[by Fred Gross]
More than 140 people from faith-based local communities gathered recently to take part in a “recipe for peace” celebration linking religions and cultures to their specific dishes. Interfaith Path to Peace (IPP) sponsored the event, which was held at St. Matthews Episcopal Church.
The gathering of different faiths and cultures enjoyed, for example, a taste of cherry soup, Sri Lankan bread, Buffalo corn bread casserole, “Tofu Cashew Creole,” Persian artichokes and other delights to the palate.
Various speakers submitted the recipes, explaining the reason for their choices.
Among the presenters was Cantor David Lipp of Adath Jeshurun, who paid tribute to the late Ilse Meyer, a Holocaust survivor who dedicated her life advocating for a peaceful world, by choosing her recipe for cherry soup.
The recipe combined pitted cherries, cinnamon, lemon rind, wine, tapioca and sour cream, stirred until it was, in her words, “well integrated.” Cantor Lipp explained the soup symbolized Meyer’s peacemaking coming from “digging into an intensely held identity.”
Associate for Justice Ministries of St. Matthews Episcopal Church Jerry Cappel observed that his meal was the only one that contained meat, the Buffalo casserole, a Native-American dish. His intention was to illustrate to those who sit in the “center pews” the need to “reach them in the palate as well as in the pews.”
Gray Henry Blakemore, publisher for Fons Vitae Press, who submitted the Persian artichoke, received an award as a special peacemaker from IPP director Terry Taylor. She delved into the meaning of common symbols for peace among religions – the dove, the olive branch and the peace pipe.
District Court Judge Angela Bisig, who submitted her recipe for “Angela’s au gratin potatoes,” noted that a recipe for peace needed to include the ability to “live out one’s life in giving to others, and to dream of peace in the way one might imagine making a basket or completing a pass.”
The Rev. Joe Mitchell, director of the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center, submitted the Creole recipe, given to him while visiting India. He likened that unexpected recipe to a peace that can only be attained “when one can arrest the desire of something before receiving it. He observed, “The acts of cleaning, preparing, heating and covering the dish before serving were ways of teaching about the need for a simple lifestyle, of recognizing the uniqueness of different people and practices, and allowing the teachings to becomeintegrated into our lives.”
Christopher 2X, Louisville peacemaker and youth advocate, submitted blue cheese stuffed celery. He brought with him Erica Hughes, a young girl who survived a vicious attack when she was two years old, suggesting that children help motivate us to make the world a better place. Erica offered her own culinary advice,”Don’t eat rotten bananas.”
IPP, a non-profit organization, brings people of different religions together through programs and events that promote inter-religious understanding.