|
|
June 25, 2004/Tamuz 6 5764, Vol. 56, No. 40
A model of interfaith relations
IRA MORTON
Special to Jewish News
No clergyman or lay person in the history of Phoenix has done more to advance the cause of Jewish-Christian relations than Sister Mary Christine Athans, B.V. M., Ph.D.
Biblical scholar, teacher, inspirational leader and author of several important historical works dealing with the subject of anti-Semitism, Sister Chris touches the lives of everyone who knows her, in a very special way.
During her 10 years of saintly involvement with the North Phoenix Corporate Ministry (1966-1976) - six of them full-time as executive director - two Jewish, one Catholic and five Protestant congregations reached out and embraced one another in a spirit of goodwill and understanding that was hitherto unknown.
The ecumenical consortium included Temple Beth Israel, Beth El Congregation, St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Orangewood Presbyterian, Church of the Beatitudes, Cross Roads United Methodist, Shadow Rock Congregational and Our Savior's Lutheran.
Among the N.P.C.M.'s most meaningful and memorable activities were the weekly clergy luncheon meetings at the St. Francis Xavier Convent; the annual ecumenical Thanksgiving service at the St. Francis Xavier church; the celebration of Purim and St. Patrick's Day at Our Savior's Lutheran; the Education Forum Series at Beth El; the "Next Frontier" weekly public service television show on KTVK, hosted by Rabbi B. Charles Herring and Dr. Culver Nelson, pastor of the Church of the Beatitudes; and the festive annual spring dinner dances held alternately in the courtyards of the convent and Temple Beth Israel.
The N.P.C.M. was a noble, thrilling experiment. Both clergy and congregants felt they had created a model for ecumenism that would spread across the land. And it would have, had Sister Chris not departed Phoenix for Berkeley to pursue her doctorate. She was the one who nourished it and the glue that held it together.
Although the N.P.C.M. no longer exists, Sister Chris will remain forever in the hearts and minds of its membership. A professor emeritus of the University of St. Thomas, she currently lectures at Loyola University and resides in Chicago.
Preserving the memories and recording the accomplishments of those who have come before us and those now in our midst is the sacred mission of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society and the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center. For information about membership and activities, call 602-241-7870 or visit www.azjhs.org.
|
|
