With God as our Father,
Brothers all are we,
Let me walk with my brother,
in perfect harmony”*
It has been said that “The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” When we began planning our seventh Habitat house in the spring of 2003, we were excited about the addition of congregations from the Jewish and Muslim faiths to our already diverse group. Little did we know that we were taking the first step of a journey that would culminate in, not just a group of diverse religious organizations building a house, but also would build a new understanding of unity and love.
In the beginning, we were simply a group of Christian churches, Jewish synagogues and an Islamic mosque who, at this moment in time, wanted to reach out into the community in order to serve God, to help our neighbor and to put our faith in action. Millard Fuller, Habitat for Humanity’s founder, says that we must do more than just talk about faith and love and that the hammer can be used as a means to show love in spite of differences – with the sound of the hammer rising along with the sound of the muezzin, the Shofar or the steeple bells that call us to worship and prayer. The houses that we, as Habitat volunteers, build are the manifestation of this love of God and love of our neighbor. Through the years of working together, we have learned that we — Christian, Jew and Muslim — are more alike than we are different, that we are brothers in spite of cultural, ethnic and religious differences. In spite of all the discord and war in the world among the various faiths, we work in harmony in our little corner of the world.
What does harmony mean? We certainly do not all believe or think alike about most things. John Maxwell, a well-known writer and lecturer on leadership, says that harmony does not mean that people act or think uniformly. He says, “Singing in harmony does not mean singing in unison. Players should play different positions on a team. Harmony means their efforts complement the efforts of others, rather than conflict with them” (The Maxwell Leadership Bible). Each year when we build a Habitat house our diverse faiths come together to act on our faith in harmony and unity. As individuals, we can do little to change attitudes in far away places, but we can be a positive force for change in our own communities. Perhaps, as a ripple in a pond, our small efforts will expand in ever-widening circles to influence and encourage others. Unity and love can change the world.
On site, we are not Christian, Muslim or Jew; we are simply Habitat volunteers. Most of us would find it hard to imagine not being involved in helping those who need our help. You have only to see the joy and excitement on our homeowner’s face each year to know that this is one of the best and most significant things that you will do. Each Habitat homeowner has hopes and dreams no different than our own. This is what it is all about — creating hope by working together in harmony and, thus, showing these families that there are people who care about them.
“Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me,”
* “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” words and music by Jill Jackson and Cy Miller
