The Multifaith Living Community is open, full of amazing students from five faiths, and we hope, planting seeds of peace for a future where persons of different religious backgrounds understand and respect each other. I have been wanting to blog about the experience of envisioning, getting approval for, and building this community for some time. It has been a long journey. I owe great appreciation to the first group of students who moved into the main house in 2001 and helped us understand what an intentional community needed, and how, as an organization, we could do ministry through housing. As a ministry that has a long history of work for peace and justice, creating a living environment where students from different faiths could live together seeking sustainability and understanding. In our post 9/11 world, we are well aware of the need for spaces where relationships can be built deeply, and people of faith can recognize common beliefs and histories.
While I’m sure there are many stories that could be told by the number of people who helped bring the community into existence, and many blogs that could be written by students who are living in the community, I hope to share my own perspective of what it is like to be pastor here, what it means to be a Christian in this environment, and the hope I have for what this project can accomplish. Thank you for reading, and for hoping.