It is hard to imagine any commodity in shorter supply today than tolerance and respect for others’ religious beliefs. We hear a constant drumbeat that there is a war of civilizations that we cannot afford to lose. When the 9/11 attacks occurred, I knew only a handful of Muslims from work and almost no one from any faith tradition other than Christianity and Judaism. After the attacks, however, I decided that I needed to gain a better understanding of what was going on in the Islamic and other religions. Actively seeking out opportunities to meet people from other faiths, I eventually began serving on the board of Interfaith Ministries of Houston. This summer I had the opportunity to travel to Turkey on an interfaith dialogue trip.

What I have discovered in these experiences is that once you get past the cosmetic differences of appearance and accents, I had a great deal more in common with people of different faiths than I expected. For the most part, I learned that they were worried about their children having a better life, paying their mortgage, why traffic is so bad – in short, all the same things that worry most of us. Perhaps more surprising is that I can now count among some of my closest friends, individuals from a variety of faiths whom I would have otherwise never met in my normal daily life.

Interfaith Ministries and the Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance at Rice University have joined forces to make this type of personal experience available to all Houstonians. Last January, these two groups organized dinners in 25 homes, and provided an opportunity for individuals of different faiths to meet and discuss their faiths. Without exception, everyone who participated came away deeply moved by the experience. Many new friendships were formed. The dinners were dubbed the Amazing Faiths Dinner Dialogues, after Roy Spence’s book, The Amazing Faiths of Texas.

On November 15, 2007, IM and Boniuk are sponsoring the second annual Amazing Faiths Dinners, and already anticipate over 100 Houston homes participating as dinner hosts. Interfaith groups in Austin and San Antonio are in the process of organizing dinner events on the same night in their cities as well. I would like to personally encourage you to participate in one of these dinners. You can do so by merely attending as a participant, or hosting a dinner in your home. If you decide to host a dinner, the Amazing Faith Project staff will provide a facilitator to help guide discussions and will advise you on the practicalities, such as dietary restrictions. Additional information is available at http://www.amazingfaithsproject.org/. You can sign up on-line.

This is one experience that I can promise will change the way you feel about your community and the world. Please take the time today to consider being a part of a remarkable evening.

Fire Fighters Foundation Hosts Second Annual Appreciation Dinner

Last night, over 400 people attended the second annual Houston Fire Fighter Appreciation Dinner and raised over $250,000 to support our Houston fire fighters. These funds are used to purchase ancillary equipment for the Department that is not covered by the City's budget. Last year, the Foundation purchased grinders to cut burglar bars, blood oxygen monitors and infrared cameras for the Department. The Foundation also made contributions to support the Department's Drum and Pipe Corps and Honor Guard.

The keynote speaker at the dinner was former New York Fire Commissioner, Thomas Von Essen. Commissioner Von Essen was the commissioner at the time of the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11. He shared his recollections of that day, including seeing hundreds of fire fighters rush into the World Trade Center in attempt to rescue the people trapped there, even though they knew there was a significant chance the building would collapse. Many of the fire fighters that answered the call that day were not even on duty, but came anyway. When the buildings did collapse, 343 fire fighters perished. Commissioner Von Essen remarks were both inspirational and heart breaking.

For those of you who participated last night, I want to express my appreciation of your support. If you have not yet become involved with the Foundation, I would encourage you to do so. You can learn more about the Foundation and how you can help our Houston fire fighters at http://www.fffhouston.com.