Pastor, Rabbi To Exchange Pulpits for Interfaith Partnership

The friendship between two local religious leaders has grown in the past year to include occasional pulpit exchanges at each other’s houses of worship.

Christian Pastor Keni Ashby of Covenant House Of Faith International (CHOFI) and Jewish Rabbi Steven Sirbu of Temple Emeth have their third pulpit exchange scheduled for 8 p.m. Aug. 12 at .

The congregations from CHOFI and Temple Emeth will be in attendance, and members of the community also are invited.

Ashby said he first met Sirbu briefly in 2004 when he was invited to attend a Seder service. It would be about another five years before the two would cross paths again, and a friendship would begin to flourish.

The two were participants in an ongoing dialogue between Jews and evangelical Christians that was organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).

When Ashby arrived at the convention, he said he recognized Sirbu and re-introduced himself.

“After that meeting, a group of us continued to meet every six weeks to talk about our beliefs,” Ashby said.

In the summer of 2010, Sirbu asked Ashby to attend a conference in Birmingham, Ala., for Jewish and African-American leaders to address issues on race and poverty.

“When we returned home, we wanted to share what we experienced in Alabama and what we discussed in our dialogues,” Sirbu said. “So I asked [Ashby] to speak at Temple Emeth. He brought his Worship Team [band] and soloist, and they worked with our cantor to use vocabulary consistent with our teachings.”

Ashby said the service was beautiful and that there was celebration, laughter and participation from members of both congregations.

“I’m kind of like a storyteller and comedian,” Ashby said. “There’s this little part of me that wants to be a comedian, so my delivery made people comfortable. I let Temple Emeth’s congregation know it’s not about conversion. When I went to his church, my first line was ‘I’m not here to convert you. The Jews are God’s chosen people.’”

Ashby said he then pointed out in the scripture where it’s written that Jewish people were chosen by God and given land by God that includes present-day Israel.

In December, Sirbu spoke at CHOFI and discussed “Everything We Wish You Knew about Us Jews.”

Ashby said that Sirbu talked about a fear that the Jewish people have: that their children will grow up not believing in Judaism — that they’ll be converted to another faith.

Ashby said the emotions from that service were memorable for all those in attendance.

“Coming from the mouth of his own congregation I was told he never preached like that — the way he preached at my church,” said Ashby, who added that his church members are more vocal from their seats, clapping and saying ‘Amen’ out loud when something said from the pulpit moves them.

Both leaders view the pulpit exchanges as an honor and see the visits continuing into the future. Ashby said he even has asked his pastor friends to host Sirbu at their churches.

For the Aug. 12 service, Temple Emeth’s band also will lead the congregation in song with CHOFI's Worship Team, for which Ashby plays the drums.

“We welcome all to the service. Anyone can come,” Sirbu said. “I think there’s a lot we can all learn from each other as we grow in our faith.”