2009 Building Bridges Recipients Announced!

Zaynab Ansari recently spoke with Audrey about her passion for bringing people together through storytelling.

Zaynab: Congratulations! Tell us more about your background.

Audrey: I was born in Rock Island, Illinois, which is on the Mississippi River. As the only Jewish student in a private Catholic school, I seemed to be hardwired for interfaith engagement from an early age. And while I sometimes yearned to be like the other kids, I was also proud of my Jewish heritage. I even taught one of my friends Hebrew letters so we could pass notes to each other in class using that as our secret code! We grew up in the same neighborhood and shared holidays with each other. I learned to eat lefsa, the flat Norwegian bread, at her house for Christmas, and she learned to eat latkes, the fried potato pancakes, at my house for Hanukkah. We really loved our respective traditions and wanted to share them. This spirit underpins my understanding of interfaith engagement.

Zaynab: So you knew, then, that you wanted to reach out to others who were different?

Audrey: I didn't know any different, since that's how I was raised! And as I continue to deepen my connection to my core faith, and to interfaith engagement, I see that we are all partners with each other and with God in co-creating the world, in every moment. In some ways, I believe we're all part of an ongoing experiment called the human faith community and we need to engage with each other to continually create that world. Someone recently likened the religious diversity of our world to a tapestry. Each unique thread makes that tapestry all the more vibrant and cohesive. Another concept that inspires this way of thinking is that I heard mentioned years ago by Professor Laurie Patton [Department of Religion, Emory University] who calls it "practical pluralism," the idea that I need you to be the best Muslimah so I can be the best Jewish person I could possibly be, and that we must support each other in this.

Zaynab: How does Judaism support your worldview?

Audrey: The Oneness of God, the emphasis on questioning and engaging scripture, tradition and each other to grow and learn, the so-called Golden Rule found in many traditions, where you treat others as you would like to be treated, or refrain from treating others in ways in which you would not like to be treated.

Zaynab: How is the art of storytelling part of practical pluralism?

Audrey: Telling stories, perhaps of our personal faith journeys, our spiritual quests, our family stories, our folk tales, even our funny, silly anecdotes helps people to connect across the gulf of culture, ethnicity, religion, age, race, etc. It's a "low tech, high touch" way for people to get to know each other, and, therefore, to begin to understand and, eventually, care about each other. It's the way we learn that, while we have many differences, we may share values and ideals that transcend the unique way we express them. If I know your story, you can't be my enemy, it's been said. By the way, I learned the art of storytelling from my paternal grandmother, "Sugie," who was blessed with a brilliant mind and wit, despite only having an 8th grade education.

Zaynab: You started the Winter's Light project, which uses the art of storytelling as a way to weave together threads in the human tapestry.

Audrey: About six years ago, I attended a national storytelling conference where I learned about clergy and lay leaders in other communities who organized storytelling events around the winter holidays. Some called it "Winter's Light," others called it something else altogether. I wanted to create a similar event in Atlanta. The program includes storytellers, poets, singers, dancers, visual artists and others who celebrate their traditions, from Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, Eid and many more. At our very first event, I had no idea what the turn-out would be. I was amazed when we ended up with standing room only. We had 350 people packed into the church sanctuary!

For more information on Winter's Light, contact Audrey at agalex@bellsouth.net.