The first interfaith dinner was held last year during the holiday season with nearly 100 members from the Islamic Society of Frederick and two Jewish congregations — Congregation Kol Ami and Beth Sholom. This year, five Christian communities were invited to participate in the event — United Church of Christ, Saint Katharine Drexel Catholic Church, Unity Church, Frederick Interfaith and Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick.
Each faith — Jewish, Christian and Muslim — shared its religious beliefs and traditions and a potluck meal, despite a power outage that darkened the festivities.
A generator powered a computer presentation about Hanukkah while flashlights guided the way through ‘‘The Christmas Story,” carols, and a comedic skit on ‘‘hajj,” the pilgrimage all Muslims must make to Mecca.
Glass oil lamps cast a warm glow around the tables decorated with red poinsettias and green tablecloths.
Imam Yahya Hendi of the Islamic Society described the relations between Frederick County’s Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities as ‘‘positive, outstanding and promising.”
‘‘I know this [event] will characterize the relationship between the religious communities for years to come,” Hendi said. The interfaith dinner is about the spirit of unity and the communities’ diversity, he added, and is an opportunity to learn about one another.
Andrea Eyler, a sixth-grade teacher at Ballenger Creek Middle School in Frederick, said she encouraged her students to attend the dinner since they are studying Middle Eastern religions as part of Frederick County Public Schools’ sixth-grade curriculum.
Ilona Mills of Frederick said her son, Henry, told her about the interfaith dinner and wanted to go after he heard about it in Eyler’s class. Mills attends the Frederick Christian Fellowship Church in Frederick.
The Rev. Toni Fish of Unity Church in Frederick said she wanted her congregation to make connections with other faith communities and to learn about similarities and differences.
‘‘We all need to learn and we have such a neat, rich heritage that comes from the same place,” Fish said of the three faith’s shared roots in the prophet Abraham.
Glade United Church of Christ in Walkersville has had an ongoing relationship with the Islamic Society since September 2001, Hanberry said. Hendi has been a guest speaker at Glade United Church of Christ and the church has been invited to several events at the Islamic Society’s location in Frederick.
Rabbi Dan Sikowitz from Congregation Kol Ami, said he hoped the religious communities would plan more than just interfaith dinners. He challenged those in attendance to join together in a community service activity that would benefit Frederick by next year’s interfaith dinner. Fish noted that the faith communities are hoping to host a spring festival and possibly build an ‘‘interfaith house” in 2009.
In his closing remarks, Hendi urged Muslims, Jews and Christians to bring an ‘‘activism of compassion” to their own communities.
Hendi also has bigger plans for the interfaith dinner in 2008. He said he hoped to expand the event next year to 500 people and to include all faiths in Frederick County. The audience responded with much applause.
‘‘This is the dream that will come true because God wants this to happen,” Hendi said. ‘‘We believe that tonight we stand, and divided we fall.”
