Articles

Atlanta World Pilgrims -- A Christian Perspective
(Part 3 of 4)

By Rosalyn Dailey Shareef
Faith And The City E-Letter
Volume 2 Issue 2
February 11, 2003

Inspired by her November sojourn to Turkey with the Atlanta World Pilgrims, the Rev. Canon Elizabeth I. Rechter of the Cathedral of St. Philip is joining another international pilgrimage to nurture the metro community's growing interfaith dialogue. Last fall, Rechter was one of 45 metro Atlantans from Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities who spent 10 days together in historic, predominantly Islamic Turkey. This spring, Rechter and other Atlanta pilgrims plan to travel to Brazil, which has a large concentration of Christians, as well as some Muslim and Jewish representation.

With preparations underway for the upcoming journey, Rechter recalls that during the planning stages of the Turkey trip the thought of such an interfaith trip was looked upon by many as almost impossible, unheard of, even "crazy," in the words of one organizer.

Rev. Elizabeth Rechter and Rev. Sam Candler (both on right) administer the sacrament of holy communion for Christians who chose to participate during the Atlanta World Pilgrims' visit to the ruins of ancient Ephesus, Turkey. From left, Jan Swanson, Shelly Rose (seated), Rev. Gerald Durley, Rev. Jimmy Allen, Candler, and Rechter.

Rev. Rechter, former president of Atlanta's Christian Council, a century-old, ecumenical organization of area congregations, was contacted last year by Rev. James E. Lamkin, her successor in that volunteer post. Lamkin had spoken with one of the conceivers of the Turkey pilgrimage, Wayne Smith of the Friendship Force. Lamkin approached Rechter during the summer of 2002 with the idea.

"When are we going?" Rechter responded immediately. "I offered my name and was put on a waiting list because there were a lot of Episcopalians ahead of me, and the organizers' goal was to have a variety of people." After a few meetings with representatives of the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta, the idea developed into a full-fledged mission.

"We wanted people who are open to listening to the faith experiences of Muslims and Jews and Christians," explained Rechter. "In the Christian community, there are some people who believe that Jews and Muslims need to be converted to Christianity. They wouldn't have been invited on this trip."

Obviously, Rechter made the final cut and, her resulting interactions with the other Atlanta World Pilgrims, especially Muslims and Jews, have deeply influenced her ministry, now in its eighth year, at the 5,000-member Cathedral of St. Philip.

Atlanta World Pilgrims visited the ruins of Ephesus, once the second-largest city in the Roman Empire and today the best-preserved classical city in the Eastern Mediterranean. (Photo by Karim Ziyad)

The Cathedral has a large congregation with a cross-section of people eager to listen and learn about Rechter's interfaith pilgrimage, which, she explained, underscored the fact that members of all three faiths harbor misconceptions about one another. There's so much we don't know about each other, she emphasized.

"I've always wished that I could call a rabbi or an imam who would come and speak to my folks," said Rechter, describing instances when she needed clarification in her teaching about Judaism or Islam.

The Roman Road in Ephesus

Since November, Rechter has had such contacts. Both a rabbi and an imam now are literally a phone call away for her, as she is for them. In fact, both Jewish and Islamic clerics have been invited to speak at the Cathedral of St. Philip, which is located in Buckhead. Meanwhile, Rechter has spent hours at temples, mosques, and even the homes of people of those faith traditions.

"That kind of dialogue," she explained, "would not have happened before our interfaith pilgrimage together."

For more information on the Atlanta World Pilgrims, contact Jan Swanson at jswanson@faithandthecity.org or 404-523-5554. For more information on the Cathedral of St. Philip, visit the church's website at http://www.stphilipscathedral.org or contact Rechter at erechter@stphilipscathedral.org.

Rosalyn Dailey Shareef, an Atlanta-based freelance writer, can be reached at yomashareef@hotmail.com.


Part 1: Atlanta Interfaith Group Models Diversity in Pilgrimage to Turkey
Part 2: Muslim Perspective
Part 3: Christian Perspective
Part 4: Jewish Perspective