The Mosque Across the Street

[babylonsister]

The Mosque Across the Street

What happens when a mosque moves across the street from a church in the Bible Belt?
by Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran


As the morning sun illuminated his kitchen, Steve Stone poured himself a cup of coffee and picked up the local newspaper. Reading it gave him a chance to cool off after riding his bike, and the articles usually provided him with a thought or two to incorporate into the sermon he would deliver later that Sunday morning at Heartsong Church, the United Methodist congregation he had started 19 years ago in Cordova, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis.

Stone’s eyes settled on a headline at the bottom of the front page: Muslims buy land for hub in Cordova.

The paragraphs underneath said that the Memphis Islamic Center was planning to build a mosque and “a sprawling community center” in his community.

That’s interesting, he thought. I didn’t realize there were that many Muslims in Memphis.

He flipped a few pages to keep reading, and learned that the Islamic center had purchased 30 acres. Then he saw where: near the intersection of Humphrey and Houston Levee roads.

Stone closed his eyes. His stomach turned queasy.

The mosque would be directly across the street from his church.

What should I do? he wondered.

Stone went to Heartsong and sat in his office to think.

Lord, he prayed, what are we supposed to do?

The next day, he called up a local company that manufactures custom-made signs and placed an order for a six-foot-wide, bright-red vinyl banner. When it arrived two days later, he affixed it on a patch of grass on his side of Humphrey Road, in full view of every passing vehicle.

Heartsong Church welcomes Memphis Islamic Center to the neighborhood.

Sitting in his office, Stone had recalled the biblical parable Jesus told about the Good Samaritan: A traveler, beaten and left for dead, lay by the side of the road, ignored by passersby. The one person who finally stopped to help was a Samaritan, a member of a despised religious group. As Stone ruminated on this love-thy-neighbor tale that challenged preconceived notions, he hit himself on the forehead.

We’ve got to find a way to love these people, he thought.

more...

https://upstanders.starbucks.com/episodes/04-the-mosque-across-the-street.html

[Aristus]

1. "Find ways to love these people"? Simple. They're human beings. Love them.

At least his heart is in the right place.

[awoke_in_2003]

2. To the greatest. nt

[OhioBlue]

3. Great article! Thank you for sharing

We need more pastors like this.

[Make7]

4. It's sad that a religious leader needs to ponder before deciding to act like a human being. ( n/t )