Over-reaching out?

Alexandria, Va.--Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Alexandria is allowing the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) to use its activity center (not its chapel) on Fridays for the Muslim group's Jumu'ah prayers while an expansion continues on its mosque about two miles away.

The decision wasn't a political move, said Jason Micheli, Aldersgate's associate pastor. Neither, he said, was it a theologically liberal or Christ-demeaning decision. Rather, he said it is about living out Christ's love. Critics, however, assert that this goes beyond loving your neighbor to endorsing Islam.

ICNA began meeting in Aldersgate in August, and the Aldersgate congregation was notified in September. The decision was senior pastor Dennis Perry's and the Parish Council gave its approval with a 19-1 vote. As reaction built, Micheli preached an Oct. 11 sermon entitled, "The Form of God's Shalom."

"Do I believe the worlds' religions are all just different paths to the same destination? No. Do I believe Islam rightly understands the God of Abraham? No. Do I believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father? Yes. But when we say that Jesus is the only way to the Father, we don't just mean our belief in Jesus is the only way to the Father. We also mean Jesus' way of life is the only way we manifest the Father's love," Micheli said.

"How can you build relationship with someone if you call something that's sacred to them, demonic?" said senior pastor Perry. The goal is, "instead of seeing each other as competitors, seeing each other as neighbors."

The congregations met in January and 175 people showed up. The meeting went so long they had to adjourn and allow the Muslims to use the fellowship hall for one of their daily prayers, because they wouldn't have had enough time to get home and pray.

Two more meetings are planned, an informal potluck for late March and a women's-only meeting, focusing on how religion is portrayed in the home. ICNA members have also contributed to canned goods drives and planted flowers in Aldersgate's flower beds.

Diane Bechtol, co-chair of Aldersgate's Christian-Islamic Dialogue Committee, said that after the January meeting one of the Muslim women told her she was no longer afraid of Christians.

Bechtol also described being invited to say grace before eating dinner at the home of a ICNA family. "I said, 'Is this okay? It has Jesus at the end.' And they said, 'Oh, it's okay. We accept Jesus as a prophet.' So I said the grace that my husband and I say every night at the dinner table and they listened and were so respectful."

Micheli said that three or four families have left the church and one family has joined because of the decision. "Most [reaction from the congregation is] positive. I'm still surprised we haven't lost more than we have," said Micheli.

Paul Amos, a Lieutenant in the Army Reserves and who now works at the Pentagon, serves on the Aldersgate Parish Council. While in Baghdad training Iraqi soliders, he got to know the Iraqi Muslims "to be like the rest of us … They loved their family, their religion was important to them, they wanted their kids to do better than themselves," he said.

"I wish they'd be more vocal about what distinguishes between them and the terrorists," Amos said, but added that "if they wanted to use the chapel, or if it was a permanent request, I think the answer would be different."

Some congregants don't follow that reasoning. "If that's true, then why do we dedicate the whole building to God?" said Ann Vernon, member of Aldersgate for 9 years until leaving this January because of the issue. "I [taught] Sunday School for second-graders and I pray during class. There's always a worship element in our classes. The whole building is a worship space."

"We should love in the community, in the neighborhood … but it doesn't say anywhere in the Bible that you have to share your worship space with those who would deny that Jesus in the Son of God," Vernon said.

For months, she attempted to "be tolerant and understanding of the need we were trying to fill," but after attending the inter-faith meeting, she couldn't stay in the congregation.

The story has drawn national attention and sharp criticism. Alex McFarland, a North Carolina-based Christian apologist and radio talk show host, told Fox News last month that Aldersgate and a Tennessee church that hosted Ramadan prayers last September "have crossed the line from respect and tolerance, to ... affirmation and endorsement."

"We as the church are called to show love, we're called to help. But to let a building simultaneously be used for the activities of a mosque and also the activities of Jesus Christ, it's just incompatible," he said. "And I think it's one more example of political correctness and hyper-tolerance gone awry."

The ICNA is leaving Aldersgate at the end of March when the initial agreement expires, regardless of whether the mosque is finished, out of consideration for the effects of the controversy on the church. ("I was inundated with hate email. It was a nightmare," Micheli said.) ICNA members have mentioned inviting Aldersgate members to a welcoming party when the mosque is finished.