{"id":7121,"date":"2013-04-28T07:32:47","date_gmt":"2013-04-28T11:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wtb.org\/?p=7121"},"modified":"2018-12-29T23:20:58","modified_gmt":"2018-12-30T03:20:58","slug":"journey-to-the-tent-of-abraham-the-2nd-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/?p=7121","title":{"rendered":"Journey to the Tent of Abraham: The Second Step"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>\u201d<\/em><\/strong><em>In 2007, we organized a Sunday afternoon walk taking us to various places of worship near the Syracuse University campus as a symbolic \u201cJourney to the Tent of Abraham,\u201d which according to tradition was open on all four sides, welcoming everyone. On April 28, 2013 we embarked on a second journey, visiting the same places of worship, learning about their history and traditions. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<style id=\"bwg-style-0\">      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .image_browser_images_conteiner_0 * {        -moz-box-sizing: border-box;        box-sizing: border-box;      }      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .image_browser_images_conteiner_0{\t\tbackground-color: rgba(245, 245, 245, 0.90);\t\ttext-align: center;\t\twidth: 100%;\t\tborder-style: none;\t\tborder-width: 2px;\t\tborder-color: #F7F7F7;\t\tpadding: 4px;\t\tborder-radius: 0;\t\tposition:relative;      }      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .image_browser_images_0 {\t\tdisplay: inline-block;\t\t-moz-box-sizing: border-box;\t\tbox-sizing: border-box;\t\tfont-size: 0;\t\ttext-align: center;\t\tmax-width: 100%;\t\twidth: 100%;      }      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .image_browser_image_buttons_conteiner_0 {\t\ttext-align: center;      }      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .image_browser_image_buttons_0 {\t\tdisplay: inline-block;\t\twidth:100%; 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         }        }      } else {        document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {          if( typeof bwg_main_ready == 'function' ) {            if ( jQuery(\"#bwg_container1_0\").height() ) {             bwg_main_ready(jQuery(\"#bwg_container1_0\"));            }          }        });      }    <\/script>    \n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To download an illustrated .pdf report, click <a href=\"https:\/\/wtb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Journey-to-the-Tent-of-Abraham-2013-photo-report.pdf\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>1<sup>st<\/sup>\nStop: <\/em><\/strong><strong>University United Methodist Church <\/strong>(UUMC)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here, our assembled group was greeted by WTB co-founder Danya Wellmon. Danya described the sites to be visited, explained that bus service was available for anyone unable to walk the distance, and encouraged all of us to pick up maps, water bottles, and \u201cJourney to the Tent of Abraham\u201d T-shirts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pastor Craig French then\nwelcomed everyone to UUMC. He noted, with appreciation, the diversity of the\ngroup sitting before him, and he asked us to look around at each other and\nconsider new ways of living together in harmony. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He spoke briefly about the history of UUMC. The building was erected in 1871, with the cornerstone of the church being laid on the same day as the cornerstone of the nearby Hall of Languages on the Syracuse University campus. The sanctuary was destroyed by fire in 1914, and for the next nine months, until it could be rebuilt, the congregation worshiped, free of charge, at Temple Society of Concord across the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pastor French explained\nthe heritage of the Methodist church, which began in England as a separate\ndenomination growing out of the Episcopal tradition. John Wesley, one of the\nco-founders of the Methodist movement, had been expelled from the Episcopal church because of his teachings, which focused\non our inward and outward journeys and on the way God moves in, with, and\nthrough all of us. Wesley\u2019s work was marked by simple acts of charity and by advocacy\nfor social justice during an era in which there was a great divide between the\n\u201chaves\u201d and the \u201chave-nots\u201d in England. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pastor French asked us\nto turn our attention to the sanctuary\u2019s beautiful stained-glass windows that tell\nthe story of Jesus from birth through crucifixion to resurrection. Stained-glass\nwindows in churches have been functioning, since preliterate times, as a way\nfor people to follow Jesus\u2019 life and teachings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pastor French\nencouraged us to think of today\u2019s journey as a pilgrimage. Pilgrimages have\nhistorically been distinguished from tourism, in that they are much more\ninvolved with what people are experiencing on the inside, through their eyes\nand spirits, in pursuit of a deep hunger for God in their life. He spoke about\nthe Book of Genesis, of Abraham and Sarah providing hospitality to strangers.\nHe challenged us to think of new possibilities for appreciating the richness of\ndiversity in our own understanding of God. He said a pilgrimage is\n\u201cfeet-on-the-ground spirituality.\u201d He welcomed people to come forward and get\npamphlets and blessings before leaving UUMC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>2<sup>nd<\/sup>\nStop: <\/em><\/strong><strong>Grace Episcopal Church<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reverend Johanna\nMarcure offered a brief welcome at the second stop on today\u2019s journey and then\nintroduced our very diverse group to Ernestine Patterson, who provided an overview\nof the Episcopal faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ernestine explained\nthat the Episcopal Church in America stemmed from the Church of England and\nbegan after the Revolutionary War. Colonists in the newly independent colonies\nwere quite divided in their opinions about the separation of the two churches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Episcopal Church\nin America is recognized as a designated church by the Book of Common Prayer,\nand all its ministers are ordained within the apostolic tradition. A U.S. Book\nof Common Prayer was compiled in 1789 and updated in 1976; the 1976 version is still\nin use today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the 20<sup>th<\/sup>\nand 21<sup>st<\/sup> centuries, the Episcopal church was split many times by\ndiverse ideas and opinions. Ernestine pointed out that the church has\napologized for the part it played in contributing to the slave trade. She also\ndescribed other forward-looking movements that Grace Episcopal Church itself\nhas embraced, including the ordination of women and the full inclusion of gays\nand lesbians. She drew our attention to the symbolism of the altar standing in\nthe center (rather than at one end) of the church: as rows of parishioners surround\nall sides of the altar, they are well placed to look upon each other, offer\npeace to one another, and hopefully see the face of God in each person they see.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At this point, Rosa\nClark was introduced and proceeded to offer a storied history of church\nactivism. She shared how unsettled she felt, upon her initial visit to Grace, to\nsee the pews arranged in a circle. Then someone said, \u201cCome on in! The pews here\nare free!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grace was founded in\n1871. The beautiful edifice we are visiting today was designed by Horatio\nNelson White in 1876 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Among the\nchurch\u2019s magnificent stained-glass windows are one commemorating the death of\nthree small children and another celebrating the life of the first Episcopal\nNative-American saint, St. David Pendleton Oakerhater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grace has a long\nhistory of social activism. During the 1950s, the raging social issue was\nracial justice. Although segregation was outlawed in schools in 1954, it remained\nlegal in other places, including churches. At that time, most black\nEpiscopalians in Syracuse were attending St. Philips Church. When St. Philips\u2019 vicar\nleft and the church was closed, Father Welch of Grace Church invited St.\nPhilips\u2019 parishioners to attend services at Grace. In this way, in 1957, Grace\nbecame the most fully integrated church in the northeastern United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 1960s was another\nturbulent era. Following Martin Luther King\u2019s <em>I Have a Dream<\/em> speech in 1963, Grace received a bomb threat. In an immediate\nresponse to the threat, all the children were evacuated from Sunday school.\nHowever, most of the congregants remained in church throughout the service: they\nbelieved in social justice and were not easily deterred by a bomb threat. In\nthe decades since then, Grace has been home to Head Start activities, to Peace\nCorps and VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) training programs, and to meetings\nheld by CORE (Congress of Racial Equality). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the 1970s, the\nissue of the ordination of women was at the forefront. Betty Bone Schiess was\none of eleven women ordained in Philadelphia. When the bishop here in Syracuse would\nnot give her permission to preach, she sued him. Within three years she went on\nto become the associate rector of Grace Episcopal Church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ordination of\ngays and lesbians was a focus of controversy in the 1980s. Today, thankfully,\neveryone can participate fully in all areas of life within the Episcopal\nChurch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We were sent on our\nway with the following prayer, which is said at the end of each service: \u201cMay\nwe see the face of God in all people, and may they see it in us.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>3<sup>rd<\/sup>\nStop: <\/em><\/strong><strong>Temple Society of Concord<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our group crossed the street\nand climbed a very impressive, grand stairway leading to the front entrance of\nTemple Concord, where we were greeted by Rabbi Daniel Fellman, who invited us\ninto the main sanctuary. After all of us were seated, Rabbi Fellman introduced\nhimself and told a brief history of the temple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The congregation was\nfounded in 1839 by a group of German Jews. They hired Rabbi Abraham Guzenhauser\nas their first rabbi. Among their first acts of business was acquiring land for\na cemetery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rabbi Fellman\nexplained that the current structure was built 102 years ago, in 1911. He\nbrought an interesting and thoughtful perspective to the building by inviting\nus to look around and asking, \u201cWhat is new? What is different today than 102\nyears ago?\u201d Our responses traveled from electric lighting to the stained-glass windows\nto the sprinklers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rabbi Fellman pointed\nout several things we had missed: One was the wall plaques showing the names of\ndeceased loved ones; an orange light next to each name is lit on the\nanniversary of that person\u2019s death. A second was the organ, which is only 50\nyears old and replaced the original one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A third was Rabbi\nFellman himself, who is also quite new to this temple. In the 102 years it has\nbeen on this site, Temple Concord has been blessed to have had only five rabbis:\nRabbi Adolph Guttman, an Austrian, was the first, followed by Rabbi Milton Friedman,\nRabbi Theodore Levy, Rabbi Sheldon Ezring, and now Rabbi Fellman. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A fourth thing that\nhas changed is the languages spoken during services: the original German,\nHebrew, and English have evolved into the Hebrew and English of today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rabbi Fellman briefly\ndiscussed Judaism\u2019s Reform movement and its place in the modern world. He explained\nthat the Torah, the first Five Books of Moses, is written, without vowels, on a\nscroll made of parchment. He opened the Holy Ark and removed one of the Torah\nscrolls: a \u201cHolocaust Torah\u201d from Czechoslovakia. He pointed out the crowns,\nbreast plate, and mantle covering the scroll and showed us the yad, or pointer,\nthat is used by the reader to follow the text. After the coverings were\nremoved, he read from the Torah in Hebrew, then translated into English, while\nFran Volinsky and Rosalie Young held up the scroll in front of the Ark for all of\nus to see. He then invited everyone to come forward, look more closely at the\nTorah, and \u201cfollow along\u201d as he continued reading from it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rabbi Fellman\nconcluded by thanking everyone for attending today\u2019s \u201cJourney\u201d and invited us to\nattend future services at any time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>4<sup>th<\/sup>\nStop: <\/em><\/strong><strong>Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life at\nSyracuse University<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We exited the grand\nstaircase and walked two blocks. Brian Small, the center\u2019s director, described\nthe Winnick Hillel Center\u2019s goal as providing an opportunity for university students\nto connect with each other and to engage in Jewish life and culture through\nsocial and cultural activities. These activities include Fresh Fest for\nincoming students, Passover seders, Shabbat dinners and services, dances, Purim\ncelebrations, Holocaust commemorations, and interfaith programming. Activities\nare held in the center\u2019s beautiful, modern, 10-year-old building. The center\nstrives to meet the needs of about 3000 Jewish students\u20142500 undergraduate and\n500 graduate\u2014and their peers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brian noted that the\nstudents are great leaders; they run the services and most of the Hillel\nprograms. The center\u2019s president, Zak Goldberg, and intern Sidney Lampe\ndescribed Hillel\u2019s activities and their own efforts to involve Jewish students.\nA highlight of our visit today (as it was during our visit in 2007) was a performance\nby <em>Oy Cappella<\/em>, the Hillel student a\ncappella group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>5<sup>th<\/sup>\nStop: <\/em><\/strong><strong>St. Thomas More Campus Ministry at the\nAlibrandi Center at Syracuse University <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A few buildings up\nthe street we were welcomed by Maggie Byrnes, campus minister. Maggie introduced\nher co-presenter, Ronnie Liou, a student from Shanghai, China. Maggie told us that\nthe Alibrandi Center serves as an activities home and worship center for\nCatholic students who attend Syracuse University or the State University of New\nYork College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maggie explained that\nthe Catholic Mass involves a lot of physical movement (for those who are\nphysically able). She and Ronnie then gave us a brief recap of what they,\ntongue in cheek, called \u201cCatholic acrobatics.\u201d With Maggie calling out the\nvarious postures, Ronnie humorously demonstrated them. The postures included\nmultiple sequences of \u201cdip,\u201d \u201csit,\u201d \u201cstand,\u201d \u201ckneel,\u201d \u201cshake hands,\u201d and \u201cwalk\u201d\u2014concluding\nwith, at the end of the service. \u201crun\u201d! It was a light-hearted introduction to\na serious presentation about the meaning of the Mass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maggie said that\nCatholics \u201ccelebrate their beliefs through the Mass, and their spiritual life\nshapes the way they live in the world.\u201d She explained that basic Catholic\ndoctrine includes a belief in the Trinity as (1) Creator God, (2) Jesus Christ\n(Image of Invisible God, Example of Holy Life, and Sacrificial Actions to bring\npeople back to God), and (3) the Holy Spirit, which lives in every person and\nchanges people from the inside out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ronnie described\nstudents coming to Mass for \u201cspiritual food.\u201d He said that during Mass, there\nis a blessing of bread and wine which symbolize, respectively, the body and the\nblood of Christ. Catholics regard the bread and the wine as both spiritual and\nphysical food, and when they leave the service, they live with Jesus in them to\nnourish them. Ronnie also talked about the importance of the teachings in the scriptures,\nincluding seeing God in themselves and each other through the Holy Spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maggie summarized\nsome of the many Alibrandi Center activities in which students participate: faith-sharing\ngroups, Bible study, vegetarian dinners on Thursday evenings, \u201cTGIF\u201d Friday\nevening fun activities, and community-service projects. Some of the latter\ninclude baking and cooking in the Alibrandi kitchen for the Samaritan Center\n(an interfaith effort to feed people who are homeless and in need), working at\nthe Rescue Mission, and helping at L\u2019Arche Syracuse (a community of people with\nand without disabilities).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>6<sup>th<\/sup>\nStop: <\/em><\/strong><strong>Islamic Society of Central New York <\/strong>(ISCNY)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the front entrance\nof the mosque several blocks up the hill, we were welcomed by several members\nof the congregation. As we entered the building, we removed our shoes and\nplaced them in a special holding area. We were then greeted by Mohammed Khater,\nISCNY\u2019s current president, who invited us to walk up a few steps and enter the\nmen\u2019s musella, or prayer space. It is here that prayer takes place five times a\nday and the weekly worship service, called Jummah, is held on Friday afternoons\nfrom 1:00 to 2:00.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next we were given a warm\nwelcome by Mohammed Khater\u2019s wife, Magda Bayoumi, who is a longtime friend of WTB\nand a current member of the Shura, ISCNY\u2019s governing board. Magda explained\nthat prayers are in Arabic. Women do have leadership roles, including leading prayer\nservices attended by women only. (Prayer services attended by men only, or by\nmen and women together, are conducted by men.) Sermons are given only by the imam.\nThe dress code during prayer services is modest and, for many women, includes\ncultural garments such as the hijab, a head scarf that complies with the Koranic\ninstruction that women should cover their hair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Magda then turned the\nprogram back over to her husband, who thanked WTB for the opportunity to host this\nevent and invited us downstairs to a comfortable meeting room with seating for\neveryone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There, he led a\nlively discussion about Islam and its relationship with Christianity and\nJudaism. He emphasized that we are all the descendants of Abraham and hold a belief\nin one God. We are brothers and sisters connected through God and created, in\nour diversity, by God. During the lively question-and-answer session that\nensued, he shared some of the beliefs of Islam and its peaceful middle way\nbetween Christianity and Judaism. We heard about the types of jihad, or\nstruggle. We were encouraged to share, with the community and the news media, the\ntruths of our faiths. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The well-attended\ndiscussion ended on a positive, peaceful note, with much hope being expressed for\nthe future of our faith communities to improve dialogue with each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite everyone\u2019s\nintense interest in learning more about Islam and continuing our conversation,\nwe needed to keep to the day\u2019s schedule, so we \u201cjourneyed\u201d onward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>7<sup>th<\/sup>\nStop:<\/em><\/strong><em> <\/em><strong>Pagan Gathering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the quad near\nHendricks Chapel, we formed a circle around the Pagan celebrants. Mary Hudson,\nthe Pagan chaplain of Hendricks Chapel, welcomed us to this site where Pagan\nstudents on campus routinely have their sacred ceremonies. She gave a brief explanation\nof the events that were about to unfold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The term <em>pagan religions <\/em>includes a wide array of\nearth-centered faith systems and practices that are based on ancient cultural\nand spiritual traditions. Today we were to witness ceremonies from five of\nthose traditions. A celebrant from four of the traditions was situated in the four\ncardinal directions\u2014east, south, west, north\u2014and Mary herself was in the\ncenter. Each celebrant, in turn, would \u201ccall\u201d to his or her direction. Following\nthe ceremonies we would be welcome to visit the five altars, ask questions of\ncelebrants, and inspect the ritual tools displayed on the altars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Eastern Gate \u2013 Eclectic\nGypsy (Michelle McCann): Michelle led us in experiencing air as a life-giving\nforce by asking us to slowly take in a deep breath and then slowly let it out. She\nshared a reading that focused on the sacredness of air, and she described some\nof the numerous symbols and characteristics associated with air. Air has a profound\neffect on life and is elemental to the existence of life on earth. It can\nsymbolize to us the concept of duality: from gentle to forceful, from sounds that\nare positive to those that are negative. On Michelle\u2019s altar, incense was\nburning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Southern Gate \u2013 Huna\n(Barry Canning): Huna is the Polynesian tradition of aloha. The focus at the\nSouthern Gate was on fire. Barry offered a prayer of welcome to Pele, the\ngoddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes, asking for her gentle blessing\nat this ceremonial site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Western Gate \u2013 Esmeraldian\nWay (Esmerelda Dawn): Esmeralda led the group in an \u201cEsmeraldian\u201d ritual that represents\nher own personal practice. Her focus was on the\nelemental energy of water. She called on Father\nTime and Mother Earth to join our circle. She concentrated on the importance of\nlove and peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Northern Gate \u2013 \u00c1satr\u00fa\nTradition (Tim Hubbard): Tim called upon Odin, the All Father, to join the\ncircle and give his blessings. The focus was on earth. Symbols were of Northern\nEuropean origin and beliefs. \u00c1satr\u00fa offerings of liquids represent sacrifice\nand blessings. Among the symbols on Tim\u2019s altar were an animal horn used for\nliquids and a hammer representing the god Thor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Center \u2013 Fey\n(Mary Hudson): The focus of this ancient Celtic tradition was on spirit. From\nthe center of the circle, Mary called upon the Shining Ones, the Tuatha d\u00e9 Danann,\nand asked the fey (\u201cfairy\u201d) people to show us love and gentleness. Fey\nrepresents the concepts of the Upper, Middle, and Lower Worlds and the spirit that\nmoves through all places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mary concluded the\npresentations by reiterating that all the Pagan religions are extremely old, are\nbased on ancient traditions, and have been meaningful for thousands of years.\nShe said that Pagan traditions consider the human body, too, to be an altar. She\nthen invited us to come forward to the altars to inspect the artifacts and\ninteract with the celebrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>8<sup>th<\/sup>\nStop:<\/em><\/strong><em> <\/em><strong>Hendricks Chapel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before ascending the\ngrand staircase leading into Hendricks Chapel, each of walked through a tent,\nopen on all four sides, representing Abraham and Sarah\u2019s desert tent in which\nthey welcomed everyone, even strangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we entered the sanctuary, we received lovely programs\ndistributed by the ushers. At 5 pm,\nthe service began. We were welcomed by Jennifer Roberts Crittenden, the current\npresident of Women Transcending Boundaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jennifer reiterated the concepts of WTB and the interreligious\njourney we are on. She explained that WTB was founded in Central New York just\nafter 9\/11\/2001 as an egalitarian\ncommunity of women who come together to respect and learn more about each\nother\u2019s spiritual beliefs, cultures, and common concerns and who then share\ntheir experiences with the wider community through education and service.\nJennifer encouraged everyone interested in WTB to visit the website,\nattend the Sunday programs and other gatherings, and consider becoming a member.\nShe acknowledged and thanked the Gifford Foundation for its \u201cWhat If\u2026\u201d mini-grant\nthat made possible many parts of today\u2019s walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Tiffany\nSteinwert, dean of Hendricks Chapel, then welcomed us and provided a brief\nhistory of the building. When Hendricks Chapel was constructed in 1929 and\n1930, it was designed to be interfaith, which at that time meant for\nProtestant, Catholic, and Jewish students and faculty. Now it is home to many more\nreligious traditions, faiths, and non-faiths. Dr. Steinwert called our attention\nto some of the chapel\u2019s symbols of the original faith traditions as well as its\nopenness to additional ones embraced during the intervening years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An important part of\nHendricks Chapel is its inclusive and welcoming programming. Dr. Steinwert asked\nus to \u201cdrink in the space\u201d and to note the worn pews indicating the generations\nof people who have found welcome and sustenance here. She told again the story\nof the Tent of Abraham and Sarah, with her own comments and interpretation,\nsaying that today we are not only celebrating that particular tent but also going\nout beyond it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Sally Roesch\nWagner, executive director of the Matilda Joselyn Gage Foundation, told\nstimulating stories of courage and change in the history of Syracuse. In a\npresentation entitled <em>With Diversity\nComes Freedom<\/em>, she shared stories of Matilda Joselyn Gage and other women\nof her generation, as they struggled for freedom in their lives. She described the\nrestrictive way in which 19<sup>th<\/sup>-century Syracuse women dressed and\nlived, contrasting it with the unconfined clothing and more-equitable way of life\nof the Onondaga Nation women who lived nearby. Encouraged by their knowledge of\nthe Onondaga women, Matilda and her contemporaries (including Susan B. Anthony\nand Elizabeth Cady Stanton) pushed for changes in their own lives and the lives\nof others. Dr. Wagner shared stories of the important roles that these women played\nin Syracuse\u2019s antislavery and abolitionist movement, including the events leading\nup to the famed Jerry Rescue. She ended her storytelling by reminding us that\nwe stand in the tradition of people who went before us, people who fostered\ngreater understanding, change, justice, and inclusion for all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Pamela L. Poulin,\nsoprano and professor\nemerita at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and her accompanist, Dr. Stephen Wilson, professor of\nmusic at SUNY Cortland, inspired us with a beautiful rendition of <em>You Shall Have a Song<\/em> by Eugene Butler.\nFollowing that, they led us in singing a spirited version of <em>Let There Be Peace on Earth and Let It Begin\nWith Me<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Final blessings were\noffered by members of two traditions we had not visited today: a Sikh blessing,\nrecited by Dilraj Singh Sekhon; and a Native American blessing, recited by Joseph\nCampbell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>9<sup>th<\/sup>\nStop:<\/em><\/strong><em> <\/em><strong>Fellowship and Food<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tempting scents\nemanating from a delectable array of ethnic foods, lavishly catered by Tunura\nBarbour, drew us to the Hendricks Chapel narthex, or foyer. A love of fine\ncooking is, after all, a common thread that unites us all and transcends all\nboundaries! As we lingered in the foyer and outside on the stairs,\nconversations were lively and interactions were free flowing. What a wonderful\nend to a wonderful day!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We embarked on a symbolic &#8220;Journey to the Tent of Abraham&#8221; visiting places of worship near the Syracuse University campus to meet their leaders and learn about their history and programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5377,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[15,16,17,33,36,38],"class_list":["post-7121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-programs","tag-christianity","tag-islam","tag-judaism","tag-paganism","tag-tent-of-abraham","tag-visiting-faith-communities",""],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7121"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8850,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7121\/revisions\/8850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}