Northbrook’s first Interfaith Walk was fortuitously scheduled to help village residents deal with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, in a very old-fashioned, person-to-person way.
The event has changed over time, and when it kicks off at 12:30 April 19, it will have gone digital.
For its 14th anniversary incarnation, participants can have an easier time navigating the event now called “Interfaith Sunday,” because, as the kids say, “There’s an app for that.”
The event took place Sept. 9, 2001, when the Northbrook Community Relations Commission scheduled a self-guided tour of open houses of 18 local congregations, including the Islamic Cultural Center of Greater Chicago, Our Lady of the Brook Catholic Church and the Baha’i Community of Northbrook.
Two days later, then-Northbrook Village President Mark Damisch told the Pioneer Press, “All I can say is: look at what happened today – that horrendous thing that took place – and, for Northbrook purposes, 48 hours ago, we had an event that brought Muslims, Jewish people and Christians together in a very positive way and celebrated the uniqueness of these religions.
“I wish it could be extended beyond the borders of this village.”
After a few years’ hiatus, the event has taken place every other year, in cooperation with the Northbrook Clergy Association. It’s a little trimmer this year, with 10 congregations participating.
Two years ago, as organizers learned that some people actually thought they had to walk from one house of worship to another, they changed the name to Interfaith Sunday.
During this year’s planning, Michael Strong, village develppment department management analyst, commissioned wireless phone-based application for the event. When participants start the day at St. Giles Episcopal Church, 3025 Walters Ave., they’ll capture a QR code with their phones, and they’ll get a map, addresses and a little bit of information about each location.
“Yeah, the app is pretty cool,” said Community Relations Commission member Chris Kosla, who leads the subcommittee that planned this year’s event. “Most people have smartphones now. I don’t even think people carry maps around anymore.”
The price of the app comes at no extra charge with the geographic information service software used by the village to create interactive maps, Strong said. In the last 18 months or so, he added, the village has created a few other apps, to guide people through Earth Day and July Fourth events, and to keep track of the progress of development projects.
For those who still want paper instructions, the traditional “passports” for the event will be available at St. Giles, too.
Also at the Episcopal church, between 12:30 and 1 p.m.: free T-shirts for participants, a short speech by the Rev. Melissa Early of Northbrook United Methodist Church, Clergy Association Chairwoman, and some live music. The day will end at 4 p.m. with pizza at Village Hall, 1225 Cedar Lane.
At a recent meeting of the full Community Relations Commission, some members expressed regret that the Islamic Cultural Center and Techny’s Society of the Divine Word Catholic Order were unable to accommodate the April 19 date, since those facilities typically draw considerable interest, usually among the most-visited on any open-house Sunday.
“Both have other big commitments that Sunday,” subcommittee member Alice Lonoff said. “Next time, maybe we’ll give the mosque and Techny the notice first.”
The 2015 participating congregations are the Northbrook Village Presbyterian Church, 1300 Shermer Road; Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road; St. Norbert Parish, 1809 Walters Ave.; St. Giles Episcopal Church, 3025 Walters Ave.; Northbrook United Methodist Church, 1190 Western Ave. (Open for Interfaith Sunday at 2 p.m.); Grace Lutheran Church, 2245 Walters Ave., Gloria Dei Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1133 Pfingsten Road; Congregation Beth Shalom, 3433 Walters Ave.; and the Baha’i Community of Northbrook, which will welcome visitors at Village Hall.
Twitter: @IrvLeavitt
