together, we learn. The garden and orchard are our teachers. The volunteers feel connected to the space, to each other, and to the places and people that receive the produce. We have become connected and part of a bigger process.”

The activity, she says, encourages interaction: “People that drop by and ask questions have gotten to know us by just being on the Commons walking the bridge. Sometimes people stop

32 · Hearts and hands join in the Tri-Faith Garden and Orchard

because their kids have questions.

Some of our friends come out to the garden just to talk.”

Some Tri-Faith gardeners carry this social contract well beyond the Commons. Jen Scranton and Kathryn Beauchaine have helped plan and facilitate a large garden on the Clair Memorial United Methodist Church site in North Omaha. Ilene Arnold from Tri-Faith pitches in there, too.

“Clair gives me a direct connection to the community. It’s much more than a garden. It’s education, it’s nutrition, it’s neighborhood beautification, it’s food justice, social justice, racial justice,” Scranton says. “We grow specifically what they request in order to closely reflect what the neighborhood needs.”

In this fall season, the garden is being put to bed and the orchard is being mulched for the fall-winter freeze. But Tri-Faith is actively planning for next year’s sowing. When spring rolls around, it will be time again to prepare the land.

Garden companions will be needed.

Tri-Faith invites anyone with a passion for growing things—relationships, herbs, fruits, and vegetables—to learn more and get involved.

Contact Amanda Ryan at alryan@trifaith. org and visit trifaith.org/garden-volunteer on the website. trifaith.org

CONGRATULATIONS

to the Tri-Faith Initiative on the opening of the Tri-Faith Center.

THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA IS PROUD TO SUPPORT YOUR EFFORTS FOR THE BETTERMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY.

The Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska The Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska sends its blessing and pledges its continued support of the Tri-Faith Initiative and its programming. We give thanks for completion of this part of the interfaith vision of dialog, peace and faithful respect for our Abrahamic faith groups, and congratulate all those whose efforts have made this moment possible.

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Hearts and hands join in the Tri-Faith Garden and Orchard · 33

34 · Learning—and unlearning—for mutual respect

trifaith.org

Learning—and unlearning —for mutual respect

T

RI-FAITH PROMOTES INTERfaith dialogue through programs that help frame conversations on religion, diversity, and inclusion.

Here, education is about both learning acceptance and unlearning false narratives.

“Tri-Faith’s core programs build relationships among the members of our three partner congregations, community partners, and neighbors throughout our country,” Program Director Amanda Ryan says. “They foster a warm, inviting environment for all who participate.

They bring together community members to discuss the difficult aspects of religion. These conversations are essential for bringing our community together by cultivating empathy and understanding, as well as celebrating the identities that make us who we are.”

Education Director Jeremy Fricke describes how Tri-Faith introduces participants to information that sparks robust discussions that ultimately dispel prejudices: “Our goal with education at Tri-Faith Initiative is to promote religious literacy and develop strategies to make the world more inclusive for religious diversity. With a focus on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, we learn together about the world’s religions as well as the histories and ideas of our own.”

“Tri-Faith answered questions that I’ve had for years and gave me a feeling of connection beyond anything that I’ve ever had to the church.”

Making difference familiar

Tri-Faith facilitates three core educational programs:

Temple Israel and Tri-Faith members Kyle and Gail Knapp are familiar faces at many of these interfaith experiences.

ABRAHAM’S WHITEBOARD

“We especially enjoy the More Than a Joke panel discussions in which leaders from the three congregations kibitz at a local restaurant,” Kyle Knapp says. “We also enjoy the annual picnic and Taste of Tri-Faith potlucks.”

This monthly evening class on the world’s religions and religious ideas bring together a diverse audience to learn together about ourselves and others.

The couple also finds special meaning in Neighbor to Neighbor, which matches families from the different congregations to meet together for a meal in one of their homes. “We’ve had good times, great conversations, and great food through that program,” Knapp says.

MAKING THE FAMILIAR STRANGE A monthly study of Abrahamic scriptures invites attendees to see familiar scriptural stories from new points of view, through interfaith discussion.

RELIGIOUS OTHER INCLUSION A system of workshops and resources designed for workplaces to promote inclusion of those with different religious backgrounds.

“Additionally, we invite a variety of educational speakers to discuss more specialized topics,” Fricke says. Community-building programs include Taste of Tri-Faith, Picnic on the Commons, Crucial Conversations, Making the Familiar Strange, More Than a Joke, and Neighbor to Neighbor.

He and his wife hosted a session whose participants included a Syrian refugee family with five young children: “The family spoke little English, so another family from the mosque came along to translate. The children lost their shyness quickly when we showed them our grandchildren’s toy room. The evening filled our home and our hearts with laughter and joy. Our Syrian guests brought a generous quantity of food I didn’t recognize but proved delicious.

A platter of homemade baklava was so big, I brought leftovers to share at work the next day.”

As the pandemic has moved Tri-Faith’s in-person programs to virtual spaces, the Knapps and others are now engaging with old friends and making new ones online. “There are some great Tri-Faith programs happening on Zoom,” Knapp says.

Countryside member Connie Ware shares, “Tri-Faith answered questions that I’ve had for years and gave me a feeling of connection beyond anything that I’ve ever had to the church.” ►

-Connie Ware, Countryside member

STORY BY LEO ADAM BIGA PHOTOS BY TRI-FAITH ARCHIVES Tri-Faith Initiative

Learning—and unlearning—for mutual respect · 35

CONGRATS! DEDICATION CELEBRATION TRI-FAITH CENTER

2020

Colliers International is thrilled to congratulate the Tri-Faith Initiative on bringing to the world this unique and ambitious, first-of-its-kind inclusive interfaith center.

Your accomplishment is truly astounding! +1 402 345 5866 colliers.com/omaha

36 · Learning—and unlearning—for mutual respect

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“The best part about TriFaith is that we put two things outside the door— politics and religion. We meet with everybody on the basis that people are human beings. We are not trying to fight with each other—instead, we love each other.”

-Hesha Basma, AMI and Tri-Faith Board Member

◄ Ben Mazur, Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Israel notes, “We have a more diverse friend group than I think we would have had without our Tri-Faith connection and just being able to be around different people from different backgrounds is meaningful.”

“The best part about Tri-Faith is that we put two things outside the door— politics and religion. We meet with everybody on the basis that people are human beings. We are not trying to fight with each other—instead, we love each other,” shares Hesha Basma, AMI and Tri-Faith board member.

Helping hands, open hearts Volunteers with Tri-Faith help make things happen. They serve on program committees that conceive and plan events, as hospitality hosts who meet and greet visitors, and as logistics and set-up support.

Tri-Faith Initiative staff work with a cross-section of organizations to create and facilitate events.

“We collaborate with the three partner congregations, as well as with other faith partners such as the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska, the Catholic Diocese, and area clergy from a number of traditions,” Amanda Ryan says. “We also collaborate with educational institutions (Joslyn Art Museum, Inclusive Communities, ADL, UNO, Creighton University), local community groups, and a growing list of national organizations.”

Tri-Faith and its partners feed our hunger to know more about The Other.

Education provides one path to building bridges among neighbors, co-workers, Facebook friends, and former strangers. All that’s required to feed your curiosity is to register for a program.

Participation is free, and there’s no pressure to share or speak. The discoveries and bonds that follow are up to each participant.

CONGRATULATIONS! Congratulations on the opening of the Tri-Faith Center and the fulfillment of a dream come true.

Vic Gutman & Associates is honored and grateful to have had a role in bringing this one-of-a-kind project to reality!

Shalom • Salaam • Peace

All Tri-Faith asks is that we each pay it forward.

Temple Israel Cantor and Tri-Faith champion Joanna Alexander says that “even with all we are doing, the work has really just begun.” Even in her own experience engaging this way, she says, “Each class, meeting, or gathering renews and rebuilds my faith in human partnership, the humanity of us all, and my mission to be a partner with God in creating repairs in our world.”

“I think people who leave the Commons after doing something there feel better because they see what’s possible,” Temple Israel President and Tri-Faith board member Dan Gilbert says. “Most of those people are local in our region.

There’s a network effect of positive feelings and vibes that benefit us all, and I think that in itself is an important contribution to our community.”

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Learning—and unlearning—for mutual respect · 37

The difference Tri-Faith makes in peoples’ lives “Tri-Faith is an unprecedented model for religious pluralism in every sense, with the core purpose to show the world that active engagement, cooperation, and collaboration between faiths is not only conceivable—but attainable.”

-Rick MacInnes, Tri-Faith First Vice Chair

STORY BY LEO ADAM BIGA PHOTOS BY SCOTT GRIESSEL, CREATISTA 38 · The difference Tri-Faith makes in peoples’ lives

T

RI-FAITH STANDS OUT FOR attempting what’s never been done before, bringing three faith groups together on a shared site to be partners and neighbors. From the outset, the idealistic venture’s been met with mostly enthusiasm, along with healthy doses of skepticism and even overt resistance.

In the face of steep odds few thought could be overcome, Tri-Faith has moved from unlikely hope to lived reality. The outcomes to date include many interfaith friendships and a common ground where a synagogue, church, mosque, and interfaith center stand in close proximity to each other.

Future outcomes are yet to be revealed.

But no one can dispute that years of dialogue and dreaming built relationships that became the cornerstone for neighboring places of worship and the newly opened Tri-Faith Center. trifaith.org

Beyond the bonds and bricks, no one knows yet the full impact of what has transpired over the 15 years it took to get this far—much less what this experiment will produce a generation from now.

“Tri-Faith is an unprecedented model for religious pluralism in every sense of the definition,” says First Vice Chair Rick MacInnes. “With the core purpose to show the world that active engagement, cooperation, and collaboration between faiths is not only conceivable— but attainable.”

“The success of Tri-Faith Initiative’s next chapter rests on the shoulders of this generation to impact our children’s and grandchildren’s generation,” says Executive Director Wendy Goldberg.

“In the midst of all the uncertainty and unrest, violence, and pain, we are called to respond. And we are hopeful that people will feel invited in to not only participate in programming but to help us dream about how best to meet the needs of our society and the opportunity to change.”

Assessing Tri-Faith’s impact

Photo Credit: Apricity

“At its heart, Tri-Faith is a celebration of being different, starting with the three Abrahamic faiths, where there is no other but a common bond in God.” -Dr. Ali Khan, Tri-Faith Board Chair

“At its heart, Tri-Faith is a celebration of being different, starting with the three Abrahamic faiths, where there is no other but a common bond in God,” according to Tri-Faith Initiative Board Chair Dr. Ali Khan. “Tri-Faith will continue to work within our three congregations, but also outward in communities to help show the role of faith in achieving social justice and ensure that faith is a bridge between people wherever they work, play, learn, and live.”

Tri-Faith Initiative

Following the grand opening marking completion of the Commons, stakeholders will be asked to complete a survey to measure Tri-Faith’s impact.

The confidential responses will help guide its success moving forward.

“From the inception of Tri-Faith there has been a vision of this audacious idea’s impact on the congregations, the neighborhood, the community, and the world,” says Education Director Jeremy Fricke. “To best serve this wide and diverse audience, we have a responsibility to gauge our impact on all these communities through evaluation, including as many voices as possible. Our evaluations are intended to be accessible and inclusive, inviting responses from people deeply supportive or who have constructive criticism.”

“People from all walks of life are encouraged to take our Annual Impact Evaluation, even those not yet friends or fans. This means we appreciate honesty, as we can only improve our impact by receiving honest feedback. While we encourage anyone reading this to take the survey, we also hope you join a program or visit our Commons and provide your honest opinions.”

Second Vice Chair Andie Gordman also emphasizes the importance of learning what people think of Tri-Faith in this pivotal time.

“It is important to our board and community to understand the impact we are having not only on our Commons, but in the larger community,” she says.

“Because we are blazing a new path, it is important to understand what works and how we can change to meet the needs of our community.

“We are proud of the work we are doing within our congregations and as the Tri-Faith community. We want to invite more people to join us. We constantly balance different needs and work to find common ground to be together, but we also strive to understand why individuals may not appreciate the work we do.”

Fellow board member McInnes suggests candor will support the larger, long-term success of this interfaith lab.

“The real impact this mission shares is the value of modeling local cross-faith engagement and fostering empathy,” he says. “This is the heart of advancing interfaith understanding and social cohesion. Tri-Faith can help to start understanding cultures other than your own and gain new perspectives on life.

Tri-Faith can help educate, spread the word, and share by example how we of three different faiths can be in a relationship that demonstrates how all our lives can bring value to one another.”

Will you build with us?

The survey is just part of Tri-Faith’s wider call to action.

“We want to open people’s hearts and minds to realize we need them to do the work,” Goldberg says. “Not just to think that the work is a good idea but to come actually do the work. And support it financially. Having a building and programming and staff doesn’t come without dollars. We need people to invest their time and resources in this initiative moving forward.”

Deputy Director Erik Servellon says this call to action serves as a reminder of where Tri-Faith lives.

“The heart of Tri-Faith is not buildings or budgets, it’s people. As our founding mission is fulfilled, we move into our next phase of building bridges between people. I am excited we get to nurture empathy, generate understanding, and build bridges between people. Few missions are as worthwhile. I’m ready to get to work.

“The only question I have for our dear readers is: Will you build with us?”

The difference Tri-Faith makes in peoples’ lives · 39

Building bridges to understanding

T

RI-FAITH IS A PERMANENT residency of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim congregations, aligned as partners at a common site and sharing an interfaith center.

This experiment to bridge differences across religious and cultural lines is no academic exercise. It is a living, breathing experience among neighbors, built one relationship at a time.

A diverse coalition of people build bridges for inclusion and understanding through Tri-Faith. They are congregants, volunteers, board members, staff, donors, guests, and program participants. (And many are more than one of the above!) Bridge-building needs groundbreakers, architects, and visionaries, and these come in many forms.

Tri-Faith’s open invitation encourages folks to come as they are and to engage authentically with others they might not otherwise get to know. The simple act of being present with those different from you breaks ground

to build bridges, and ultimately to making new friends and overcoming bigotry and bias.

“How we perceive and interact with other faith communities is a choice.

We can choose love as beckoned by our individual gods or a darker path,” Tri-Faith Initiative Board Chair Dr. Ali Khan says.

Love is Tri-Faith’s default.

In searching for a religious-based home, Kyle Knapp found himself drawn to TriFaith’s “model of cooperation, mutual respect, and affection,” and now he’s one of its ardent champions.

“We have shown the world it can be done,” Knapp adds. “Now we need to continue to show it can be sustained.

Mass media exposure is invaluable to make more people aware of what we’re doing and that such interfaith cooperation is possible. However, the most important work still takes place

“If we make showing hospitality to strangers a priority in our faithpractice, we can change the world, or at least a little of it. The world desperately needs to see the hope, modeled in real human flesh, that we can overcome our divisions with love and mutual understanding.

Tri-Faith is an example of such hope.”

-Kyle Knapp, Tri-Faith supporter

STORY BY LEO ADAM BIGA PHOTOS BY ADAM CASEY 40 · Building bridges to understanding

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one-on-one, face-to-face. The greatest obstacle we face is fear of ‘the other.’

When we spend time getting to know each other, we start to see each other as human, and ‘the other’ becomes part of ‘us.’”

Temple Israel President Dan Gilbert echoes that sentiment: “I think the opportunity to challenge, learn, and reflect in conversation with others who are different from you is a pretty profound thing. We’ve created a safe culture to ask questions. It’s inspiring to be engaged with a group of people who will push our thinking from a totally different starting point, but who want to be on the journey with us.”

Hospitality 101 With the biblical prescription of welcoming the stranger as old as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam themselves, radical hospitality defines TriFaith activities.

“If we make showing hospitality to strangers a priority in our faith-practice, we can change the world, or at least a little of it,” Knapp suggests. “The world

Tri-Faith Initiative

desperately needs to see the hope, modeled in real human flesh, that we can overcome our divisions with love and mutual understanding. Tri-Faith is an example of such hope.”

AMI member Deena Keilany shares, “We haven’t really had the opportunity to share what Islam is about with most communities. It has been politicized with a lack of representation in mainstream media. We don’t get to tell our own narrative, and so all of these stereotypes are you know they’re perpetuated for the sake of preserving a status quo. This is an opportunity for us to come together and share our stories. When we walk into Tri-Faith, we set aside our political beliefs. We understand and get to know each other as human beings, and we relate on a very basic level. What we are doing is a social justice commitment to view each other and communicate with each other as human beings.”

For Temple Israel Cantor and TriFaith supporter Joanna Alexander, this living experiment is rooted in human exchanges between people of different faiths and backgrounds open to finding common ground.

“Often when getting together for a clergy lunch or a Tri-Faith educational event,” she says, “I discover ways in which my faith is radically different from the other faiths of the Tri-Faith Commons. But often I see the similarity. There are shared stories even from our different texts, there is a shared focus on food and hospitality, and always a belief in God. We may have different names for God; we may have different beliefs about how God acts in the world or what God wants of us.

But we connect through the discovery of those differences and similarities.”

“We have an opportunity to educate our Countryside students about our Jewish neighbors who are celebrating High Holidays or our Muslim neighbors as they celebrate Eid,” shares Countryside Director of Youth and Family Ministries Rebecca Morello.

“We’ve integrated educational opportunities for our little kids, and hopefully what they’re taking from that is not just an understanding of their own Christian backgrounds but being able to learn and explore new things about the world and cultivate that appreciation of our wider community.” ►

Building bridges to understanding · 41

◄ Deep bonds bridge differences Gilbert is confident Tri-Faith’s core values and mission give it relevance and resonance today and moving forward: “We will all enter the future with intent and design, but the positive outcomes will be impossible to predict. There are these incredible challenges and opportunities we’re facing now, Tri-Faith is an anchor for something for all of us to look towards on the other side.”

With hate speech and crimes on the rise, Gilbert sees Tri-Faith as an antidote. “Tri-Faith represents a vision of compassion, thoughtfulness, curiosity, and caring. Those are the things that carry us through a pandemic, racial injustice, and religious hatred. I think that’s where the big impact is— attitude changes.”

Adds Gilbert, “Tri-Faith is a physical example of what happens when we dream big enough. The act of inviting somebody different into your own home or sitting at a communal table with someone you don’t know is a radical act of love and social justice.”

A Tri-Faith picnic crystalized what it’s all about for Kyle Knapp: “I was sitting at a table with Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, surrounded by a colorful sea of people from different cultures, beliefs, and ethnicities. People were eating, talking, laughing, sharing food and stories.

Someone asked him what he hoped to accomplish through Tri-Faith. And Aryeh raised his arm, swept it in an arc across the crowd and said, ‘This—this is how we change the world.’”

“On a human level, when we sit down together and break bread the impact is a hundred times more than any dry lecture or meeting,” says Imam Jamal Daoudi.

For Gilbert, the inclusive model of Tri-Faith gatherings “is deeply rooted in Omaha and how we want Omaha to be,” he says, adding, “Tri-Faith is an example of what Omaha is capable of and already is.”

Temple Israel Rabbi Brian Stoller notes, “It takes a certain kind of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim community that values and affirms religious pluralism and approaches our religious traditions from a certain disposition that even make Tri-Faith possible. It’s revolutionary in the context of human history.”

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“Generosity puts the tools for connection, understanding, and justice into the hands of those who need them most.”

-Sarah Klein Masterson, Greater Good Strategy

An invitation: Become a Bridge Builder Tri-Faith Initiative Executive Director Wendy Goldberg describes the next phase of the work: “Our mission now is to build relationships and understanding. Now that we have a synagogue, mosque, church, and interfaith center as neighbors, what will we do with this proximity? We need the broader community’s support to build with us.”

Tri-Faith supporters count giving among the most impactful ways to build more bridges among neighbors, providing vital funding for needs ranging from programs to outreach to operations.

Anyone can become a Bridge Builder for as little as $5 a month.

“Generosity puts the tools for connection, understanding, and justice into the hands of those who need them most,” says Tri-Faith consultant Sarah Klein Masterson of Greater Good Strategy.

“As a Bridge Builder,” Goldberg says, “your support will”: Provide safe spaces for conversation and connection, even through these times of social distancing and beyond.

Advocate for the rights and needs of people facing vulnerable realities in our community, including those from religious minorities, targeted racial and ethnic groups, immigrants, and LGBTQIA+ individuals.

Promote systemic change and cultural learning that rejects discrimination.

Support communities navigating crises through outreach, advocacy, learning opportunities, and constructive dialogue.

Care for those who need it most in our community: spiritually, socially, and by meeting basic needs.

“At Tri-Faith we build bridges among neighbors, not walls,” Goldberg says.

“This is a calling for each of us. We know we can make more of a difference the more supporters who join us. We need more people to join us as Bridge Builders in doing this timely, crucial work.”

To learn more and become a bridge builder, visit trifaith.org/bridge-builders.

“Financial support is critical to our work, allowing us to plan efficiently in bringing meaningful programming and education to the community,” Goldberg notes. “By joining our circle of Bridge Builders, you can reach more of our neighbors with this message of connection and hope, bringing more Omahans together. As a Bridge Builder, your gifts actively cultivate trust, empathy, and justice, while dispelling division and hate.”

Photo credit: Tri-Faith Archives

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44 ¡ Table matters

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Table matters

I

NTERFAITH INTERACTIONS CAN happen anywhere. So why not at a picnic table in America’s heartland?

Tri-Faith’s founders held their earliest meetings over casual meals at local restaurants. They imagined how great it would be to co-locate a synagogue, church, and mosque on common ground. Maybe even a shared interfaith space to foster community.

They were also realists. They agreed in those early days that if this effort to catalyze understanding should ultimately result in just a gathering around a picnic table, that would be enough.

In truth, Tri-Faith members and guests have convened in all kinds of settings through the years—around dining tables in homes and, yes, even picnic tables in parks—sharing each other’s food, faith, hopes, and dreams. The picnic table has endured as a powerful symbol of Tri-Faith’s mission. Tri-Faith invites all neighbors to “gather ‘round” the picnic table in new and creative ways.

“Picnic tables are an iconic representation of people gathering for hospitality, for food, to take time to sit and hear each other’s stories.”

-Wendy Goldberg, Executive Director

“I was always a proponent of the ‘picnic table’ concept for the Tri-Faith ‘building.’ It always represented to me a place where a Jew, a Christian, and a Muslim could safely sit down and have a conversation about—anything.”

-Bob Freeman, Tri-Faith Founding Board Chair

You’re invited: Picnic table, public art “Picnic tables are an iconic representation of people gathering for hospitality, for food, to take time to sit and hear each other’s stories,” says Tri-Faith Initiative Executive Director Wendy Goldberg.

Picnic tables say “community.” No wonder, then, that picnic tables are permanent fixtures today, just outside the Tri-Faith Center. They serve as visible reminders of purpose and origin.

They are utilitarian, welcoming vessels for gathering. They also resonate spiritually for all who see and use them.

What better way to celebrate the completion of the Commons than a community-wide event around picnic tables? Tri-Faith is commissioning a project to do exactly that.

be newly fabricated or recycled. It will be a collaborative effort of creatives.

The intention is to collaborate with other nonprofits in the community to identify where there is potential to place these picnic tables and find creatives like architects, fabricators, and artists who might help us dream about how we facilitate having these kinds of gatherings come to all places in Omaha.

It is all meant to extend our reach.”

Stay tuned for details on this public art initiative and how you can take part.

Coming full circle As a founder, Bob Freeman was a key contributor to Tri-Faith’s original picnic table symbolism. So for him, bringing it to life represents a full circle moment.

“I was always a proponent of the ‘picnic table’ concept for the Tri-Faith ‘building.’ It always represented to me a place where a Jew, a Christian, and a Muslim could safely sit down and have a conversation about—anything. I figured that even if we weren’t successful, we’d be able to put a picnic table somewhere and that would serve this purpose. Well, how about right outside the Tri-Faith Center and in the shadow of a synagogue, church, and mosque?

“Hopefully the picnic table can be a long-term symbol of the simplicity of what we have done and its essence—a few people talking to one another about big and little issues. That is sometimes the start of something much deeper or bigger.”

“We are working with partners to launch a public art initiative that inspires people to gather beyond the Tri-Faith Commons around picnic tables,” Goldberg says. “The tables may

STORY BY LEO ADAM BIGA PHOTO PROVIDED Tri-Faith Initiative

Table matters · 45

I Tri-Faith Inititave

Map of Tri-Faith trifaith.org Center ¡ 46

The dream is possible due to the generosity of…

BEACON OF HOPE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN DONORS Anonymous Elyce & Rabbi Aryeh Azriel Nancy & George Behringer Marvin Bittner Bob Bosco Shelley & Dave Boyd Richard Brooke Foundation Rebecca Susan Buffett Foundation Andrea Butler Pat Callone Lorraine Chang & Eric Pearson Dr. Patricia Chudomelka & Keith Wagner Colliers International – Omaha Sara Cowan & Brian Fahey Debra & Bob Culver Fadia Alcharabi & Imam Mohamad Jamal Daoudi Anne & Robert Drickey Ann & David Duey Ralph & Barbara Edwards Family Foundation Jill & Tom Eilers Marleen & Timothy Evans Jean & Tory Ewing Darlynn & Tom Fellman Sarah Ferneding Cordula & Dr. Alan Fisher Mary & James Fitch Mary Fraser Meints & Ray Meints Joanne & Jerry Freeman Robyn & Bob Freeman Jane Frey Marlen Frost Jennifer & John Glazer Wendy & David Goldberg Andie Gordman & Dan Fitzgerald Karen & Gary Gray Hawks Foundation Judith Healy Holland Foundation Elizabeth & Paul Johnson Dr. Ali Khan Fatima & Farhan Khan Olfa & Karim Khayati Peter Kiewit Foundation Karilyn Kober Betsy Lay Bonni & Martin Leiserowitz Sherryl Lilley Lockwood Development Terri & Dr. Joseph Lynch Cathy & Rick MacInnes Nuzhat Mahmood Anne Massoud Kiley Maxwell-Ward & Marc Ward Ashley & Aaron McClure-Wolfson Deb & John McCollister Nancy McCormick & Peter Brodkey Mary McHale & Joe Holm Denise & Jon Meyers Lori & Michael Miller Notre Dame Sisters Tri-Faith Initiative

Rita & Don Otis Deb & Eric Peterson Norma & Cliff Pountney Amy L. Scott Family Foundation Susan & William Rifkin Security National Bank Sherwood Foundation Dorothy Spizman Staenberg Family Foundation Dr. Maryanne Stevens Sandy & Jerry Sueper Gerry Sullivan & Bob Benzel Susan & Dr. Jim Tracy Margee Virant & Larry Saxton Jan Wahl Natha & John Waldbaum Weitz Family Foundation Roxanne Wiles & Kristin Williams Paige & Kevin Wycoff Mike Yanney 2019 BRIDGE BUILDERS VISIONARIES Dennis & Jeanne Beavers Danielle & Jeff Gordman Pamela & Roderick Hernandez Diny & Jim Landen Dr. Chandra Nair & Dr. Nicki Nair Sharee & Murray Newman Emily & Jeremy Wadhams Roberta Wilhelm & Vic Gutman Dr. Paul Williams ARCHITECTS Rebecca & Brent Bloom Dr. Bonnie & Dr. Bob Buckland Ann & David Duey Nancy & Don Greenberg Jennifer Hamann Sally Kaplan Frederic Lane Kristine & Grant Story Jennifer & Dr. Tom Vinton Heidi Avalon Roxanne & Mark Draper Sarah & Daniel Gilbert Andie Gordman & Dan Fitzgerald Jackie & Justin Grau Mary Beth & David Jellen Laura-Lee & Dr. Howard Needelman Patricia & Sanfoard Smith Margee Virant & Larry Saxton GROUNDBREAKERS Kathryn Beauchaine & Jeff Laudin Marvin Bittner Cathy Blomquist Marcia Blum Peggy & Shane Bonacci Barb & Donald Bredthauer Miriam Brooks Pat Callone

Sylvia Cohn Cindy Crohn Janey Dann Joyce Davis Judith Feigin Judy & Nate Feldman Richard Fellman Sally & Dr. Paul Fine Alan Frank Marlen Frost Sean Geer Honorable Larry Gendler Jennifer & John Glazer Ellen & Bob Gordman Dorris Hecht Heaston Joanna Hochfelder Senator Megan Hunt Gail & Kyle Knapp Becky Knightly Donna Knutson Wende & John Kotouc Marie & Jack Kubat Tina Kucera Kathryn Lalley Dewell Susan Lehr Martha Lemar Sherryl Lilley Mel Luetchens Jeri & Dave Lundblad Terri & Dr. Joseph Lynch Melissa & Royce Mabon Ruth & James Macnamara Christine & Sean Malloy Anne Massoud Kiley Maxwell-Ward & Marc Ward Nancy McCormick & Peter Brodkey Dr. Emily McElroy Mary McHale & Joe Holm Tina & Joe Meyers Barbara Miller Karen Morey Mary Mullen-Ferzely & Michael Ferzely Nancy Nogg Renee O’Brien Kamisah & Maury O’Donnell Rev. Dr. Norman & Sybil Pavey Rev. Roland Peschel Norma & Cliff Pountney Twila & Dr. Laurel Preheim Miles Remer Carol & Rick Russell Ronnette & Randall Sailors Shelley Smith & Edward Cohn Patricia & Sanford Smith Connie & Richard Spellman Dorothy Spizman Dale Stover Susan & Dr. Jim Tracy Gail & Irv Veitzer Connie & Mark Ware Julie & Dr. Mark Wilson Rosie Zweiback & Mace Hack

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48 ¡ Capital Campaign Donor List & Acknowledgement

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Heritage Senior Living

A b r a h a m ’s B r i d g e

Sterling Ridge Estates

Sterling Ridge Entrance

Kontempo Salon

STERLI NG R I DGE 1 3 2 N D

&

PAC I F I C

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O M A H A , N E B R A S K A

Sterling Ridge - Building A

Sterling Ridge - Retail

The Tipsy Pig

Te m p l e I s r a e l

R E C E N T C R E S U M M I T 2 0 2 0 D E V E LO P M E N T O F T H E Y E A R : ST E R L I N G R I D G E

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R E C O G N I T I O N S :

CRE SUMMIT 2020 DEAL OF THE YEAR: L I N K E D I N L E A S E AT ST E R L I N G R I D G E

C R E S U M M I T 2 0 2 0 S U M M I T AWA R D : T R I - FA I T H I N I T I AT I V E

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