THE years Ginny Cordrey spent entertaining guests at her bed-and-breakfast business have taught her something about the nature of religious communities.
Rev. Fredrich Ulrich of Manitoba Buddhist Church ministers to a congregation of mixed ethnicities and many traditions.
"In the way a church forms a community, you form a smaller community. It's for a shorter time, but when you're there, you're there," explains the Westwood resident, now retired from the hospitality business. "You welcome them, you share your space, and yourself."
Cordrey is one of many Manitobans who have responded enthusiastically to the Faith in the City tour that began a week ago at Crescent-Fort Rouge United Church. As she points out, this interfaith and ecumenical experiment is really about sharing each other's spaces and ourselves.
The folks at Crescent-Fort Rouge were incredibly welcoming from the minute I walked in the door, handing me a prepared name tag, offering me a cup of coffee, and stopping to introduce themselves.
"I was just delighted to read your article," Ina Baas-Penner told me before the service in the beautiful old building with its 13 arched stained-glass windows and lovely oak trim.
"It's just such a warm congregation," said Evelyn Madden, who moved to Winnipeg two years ago to be closer to family. "These are the nicest, warmest people I've ever met."
Experiencing how others sing, pray, and worship together is very similar to visiting someone in their own home, suggests Rev. Bob Osborne of St. John's Anglican Cathedral. "There's a new level, a different level, of intimacy when you're invited to someone's home and spend time together around a meal. There's a vulnerability (there.) That happens in worship too."
That's what inspired Rev. Tom Lurvey of Sherwood Park Lutheran Church to dash off an e-mail as soon as he read last week's story about the Faith in the City tour. He welcomes the opportunity to pry folks out of their comfort zones and encourage them to experience new situations.
"I've observed when we've encouraged people (in our congregation) to go to a neighbouring church, boy, it's tough to get people out of their building," says Lurvey, pastor of this East Kildonan church for the last 15 years.
Reader Lucy Hutchinson was pleased to hear the Faith in the City tour will include houses of faith of many traditions, including Winnipeg's only Reform Jewish synagogue on Friday, Feb. 8.
"I'm jumping up and down inside that I get to have some understanding (of other faiths)," she explains. "I've always wondered about going to a synagogue, but I wondered if I was allowed to do that."
Temple Shalom president Ruth Livingston assures me everyone is welcome to her River Heights area synagogue, and they'll be able to appreciate the spirituality of the service even if they're not familiar with Judaism and its traditions.
That longing to understand other faiths is a familiar refrain to Rev. Fredrich Ulrich of Manitoba Buddhist Church, who ministers to a congregation of mixed ethnicities and many traditions.
Last Thursday night, more than 150 people packed the 60-year-old Buddhist Church near the Health Sciences Centre for an introduction to Buddhism, the first stop on a six-session interfaith course co-sponsored by the University of Winnipeg and the Manitoba Interfaith Council. That enthusiastic response astounded organizers, and proves to Ulrich that people are convinced of the need for interfaith dialogue and co-operation.
"You're here because there's a grassroots interest in this, it's a lay movement," the former Methodist minister turned Buddhist sensei told the audience during the three hours of chanting, singing, explanations, and questions. "In a pluralistic, multi-faith society, we end up with pluralistic, multi-faith individuals."
That's turning out to be the experience of Cordrey, a Roman Catholic who has explored traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sufisim, as well as other Christian denominations.
"I want to connect with all these people," she explains. "I want to enjoy the faith. I want to have an understanding of their service."
faithinthecity@freepress.mb.ca
Mark your calendars for February
* Young Earth Mass, 11 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 3. Sherwood Park Lutheran Church, 7 Tudor Cres. at London Street, phone 661-3947. The Young Earth Mass is a monthly contemporary liturgical service featuring gospel, global and folk-style music with a worship band of 12 members. About 150 people regularly attend this East Kildonan area congregation, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
* Special instructions: Park behind the A-frame yellow brick church, or at the nearby shopping centre. Watch the signs on the outside as well, since there's a another church nearby with a similar name.
* Friday Night Live, 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, Temple Shalom, 1077 Grant Ave., Tel. 453-1625. Winnipeg's only Reform Jewish congregation of about 90 families welcomes Free Press readers to this service with cantor Len Dow and the Friday Night Live Band. This two-hour musical service features songs and text in both English and Hebrew.
* Special instructions: Kippahs or skull caps are optional for men. Parking available on nearby streets, the shopping centre across Grant Avenue, or in the church lot, accessible from the access road on the north side of Grant.
* Sunday mass and time fair, 11 a.m. Feb. 24, St. Gianna's Roman Catholic Church, Winnipeg Technical College, 130 Henlow Bay. This newest congregation in the Archdiocese of Winnipeg www.stgianna.ca now meets in rented facilities, but is planning to build a $16-million complex in White Ridge by 2010.
* Special instructions: Plan to arrive by 10:40. After the service, tour the displays on spending time, and stay for the coffee hour. Parking is available on the lot adjacent to the college.
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