A Caravan of Hope

~ by Samir Selmanovic

Hello friends. We are finally public! I am exhausted and ecstatic. Many thanks to those of you who have already signed up to help in different ways, and welcome to those of you who are just arriving to the conversation.

At the beginning of this journey I have more fears and questions than I can count, but I do have some answers for myself. Sages from Christian tradition have taught me the following truth: "You can't contain God. You can find God's footsteps in every life and every community." In the last several years, I have come to realize that if the first order of my life on earth is to seek God, then I must know "the other" and let myself be blessed by God that is in "the other."

I am a follower of Christ. But at times I also find myself to be a Muslim, a Jew, and even an atheist. This is because I have been blessed by the love, care, and wisdom from sojourners in other religions. In fact, I don't know if I would be walking with Christ today if it was not for their help.

I envision our paths toward God being woven together, not in order to morph into one religion, but to coexist together for the good of the world. When the treasures of different spiritual traditions open up to you and me, let's not hesitate to learn. In the matters of God, only by being a student at all times can qualify you to be a teacher some of the time. If you keep on learning, sooner or later, the treasures of your spiritual tradition will be needed by all and give light to many.

The world is troubled by religion, including yours and mine. We are on a journey towards a different kind of faith. Encourage us, critique us, or if you prefer, simply listen in. If you want to be our partner, friend, or cheerleader, let us know. Welcome to our caravan of hope!

Comments

[Julius]

May God answer your prayer and fulfill your dream of leading this Faith House into becoming a House of Prayer for All People!

[Ryan Bell]

Hallelujah! We are so excited for you and with you. You are in our prayers and our thoughts.

[Brenton Reading]

You have our heartfelt prayers and our deepest interest. God bless.

[Johnny]

Very cool Samir. Good luck!

[Alexander]

Hey Samir,

Add the Spectrum Blog to that believe-in-you roll. I'll be in the Upper West Side through Jan 14. Love to meet up. Blessings and peace and great adventures to you and yours.

alexander@spectrummagazine.org

[Nathan Brown]

Another significant step in this journey. We are with you.
Walk on.

[Marcel Schwantes]

Samir,

Count me in. Looking forward to following your journey, brother.

[Christina Attiken]

"To unpathed waters, undreamed shores," William Shakespeare. Thanking God for the Selmanovic's dreams, vision and action.

[Mark Kubo]

My family and I, too, stepped into a journey of faith in the past year. Although we are on the opposite sides of the continent, and our circumstances which we have chosen to accept vary greatly, our need to depend on our faith and trust in our Lord and God remain the same.

I pray that God will work through you and this project to rekindle lights that have dimmed.

[David Edgren]

You embark upon an age old quest taken by those with adventurous sandals, generous hands and compassionate hearts.

God bless your journey. May your Caravan of Hope rescue those wandering near and straggling on the path. And may you leave milestones to guide those yet to embark.

[Kent Kingston]

Wow! The vision is breath-taking. Certainly God has people close to His heart in every faith tradition and chooses to reveal different aspects of truth / ultimate reality to all of us at different times. For each to recognise the legitimacy of the other's journey is sure to be beneficial.

But is there not a point where "truths" become mutually exclusive? For example, either Jesus was really the I AM or he was rightly executed under Jewish law for his blasphemous claims. Or what about Mohammed's recitations from the archangel Gabriel? The New Testament tells Christians that they are to reject any new message that is in conflict with the gospel, even if it is given by an angel.

At some point, you're going to have to deal with this.

So many interfaith or ecumenical organisations seek to ignore their differences, emphasise their commonalities and "get along" with what amounts to an insipid theology. It's good to see that the Faith House project is not headed in this direction and is prepared to face the controversial issues.

I just wonder how you're going to face them and still maintain a sense of community.

I'd like to be a cheerleader but I might have to settle for a neurotic fan in the top bleachers, weakly waving my pennant and biting my nails to the quick, desparately hoping my team will score.

Shalom, Salaam, may God's peace be with your ministry.

[Rajkumar Dixit]

Blessings and Peace,

[Alex Belisle]

Welcome back, Samir.

You've been in the wilderness too long. It's time to come back and lead an exodus of believers into the Holy Land. The organization, as we know it here in the metropolitan NYC region, is doing nothing to reach out to any class of people other than immigrant minority groups.
NYC is ripe for the taking with your vision, insight and faith.

[Lorelei]

God bless your boldness and your vision, Samir! You are turning a dream of mine into a reality - and I'm sure there are many other believers who feel the same. I will be praying for you and your family, and that the presence of the living God will be manifested to all who encounter Faith House. Blessings!