SOFT

I was blessed to have had the opportunity to attend the 28th Annual Multicultural Alliance Sharing Our Faith Traditions (SOFT) Retreat at Lake Texoma, Jan. 5-8, 2015, with nearly 40 other seminarians and faculty from eleven Muslim, Jewish, and Christian seminaries…from California, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Texas. We spent our waking hours sharing and listening to each other’s faith stories of struggle, joy, and yes…G-d/Allah/God. Three scholars, a Baptist Pastor, an Imam, and a Rabbi, shared with us parts of their own faith stories. We broke into small discussion groups following each lecture and each worship service – a low liturgical Christian service, a Muslim sermon followed by Muslim prayers in Arabic, and a Jewish service in Hebrew, all led by seminarians from their respective faith traditions.