Abraham’s Tent
Pictured above (L-R): Daal (lentils), Potato Curry, Chicken Curry.
The Northern California initiatives known as — Jews, Christians, Muslims (JCM) United, and Abraham's Tent Soup Kitchen, were formed by a group of Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Monterey, for the purpose of building unity between members of the three Abrahamic Faiths and serving community members who are in need.
I spoke to Rabbi Bruce Greenbaum, President of JCM, Pastor Brian Bajari, VP of JCM, Br. Agha Bilal, Head Chef of Abraham’s Tent, and a JCM volunteer, Holly — about their experiences coming together and working for this important cause.
It began in 2015 with a precious ceremonial tea and a resounding feeling that they were working towards something… special!
“I do remember that evening, one of the attendees from the Mosque, ‘Dodi’ is his name, said, “you know, I have this special tea from the holy land and I've been saving it for a special occasion. So now, I believe this is the occasion and I’d like to share this tea as a symbolic act of uniting our faith traditions together as neighbors in our city.””
That’s a detail Pastor Brian Bajari noted about an initial meeting at the Islamic Society of Monterey, for the group that would go on to become JCM United. He told me that he had contacted the San Jose based non-profit Abrahamic Alliance International’s (AAi) director Rod Cardoza, because Brian’s past experiences — working abroad with refugee communities, had introduced him to the significance of doing interfaith and intercultural solidarity work. He wanted to see how he could get involved in doing that work in Monterey County, with his friends and neighbors.
Br. Agha Bilal, head chef of Abraham’s Tent — preparing food for distribution.
His communication with Rod then led to a gathering of members from congregations of each of the three Abrahamic faiths, for the purpose of identifying areas in the community where they could work together in order to give back. Of that first meeting, Brian stated, “...there was an obvious synergy, the people wanted not to just have a dialogue but to practice and embody the values of service to the less fortunate.”
Through my conversations with the leaders of this initiative I’ve gathered this: there seemed to be a collective intuition that the journey they were about to embark on, was one that would be valuable and faith affirming to all.
The group began by doing volunteer food preparation and distribution events with AAi for about a year, before deciding that it was time to develop an organization in Monterey for themselves. And they certainly had community support. By 2018, friends, neighbors and congregation members wanted to get in on the action and it became clear that the group should create its own 501c and that was the beginning of JCM United.
Rabbi Bruce Greenbaum, of Congregation Beth Israel, told me that they named the organization by the order in which the three faiths came to exist in world history: Jews, Christians, Muslims. Then, they created a mission statement and began by doing projects similar to AAi but now as JCM United, in Monterey County.
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, Seaside CA — Home of Abraham’s Tent
They continued to do these projects for about six months until, as Rabbi Bruce says, “Brother Agha Bilal, a professional chef, suggested doing a weekly soup kitchen, in an area where there were a lot of unhoused people.” Initially this seemed like an ambitious endeavor. A weekly dinner? How could they be so sure that this would be a high quality, sustainable service? But enthusiasm was overflowing, as were the efforts from members supporting the cause.
Soon, they decided that every Thursday they would create and serve a meal in partnership with the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, whose pastor, Rev. Harold Lusk, was extremely enthusiastic about holding a weekly soup kitchen service. The church also happens to be neighbors with the Islamic Society of Monterey and thus began a new chapter of unity and solidarity with one another.
It appeared that they had a perfect combination of resources: a consistent location with a kitchen, a chef willing and able to prepare meals, a team of members who set up a website to promote outreach efforts and, of course, a community of volunteers eager to serve.
Abraham’s Tent opened its doors for the first time in the fall of 2019, at the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. During that first meal service, and the few that followed, they had prepared to serve 50 meals but only around 20 to 25 people came to eat.
The assembly line; preparing meals for distribution at Abraham’s Tent
The low attendance came as a surprise, because the folks at JCM United were certain the need was greater than the number of meals that they were getting into mouths. And so, they began spending a lot of time and energy trying to get the word out. This was done by attending community events, handing out flyers, and promoting street outreach. It worked!
The service then began to pick up steam. As the months passed by, Abraham’s Tent steadily grew in meals provided from 20 to 30 and then 40. When the pandemic hit, their numbers began to climb more rapidly and today, an average of around 150+ meals are served and delivered every Thursday evening.
At this point you must be wondering how do they ensure that enough members will be there to support the distribution effort every week? How do they acquire the food? Who prepares the meals?
Delicious Basmati Rice — ready for packaging.
About the consistency and longevity of the service, frequent (Christian) volunteer Holly stated, “[we] used to have a lot of volunteers, but because of COVID-related concerns, many had to stop. I would worry if we would have enough people every Thursday to support these growing needs. I now trust in our small team that shows up, week to week, and when someone can't be there, another person always steps in. Their commitment to our work, their energy, their generosity, and good humor... I am profoundly grateful; God provides people with big hearts. I'm not sure where Abraham's Tent would have been without them.”
There is definitely a lot going on behind the scenes with food acquisition and preparation to ensure that this is a continued, consistent service. I spoke to Brother Agha Bilal who develops the menu, coordinates the food, and is the head chef at Abraham’s Tent. He told me that he is assisted by two members of the community who are his sous chefs; they work from around 1:30-4:00pm together, preparing the meal. Furthermore, the food is often acquired from the Monterey County Food Bank. However, these days, due to a surge of need because of the COVID-19 pandemic, JCM United has been largely purchasing the food independently and with the help of grants and local restaurants. They also provide the church with a small stipend to cover costs for utilities.
Community volunteers, dedicated to assembling the meals every week.
I spoke to Br. Agha Bilal about the kinds of food they serve. Every week they prepare four different Pakistani dishes: rice, lentils, one vegetable and a meat dish (usually, around 90% of the time, the meat is chicken and it is Halal). He says for some patrons, it’s taken time to get used to the taste of traditional Pakistani food and to adjust to the spice level. He mentioned that this adjustment to the taste might have contributed to the gradual increase in meals served over time.
When I asked him about his inspiration for committing to this service, wondering as a Muslim myself, was there a spiritual motivation? Was it influenced by a need to be of service to the people, as a channel from God?
Br. Agha Bilal’s answer is something that I’ll always remember, “[the] thing is right now I’m retired. Last month was my last day of work, so now I’m thinking, why would I now just sit at home? I could do something more, whatever my body allows me to do, I will do... These days whenever I travel, I normally stand outside and realize how many people are also out there standing, asking for a little change, and for food, and that kills me. If I could just supply 10 more plates of food, that gives me a good night's sleep that night.”
He went on to describe why it was so important to him to offer a meal that was freshly prepared, with options based on a person’s dietary concerns, as a way to offer dignity to individuals who are often stripped of their humanity when facing hard times. Describing the conditions of those who are in need he said, “... a majority of the time, they get food that is left over from people’s homes, or somebody bought maybe a sandwich and fries and they have a little left over that they hand to them. I don’t want to do that. I want to treat them on an equal basis. When I can sit down at the table and feel honored to eat, I want to serve the same kind of food. Not the leftovers. And I was doing this at two or three different places, so I like to serve the people… that’s my passion, when I’m tired I start cooking.”
A beautifully packaged dinner — ready for distribution!
Standing in solidarity with our neighbors of different faiths, races and genders has proven to be paramount throughout world history and today, in the context of an inarguably divisive political climate. I asked the members what they believe the significance of this solidarity work is and how it can be implemented as a tool to promote unity and as a practice to create a more equitable future for all.
Rabbi Bruce began his answer by saying, “[this] is a group (JCM United) that comes together and one of the things that we discuss is: how can we bring communities together during this time of divisiveness... we’re demonstrating that, by standing side by side and doing social justice programs together. And so, we’re trying to share a message of unity and overcoming this concept of, you know, fighting against one another instead of partnering together through finding common goals and common causes…. We recognize that in Monterey County, so many of us are so privileged to live in this beautiful place and to have the ability to help others. We’re we’re demonstrating that we can do this and overcome our differences. When Black Lives Matter began to explode in this country, we came out with a statement. We worked together to let everyone know that JCM United feels strongly that Black Lives Matter, [and] recently we’ve been having discussions during meetings about how to include more people, including the Hindus and Buddhists.” He went on to describe other actions of solidarity taken by JCM United as well, including moments during times of crisis due to both Islamophobic and antisemitic acts. Members have often gone out and held signs outside of the Mosque and Synagogue, in solidarity with their fellow community members.
Inside the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
For many of us watching the news, the question of how to overcome such a dense partisan tension in order to make progress on a national scale, can feel incredibly daunting. Rabbi Bruce also articulated that attempting to solve this issue from the top to the bottom would almost be insurmountably difficult, “[you] almost have to start on a smaller scale. The national is wonderful and nice, but it works better on a small scale.” He mentioned that it was important to personalize the issue, to make it feel more relevant and approachable. That it’s not the “Jewish Synagogue” and the “Muslim Mosque” and the “Black Church”, but rather its “Congregation Beth Israel” and the “Islamic Society of Monterey” and the “Bethel Missionary Baptist Church,” it’s close communities. “It’s Bruce and Abdel and Agha and Holly. It’s individuals coming together and that’s where it starts,; and then sharing that with the people around you, it can spread that way.”
Of his motivation to act with urgency with regards to solidarity, Pastor Brian says, “we’re just neighbors [and] despite our religious differences, we can get along and share the values of hospitality, love and service… In our faiths, traditions might look a little different from one another but let’s agree to disagree on those and let’s agree on the fundamentals.”
In closing, I asked the members about how being a part of JCM United and serving the community through Abraham’s Tent has affirmed their faith and furthered their sense of purpose in this life.
Rabbi Bruce emphasized the importance of extending the values, embedded in his faith, towards others by engaging with the community as an extension of his faith practice. Of the moments he spends interacting with others in this diverse setting he says, “...when we’re together, the differences are put outside the door. What we have in common, is brought in. What we have in common is the compassion, the care, the love, the joy that we want to bring to others and that always comes through when we’re together. For whatever reason, the differences are just set aside, because they’re meaningless; they’re not important.”
Meals packaged and ready for pickup — from around 200 guests. Each guest is welcome to pick up as many meals as they need. No questions asked.
Echoing Rabbi Bruce’s sentiment of unity and acknowledgement of our similarities, volunteer Holly shared, “[when] my Muslim friends leave the kitchen in the afternoon to pray, it reminds me as a Christian, of my own prayers of intercession and gratitude for the day. God said to Abraham that his descendants would be as many as the stars in the sky. I'm a life-long church-going Christian, and I have to say now I get what this scripture is talking about. Working side-by-side with my Christian (of different denominations), Jewish, and Muslim friends has given me a new, wider, more open perspective of the world, and of the religions and people's faiths within it. I understand now that those stars in the night sky don't just represent Christians, but Jews and Muslims as well, who are praying. What an amazing, awe-inspiring God we have!”
And lastly, Pastor Brian brought our conversation back to the fundamentals of understanding our world through a spiritual lens, placing love on the forefront of what we do. “My faith in humanity, my faith in God, my faith has only expanded in this. Some people have a one/two/three dimensional faith but I’m just beginning to see that it’s like a diamond, there are so many different angles everywhere you turn that diamond… I always tell people, love by its very definition can never be hoarded. So as you receive love, love is always flowing out of you… it can be healing, and it can be self contained, but at the same time that love and healing, as it is happening to you, is also emanating towards others as well. That’s kind of how I feel about what we’re doing.”
