Scottish Methodists and Muslims in joint Kyrgyzstan mission trip
-08/07/06
Scottish Met
Scottish Methodists and Muslims in joint Kyrgyzstan mission trip
-08/07/06
Scottish Methodists and Muslims are defying racist taunts from some people to be among those travelling to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan this month (July 2006) as part of the first-ever British interfaith Habitat for Humanity project.
The 16-member team includes Edinburgh-based Christians, Muslims and people from other communities who are volunteering two weeks of their time to build much-needed housing in the former Soviet state.
The venture models a way of different faith communities working together to deepen mutual understanding and compassion, and to break down barriers. Those involved see it as a form of mission beyond proselytism.
Laurent Vernet, a marketing professional and a member of the Nicolson Square Methodist Church in Edinburgh, told United Methodist News Service that the trip will be an opportunity to see love, compassion and constructive interfaith relations in action.
“I hope to have a spiritual and human experience by helping others, not only with money but with time and sweat,” Vernet declared.
The team will weather soaring temperatures as it helps to construct environmentally friendly reed and clay housing for residents in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek.
The homes will provide cheaper, better-insulated and safer places to live for families who sometimes pay up to 50 percent of their income for heating costs during harsh winter months.
The Rev Peter Clark, Nicolson Square’s minister, has played a key role in putting the trip together. A former building design professional, he has longstanding ties with the Habitat organization and has been involved with several of its international projects.
Clark noted that few people even know Kyrgyzstan is a country bordered by China and Kazakhstan. “It’s a country that’s totally landlocked, with no mineral wealth and little arable land. Soviet subsidies that once helped support the population have long gone,” he explained.
Habitat for Humanity has been working in Kyrgyzstan – where 40 percent of the people live below the poverty line – since 1999. An estimated 166,000 are without adequate housing.
“When you are a Muslim, you have a responsibility to help other people. This seems a noble project,” said Bonnie Jeanne MacDonald, a doctoral student and worshipper at the Edinburgh Central Mosque, located next to the Nicolson Square church. “Time is the most valuable, more so than just giving money.”
She and her husband, Ahmad Hussein, are taking time out from their research to participate in the trip. MacDonald said this is a particularly important moment for religious people to stop pointing the finger at one another and work together.
“We want to say to the people of Kyrgyzstan, ‘no, you’re not forgotten’ and also ‘we’re people of different faiths working together,'” she said.
He admitted that some in the mosque community were wary of a mission trip with Christians, especially because of past experiences in which Christian mission sometimes included efforts to convert Muslims.
But, he said, “When I heard about the trip from my wife, I was interested. We realized we could open people’s minds and our own concept of interfaith dialogue.”
Next-door neighbours for the last 14 years, the Nicolson Square Methodist Church and the Central Mosque have a long history of working cooperatively in Edinburgh’s city centre.
That relationship has also made them a target. In recent years, racist slogans have been spray painted on the Nicolson Square church’s front doors and obscene material put through the mail box, criticizing the church for its good relations with the mosque.
The experience has strengthened relationships between the two communities, and the Habitat project offers one more opportunity for both to serve God and God’s people together.
“The biggest teaching of Jesus is to love one another and this is a way to express that love to the people in Edinburgh and to the people of Kyrgyzstan,” observed Joe Lambert.
[With thanks to UMNS writer Kathleen LaCamera]
Scottish Methodists and Muslims in joint Kyrgyzstan mission trip
-08/07/06
Scottish Methodists and Muslims are defying racist taunts from some people to be among those travelling to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan this month (July 2006) as part of the first-ever British interfaith Habitat for Humanity project.
The 16-member team includes Edinburgh-based Christians, Muslims and people from other communities who are volunteering two weeks of their time to build much-needed housing in the former Soviet state.
The venture models a way of different faith communities working together to deepen mutual understanding and compassion, and to break down barriers. Those involved see it as a form of mission beyond proselytism.
Laurent Vernet, a marketing professional and a member of the Nicolson Square Methodist Church in Edinburgh, told United Methodist News Service that the trip will be an opportunity to see love, compassion and constructive interfaith relations in action.
“I hope to have a spiritual and human experience by helping others, not only with money but with time and sweat,” Vernet declared.
The team will weather soaring temperatures as it helps to construct environmentally friendly reed and clay housing for residents in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek.
The homes will provide cheaper, better-insulated and safer places to live for families who sometimes pay up to 50 percent of their income for heating costs during harsh winter months.
The Rev Peter Clark, Nicolson Square’s minister, has played a key role in putting the trip together. A former building design professional, he has longstanding ties with the Habitat organization and has been involved with several of its international projects.
Clark noted that few people even know Kyrgyzstan is a country bordered by China and Kazakhstan. “It’s a country that’s totally landlocked, with no mineral wealth and little arable land. Soviet subsidies that once helped support the population have long gone,” he explained.
Habitat for Humanity has been working in Kyrgyzstan – where 40 percent of the people live below the poverty line – since 1999. An estimated 166,000 are without adequate housing.
“When you are a Muslim, you have a responsibility to help other people. This seems a noble project,” said Bonnie Jeanne MacDonald, a doctoral student and worshipper at the Edinburgh Central Mosque, located next to the Nicolson Square church. “Time is the most valuable, more so than just giving money.”
She and her husband, Ahmad Hussein, are taking time out from their research to participate in the trip. MacDonald said this is a particularly important moment for religious people to stop pointing the finger at one another and work together.
“We want to say to the people of Kyrgyzstan, ‘no, you’re not forgotten’ and also ‘we’re people of different faiths working together,'” she said.
He admitted that some in the mosque community were wary of a mission trip with Christians, especially because of past experiences in which Christian mission sometimes included efforts to convert Muslims.
But, he said, “When I heard about the trip from my wife, I was interested. We realized we could open people’s minds and our own concept of interfaith dialogue.”
Next-door neighbours for the last 14 years, the Nicolson Square Methodist Church and the Central Mosque have a long history of working cooperatively in Edinburgh’s city centre.
That relationship has also made them a target. In recent years, racist slogans have been spray painted on the Nicolson Square church’s front doors and obscene material put through the mail box, criticizing the church for its good relations with the mosque.
The experience has strengthened relationships between the two communities, and the Habitat project offers one more opportunity for both to serve God and God’s people together.
“The biggest teaching of Jesus is to love one another and this is a way to express that love to the people in Edinburgh and to the people of Kyrgyzstan,” observed Joe Lambert.
[With thanks to UMNS writer Kathleen LaCamera]