“Ramadan Mubarak!” was a common shared greeting at Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge when parishioners broke the fast at Iftar with Muslim neighbors from the Peace Island Institute (PII). About 50 people gathered together, with PII offering a presentation on Ramadan. Everyone listened to a recitation of the call to prayer, and then, in an adjoining room, Muslim attendees offered the Maghrib prayer just after sunset. The people of PII spread around the room to answer questions, as all ate from tables laden with delicious Turkish food, from lentil soup to baklava.
Afterward, members of PII asked for a tour of the church, and the Rev. Diana Wilcox reflected on the way in which Lent is a time in our faith for intentional practices that return our focus to God, drawing on the similarity to the focus of the fast in Ramadan. They were particularly interested in the labyrinth as both a prayer practice and a vehicle for pilgrimage.
