The Faith Club

The Faith Club is a book that illustrates a thesis I have held for some time now: the grassroots is where the action is.
While the organized religious institutions stumble along, in the living rooms of our country, interfaith is moving ahead in exciting ways.
This book tells the story of three suburban New York women, a Christian, a Muslim and a Jew, who get together shortly after September 11th to meet and learn about each other. None are professional clerics or religion scholars, or even especially knowledgable or devout. All are earnest and want to understand more about each other.
The Faith Club was started when Ranya Idliby, an American Muslim of Palestinian descent, recruited Suzanne Oliver, a Christian, and Priscilla Warner, a Jew, to write a children's book about their three religions. As the women's meetings began, it became clear that they had their own adult struggles with faith and religion, and they needed a safe haven where they could air their concerns, admit their ignorance, and explore their own faiths.
The book is the story of their efforts, told by them. In my next blog entry, I will report on the "movement" being created by women around coffee tables.