Only in America The April 2005 Van Visit By Ed Chasteen
The world right here in Greater Kansas City! And the 12 of us in a William Jewell College van are out to take it in. We gather on this early April morning at the home of Pat and Gene Cole. These are the good folk who have come. Linda Watich, Helen Watich, Helen Pfaff, Helen Stefanov, Connie Spies, Bill Spies, Beth Kasper, Lori Stark, Madonna Davis and Margo Cabillonar.
The Coles live just a block from Christ Church Unity, where a few days before every September 11, we gather in memory of those who died on 9-11-01 to hold a Human Family Reunion. The Coles are members of St. Charles Catholic Parish. They have invited some of their fellow members and some from Holy Family Parish to come with us today. We gather in the Cole’s living room. I give everyone a copy of the day’s itinerary and a HateBusters membership card. “When we are born we know nobody. I think the purpose of life is to make friends of as many people as possible,” I say to them. Then we board the van to begin our day of doing just that.
East on Barry Road to I-435 to I-35 to 71 Highway to I-435 to Nall to 127th Street. Pinks and whites and soft greens have erupted from all the trees along our route. A soft blue sky and a caressing sun fill us with great expectations of a day like none other in our lives. Forty minutes of excited conversation transport us from the Cole’s town home to Beth Torah Synagogue. Rabbi Mark Levin has invited us to witness the bat mitzvah of Elizabeth Bigus. During the ceremony several members of the Beth Torah congregation sit with us to explain what we are seeing.
Liz is 13 years old and has spent several years learning to read the Torah in Hebrew. Her bat mitzvah today is her testimony that she is ready and able to become a member of the Jewish community. Her extended family has come to join Liz in the festive celebration of a solemn ritual by which Jewish youngsters entering their teens mark their official entrance into Jewish life.
Following the service we all adjourn to another room for a luncheon. As we stand in line to get our food, our hosts explain to us what we are seeing and hearing. Today’s bat mitzvah has been longer than most. All have required parts but may be added to as the family wishes. When we have filled our plates, we go into the library to sit around a table and talk. With us at table sit Rabbi Levin, Edis and Sid Parkans, Hedy Goldman, Betsy Khalili, Jerry Share, Sandy and Maureen Salz. For half an hour each in turn tells us something about their life and answers our questions. Sid shares his good memories of growing up in a small South Dakota town where only two Jewish families lived. Maureen grew up in a Methodist church. She converted to Judaism when she married a Jewish man.
Rabbi Levin has been a dear friend for years. He helped teach my pluralism class at William Jewell last fall. He walks me to our van and tells me about his daughter at KU. He will drive from here to Lawrence to visit her after we leave. Other of our hosts come with us into the parking lot to see us off.
In planning our day, I had allowed 30 minutes for the drive from Beth Torah to the Islamic Center of Johnson County. But from 127th Street to 151st takes us only 10 minutes on this Saturday afternoon. Zulfi Malik helped me teach my U.S. Pluralism class at William Jewell last fall, and he has arranged our visit today to the Islamic Center. I had to smile when I looked on the Center’s web site to get directions. “From US-69 South exit at 151st Street, west (right) on 151st 0.7 miles cross Antioch, first building on the Southwest corner (left side) is Blue Valley Baptist Church, immediately after the church is the entrance to ICJC (south/left side of 151st).
Only in America would directions to an Islamic Center be given by reference to a Baptist Church. When I was teenager in the 1950s, Kitty Kallen had a hit song called, Little Things Mean a Lot. I think she was on to something. So I take heart from these directions. I think we have more going for us in this country than we realize.
When we pull into the parking lot 20 minutes early, we roll down the windows and talk for a few minutes about our visit to Beth Torah. Hardly five minutes pass before someone comes from the Center to invite us inside. We remove our shoes and enter a pleasant room where our hosts have arranged a presentation for us. But first I am invited to come to the front and introduce everyone and tell why we wanted to come. “We need to form friendships across faith lines so when tensions arise, as they always will, we know someone personally. Someone we can call or email or write. Someone we trust. Someone who can help us calm the waters so that we never hurt each other because of our faith differences.”
Zulfi has invited Br. Tariq Aziz, Br. Jamal-el Khateeb, Br. Michael Kane, Sr. Toni Kane, Br. Wohaib, Hasan, Br. Arif Ahmad, Sr. Iman Younis, Br. Kamran Baig, Sr. Sofia Khan and Br. Syed to come and meet us today. Michael Kane is a life-long resident of Johnson County. Three years ago he converted to Islam. He narrates the slide show on Islam prepared for us. Following the presentation we all talk for the better part of an hour. Ten of the 12 of us in the van are women, prompting Zulfi to ask why we have so few men, and prompting the women to ask about the role and status of women in Islam.
We all then go upstairs where refreshments have been prepared for us. For 45 minutes we gather in the kitchen, sit around the table and stand in groups of two and three for lively conversations on a wide range of topics. When time has come for us to go, our hosts walk with us to our van, thank us for coming and wish us a fond farewell.
Back to I-435 to 71 Hwy to the Truman Road exit, we pull up in front of the Jazz Museum at 18th and Vine promptly at 4:30 as planned. Lonnie Powell is waiting inside to give us a guided tour of the art show mounted by The Light in the Other Room, the African-American artist group he founded several years ago. Some 16 Kansas City African-American artists are members. Joe Smith, Margaretre Gillespie and Ben Mercer have joined Lonnie today to tell us about their pieces in the show. Lonnie also helped teach my Pluralism class at Jewell last fall. He and Zulfi and Mark are among those to be inducted into HateBusters Order of the World Class Person at our annual Human Family Reunion held every April at William Jewell.
I promised Pat weeks ago that I would have everybody back to her house by 6 PM so they could fulfill church obligations due to begin just minutes later. Still, it’s hard to pull ourselves away from Lonnie and the mesmerizing art. One of our members tries to buy a piece that’s not for sale. But we make it. At 5:56 I pull the van into the Cole’s driveway.
A glorious day like none other comes to an end as everyone climbs out, effusive in their praise. Slowly to their cars, minds lingering back when we have been, reluctant to leave this place where our magic journey began a few short hours ago. We return home with new friends, stories for old friends and memories to make us smile.
HateBusters
Box 442
Liberty, MO 64069
Phone: 816-803-8371
e-mail: hatebuster@aol.com
No Boundaries On Our Soul!
